Why in the Sam Hades Do we have all these regulations?

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bartmc said:
RANT RETRACTED
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This is the cyber equivalent to walking past a bunch of slack-jawed kids standing on a sidewalk as the old guy walks back in his house.

I missed the fun "GET OFF MY LAWN" part of the conversation and only get to see the aftermath.

:lol::lol::lol:
 
Rant retracted. Didn't realize it constituted spin zone material. Sac's apologies.
 
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Do you really want to send this thread to Spin Zone?:mad2:
 
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jhausch said:
This is the cyber equivalent to walking past a bunch of slack-jawed kids standing on a sidewalk as the old guy walks back in his house.

I missed the fun "GET OFF MY LAWN" part of the conversation and only get to see the aftermath.

:lol::lol::lol:
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My main axe to grind is over the course of looking at airplanes, it has occurred to me that outside my little sheltered world of regulation compliance. i.e. here and my CFII/A&P IA who's also a stickler. That 99% of the folks out there are largely just ignoring and/or blatantly disregarding regulations. It seems that, Part 91 anyway, we have TONS of regulations on aircraft and airmen that are just being ignored by Mechanics, Pilots, Owners and the FAA.
 
I realized fairly early in my time as a pilot that the regulations are written such that if the FAA wants to get you they can. I concluded that I should comply to the best of my ability, but that it was important to avoid xxxxing anybody off if I don't have to.
 
Palmpilot said:
I realized fairly early in my time as a pilot that the regulations are written such that if the FAA wants to get you they can. I concluded that I should comply to the best of my ability, but that it was important to avoid xxxxing anybody off if I don't have to.
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For reference. I went to install an AstroTech LC-2 Digital clock in my panel. It was PMAed for a plane that wasn't mine. I spent the better part of a day scouring the internet, posting here and calling people figuring out how to legally place 4 screws in a clock that weighs a few ounces. Finally dug up a letter from the FAA clarifying that the installation was legal, took it to my mechanic THEN he agreed to install it. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: I must live on a different planet. According to some of the cat's I've talked to, all you need is friend with ink in his pen. Some people don't even go to the trouble to do that.
 
According to Google, Sam Hades is on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
So you should be able to contact him directly and ask.
 
Dunno about Sam Hades, but I do know Sam Hill. Wish I didn't. He rear ended me and another car a few months ago, totally demolishing the rear liftgate on my wagon.
 
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bartmc said:
RANT RETRACTED
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The large pool of regulations make it possible for the party in power to reward their supporters by non-enforcement and harass their enemies with strict enforcement. Basically it turns "law and order" into a weapon.
 
Palmpilot said:
I realized fairly early in my time as a pilot that the regulations are written such that if the FAA wants to get you they can. I concluded that I should comply to the best of my ability, but that it was important to avoid xxxxing anybody off if I don't have to.
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I have to agree, it's almost impossible for the casual flier to not be in violation of some regulation or another anytime he/she flies. I don't mean ourt of annual, or expired medicals, just stupid little things that if you P### off the right folks would get you busted. I bet there are a lot of pilots that have split expenses and didn't pay their exact share. :hairraise:
Hey, I do my best to fly legally everytime I go up, but I bet I could be busted for some minor infraction at least 25% of the time. :dunno:
 
N747JB said:
Hey, I do my best to fly legally everytime I go up, but I bet I could be busted for some minor infraction at least 25% of the time. :dunno:
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Not to mention that if you are really, really looking at an airplane with intent to find something that violates some regulation or other, you probably can. As my CFII said the other day, there is no such thing as a 100% legally airworthy airplane. At least, not in GA. If the FAA wants to bust you or ground your plane, they will.

And THIS is why I will not take a checkride with an FAA inspector if I can by any means avoid it.
 
azure said:
Not to mention that if you are really, really looking at an airplane with intent to find something that violates some regulation or other, you probably can. As my CFII said the other day, there is no such thing as a 100% legally airworthy airplane. At least, not in GA. If the FAA wants to bust you or ground your plane, they will.

And THIS is why I will not take a checkride with an FAA inspector if I can by any means avoid it.
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If they are nit picking turn them into their supervisor and report it to the regional director.

Don't put up with bullies. :no:

Seems like he local FSDO had a sever dislike for experimentals. I put up with it for a while , then hit them with both barrels that involved US Congressman looking into the harassment.

Don't put up with bullies! :no:
 
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Because people keep getting killed, and the FAA is obligated to try to keep the risk of that down to a level acceptable to the FAA's direct masters in the White House and indirect masters in Congress. In some cases, such as the photo on the pilot certificate (which is almost here), the FAA is specifically ordered by Congress to make specific rules.
 
