600 hour inspection

[Al Downs]

It is time for a 600 hour inspection. I only have one choice for a mechanic locally and he does not have any experience in light sport except mine.

 

How many hours should it take to complete the 600 hour not counting any repairs that are found?

[CT4ME]

Unless you've been running mostly 100LL, isn't the 600 hour checkup pretty much the same as the 200 hour or annual?

tim

[Roger Lee]

Hi Al,

 

The 600 hr. is no different than a 200 hr. The exception is if you use 100LL more than 30% of the time the gearbox would need to come off for and inspection and a clutch cleaned.

[N89WD]

I recently completed the 600 hr. I was billed 25hrs @ 60.00/hr plus parts, etc. How does this measure up with others? Total bill was $1970.00 which included some extra oil filters to take home with me, also some tape, and a few misc items.

[Al Downs]

I did not own the plane for the 200 hour so I don't know how long it takes. I want to know about how many hours because the mechanic is not familiar with these planes. Just want to double check his billed time so I know if he is in the ball park.

[Roger Lee]

Hi Mike,

 

The $1970 would be hard to figure unless you know what work was really done. If he was inexperienced it may take that long depending on what he found. If it was a very straight forward inspection with 1-2 issues then that may be a little long in time. This is really hard to quantify without knowing what was really done. The time and charge could be okay. For the more commercial large shops with the overhead this would be a normal charge and it can be quite a bit more, like double.

The 600 hr. is just an basically an annual / 200 hr unless the gearbox comes off because of too much 100LL use and then that would add about $450.

 

 

The differences from a 100 hr to a 200 hr is this:

check plug connector resistance, carb socket check, inspect carbs, float chamber check, compression test

 

The annual over just a 100 hr is only a float chamber check again.

 

I do everything on every inspection except pull the carbs on every inspection. Cost on a 600 hr. is the same for any inspection with me and depending what is found (i.e. baring something being broken, changing tires, ect...) around $800-$1000 depending on whether you gave me a list to do. A gearbox inspection would add the $450. CT's that have a mechanic work on it that isn't up on things tend to cost more the first time to fix other mechanic issues and after that regular 100, 200 and annuals are not bad at $800-$1000. I have even had some cheaper when they come back and just put on a quick 100 hrs. I don't do plugs and oil just because it is an inspection. If the oil or plugs were changed 10 hrs. ago it would be a waist of time, money and resources to replace them. I only charge for the work that needs to be done to keep the plane as you received it from the MFG and anything extra as far as additional work would need to be a request from the owner.

 

The other thing to remember is large commercial shops tend to charge $90+ an hr and a little one man operation with no overhead may charge up to 40% less. The higher trained more experienced mechanic that sees a lot of CT's / Rotax engines in a year can usually get the work done much faster and that cost the owner less money for the same job.

 

So ideally you want to find a 1-2 man op, very experienced on your type plane and engine that sees a lot of them each year and listens to his customer. I should have added analytic and detail oriented that keeps good records which will keep you safe and preserve your aircraft re-sale value.

[CT4ME]

plus... depending on what sort of rotation you are on, and depending on whether you subscribe to the manufacturers "suggested" maintenance... the two-year wing removal/inspection.

tim