Adding/Removing equipment - When are logbook entries needed?

Ravioli

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I've got two slightly different but very real scenarios:

1) Experimental aircraft with a removable auxiliary fuel tank.
2) Cherokee 6

For the Exp - I have two W&B sheets (with and without aux tank).
For the Six - club members remove rear seats as needed for loading and such

Questions: Does changing the configuration require a logbook entry? For the exp I can log it myself if that's what is correct. For the Six - who needs to log it? Is that owner maintenance like changing the oil?

Thanks!
 
In the case of the experimental, unless it amounts to the level of a major change, you don't have to do anything.

For the six, you can do it as an owner-pilot, but it doesn't absolve you from making the log book entry.
 
Remove the seats, log book and new WB. Easy-peasy and no problem.
 
For the Cherokee Six, a logbook entry is almost certainly required for the removal and re-installation of the seats. Arguably, under the preventive maintenance rules, the owner/operator can make those entries. That said, if it were my own plane, I can't promise I'd be dutifully making a logbook entry every time I removed a seat for cargo hauling. In fact, I imagine there are a lot of airplanes flying around out there with seats removed and no logbook entry to be found. YMMV.
 
Like other said....removing seats from the Six is considered preventive maintenance and the owner/operator can log that. But, your A&P needs to calculate the W&B for each configuration. This can be done with a table....option #1 all seats installed....option #2 middle row seats removed....option #3 middle and rear seats removed.....etc.
 
With the Cherokee Six, I would be surprised if there wasn't already a W&B calculation for that. Piper made it extremely easy to remove those seats for a reason. Additionally, it's extremely easy to compute the change in W&B as the seats are listed with their respective weights and arms in the POH. I do it in my Lance all the time.
 
IIRC....the older Sixes don't have the configuration table in the POH.

My Bo didn't have it....so it was created. Now any of the seats can come out for a trip
 
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