Chris Thelan
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I believe the way it is written, although not directly stated, an owner/builder is still able to work on their own airplane without restriction. The document does state that if you want anyone else to work on your aircraft they 1. Have to be an employee, 2. Cannot be an ‘independent’ mechanic. Implies that you must take it to a certificated repair station (Leading Edge) to have any work done.
Another point on this that is somewhat concerning. How do they intend to enforce this policy? Is every airplane with more than one occupant going to be stopped and questioned if there’s an independent CFI on board. Is every person turning a wrench on an airplane going to be stopped and asked who they work for?
I routinely use independent instructors and mechanics.
CFI’s I use are all very experienced in multiple types of aircraft including jets and airlines and have many years of real world experience outside of the training ‘bubble’ of Bend. The kind of training I need for BFR’s is highly aircraft specific (Cirrus) and is safety critical that the instructor knows the aircraft and its highly advanced avionics at least as much, but hopefully more than I do. This makes me a safer pilot and provides income opportunities for the instructors. I would not hire any CFI from one of the flight schools that has probably never flown further than Klamath Falls or Portland. I find that younger CFI’s coming out of larger programs tend to have a know-it-all attitude and have something to prove when flying outside of the ‘system’
As said, mechanics provide another set of eyes. Many independent mechanics are specialized in certain aircraft types, especially important for experimental’s and vintage aircraft. Current shops on the field are seeing a mechanic shortage and have a lot of mechanics in training that do not have a great wealth of knowledge or experience.