Let's talk squawk!

General Questions
#21

Some nicks can be filed away (on metal props) or otherwise repaired, but there are rules about what is and isn’t repairable.

If the nick/ding/crack is not repairable then yes, you toss the prop and get a new one.

I’ve had friends lose a prop, or part of one, in flight. The ones that survived the experience universally have said they’d much rather have almost anything else happen, short of a fire, than have a repeat. (Yes, I do know someone who once set his airplane on fire while in flight. He says that was his very, very last cigarette.)

#22

Pay a mechanic $$$$ to file it off for you.

#23

Serious or joke? - I can’t tell :wink:

#24

A joke, but only because he left off one of the dollar signs.

Technically, the filing of small nicks may be preventative maintenance, which a pilot can do, but that pilot must make an entry in the propeller logbook. 14 CFR 43 Appendix A doesn’t specifically mention it as preventative maintenance, but it does say that “repairs to deep dents, cuts, scars, nicks, etc., and straightening of aluminum blades” are major repairs. It’s a bit of a grey area - what qualifies a nick as deep? I’d probably have an A&P sign it off to be safe. The landing light you can definitely do, but again, you have to sign it off.

#25

Pretty much any modification to an airplane the FAA considers a “real” airplane (“Certificated” is the term) MUST be done by either a licensed mechanic or a licensed “Repair Facility”.
Neither is cheap.

If you build your own plane (many do), you are eligible to get (upon application - it is NOT automatic) a"Repairman’s Certificate" for that plane and no other.
A Repairman’s Certificate is NOT transferable - if you sell your homebuilt, the new owner will need to have it inspected and repaired by the same folks who do certificated - and many of them will not touch a homebuilt due to, you got it, liability questions. Their liability insurance is high enough without signing off that a plane is safe - and then discovering the builder forgot a bolt or left a wood joint unglued.

#26

An owner of a certified aircraft who is a pilot may perform preventative maintenance. The list defining preventative maintenance is specific, but surprisingly long:

Item 30 covers usedtobe’s above post.

#27

p.s. - I have never held a pilot’s license.

I also replaced the interior upholstery.

If I had a license, the landing light would have been legal. No way touching the prop was.

Last I looked, the plane made it from CA to TN - so somebody has a good story to tell about an AA1-A as a cross-country plane.