Chester County Aviation — Local services in Valley Township

I flew over to KMQS to practice some ILS approaches and holds. After landing and taking off for another approach the oil pressure was reading 22 psi at full power. I immediately returned to the airport. The pressure was reading 10 psi at idle and I shut down the engine. My A&P back at home base thought the problem was a stuck oil relief valve. I asked the A&P at CCA if he would have a look and maybe just tighten up the spring tension on the relief valve to see if that would get the pressure in the green and get me home. When he tried to loosen the lock nut to turn the shaft on the valve, the entire cap rotated slightly but was retained by the safety wiring. The relief cap was removed from the case to inspect and adjust the shaft. The valve cap threads were undamaged when removed. After the shaft tension was adjusted, the valve assembly was reinstalled by the A&P’s assistant. I watched as the assistant although finger turning the valve cap was using a wrench to finish tightening the cap and must have rotated the cap 2 or 3 times to complete. I asked why it was so hard to get the cap to properly tighten. The senior A&P found that when he went to safety wire in the cap, the washer was lose. He decided to remove the cap to see what the problem was. Unlike the original removal which could be performed by hand, a wrench was required to torque out the part. Attached is a picture of the valve cap after it was removed the second time and the threads in the case. The owner of CCA, Ethan, claims that the threads in the case had been previously damaged and that is what caused the damage to the valve cap when it was reinstalled by the A&P’s assistant. Go figure, no damage coming out the first time, damage after reinstalling the cap. IMHO, assistant did not check to make sure threads were clean before reinstalling. I was charged $473 for a replacement valve cap since CCA claims it was not due to their negligence.

All along Ethan said “we’ll make it right”, he sure did! Thanks for the donut!

Would never deviate again to this place for mechanical issues!

Negative 5 stars...

I’m writing this review about my experience that I’ve had at Chester County aviation and while attending ground school, which is known as Abella Aviation. The flight Instructors and the ground school teachers are very knowledgeable very polite. They are willing to answer any questions and if you are having some type of problems with the curriculum, they are more than willing to help you and guide you to make everything much easier for you. I personally enjoy attending ground school at Chester County airport and Coatesville, Pennsylvania. My experience while attending ground school has turned out to be a very enriching and fulfilling experience. If there are people out there that are interested in a Aviation career I would highly suggest taking a good look at Chester County Aviation also Abella Aviation at Chester county airport also Chester County airport located in Coatesville. Pennsylvania is also a great place to book your next flight your next getaway your next vacation so keep that in mind when you think of Abella Aviation at Chester...

As a 35+ year pilot, CCA is my "go-to" place for single engine rental aircraft. I've flown with them since November 2009 and they have a wide variety of aircraft to choose from depending on your mission. In 2019, ownership changed hands and the level of detail in the business and the flight school has elevated even higher! Want a new sign off? They can do it! A new rating? They can do it! (I've done it!) This "can do" attitude can be felt throughout the building. There are several long term instructors on staff if you desire continuity, and also "new to CCA" instructors, should you be looking for variety in your training. This equates to lots of scheduling options. They've recently added Helicopter training and sales to the business portfolio! To add this to their already busy Maintenance Dept just shows you that they are the real deal in Aviation in the local area. Stop by sometime and see what I'm...