In days of yore, Lycoming let pass unserviceable parts with no back charges. Now it’s looking more closely.

by Russ Niles

When Illinois flight school and maintenance shop owner Brian Olofsson ordered a factory overhauled Lycoming engine from Air Power Inc. earlier this year for a customer, he said he was told it was business as usual. As Air Power proclaims from ads in most major aviation publications, you send in your old core for exchange and get the off-the-shelf “new” engine for $300 over invoice, plus taxes and shipping.

Yes, the customer or someone from his staff signed a document saying they were aware of Lycoming’s core exchange policy and that there could be a charge back if there were any unserviceable parts. But nobody had ever heard of…