FAA rewriting rules on repair stations

[berkshire]

I notice the FAA is re writing the rules on repair stations.
How badly will this affect those people working in the industry?
I had not been paying attention to this issue until I got a message from the EAA opposing the changes.
I then noticed that the GAMA was against it as well.
The last time they did this I ended up having to do a complete rewrite of my station manual,
I no longer have a repair station, but it would appear to me, that with the exception of the very largest stations, this will knock a lot of guys out of business.
B.E.

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor

 

[dgapilot]

Lots of proposed changes that my be OK for repair stations that only work air carriers, but they will kill GA repair stations. Complete new certification, major changes to the ratings, and a capability list that lists all equipment that the repair station is authorized to work on by make and model. Any changes to this capability list has to be approved by FAA before you can work on a new item. Lots of other stuff that provides no increase in safety, yet will cost the repair station $$$$ in administrative costs.

I was a member of the ARAC when they were working on this back in the 2001 time frame, and what came out as an NPRM is nothing like what industry wanted at the time.

 

[berkshire]

Hi Dave,
The bit that I do not get , is the part "" Any changes to this capability list has to be approved by FAA before you can work on a new item."" This means that even if you have all the changes in place, you cannot do the work until the Feds have visited your station.
The backlog is being forecast at 6 months to 2 years. If this turns out to be true, it is going to make a lot of unhappy aircraft customers.
Imagine an AOG rush job, and you now have to wait for an approval from the Fed.
Brian.

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor

 

[dgapilot]

Brian,
They won't necessarily have to visit your facility, but you will have to send them your new capability list, they will have to review it and approve it, then send it back to you with the appropriate "FAA Approved" stamp. A paperwork nightmare to say the least, and a major bottleneck to getting the job done. For someone that works on a stable fleet (air carrier) it wouldn't be to bad, but in GA it is an unworkable situation.
David