Pilot Owner Maintenance

Pilot Owner Maintenance is a process detailed within Part ML (the maintenance rules applicable to Part 21 sailplanes) within which pilot owners are entitled to carry out and release (i.e. certify) limited maintenance tasks on their aircraft.

The Requirements

Anyone carrying out pilot owner maintenance must be aware of the following:

The legal requirement is detailed here in Part ML MLA.803.

The limitation detail is described in Part ML Appendix II here.

The tasks that may not be released (i.e. certified) by a pilot owner are described in Part ML Appendix III here.

Most pilot owners like to understand what may be released (i.e. certified) by a pilot owner. Although Part ML does not describe that detail, Part M does. Tasks that may be released (i.e. certified by a pilot owner) are described in Part M AMC to Appendix VIII here.

The ‘Pilot-owner maintenance tasks for sailplanes and powered sailplanes’ from that AMC are republished below.

Code: SP = Sailplane SSPS = Self sustaining powered sailplane SLPS / TM = Self launching powered sailplane / TMG

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Refer also to CS-STAN, which describes several change certification standards that may not require release by an inspector. If in doubt, please refer to an experienced BGA inspector.