What's Up - March 2013

Little Things Mean a Lot

By Larry Shapiro

And that’s not just the name of a song. Favors always have a cost and sometimes that cost is actually money. Low-end airplanes (the inexpensive type) cost a lot of money to sell, and in my business you always lose some of those dollars – it’s just the nature of the beast. For those buying or selling low-end airplanes, it takes the same amount of time and work but its like lawyers that won’t take cases that won’t make them rich, especially medical cases. There are now limits on compensation they can win and they don’t want to bother, win or lose.

The same is true with commission sales on entry-level airplanes… but if you are honest and accept the responsibility of providing that service to our community, then that’s just the way it is. This is especially true when dealing with donations and free airplanes that folks want to give away. It soaks up time, and other than the personal reward of knowing I did something good, I just suck it up and do it. Okay, so sometimes I get cookies. 

More Little Things!

Paper can ground you…“The New Registration”…it’s no joke.

Dealing with the new aircraft registration is serious. Treat it that way. For some it’s an easy task, for some it isn’t.  Many skeletons are found in the closet (hangar) and must be dealt with. Things you never knew about your airplane suddenly become known. The folks in Oklahoma City will usually be very helpful when you hit a snag. Here’s my advice: Call early and call often – grab some snacks and be prepared to wait a few minutes hanging onto your communication device, and if you’re in luck you’ll have some snacks leftover.  Read what I say further down – manners go a long way.

Insurance Coverage and What Is and Isn’t Covered

Please take this little tidbit with the same importance of how much creamer you put in your coffee or onions on your hot dog: actually read about your coverage. Know what you can do and can’t do, or how to do it right.  Some of the simple things we have all taken for granted may not be what we assume it is.   It’s not always what we do, but how we do or did it.  Start by checking out the right and wrong ways to start an airplane, have you propped your airplane lately? Check to see if you have the same privileges as your mechanic. There is a long list of do’s and don’ts. This is a great subject for your next cross-country reading material – take your policy along with you and read it. And please, share some of the gems you discover so I can do the same with my other readers. 

It Was a Dark and Stormy Morning

On what had been a sunny, warm and dry morning just yesterday, today had turned just the opposite.  That always happens when we have to be outside, or have company, or are getting ready to help some friends depart on a long, cross-country flight in their low-wing, canopy-equipped aircraft.

Please keep this in back of your mind, not just for this column, but also for all of your flying days.  “Flying will get you there in a hurry, but you can’t be in a hurry to fly!”

Sometimes a one-hour job can take ten. Not having the right part, the right tools, enough parts, wrong diagnostics, or even the wrong weather can mess things up. The saga I love most is when there is more than one expert on deck, or there is a disagreement between the payee and the payer. Remember, there is more than one way to skin a cat – or plane.  We all have our opinion and are entitled to it, pick your battles. I have to lean a little towards the potential PIC for the final solution since the buck will stop there.

With that said let me share this saga with you. On the surface it will seem very simple – and it was – but then the issue of too many cooks popped up and the soup got sticky.

The goal was simple, load up two airplanes for a cross-country trip to the northeast – Canada to be exact.  On the surface this was really a no-brainer.  This is when the weather got ugly, paperwork problems were discovered, oil leaks appeared, the clock was ticking, the weather delay necessitated a route change, then an avionics problem was discovered, and while all that was happening, one of the two airplanes departed for the first of the many planned fuel stops.

Whew, what a morning! We are now into at least the first six of the 10-hour saga.  Finally, the number two aircraft departed for the first 300-mile leg of the trip, and hooked up with plane number one. It was now getting dark, cold and time to call it a day. I went home thinking that was the longest “hour” of my day – aaaah! – make that ten hours. But wait…there’s more! 

The next morning I returned to my second home, PAO, and to my amazement, shock, and surprise, there were the two airplanes I thought I had waved goodbye to the day before, and that I “knew” had landed far away. But now they were back on their tie-downs like two little puppies that found their way home on their own.

It turns out the owners exercised the right to change their minds about this trip.  For whatever their reasons were, some of which I will share privately if asked, they came up with an alternate plan.  I will leave it at this, the two little airplanes are snuggled up in some lovely boxes and are being shipped to their final destination…it was a great plan, a safe plan, and the one-hour project only took weeks.   Remember, it’s not how you play the game, it’s about winning and this was a win-win and now the fat lady can sing.

I’m Just Saying

Manners!

I remember a long time ago having to deal with an FAA dude (doctor) and reminding him that, while manners are free, they have great value and are important. Sometimes a simple “please,” or “thank you,” can go a long way and help to resolve simple problems. Not only is it important to be careful out there, it’s important to be nice as well.  We’ve become a nation of complainers; it’s time to become complimentary.

On Final

March is an interesting month. It’s the “get ready” month…get ready for the IRS, get ready for Passover, get ready for Easter, and stay ready for the airshow season.  It’s also time for the semi annual wax job for your steed, and time to stop talking about the Oscars.  But it continues to be the time to pray for our troops, get ready for more of them to come home, and recover from the shock of the Pope resigning.  I remember the last time that happened…naaaah, I’m just kidding, I don’t remember that, and I’m pretty sure none of us were there. I wish him well and hope he made a good decision…hmmmm, I wonder if Popes can do a “Go Around?”

Until next time …

That’s Thirty! 

  “Over”