When Maintenance Is Skipped, Flying Stops
Aircraft are inspected on a fixed schedule, and every job follows the same pattern. These are the numbers a student mechanic learns first.
Systems Checked
Engine, propeller, cockpit, fuselage, tail, controls, wings and landing gear.
Steps Per Job
Inspect, service, adjust, test, fly safe. Every repair follows this order.
Annual Inspection
Most small planes need a full inspection every 12 months.
Flight-Hour Check
Planes used for training or hire are also inspected every 100 flight hours.
Tour the Cherokee, System by System
Tap a numbered dot on the airplane to see what a mechanic inspects there, why it matters, and what can go wrong.
Eight systems. Pick one.
How We Fix It: The Maintenance Process
Five simple steps, in the same order, on every aircraft.
Words You Will Hear in a Hangar
A&P mechanic
Airframe and Powerplant. The FAA license that lets a person work on the body and engine of an aircraft.
Annual inspection
A full inspection required every 12 months for most small planes. It ends with a logbook entry.
100-hour inspection
A similar check required for planes used to teach or carry paying passengers, every 100 flight hours.
Squawk
A pilot's note about something that looks or feels wrong, like a sticky brake or a noisy radio.
Airworthiness directive
An FAA order to fix a known problem on a certain model. It is a rule, not a suggestion.
Logbook
The airplane's permanent record. Every repair and inspection is written down and signed.
Good maintenance keeps people safe, planes flying, and dreams on track.
Pick a few repairs and see what it takes to keep a Cherokee in the air.
Try the calculator