October Update: AD Tracking and Aircraft Insights

Much of the work this month went towards two new features: AD Tracking and (my favorite) Aircraft Insights. Both are in internal testing. Dual limit alerts (date or hours) and logbook improvements for multi-engine aircraft are in beta. First, three maintenance notices from the past month, then a quick overview of what’s new.

Before You Fly: Three Notices From the Past Month

• Fuel pumps: Hartzell Engine Tech’s Alert Service Bulletin 233 calls for a fuel leak inspection before the next flight on some Fuelcraft 200F, 201F, 202F, and 500F pumps placed in service from May 1, 2025 through May 1, 2026. HET pays for parts and up to $420 of labor per pump. Lycoming also published it as Service Bulletin 671A.
• Tecnam P2006T: a new FAA airworthiness directive calls for a one-time aileron hinge inspection within 25 flight hours or 30 days after October 13, 2026, on serial numbers 001 through 434 and 442.
• Lycoming O-320-H2AD and 360-E1A6D engines: Lycoming’s Service Bulletin 639A calls for a rocker arm inspection at the next oil change on engines shipped since June 2017 with less than 500 hours.

AD Tracking

BetterPlane has extracted ADs from your logbooks since the beginning. The missing piece was a way to track them as part of your aircraft. It’s been through multiple phases of planning and development, as we want to make sure this is reliable before it’s released to the public.

This system matches ADs based on your aircraft’s information, as well as the ADs mentioned in your logbooks. You can then work with your mechanic to determine which ADs apply to your aircraft and which don’t, and if any need to be addressed. Most owners rely on an AD list kept by their IA, who signs off on AD compliance. This new system aims to make that process easier.

Look for this feature once it makes its way through testing.

Aircraft Insights

A recheck your mechanic asked for three annuals ago is easy to miss in a logbook. Entries often list several jobs, and one meant for a future date or tach time can slip by. The goal of Aircraft Insights is to help you catch these missed items. The ability of the platform to do this well is one of the key missions of BetterPlane: “No missed maintenance.”

The new “Aircraft Insights” system creates a report on your aircraft from your scanned logbooks. It lists follow-ups your mechanic asked for, repeat jobs that don’t have an alert, and your installed equipment, frequently used parts, 337s, and ADs.

Now in internal testing.

Dual Limit Alerts

Many inspections come due at a date or an hours limit, whichever comes first. Until now, tracking both took two separate alerts.

Alerts now support both limits on one alert, such as “12 months or 100 hours”. The alert comes due at the limit you reach first. A new gauge shows how much is left on each limit for both date and hours. This was an improvement requested by several users, and is necessary for AD tracking, as many ADs are date- or hours-based.

Now in beta in 1.18.0.

Logs for Multi-Engine Aircraft

BetterPlane now has improved multi-engine aircraft support by letting you link each engine or propeller logbook to its component. Each engine then gets its own logbook row in the logbooks list. Older logbooks can be linked to their engines in one step. Propellers work the same way. If you don’t have engine or prop components, you can add them in the Overview card.

Now in beta in 1.19.0.

Byrd’s Backcountry Flight Festival

Last month we were proud to be a sponsor of Byrd’s Backcountry Flight Festival, September 23 to 27 near Ozark, Arkansas. We were really looking forward to going, but mechanical issues with our RV meant we had to miss it. A friend who made it sent us this photo of our sign on the sponsor row.

Thank you to the folks at Byrd’s and everyone who was able to make it out. We hope to see you there next year!

Fleet Watch: What Changed in the FAA Registry

Our aviation data project, The Small Planes, tracks the FAA Aircraft Registry snapshot by snapshot. These numbers cover September 11 to October 12.

What stands out this period:

• The Piper PA-28-181 Archer led every model with 36 new registrations. Thirty-five of them list Vero Beach, Florida, where Piper is headquartered, and none has an airworthiness date yet.
• Cessna added the most airframes, 85 across its two FAA manufacturer names, ahead of Cirrus (72) and Piper (69). Florida led the states with 74, then Minnesota (57) and Kansas (36).
• Grumman went the other way: 1 added and 12 removed. All 12 were G-164 Ag-Cats registered in Arkansas.
• Amateur-built aircraft made up 22% of the additions, down from 25% last period.
• The oldest aircraft back on the books is a 1946 Ercoupe 415-C, 80 years old.

Smaller Wins Last Month

• Document lists: Documents, folders, and page attachment lists load much faster.
• Weekly alerts: Alerts that repeat in weeks now complete correctly and set the correct next due date.
• Weak connections: The app handles a poor network connection better.
• PDF viewer: Selecting text from the toolbar no longer causes an error.
• Libraries: Updated libraries and stability fixes on both platforms.

Current Version: 1.17.10

The current public release is version 1.17.10 on iOS and Android. Version 1.19.0, with dual limit alerts and logbook improvements for multi-engine aircraft, is in beta now and headed to the stores next. Insights and AD tracking should roll out soon as well.

If you’ve been waiting to try BetterPlane, AD tracking and Insights both start from your scanned logbooks. Getting yours fully scanned in now means your aircraft will be ready when they arrive.