Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Letter to Caulkins Aero Service

Please pardon my bluntness.

First, my airplane is MY responsibility! Not the FAA's. I will take care of my own problems, thank you!

Second!, I would never NEVER create that type of hell for anybody by going to the FAA first. Not without at least first going to the party that I have the problem with and trying to resolve the issue with them.

A mistake was made. The party should be allowed the opportunity to remedy that mistake before involving the FAA! IF people wwould first take responsibility for themselves and their property! And, IF people would talk with each other FIRST, and then only involve the FAA at the last resort, this would be a whole lot easier world to live in!!

Again, please pardon my bluntness?

Well, you paid for the annual,and it's your plane, so I guess you can do whatever you like. Maybe the annual only cost say $400 or so, I can stand to lose that, as I've been burned before. But what if the annual was contingent on you buying the plane? Suppose you found more serious airworthiness descrepancies? That could be thousands of dollars that are then not reflected in the sales price for repairs. How do you expect the shop to remedy the problem to your satisfaction? Refund the annual cost? Pay for repairs? Fire the IA? They're in TX, and you're in OR, so it will be interesting to see the solution.
And what's the differance of you publishing the letter on a public forum rather than contacting the FAA? By your reply to me, you should have already contacted them, worked out a resolution then posted here.
For your information, ever since 9/11 and the downturn in the airlines, there have been hundreds of mechanics seeking employment in GA at smaller FBO's who have YEARS of AC mx experience, but absolutely zero experience on small planes.
I noticed that several members chimed in with their "bad" experiences with maintenance, but who's going to do anything about it if there were no FSDO to keep an eye on things? Does someone have to die or get seriously hurt?
I've seen many bad annuals, but the items you described are basic items to be looked at, especially the mufflers, and any competent shop will remove the shroud to look for cracks, as this could cause CO poisioning and pilot incapacitation.
I don't know where people get the idea that contacting the FAA is like being a rat, snitch or whistle blower. I'd sure hate to have major work done on my plane ( such as my recent engine overhaul) and later on find out all the horror stories. BTW- my engine shop was OK.
Hopefully your situation will be resolved to your satisfaction.
-Brian

Brian,

I did not pay for this annual. It was being done by the seller at the time of the sale. I am present at the time when my annuals get acomplished. So if this had been my annual. These discrepencies would have been addressed at that time.

You ask, "I noticed that several members chimed in with their "bad" experiences with maintenance, but who's going to do anything about it if there were no FSDO to keep an eye on things? Does someone have to die or get seriously hurt?"

You answered your question previously in your response. You asked why I posted this information here on this Forum? Yes, the public needs to know, and word of mouth can be the most detrimental of tools to keep busineses in line. If there are enough complaints about a shop, they go out of business. We needn't the Government to do our policing. We can do it ourselves.

And finally, I will ask you Brian, have you ever been on the receiving end of an FAA investigation. Even one where you were not at fault? But one initiated just because somebody has a grudge with you? I am quite sure that you have not. For, if you had, you would not be questioning my point of view right now.

There are no hard feelings here, Brian. There are just some things I feel pretty strongly about. Taking personal responsibility is one of them. Second is running to the Government to have them "fix" our problems. I went through Hell just because a disgruntled employee wanted to get even. I never would wish that on anybody! Like I said previously, please forgive me if I have offended you. That definitely wss not my intention.

Still friends?

Bill, I'm not pissed or anything, I just think the public needs to know and action needs to be taken in the interest of safety.Not everyone reads this forum, or others, or is seasoned enough to get the "word of mouth". A new pilot, new aircraft owner, that is new to aviation has no knowledge of these things and will usually look to public or govt. agencies to get info, i.e. BBB, FAA for instance. The items you mention on your annual were blatant pencil-whipping! A "coffee shop" annual.Perhaps the shop is a good one, they may have just hired a sleazy IA to sign off their annual jobs.Maybe the IA was buddies with the previous owner helping him get max profit on his sale... wouldn't you have reduced the price or demanded the items be fixed?
Even if the shop fires the IA, he can ply his trade elsewhere. Almost all the ad's for GA mechanics want one with an IA, or very much prefer them to have it.
Yes, the word does get out there, but that's a slow way to shut down a shop, or keep someone else from getting "taken".
I would rather use a shop that had a unfounded claim against them than a "dirty" one that noone bothered to report.I'm sure everyone on this form knows of some shady shop in their area that has operated for years, usually at minimun legal standards.
I've worked on heavy jets for over 15 years, and if you saw some of the idiots I work with that are retained because of the union, you would never get on a commercial flight. Sometimes I wish the FAA would do MORE to weed out these people- but they seem mostly concerned with paperwork errors and record keeping ( BUREAUCRATS!)They only get heavily involved when the incident makes it on the 6 o'clock news.
I have never been investigated, or have had to ASAP, although I know how easy it is to have the spotlight turned on you.I have been working many, many times when the FAA was on premesis but you just have to accept the fact that there here to help you...
-Brian

But not strong enough not to start making smoke only after about 50 hours and 5 months!!!

