Chapter 6 - Engine & Aircraft log books

I overlooked a most important subject.

After spending a couple of months evaluating the used aircraft market through web sites such as controller.com, and having come up with a selection of aircraft, in order of preference, I then contacted the sellers and asked them to email me the log books for the aircraft. I was then able to go through the log books and check that the maintenance was carried out as required and I was able see what problems, if any, there had been with the aircraft I was interested in.

It was at that time, I realised that Lycoming had identified a potential problem with a component in some of the engines and had issued a direction that those particular engines must be disassembled, inspected and the engine be given a major overhaul, which takes the engine back to virtually new condition.

The log books provide a wealth of information on the history of the aircraft, identify any problems and give dates on which new equipment has been installed. They also show which organisations did the work and allow prospective purchasers the opportunity to contact the maintenance organisation for further information.

For example, I was able to see that the brake pads were changed more often on Saratogas than on the ARROW, which I assumed was due to the heavier weight of the Saratoga and the faster landing speeds. Heavy duty brakes, and top of the line hoses and spark plugs were installed on N6PL, which indicated to me that the owners were fastidious. In the case of N6PL, it showed me that a wing had been slightly damaged in a bird strike and that a panel on the leading edge had been replaced.

None of the aircraft I looked at showed any major problems. It showed that some owners changed the oil every 50 hours and others every 25 hours. Some sent the oil for analysis at every oil change.

Having made my selections in order of preference, I gave the details and log books of the aircraft I was interested in to my LAME, Mark Howe at Blue Demon Aviation at Moorabbin, and he also selected N6PL as the no.1 choice.