Best Practices Guide for
Maintaining Aging General Aviation Airplanes
Endorsed by:
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)
Antique Airplane Association (AAA)
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
September 2003
Best Practices Guide for
Maintaining Aging General Aviation Airplanes
Introduction
This document provides owners of aging single-engine airplanes guidance about maintaining the airworthiness of their airplanes. The general aviation (GA) fleet is aging. In 2000, the average age of the nation’s 150,000 single-engine fleet was more than 30 years. By 2020, the average age could approach 50 years. This guide for maintaining older airplanes consists of “best practices” that go beyond normal inspection requirements.
A team made up of airplane manufacturers, owners, their representative organizations, and engineers and inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) developed these best practices. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Antique Airplane Association (AAA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and the FAA endorse this guide.
The intended primary users of this guide are owners of older, small single-engine airplanes. In this guide, owners will find useful tips for assessing the effects of aging on their airplane. They will also find that this guide provides excellent guidance for user groups or type clubs to use for developing a checklist and gathering reference information specific to a model type.
Although targeted specifically for small single-engine airplanes, much of the information in this guide applies to the entire GA fleet. Actions owners take based on these best practices will help protect their investment and, more importantly, help maintain the safety of their airplanes.
Background
The GA fleet is being used well beyond the flight hours and years envisioned when the airplanes were designed. There is concern that continued airworthiness safety matters will become more common as the fleet ages. Several factors are key in keeping the existing fleet in service. Safety studies show that the biggest safety concern for GA safety is pilot situational awareness. To address this concern, modifications to the cockpit are now popular because of the rapid advances in avionics and associated affordability. A 40-year-old, four-place airplane with new avionics can remain productive for many years with periodic avionics upgrades as this technology advances. These improvements will increase safety and allow much of the existing fleet to remain in service well into the 21st century. At the same time, few cost-competitive new models are available.
These airplanes could develop serious age-related problems as they continue to be used well beyond their envisioned design life. The bulk of the fleet is designed to Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) 3 standards that were established in the 1950s or earlier. These standards lack fatigue and continued airworthiness requirements as part of their certification. Thanks to the robust designs, these airplanes show few signs of aging. However, little is known about the condition of these old airplanes and the general effects of aging on them.
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