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I’ve touched on this subject before.  Maybe it’s a sign of how important I think it is that I’m going to touch on it again.

When I was producing the Tailwheeler’s Journal video on “Hand Propping”, I pointed out to someone that hand propping an airplane was similar to “popping the clutch” to start a car on a hill.  My point was that no driver should be ignorant of that starting technique.  Similarly, every pilot should know how to hand prop.

The same could be said of certain maintenance operations.  In fact, it seems to me that every student pilot should be familiarized with some maintenance operations during their flight training. Some that come to mind are oil and filter changing, filter inspection, brake lining replacement and tire changing and inflation.  This subject has caught the interest of many aviation writers.  They normally approach the subject from the standpoint of what the FARs will allow.  I suppose we have to bear that in mind, since the feds are always lurking to bust pilots for any violation, no matter how minor.  I’m more concerned with how well an operation is performed rather than which operations are permitted by the boys in polyester pants.

I try to give my primary students the opportunity to get some hands-on experience with maintenance.  Perhaps the best example of increasing pilot maintenance ability is to simply stress the proper inflation of tires.  Heck, I think we can train a chimp to check tire pressure.  Then it’s an easy step to inflate the tire to the proper pressure.   For those who don’t understand why I hate wheel pants, just try to check your tires and brakes when those damned things are installed!

I continue to be impressed by how few pilots have any idea of how much brake lining remains when they peer at it during a pre-flight… or miss it completely.  And it’s so simple to teach!

A 7/16 socket and ratchet are all that’s necessary to remove the typical Cleveland brake and check the lining.  And the assembly itself  is a pretty simple thing to maintain.  It may require the expenditure of a few

bucks for a riveting tool, but it’s a pretty good investment.  It doesn’t take long for the average person to judge how the wear is proceeding on their linings.  They are so simple to disassemble that you can do it several times just to get an idea of how much lining needs to be showing before the rivets contact the disc.

When I was in the airshow biz, I stopped in South Bend, Indiana and needed an oil change.  I must have been feeling flush, because I asked one of the FBO’s to do it and never bothered to ask how much.  Boy, did I learn from THAT one!  I think I may have commented, “I just wanted an oil change, not a top overhaul!”

For a few bucks you can buy an oil filter cutter, too.  This enables you to open up that filter so that you can get the element out and see if the filter caught any metal.  Different mechanics have different methods for checking that element and I’ll bet you can find out a good one from a mechanic you like. Personally, I like to squeeze the pleated element in a vise, leaving nothing but the particles, if any. They are plainly visible when I pull the pleated paper apart, much in the manner of Myron Floren playing the accordion. I learned that technique from Jeff Stanford and it’s a good one.

Years ago I read of some research someone had done on the concept of “throwing like a girl”.  Seems  the researcher wondered why girls seemed to throw with less effectiveness than boys.  What he found shouldn’t surprise us.  It was cultural.  When growing up, boys were encouraged to throw rocks and climb trees.  Girls were encouraged to be “ladylike” and have tea parties.  There is virtually no difference in

the physical ability to throw between the two sexes.  Similarly, boys are often encouraged to work on cars and to learn about tools.  Since there is no difference between the aptitude for flying between males and females, we’d be well-advised to bring our little girls into the garage and teach them the difference between an end wrench and a screwdriver.

The lack of experience should not stop anyone who’s learning to fly from learning to do a bit of maintenance.  Besides, airplanes are generally a lot cleaner than cars and easier to work on.

I would have to say that if you learn to fly and never learn to change the brake linings or hand-prop, your training is deficient..  Those who know me know that I take pretty seriously the old wheeze that “when the student fails to learn, the instructor has failed to teach”.  But not all instructors teach any maintenance.  That’s especially true at modern Acme Flying Schools, so the responsibility falls on the student.  Don’t drop it.