aviator1978 said:
Should I be concerned if the mechanic that did the annual only took 3 hours?
In a word, Yes!
When it comes to annuals you get what you pay for. A quickie cheap annual will miss items like light corrosion which are easially corectable now, but can be extreamly expensive 5 years from now. Also rember as the aircraft owner you are the one responsible for maintain that aircraft in an airworthy condition, NOT the Mechanic.
8-12 man hours is more reasonable timeframe for a well maintained simple aircraft like the C-172
Figure about 2-3 hours to remove all cowlings, inspection covers, seats, interior, ect.
Compression check, pitot static, oil change, ect, 2 hours.
Actuall inspection by the IA, 2 hours.
Write up of discrepencies 1 hour.
Replace all cowlings, seats, inspection plates, 2-3 hours.
By having some helpers you can squeze all this in inside of a day, but thats about the minimum.
This is a very good case for why I highley recomend "owner asisted annuals" The bulk of the work can be easilly done by the owner. IE: removing the cowling, inspection plates, ect. Then when the IA comes over to do the inspection, you can follow him and write his notes on a clipboard for him while you see all the things that need to be corected. Then you can help the A&P correct the discrepancies, and replace all those inspection covers.
The first time you do this you probably won't save any money since you will need plenty of help, but you will learn a lot about your airplane.
