Who does Owner Maintenance

[TwinOtterFan]

Good day all, I hope everyone is getting better weather than I am. I haven't been able to fly in over a week.

Well as the title suggest I am curious if anyone on here has an OM plane and what do they think about it? I am more than a little intrigued by it, I read a few post on the "other forum" and seemed to get mixed reviews. So I am hoping some of the fine people here could chime in on if they do it or not, and if they like it or not.

[John Swallow]

The Owner-Maintenance Category was developed to allow certain certified fixed-wing aircraft to be maintained, modified and upgraded under similar regulations as amateur built aircraft. In the mid-1990s, recreational aircraft owners expressed their concern for the spiraling cost and lack of availability of certified parts and expertise for older, unsupported aircraft. stinson-108-3-bob-poirier

This concern was turned into a proposal from several aviation associations, including COPA. It called for a new category for these aircraft that would allow owner-maintenance, part substitution and aircraft modification. An Owner-Maintenance Category became part of Transport Canada’s new Recreational Aviation Policy in June 1996. That policy was accepted by the aviation community and approved by the Minister of Transport.

Under the O-M Category, Aircraft Pilot/Owners are Eligible To:

maintain an airplane
refurbish all or part of an airplane
overhaul all or part of an airplane
install certified and uncertified parts
install or replace any instruments or avionics
modify an airplane
rebuild an airplane that is out of service
sign the maintenance release
It is important to note, when considering whether to put an aircraft into Owner-Maintenance, that it cannot be operated in the United States nor exported there at any point in the future.

[Squaretail]

If one is asking, “is putting my airplane in the Owner maintenance category for me” you need to answer yes to the following two questions.

First, are you mechanically inclined and want to maintain an airplane to a direct and personal level? I would never share an airplane in the OM category, you never know what level of work any partners will be ok with. And if you can’t fix a car, then get a professional to fix your airplane. It will cost more, but will probably be worth it in the end.

Secondly, are you interested in selling this airplane in the future and getting any sort of return? That answer should be no. This plane is either your last plane, or it goes to the scrap heap, or at least for scrap prices when it goes. You may get more for it, but don’t plan on it.

Now that’s just my opinion. I would only buy an OM plane from someone I knew very well that I thought well of their mechanical ability and standard, and that’s a very short list, or if I could get it for scrap aluminum prices planning to dump a lot of money and work into it. I may put one in there someday, if I’m planning for my estate to dispose of it.

[TwinOtterFan]

Not looking to put one in the OM category myself, was more looking at Champs, Chiefs, Canucks and such and had noticed a fair amount of them are OM. I have already read COPA's guide on OM aircraft and the appendix by Brian Clark, I was wondering if anyone on here had any first hand experience owning and operating an OM aircraft and what they thought of it?

[digits]

I always find it funny when sellers advertise the owner maintenance category conversion as a big plus.

No it isn't... They most likely ran into some issue that was too expensive to fix certified, so they went owner maintenance and slapped some canadian tire parts on there.
I see no advantage to switch unless you absolutely have to. The "Canada only" limitation is huge for an airplane. It's meant to fly.

[David MacRay]

Don’t listen to digits, he thinks it’s fun to fly from the Southern United States to the North Pole and back in a rental Cessna 172 when most pilots told him, “You can’t do that!”. Later he moved to Canada and bought a pitts.

[TwinOtterFan]

I have been doing a lot of reading and I keep coming across some sort of stigma against OM vs Amateur built. For some reason the latter seems to be far more accepted. I personally lean towards the AB because of the opportunity to fly across the border, but there really does seem to be an issue with OM.

[Squaretail]

While the idea of OM airplanes is a good one to help keep planes flying, unfortunately many planes end up in this category maintained well below a reasonable standard. The same impetus to reduce costs of ownership is often a slippery slope. While I will accept the idea that there are some still kept in good standard, I have yet to see it.

Amateur built aircraft, OTOH, are often a labour of love, and may see, well, more love. But not always, so it’s not a hard and fast rule (certified airplanes also see a lot of neglect too, to make the whole process a minefield). The big thing about amateur built aircraft to watch out for is that no two are alike, and can have bear trap like features, that maybe the builder accepted and had a method of mitigating, but may be hazardous for the unwary. Ask John Denver.

[David MacRay]

The advantage of owner maintenance is you can change the tire without signing a maintenance log book.

The problem with it, is sometimes you never know who worked on the plane and what they did because they didn’t sign an entry in the maintenance log book.

I would buy a plane that digits maintained and I have not even met him because I have corresponded enough with him on AdCanada to trust the way he looks after his plane.

On the other hand.. There are commercially registered planes I would pass on.

Importing a plane from the USA has always been a bit tricky because they have different maintenance requirements. It’s usually not a big deal but I have heard of things like someone buying a really nice plane then finding out it needed a lot of ADs addressed.

[TwinOtterFan]

It's a shame, I guess I could see if your going to build something then you are more likely to continue to maintain it to a higher standard. But I do find it disappointing to hear what the OM class has become. Maybe OM is something I will revisit later in life. I love to tinker and build but it doesn't seem like a good fit for now based off of everything I have read.