Pilot Partner has released the Free Aircraft Maintenance Tracker feature inside of it Pilot Logbook application. This is a great tool for an Aircraft Owner, Flying Club or Flight School to keep track of the Maintenance and Inspection status of their aircraft. Using the Aircraft Setup wizard you can enter all of the required information to get an accurate status of your aircraft in relation to the required inspections.
And this is a Free to Use for All of your Aircraft!
Through a graphical display, you can see when your Next Annual Inspection is due, how many hours are on your engine and each cylinder plus track any other item you want. You can even load any reoccurring Airworthiness Directives into the Maintenance Tracker and and never be caught by surprise when something is due.
Get started at: https://pilotpartner.net
MX Tracker Overview
With the Maintenance Tracker you can easily see how many days and/or flying hours are left before an inspection is due.
Color Codes
Pilot Partner will color code items Green, Yellow & Red.
Red is Expired
Yellow is 25% remaining or lower.
Green is above 25%
Meters
Meters is Pilot Partner’s way of allowing you to track the different tools you use to track flight time in an aircraft.
Single Engine Aircraft
Typically aircraft have either Tachometers or Hobbs meters. Most Single Engine aircraft have a Tach and a Hobbs (although some don’t have a hobbs). And Tach is used to determine when Maintenance is due and how many total flight hours your engine or air-frame have.
Multi Engine Aircraft
Most multi engine aircraft have a Hobbs Meter to track total time on the air-frame and a Tach to track time on each engine. But it is also common for a Multi-Engine aircraft to only have a Hobbs meter.
Either way you can program in what you have into your aircraft and track your Maintenance the way you want to.
Inspections
The Inspection portion of the Maintenance Tracker is designed to track inspections such as: Annual Inspection, 100 Hour, Oil Change, ELT Test and Pitot Static Checks. But you are able to add any additional items that you want to track. Whether it is a recurring Airworthiness Directives, or other elective inspections, you can track it easily.
Example Engine Oil InspectionInspections can be calendar based, flight hour based or both. For example, most engine manufactures recommend you change your oil every 50 hours or 4 months. Pilot Partner will track your status along both timelines at the same time.
Equipment
Equipment tracking is great for monitoring Time Between Overhauls (TBO) of your engine and other components in your aircraft. Pilot Partner will allow you to track the time on each of your cylinders so that there is never a mystery of how many hours are on which cylinder. This may help you decided between that next Top Overhaul or just replacing a single cylinder when you get a low compression check.
Pilot Partner will help you track how old original equipment is and how much time and flight hours are on it it since last overhaul. For example, it is common to overhaul and engine instead of buying a new one. But after the same engine has been overhauled several times, you may want to consider an entirely new engine.
Star Rating: Equipment Condition
As many mechanics will tell you, tracking when to actually overhaul your engine solely based on engine time or calendar time is not always the best method. Instead track it on condition. Using the Pilot Partner Star Rating system you can enter the current condition of your equipment based on the feedback of your mechanics. This is tracked on a 1-10 scale.
Although this is a subjective (and optional, and defiantly not official) measurement, you can see how your mechanic thinks your engine’s current status rates compared to how many hours or calendar months are on it. If you you’ve only flown your engine for 400 hours and you mechanic thinks one of your cylinders is getting low on compression and rates it a 4 of 10 stars. You can easily see that your cylinder may not make it until overhaul and start budgeting for a new cylinder now.
Aircraft Setup Wizard
Getting started is easy with the Pilot Partner Aircraft Setup Wizard. This wizard will walk you through entering all of the required information to accurately tell you where you aircraft currently stands.
In order to make the most efficient use of the wizard, be sure to have your aircraft maintenance logbooks with you when you get started. You will need to know both the Date and the time on the Tach/Hobbs for:
- Last Annual Inspection:
- 100 Hour Inspection (If you are required to)
- Oil Change
- ELT Test
- Pitot Static Check
- Transponder / IFR Certification
And know when the following items where first installed (Date and Hobbs/Tach) and when they were last overhauled (Hobbs/Tach):
- Engine
- Each Cylinder
- Left Mag
- Right Mag
- Propeller
Plus you will need to know the Current Hobbs & Tach Time for your aircraft.
Logging Time
In order for Pilot Partner to correctly report how many hours are left until your next TBO or Inspection interval, you will need to enter your Hobbs/Tach time on a regular basis. This can be done on any schedule that you find is right for you. Perhaps once a month or once every couple of months.
When you have an inspection performed, it is important that you log the Hobbs/Tach time of when the inspection was performed and check off the inspection in the Meter Wizard. For example, when your Annual Inspection is complete, make an entry with the Hobbs & Tach time and the Date of your Annual Inspection, and it will reset the Inspection Items for you.
Create a Fleet of Aircraft
If you have multiple aircraft in a Flying Club or Flight School, you can add them all to a single Pilot Partner Fleet. A Fleet is a collection of aircraft that can be accessed together.
Inviting Pilots
You can invite other Pilots to join your Fleet and view and edit the inspection details for your aircraft. You do not need to have an active Pilot Partner Pilot Logbook Subscription in order to access the fleet, although when you invite a new pilot to your fleet they will be given a 60 Day Free Trial. Should they end up purchasing a subscription, you will receive the 6 month bonus subscription on your Pilot Partner Account.
Pilot Permissions
When a pilot is invited to join your fleet you can set their permissions to:
Member – They will be able to View the Maintenance Tracker and Add/Edit Inspections and enter Hobbs/Tach Time.
Read Only – They will be able to view the Maintenance Tracker but not make any changes
Admin – Same as member, but will also be able to see the other members in the Fleet and Invite new Members.
Free Feature
This feature of Pilot Partner is Free to All Pilots and all Fleets of Aircraft. Even if you do not use the Pilot Partner Electronic Pilot Logbook, you can use this feature for Free.
In the future we will be adding new features to the Pilot Partner Fleet Management system. Features like: Scheduling, Detailed Maintenance Log Tracking, Invoicing, and more. When we do, those features will be available for a subscription fee. But the basic Maintenance Tracker is free for all to use.
How to Get Started
- Create an Account at: https://pilotpartner.net
- Add an Aircraft to your Aircraft List
- View the Aircraft & Click “Track MX“
- Create a New Fleet
- Click on the Aircraft in the list
- You will automatically be prompted to run the Aircraft Steup Wizard