The GA Maintenance Crisis, With Paul New

By John Zimmerman
Aug 11, 2026
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Pilot's Discretion Podcast, episode 136

The pilot shortage gets a lot of headlines, but longtime A&P/IA Paul New says the shortage of mechanics is much more serious. He explains the causes, what owners can do to work productively with their A&P, and how pilots can take advantage of modern engine monitors to save money. Paul is also a very experienced pilot, so he shares lessons he’s learned from countless post-maintenance flights, including what to watch on the takeoff roll. In the Ready to Copy segment, you’ll learn how to write a good squawk, Paul’s favorite Cessna, and his advice for new mechanics.

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Quotes:

The scale of the mechanic shortage: “if you're flying a general aviation airplane, you have a problem with a mechanic… Your mechanic's about to retire. Your mechanic just did retire.”
How to address the problem: “it's a cultural thing. I don't think it's an FAA thing—you can't regulate more people into the industry.”
What owners should do: “You have to get involved in your maintenance.”
The causes: “in the GA world, I think we have a problem of every other part of aviation is sucking mechanics away from us as well as auto mechanics and everything else.”
Using modern engine monitors: “the engine monitor is truly a great thing. One of the problems I see with it is that the vast majority of people have no idea what to do with it.”
What to look for on a mag check: “I really don't want people to pay so much attention to the RPM. I want them to watch EGTs.”
Reliability-centered maintenance: “we have to have tools to monitor the condition of whatever it is that we're using. And the tools that we use to monitor need to not be invasive.”
Why maintenance can cause problems: “the objective is to keep tools away from the engine. Because something as simple as replacing any part… there's the opportunity to have a problem.”
The right mindset for test flights: “when I take off post maintenance, I'm expecting something to go wrong.”
Why logbooks matter: “You always want to read your log entries. That is your mechanic’s communication to you. If it isn't in the log entry, it didn't happen.”
Cabin-class Cessna twins: “Buying a twin Cessna is easy. It's owning it that's gonna eat you up. And so whatever you figured out, multiply it by two.”
Advice for new mechanics: “Be sure that you love it. If you're going to be in the GA world, there's always going to be somebody telling you that the grass on the other side is greener.”