Ok Brian, Lemme tell ya a lil story. While I was living in Tonopah Nevada, I was the Manager of the Weather Observation Station located at the airport. I fired an employee. A few days after that I had this FAA official on the phone to the FBO asking if they had knowledge of me. Saying they were investigating an "Anonymous" complaint filed against me. The individual filing the complaint said I was flying an unregistered aircraft. Without a pilots license. I was flying recklously while consuming alcohol. Throwing my beer cans out the window at individuals on the ground.

I just happened to be at the FBO at the time. The owner that answered the phone just told the investigator that he might as well as me himself, for I was sitting right there. You should of heard that investigator stammer as I took the phone. After collecting himself, the told me the allegations. And that he already established that I owned a registered aircraft and was indeed a registered pilot. So, as far as the rest of the allegations, he thought them malicious and would close this case immediately.

Do you know that upwards to a year after that I would receive phone calls from aquaintenances around town asking why some individual from the FAA was asking about me and my aircraft?

Oh my. Here to help, eh?

Help what?

I agree with both of you, although you appear to be on opposite sides of the fence!

Yes, the public deserves to know who is doing shabby work, and those who intentionally take short cuts and defraud their customers deserve to be judged and punished on the highest level, and their likeness displayed on toilet paper for all to use! That doesn't mean that every reported incidence is dishonest, and that a solution can't be found without government intervention. Why should the FBO be reported to the FAA without the opportunity to defend themselves? What proof is there that they knew about or condoned the shabby workmanship? While seemingly unlikely, the FBO itself (especially a small one) may be totally unaware and innocent, as it's possible that only one A&P or IA was at fault, and may have been defrauding the FBO as well as the customer.

If you've ever had others working for you, you know you didn't watch your employees 100% of the time, even if you had the time and could (if you do, you might as well do the work yourself, right?). If without your knowledge your employee commits a crime on your property while on the clock, you don't expect a grand jury indictment against yourself just because he worked for you.

Bill is doing the right thing in trying to resolve his differences at the lowest level, first, by contacting the FBO directly. If the results prove to be unsatisfactory, Bill can always file a complaint with any of several agencies later, including the FAA (he hasn't said he won't). We just don't know the facts here, and involving the FAA (or any other agency) without knowing the facts just might be unfair to innocent people, and therefore would be the wrong thing to do! People who own FBO's may be rich or barely making ends meet. They may be the salt of the earth or arrogant SOB's. Regardless, they are still people, and have the same rights and should be treated as well as we'd expect to be treated, whether they truly deserve it or not! An accusation alone is never proof of guilt, and is one reason why our Constitution wisely presumes innocence until guilt is proven.

If it turns out this particular FBO is owned and operated by arrogant SOB's who care about nothing but money, no matter what the "cost", then I'll join the necktie party, and I'll bring the rope (but only after a "fair" trial!)

Strength has nothing to do with that, assuming it IS a proper (MS/NAS) mechanical locking (blind) rivet (thus my question). What you have is from improper installation - poor hole drilling (wrong size or elongated) and/or improper rivet size selection. This is more critical to a mechanical locking rivet than a crush rivet, as a crush rivet can "swell" more to fully fill a hole that might not be quite "right". Full engagement is critical to a rivet of any kind. Sooner or later, you get a smoker if it is not. I suggest they try again on that one, with better technique.

We use 3 kinds of blind rivets here on the F-2 as both primary and repair fasteners. And you wouldn't believe how anal they are about drilling holes (our customer is VERY fussy, much more than the USAF, so much more that we set the standard for all of Lockheed production programs). I get Quality Assurance Reports (to sign-off on the fixes) on hole elongations of 0.005 in., where we step up to the next oversize repair fastener or even the next full size (an elongation can mean the hole axis is not perpendicular to the surface).

"They" aren't trying again. I've had other issues than just that with them. Lots of shortcuts at that place, and it's NOT because I'm a disgruntled employee.

My current mechanic is a bit more cognatively superior than all of the entire shop at the last place. Oh yeah, he also gives a damn about what he's doing. Imagine that.