Fleet Renewal
Engine Overhaul Supplemental Inspections (Cessna)
VFC News
Contributed by Murray Palmer, PRM Good Aircraft Maintenance will keep our fleet flying for many years to come. Long term planning is vital when it comes to fleet maintenance. The VFC’s maintenance department has been actively proceeding down a path which will continue to keep our fleet flying safely. Safe dispatchability is "JOB ONE" for the maintenance department. As our aircraft ages and the hours accumulate on the individual aircraft, it only stands to reason that maintenance costs and down time will increase. Ways in which we can mitigate those expenses are to increase the inspections intervals and to overhaul the different components on the aircraft before they become a concern. This past October, the Club sent Allan Girard, one of our licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AME), on a training program to the Lycoming College of Technology in
10 FEBRUARY 2020
Williamsport, PA. The purpose of this investment was to ensure that we have an AME trained in the correct techniques required to allow the VFC to overhaul the Lycoming engines in our fleet of Cessna 172s, as well as the engines on our aging Piper Seminole. We are all very proud of Al’s attention to detail during the training program, as he attained a high class standing at the completion and arrived back home with a certificate allowing him to overhaul engines on site. During Al’s absence from the club while on course, a renovation of the maintenance shop was undertaken, and an engine overhaul shop was created to isolate the overhaul procedures from the rest of the maintenance facility. Many thanks to Darrell Fournier for once again sharing his many talents (this time as a home renovator) to help advance the Club’s interests in building this new shop addition!
Upon Al’s return from the training course, he immediately set out to complete the requirements of the new shop, making sure that everything necessary was completed prior to accepting the first engine for overhaul. Naturally, there were the expected delays and issues experienced as any new venture is undertaken, but in no time, there was an engine being disassembled and inspected. A long list of required parts were researched by Rebecca Adler, our stores person, and soon being shipped to the Club for Al to apply in the overhaul. There were certain engine components for which the VFC did not yet have the capabilities to inspect and certify. Consequently, we had to send these parts for inspection and certification, as a mandatory requirement to proceed with the overhaul. The VFC has now invested in acquiring the skills and equipment necessary to complete
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