So what would YOU do?

Timbeck2

Timbeck2

Final Approach
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Vail, Arizona
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Timbeck2
My plane is down for it's annual. It was due April 1st.
My mechanic (hanger next door, lets call him Bob) works part time on the planes of people who hanger with me BUT has a boss (at his full time job, let's call him Bart) who thinks that he deserves a cut of every dime Bob earns. Bart actually drives over when he sees Bob's truck at our hangars just to see what Bobs up to. The IA (lets call him Bill) is freelance and seems to be a forgetful type who doesn't remember who I am until I see him always seems to remember me when we speak. I asked him back in February to put me on the schedule first part of April. Bob and Bill charge a $350 flat fee and $35 an hour. When Bill actually shows up for a job, he does great work with no known complaints.

It would seem that Bob is reluctant to have a talk with Bart about how his time off is HIS time off and he should be free to make a buck on the side without any reprisal.

Now I COULD just let Bart's company do the annual but I'd pay a $750 flat fee and $75 an hour which I don't want to do because Bart has a bad reputation of being a shyster and money grubber BUT his IA is top notch and well sought after. But Bart doesn't allow owner assisted annuals.

I don't have that many choices other than to get a waiver and fly my plane to another location which I'm reluctant to do because I'd have to replace all the panels I took off and it would make an owner assisted annual next to impossible.

So I'm at the mercy of Bob and Bill until I can figure something else out.
 
Sounds like Bob and Bill have a problem with that money grabbing shyster Bart. Beings Bob works under Bart, he may feel his employment is in jeopardy if he were to cut Bart out. Until he's ready to risk losing his job, he'll pay the man. Or have someone break....oh never mind that.
 
Yes sir...and I've told Bob that he needs to get his IA and move on but he doesn't have his own place of business so he's stuck working for Bart. Bill isn't connected to Bart at all but free lances for a couple of other aviation schools.

Bill told Bob that "there was another plane ahead of me" which I doubt but have no way of proving. Like I said, I told him in February to put me on the schedule. It's been almost a month and I'm still waiting. Disclaimer: This is my first annual as a new owner, I don't know of any or think that I have any leverage on this issue. My patience is more than a bit thin.
 
I'd use bill in this case, the whole Bart and bob thing just is too much trouble to be worth the time.

Tell bill you have a trip and need the plane by XX date, if he doesn't think he can do it ask him if he knows anyone who could get it done and that you'll just pull a permit, I'd wager he'll fit you in.
 
I am assuming that Bart runs/owns an actual maintenance shop in a hangar on the airport and that Bob is freelancing as a trunker on the same airport after hours. Most shop owners do not like when their employees do after hours work on aircraft on the same field. It is viewed as competition or taking away potential business which is likely to be at least partially true.

In fact, most employers of any sort do not like when employees do anything to compete with them or take business away from them. It is viewed as an ethics issue in most industries and typically a prohibition is written into company policy.

Bob needs to go 100% out on his own.
 
Timbeck:

Have you asked Bob if he carries liability insurance? I'd bet a weeks pay he doesn't. If he screws up something on your plane will he make it right on his dime or will you be left holding the bag? Just some food for thought there because I know of one moonlighter who left a Mooney on jacks overnight with the gear retracted. Both wings were punctured and you could smell the gas a mile away. The owner was stuck for the repair of holes in the top and bottom of both wings. It was a rather expensive "OOPS".

Oh. And if an incident like that occurs, Bob will be talking with the FAA and be uncomfortable while doing so. You will not be a happy camper either.
 
Good advice so far. There is no ethics agreement in Bob's contract with Bart - first thing I asked. Bart wants to be king pin on the airport and that is that. His "ethics" are to charge as much as he can because he has the monopoly thereby screwing every pilot he deals with out of their hard earned cash. He doesn't have a good reputation anywhere near here and I'm willing to bet the whole state of Arizona.
 
Get a ferry permit and fly the airplane to a maintenance shop that will work on your airplane when they receive it. Yes, you have to put it back together, sorry. But unless you can find mechanic who will come to your hangar, you're going to have to do this in any event. Your local mechanics are not sufficiently dependable.

I've only ever gotten mechanics to travel to my hangar for one airplane, it was nice. It is also gone.

You may be able to do an owner assisted annual remotely, but you'll have to spend some time there to do it. That can raise your costs. I'm planing to do mine remotely, hoping to camp out at the airfield where it will be done to lower my costs a bit and learn more about my new airplane.
 
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