Event Details and Registration

Modern aircraft with layered avionics, hybrid cockpits, and independent logic paths rarely return to a known baseline following maintenance. Accident data show that configuration errors, not wear and tear, dominate modern post-maintenance events. The first flight should therefore be treated as a validation test flight, not a routine hop. Attendees will learn how subtle configuration errors appear, how to detect them early, and how to structure the first flight for safety margin. The session integrates NTSB and ASRS findings with Airman Certification Standards for Risk Management, Systems and Equipment, and Human Factors to build a practical, take-away recipe for safe validation flights.

Please visit the Orlando Executive Airport FAASTeam Library web site:

 https://www.fsr-inc.org/FAAST/Seminar/Notice.aspx

From Colonial Drive turn south on Rickenbacker Dr. Continue through the Fairgreen St intersection to the end of Rickenbacker Dr. and into the parking lot. Park in any available designated spot. Walk east to the Airport Administration Building.

Orlando Executive Airport (ORL)
365 Rickenbacker Dr.
Orlando, FL 32802

For additional and background information, please visit the Orlando Executive Airport FAASTeam Library web site: https://www.fsr-inc.org/FAAST/Seminar/Notice.aspx

Background

Modern general aviation aircraft rarely return from maintenance in a truly known configuration state. Layered avionics, hybrid cockpits, and independent logic paths mean that even routine service can alter how the airplane behaves—without leaving any obvious indication. Accident data confirms the trend: configuration errors now drive far more post maintenance events than traditional wear and tear failures.
For Part 91 pilots, especially those flying rental, club, or training aircraft, the most dangerous assumption is that “everything should be fine” after maintenance. The first flight is statistically one of the highest risk flights a pilot will make, not because of dramatic mechanical failures, but because of small, subtle discrepancies that appear only under load, interaction, or automation.
This seminar goes beyond legacy maintenance awareness. It reframes the first flight as an operational validation test flight and teaches pilots how to detect configuration state mismatches early—through control feel, trim behavior, system interaction, and automation response. We will examine how modern cues present, why they are easy to rationalize, and how structured post maintenance flight discipline prevents accidents.
Pilots will leave with a practical, take away recipe built from NTSB and ASRS findings and aligned with the Airman Certification Standards for Risk Management, Systems and Equipment, and Human Factors. The goal is simple: give experienced pilots a modern framework for recognizing when an airplane is not in the state they assume it is.
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Relevant ACS Elements
Private Pilot ACS
•    PA.I.D — Risk Management
•    PA.II — Preflight Procedures
•    PA.VIII — Emergency Operations
•    PA.IX — Systems and Equipment
Commercial Pilot ACS
•    CA.I.D — ADM and Professionalism
•    CA.II — Preflight Preparation
•    CA.VIII — Emergency Operations
•    CA.IX — Systems, Equipment, and Malfunctions
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Teaching Points

•    Why modern aircraft often return from maintenance in an Unknown Configuration State
•    How configuration drives in flight behavior in hybrid, software dependent cockpits
•    NTSB and ASRS patterns showing configuration state errors as dominant post maintenance hazards
•    How to perform a meaningful control and trim verification, not a checklist level check
•    Detecting subtle misconfiguration cues in trim, autopilot, flaps, and control surfaces
•    Recognizing digital to digital illusions and automation behavior that “looks normal but isn’t”
•    Identifying fuel system hazards and contamination traps in humid, high temperature environments
•    Verifying cowlings, fasteners, access panels, and hardware after maintenance
•    Understanding torque related risks (spark plugs, oil filters, prop bolts) and their early cues
•    How to structure a post maintenance validation test flight for margin and controlled expansion
•    When to reject the aircraft, discontinue the flight, and return it to maintenance
•    Best practices for documenting and communicating discrepancies as a Part 91 pilot

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Key Takeaways
Pilots will learn why maintenance can convert an aircraft to an Unknown Configuration, how configuration drives in flight behavior, and why small cues are often the only early indicators of a post maintenance discrepancy. The seminar emphasizes treating the first flight as a validation test flight rather than a routine departure, and teaches pilots to stop when aircraft behavior does not make sense. These principles form a practical, operational framework for preventing modern configuration state accidents. Pilots will walk away with a checklist recipe for advanced Preflight after maintenance.
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FAA References
•    Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA H 8083 3C) — Ch. 2, 8, 12
•    Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA H 8083 25C) — Ch. 7, 8
•    AC 43.13 1B — Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices
•    AC 90 89B — Amateur Built Aircraft Flight Testing (test flight discipline principles apply broadly)
•    AC 91 92 — Preflight Briefing
•    NTSB Maintenance Related Accident Reports (public database)
•    FAASTeam Maintenance Safety Resources (faasafety.gov)

Thanks to Lindsey Merced at the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) for use of their Administrative Offices, to Senior FAASTeam Rep David Conrad for registration and handouts, to FAASTeam Rep and WINGSPro Eric Mason, M.D., to FAASTeam Rep Steve Moore, to FAASTeam Rep and DronePro KC Sealock, to Obie Young, Florida Aviation Network, a FAASTeam Industry Member, and to John Tenney, FAASTeam Rep.