The “O-word” is one of the
most expensive and overused
words in aviation maintenance.
It is invariably a waste of
money to have something
overhauled if a simple repair
will suffice—often a lot
of money! Of course, the
word “rebuilt” is even more
expensive, and “new” is the
most expensive word of all.
From my perspective as a
longtime aircraft owner and
congenital penny pincher, the
object of the game is to use the
least expensive word that will
make the aircraft safe and get
it back in the air. If you hate to
waste money on maintenance as
much as I do, make a point of
using these four words carefully
when requesting or approving
maintenance work on your
aircraft.
See you next month.
Tech Topics is a monthly
column written by Mike
Busch of CPA’s technical
staff. Mike is a longtime CPA
Magazine columnist, and is
founder and CEO of Savvy
Aircraft Maintenance Management, Inc. (www.savvymx.
com) that provides professional maintenance management for Cessnas and other
owner-flown GA aircraft.
Mike is the National AMT of
the year for 2008. Mike owns,
flies and maintains a 1979
Cessna T310R based in Santa
Maria, California.
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