07

The aircraft: condition, maintenance, and preflight programs

Chapter 2 covered the preflight duty at a glance; this chapter turns that duty into a program — what “condition for safe operation” demands, the § 107.49 preflight item by item, and how a documented maintenance practice keeps an aircraft airworthy, drawing on the FAA’s own guidance for the how.

In this chapter

• +What “condition for safe operation” means under § 107.15 — the duty to check before every flight and to stop flying the moment the aircraft is no longer safe
• +The § 107.49 preflight assessment and inspection, turned into a repeatable routine covering the operating environment, control links, power, and payload
• +How to build a documented maintenance program — scheduled versus unscheduled work, recordkeeping, and when a defect grounds the aircraft — following FAA guidance