Many pilots aspire to fly bigger, faster, and more complex aircraft than where they currently are. It's this "always forward" attitude that pushes pilots to the next level of aviation. Does this same attitude apply in maintenance? If so, such things as opening a maintenance shop are the first step. This is equivocal to a private pilot's license. For some this is all they want, for others this is just the beginning. Such is true in aviation maintenance. The maintenance shop, for many, is just the first step. This is followed possibly by becoming a repair station, upgrading to being able to do overhauls, or possibly becoming a service center for a manufacturer. One possible step is opening your maintenance facility to handle 135 charter aircraft.
135 charter aircraft is often times a way that smaller maintenance facilities use to increase business. What this means is that they work on aircraft that fly charter operations, regulated under FAR (federal aviation regulation) 135. This regulation and all FARs can be found under CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) chapter 14. So what does 135 mean? Why is it different from all other GA (general aviation) aircraft? Well, first of all these are general aviation aircraft, used as on-demand charter aircraft. Since these aircraft are used for hire on-demand they are regulated differently than the aircraft that are not for hire; those aircraft are regulated under FAR 91. As such they also contain different maintenance requirements than part 91 aircraft. This paper is an outline of some of the major differences between the two types. .
If you are operating an aircraft for hire under the operational rule FAR 135, you are required to provide the FAA an adequate maintenance program for each aircraft on your certificate during the application process. For aircraft certified to carry less than 10 passengers, the FAA has historically allowed the use of the aircraft manufacturers" recommended maintenance program to meet the requirements of FAR 135 (Hertzler, 1998).
