Page 24 - October 23

Maintenance Tracking Service Reports
I have mixed emotions on this topic. These reports come in handy for sellers to pass on to prospective buyers and maintenance consultants like me. But these reports are no substitution for actual logbooks. I’ve never reviewed a maintenance tracking report without errors.
Just a few months ago I evaluated a King Air 200 built in 1981. The seller, an air ambulance company, had computerized maintenance tracking for their whole fleet. The report for this 200 was used in the marketing materials. The engines were billed as a few hundred hours since overhaul, but the logbooks told a different story: The engines were over 400 hours past overhaul.
Additionally, the report described it as a B200 when it was not. There are many differences between a straight 200 and a B200 besides
the -41 and -42 engines. Although this 200 had -42 engines installed in 2011, it didn’t make it a B200. It still lacked the other features incorporated into the B200.
I’ve learned I cannot rely solely on these reports. I use them to get the ball rolling when I’m assessing the maintenance status of an aircraft, but I cross-check everything against the actual logbooks as soon as I get my hands on them. There’s no substitute for the logbooks.
I think maintenance tracking services are fine where multiple aircraft are involved. Owner- operators may find they are overkill and pricy. There are other options for maintenance management should you require it.
Parting Shots
When picking up your King Air after maintenance, check all log entries for Aircraft Total Time. If
it’s missing, make the shop put it in. It’s an FAR requirement so stand firm. It’s not negotiable.
If a shop hands you a log entry in paragraph form, printed in a microscopic 8-point font, can you get them to re-organize it as a numbered list? Probably not, but I’d give it a try.
Get a debrief after maintenance. Each time I returned a King Air to service after a Phase or major maintenance, I did a thorough debrief with the pilot or owner/operator. I went through the entire work order, squawk by squawk, discussing every item. I kept the log entries on the table for reference. A lot of effort went into creating their log entries. I made sure my customers reviewed them before they went into the book and out of sight.
When it finally comes time to sell your King Air, brokers and prospective buyers will be crawling all over your logbooks. Hopefully they will stand up to the scrutiny. In the meantime, however, enjoy the heck out of your King Air! KA
Dean Benedict is a certified A&P, AI with nearly 50 years of maintaining King Airs. He owned and ran Honest Air Inc., a maintenance shop that specialized in Beechcrafts with
an emphasis on King Airs. Currently, with BeechMedic LLC, Dean consults with King Air owners, operators and maintenance shops on all things pertaining to King Air maintenance. This includes troubleshooting, pre-buys
and maintenance management. He can be reached at dr.dean@beechmedic.com or 702-524-4378.
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22 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2023