Housekeeping: If you take your taxes to H&R Block, or you get your oil changed at Jiffy Lube, this article may not be for you.

Now imagine it is late March, well into springtime, and your accountant filed an extension for your S Corp or LLC, and you’re still working on putting your paperwork together for your individual income tax return. Of course, there is no extension for payment, but at least you can extend the filing of your tax return by six months. But, what about the annual that’s due on your airplane? Sure, one can get a ferry permit, but there are no extensions on aircraft annuals.

It seems like when it comes to the annual on your airplane, that same urgency doesn’t exist for you. There isn’t an “annual season”, so that care, diligence and availability isn’t always brought to the airplane maintenance practice. For instance, at your last annual did your IA send you a personalized reminder? Have you received an organizer or questionnaire to help you gather documents and identify any issues you’ve had with your airplane? Did you review what went into the annual, and identify if there were any areas of concern? Last, did you receive a letter letting you know what was done, what you should look for if there are problem areas, and an update to your life limited parts?

Well, you own an airplane and that’s a big deal. I acknowledge that money is very important to people, the health of their business, and for some it provides meaning in their life. However, airplanes are very dangerous. They can and do take lives quickly and abruptly. So, it is extremely important that diligence and care be placed on the airworthiness of your airplane. Much like one expects their CPA to be current on tax law and recent tax updates, an airplane owner should expect that their IA also stay abreast on current ADs affecting their airplane, and new service instructions concerning how the technician should perform various services on the airplane. In other words, much like having your taxes prepared, you should expect the same care and diligence be exercised during the annual review of your airplane’s condition.

Consider an airplane maintenance practice that follows standards and procedures like your CPA firm would. But before that, imagine flying away in an airplane that is fresh out of annual with a shiny detail job. Think about how you would want your airplane delivered to you, then picture a mint on the seat and a fresh cup of coffee in the cup holder.

My name is Brett Neal, airplane mechanic and certified public accountant, and with my team at High Velocity Aviation, we’re turning airplanes into meticulous, safe and airworthy machines, that pilots love to fly. I’ve been an airplane mechanic since 1999, a pilot since 2000 and while I am passionate about airplanes, I enjoy building strong bonds with airplane owners.

If you want to incrementally improve your “Annual” event, consider taking these 4 action steps to upgrading your experience:

• Review and complete a brief organizer to help you gather logbooks, AD compliance reports, and STC’s. Discuss any issues you’ve had or anticipate having, either in flight or on the ground. This will help jog your memory about important items on your airplane. If you have a squawk list, now is the time to share it.
• Book your appointment well in advance. Understand that much like any good tax practice, an airplane maintenance facility works directly with its core customers, and it has limited time for each patron to receive the service they deserve.
• Read and understand your engagement letter, and be clear on what, and maybe most importantly, what will-not be performed during the inspection or service. The minimum requirements of AC43.13D do not include service. Hence, your mechanic may or may not be greasing your wheel bearings. Have your checked?
• Last welcome to the cloud. Use a cloud document storage solution so that you can use to access your airplane’s records at any time. You will receive a cloud portal for which to access and share pertinent documents like photos of your logbooks, your most recent maintenance logbook entries, a reference to your STCs, ADs, and all other pertinent service data. Did we just increase the sales value of your airplane? I think so.

Get to it. Make your life easier by teaming up with a maintenance practice that understands that customers and airplane owners, like yourself, deserve excellent service. Get your books straightened out, manage your maintenance efficiently, improve the safety and reliability of your flight time, and increase the sales value of your airplane.

Like a good relationship between an accountant and their clients, an airplane owner can benefit by building a relationship with an airplane maintenance practice that serves their clients like a high-end CPA firm. Through consistency and repetition, problems areas can be found and resolved quicker, long-term maintenance costs will be less, and airplane down time can be significantly reduced.

Happy Airplane Annual Season!