Ron Levy said:
Because people keep getting killed, and the FAA is obligated to try to keep the risk of that down to a level acceptable to the FAA's direct masters in the White House and indirect masters in Congress. In some cases, such as the photo on the pilot certificate (which is almost here), the FAA is specifically ordered by Congress to make specific rules.
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I just keep a picture of myself in my wallet, keeps me safe.
 
azure said:
Not to mention that if you are really, really looking at an airplane with intent to find something that violates some regulation or other, you probably can. As my CFII said the other day, there is no such thing as a 100% legally airworthy airplane. At least, not in GA. If the FAA wants to bust you or ground your plane, they will.

And THIS is why I will not take a checkride with an FAA inspector if I can by any means avoid it.
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My DPE said the same thing. He asked if the FAA could bust me for something, I thought about it for like 2 minutes because it didn't sound like something they could and his response was "Well they probably wouldn't, but the FAA can bust you for just about anything. Best to always cover your ass."
 
Apache123 said:
My DPE said the same thing. He asked if the FAA could bust me for something, I thought about it for like 2 minutes because it didn't sound like something they could and his response was "Well they probably wouldn't, but the FAA can bust you for just about anything. Best to always cover your ass."
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Hey how come he got to say ass?
 
azure said:
Not to mention that if you are really, really looking at an airplane with intent to find something that violates some regulation or other, you probably can. As my CFII said the other day, there is no such thing as a 100% legally airworthy airplane. At least, not in GA. If the FAA wants to bust you or ground your plane, they will.

And THIS is why I will not take a checkride with an FAA inspector if I can by any means avoid it.
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Two or three years ago when I had to do a SODA flight with an FAA inspector from the local FSDO, they went nuts trying to find something, anything, wrong with my 1978 Warrior. It turned out my appointment was one hour after some clown had smashed his PA-28 into an IRS office over in Texas. They were jumpy to say the least.

They had two of their inspectors going over every inch of my airplane itself. They had another one going through all the aircraft logs looking for anything amiss. Then they had another one going through my log book (I was a student at the time) I was with that one while the other three were working on their part of it. He brought up every instructor I had ever had on his screen. He grilled me about all of them.

After more than two hours the only thing they could find wrong with my airplane, my instruction, me, or my aircraft records, was my right wing tip had a half inch crack that had gone past a stop drill hole. Just one.

The SODA ride covered every single aspect that could be covered in a SODA. It lasted a full hour. I even asked the guy at one point after he had me do a simulated power off emergency landing, if he was giving me a check ride? He said he was not, but I had to meet all of their requirements.

That ride was considerably more extensive than my check ride itself.

So no, they can not find things wrong with an airplane if they want to, at least not if it is a well maintained airplane. They sure as hell wanted to find something, anything, wrong with mine.

They had put me through a full blown FAA grinder. I passed with flying colors, and so did my airplane.

-John
 
John Baker said:
So no, they can not find things wrong with an airplane if they want to, at least not if it is a well maintained airplane. They sure as hell wanted to find something, anything, wrong with mine.
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Sounds like they did, and for some reason they gave you a pass for it? :confused: (Edit: ah okay, it was a wing tip.)

Anyway, if there was a reason they couldn't ground your plane for that crack, and they really couldn't find anything else wrong with it, then either you or your mechanic is a 100% certifiable OCD stickler for the regs, or you were very very lucky.

There are things I know about in my airplane that some FSDO inspectors have (erroneously) considered to be violations. Even if my plane is actually 100% legal, all it takes is a misinformed inspector, and I am not only not taking a checkride that day, but my plane will be at the mercy of whatever mechanics happen to exist on that field while I call someone for a ride.
 
The inspector said the crack was not bad enough to be an issue. I have replaced the entire tip since then. My mechanic at the time was Ted Hazlwood who owns SoCal Aircraft repair at KSEE. He is the guy who administers the A&P exams in San Diego, or some such thing. He knows his stuff. He will be doing my annual again next month.

Luck has nothing to do with keeping your bird properly maintained. It's your mechanic and your wallet that decides that, not luck.

The only place luck played a part was for me stumbling onto the right people to do the work.

-John
 
John Baker said:
Luck has nothing to do with keeping your bird properly maintained. It's your mechanic and your wallet that decides that, not luck.
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And as I said, even being "properly maintained" is no insurance against being grounded because an inspector "knows" some regulation or other that isn't actually in the books. Or if the alleged "violation" is in a gray area, such as a placard with one or two illegible letters, and the inspector wants to give you a hard time.

As far as luck playing no role in whether your aircraft is 100% legally airworthy in every tiny detail, there are a lot of drivers on the road with zero accidents on their record who believe the same thing. There is doing the best you can, and there is perfection. The only way to guarantee that you have a 100% legal aircraft is to have a perfect mechanic or to have 100% perfect knowledge of the regs yourself and annual your plane before every flight.
 
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