You knew the day would come—but not this soon. Blindsided during a call from the shop doing the annual inspection, you hear only every other sentence as the tech tells you it’s time to cough up $30,000 (or a lot more) for an engine overhaul. The news is never easy to swallow, but it’s less painful if you already had a plan in place—and of course the money saved to pay for it. Plan it out now so you can get the bird back in the air as quickly and efficiently as possible.
BAD DAYS
There are many reasons why an engine may need an unexpected teardown/overhaul. And clearly the factory recommends a teardown when the prop is bent or even damaged bad enough to need a blade removed for repair or replacement. While the engine is torn down, when should you just go ahead and overhaul it while it’s all apart? Will you go with PMA replacement parts or OEM parts? Important decisions.