skywagon8a
MEMBER
SE Mass MA6
I received this message from my FSDO PMI earlier this week:
"I wanted to give you a heads up to some changes happening at the FSDO. In the very near future, ALL SFP’s and air worthiness certificate replacements will be issued by the 2 DAR-T’s in our area. ********** in Plymouth and ************ in New Bedford. The FSDO will no longer be performing that task. We are in the process of updating our website to reflect those changes, I have attached the contact info for all our designees.
This is being directed from headquarters; we are being instructed to make the utmost use of our designees. To that end, we are also looking into granting the DAR-T’s the ability to perform field approvals. This process is ongoing and may take a while to get all the requirements that they have to meet in place.
As you know they do charge a fee for their services, the FAA has nothing to do with setting that fee, or regulating it. We do not even know what they charge, nor do I care to know. I know from my days in GA, many owners wait until the end of the month to get their aircraft in for annuals, to get an extra month. I think you might need to inform them of these changes, because I know they will not want to incur any additional cost. Also, you and I know that there will be owners who just fly the aircraft out of annual to get it to a maintenance facility, I can hear it now, “it’s only out of annual by one day”. I can assure you that if someone gets caught flying their aircraft out of annual, they will probably be getting a phone call from an inspector.
I understand this is a big change, since the FSDO has always done this work for free; but the idea is that we are being freed up from behind our desks, to get out and perform more safety related task. Which most of us enjoy, I really don’t like sitting in my cube 10 hours a day. Contact your Congress person if you have any issues, I think they are the ones who directed this in the first place, but don’t quote me on that one."
Since forever until now, a ferry permit was a piece of paper which the FSDO issued from the confines of their comfortable office. The A&Ps and IAs were trusted to accomplish the required inspection for the airplane to be ferried for whatever purpose. That trust has been taken away. The A&Ps and IAs are no longer capable of performing their licensed responsibilities without the oversight of a DAR. Can you imagine the unnecessary cost involved to transport the DAR in order to have a wrecked airplane inspected in some remote location? The FAA is squeezing us.
I have informed my PMI what I think about this. He has not responded, which is not unusual for him.
"I wanted to give you a heads up to some changes happening at the FSDO. In the very near future, ALL SFP’s and air worthiness certificate replacements will be issued by the 2 DAR-T’s in our area. ********** in Plymouth and ************ in New Bedford. The FSDO will no longer be performing that task. We are in the process of updating our website to reflect those changes, I have attached the contact info for all our designees.
This is being directed from headquarters; we are being instructed to make the utmost use of our designees. To that end, we are also looking into granting the DAR-T’s the ability to perform field approvals. This process is ongoing and may take a while to get all the requirements that they have to meet in place.
As you know they do charge a fee for their services, the FAA has nothing to do with setting that fee, or regulating it. We do not even know what they charge, nor do I care to know. I know from my days in GA, many owners wait until the end of the month to get their aircraft in for annuals, to get an extra month. I think you might need to inform them of these changes, because I know they will not want to incur any additional cost. Also, you and I know that there will be owners who just fly the aircraft out of annual to get it to a maintenance facility, I can hear it now, “it’s only out of annual by one day”. I can assure you that if someone gets caught flying their aircraft out of annual, they will probably be getting a phone call from an inspector.
I understand this is a big change, since the FSDO has always done this work for free; but the idea is that we are being freed up from behind our desks, to get out and perform more safety related task. Which most of us enjoy, I really don’t like sitting in my cube 10 hours a day. Contact your Congress person if you have any issues, I think they are the ones who directed this in the first place, but don’t quote me on that one."
Since forever until now, a ferry permit was a piece of paper which the FSDO issued from the confines of their comfortable office. The A&Ps and IAs were trusted to accomplish the required inspection for the airplane to be ferried for whatever purpose. That trust has been taken away. The A&Ps and IAs are no longer capable of performing their licensed responsibilities without the oversight of a DAR. Can you imagine the unnecessary cost involved to transport the DAR in order to have a wrecked airplane inspected in some remote location? The FAA is squeezing us.
I have informed my PMI what I think about this. He has not responded, which is not unusual for him.