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RECIP TECHNOLOGY accomplished by versatility. The majority of the aircraft maintained by these general aviation maintenance facilities are FAR Part 91 aircraft. They are privately owned by individuals who use them for their personal use. These aircraft have all the same needs as the ones used in commercial and corporate aviation but there are few FBOs that have the ability to meet all of their needs in one place. It is not convenient or costeffective to have to take your aircraft to one facility to have an inspection done, another facility to have paint work done, another to have sheet metal work done, and another to have avionics work done, etc. Therefore, the more capability that you have at your FBO, the better your chances of being able to keep your customers satisfied. This does, however, create a number of challenges. The largest challenge for the typical FBO today is finding and keeping qualified mechanics. Good qualified A&P; mechanics seem to be a dying breed these days. It has often been said that an A&P; license is nothing more than a license to learn, and it has been my experience that this is only becoming more evident as time goes on. It seems that if you hire an A&P; straight out of school, they generally have little or no experience and therefore there is a significant learning curve that has to take place before they are very productive. On the other hand, in most of the aviation maintenance facilities across the country everything is specialized. In other words, you have sheet metal technicians, electricians, an avionics shop, hydraulics shop, etc. All of these guys are considered good qualified A&P; mechanics, but as an FBO owner who wants to have the versatility to provide all of these services to customers in one place, an A&P; who can only trouble shoot and work on hydraulic systems doesn't possess the training necessary to be a valuable asset to the success of the business. Another significant challenge to the FBO today is the state of the economy. As mentioned earlier, most of the aircraft maintained at these facilities are for personal use, and that being the case, when the economy turns south so does the business for the FBO. It is not cheap to own, maintain, or operate an aircraft of any type and so when finances become limited the first thing to go is the items of convenience or pleasure. The NEW Hawkeye Video Borescope! ® Bright, High-Res Video & Photos Large Range-of-Focus Quality Construction 4-Way Articulation 4 & 6 mm Diameters Starting at only $8,995 VIDEO BORESCOPES Hawkeye ® Video Borescopes We've improved the image quality in the new Hawkeye® V2 with a higher resolution, more light sensitive camera, delivering bright, crisp, clear images! The new 5" LCD Monitor provides comfortable viewing, and intuitive, easyto-use controls, allow photo and video capture at the touch of a button! We've increased the 4-way articulation range, and improved the feel. It's still small, lightweight, portable, delivers great image quality, and is priced starting at only $8995. Available in 4 and 6 mm diameters. Optional 90° Prism, and Close-Focus, adapter tips available. Made in USA. gradientlens.com/V2 800.536.0790 AviationPros.com/company/10136580 www.AMTSociety.org • www.AviationPros.com • Aircraft Maintenance Technology November/December 2013 33