Log an oil change

Every oil change goes in the aircraft’s oil history, with the hobbs reading it was done at. If the aircraft has an oil change interval, RampMates counts the hours since the last change and opens a squawk when the next one is coming up.

Log an oil change

1. In the sidebar, open Maintenance, then Oil. On a phone, press More, then Maintenance, then Oil.
2. Check Hobbs at change. It starts at the aircraft’s current hobbs; change it if the oil was changed earlier.
3. Set Date performed.
4. Check Oil type – it starts as the oil used last time, and it’s required. The buttons above it offer the oils used recently (the last one is marked Last used) and the hangar’s oil supplies; press one, or press Other… and type a different one.
5. Add Notes if there’s anything to record, such as what the filter showed.
6. Press Log oil change.

Logging an oil change starts a new interval, and closes any open oil squawk RampMates opened – whichever way you log it.

You can also log it from Log maintenance by choosing Oil change – it’s the same record.

Anyone with access to the aircraft can log an oil change: pilots, mechanics and admins.

Read the status

At the top of Oil changes is how many hours the oil has run since last change, against the interval, marked due soon or overdue when it is. Under History, each change shows how long the oil before it ran (Ran … hrs on the previous oil).

The dashboard’s Oil change card shows the same count as hours left (or hours overdue).

Correct or delete an oil change

A mistyped hobbs reading moves the whole count, so fix the entry rather than logging another one on top of it.

1. Open Oil changes and find the entry under History.
2. Press Edit, fix the Hobbs at change, Date, Oil type or Notes, and press Save correction – or press Delete, then Delete again to confirm (Keep it backs out).

Deleting an entry also deletes its photos, and the count is worked out from the oil change before it. A mechanic or an admin can change any entry; a pilot can change only the ones they logged.

An entry can’t be moved to another aircraft. If it was logged on the wrong one, delete it and log it again on the right aircraft.

After a correction or a delete, RampMates rechecks the oil squawks straight away rather than waiting for the next flight:

• If the oil is no longer overdue, it closes the Oil change due squawk, and if more than 5 hours now remain, the Oil change coming up squawk too. Each closes with a note that the oil change history was corrected or an entry was removed.
• If the change makes the oil due – deleting the entry that started the current interval, say – the squawk opens now, with its notification, just as it would after a flight.

The oil reminder and the automatic squawk

When an aircraft has an oil change interval, RampMates checks it every time a flight on that aircraft is logged or closed:

• When 5 hours or fewer remain, it opens an Oil change coming up squawk marked Pending.
• When the interval runs out, it closes that squawk and opens an Oil change due squawk marked As soon as able. An overdue oil change doesn’t show the aircraft as grounded.

Each squawk opens once per interval, and its text keeps the hours up to date after every flight. Each one also sends a Maintenance and inspections notification to everyone with access to the aircraft.

To clear it, log the oil change as above. You can also press Log oil change & resolve on the squawk itself – see Report and resolve squawks.

Turning the reminder on

A hangar admin sets Oil change interval · hours in the aircraft’s settings (see Aircraft settings). Leave it blank and there are no reminders.

RampMates counts from the most recent oil change on record. With none, it counts from zero hobbs – so the first flight after setting an interval can open an Oil change due squawk straight away. Log the aircraft’s last real oil change first.

On a phone

Oil changes opens as a full page, with Back at the top.

If something goes wrong

The status says overdue right after an oil change – check the Hobbs at change you entered. RampMates measures from the change with the highest hobbs reading, so one entered with too low a reading doesn’t reset the count. Press Edit on that entry and correct it.

There’s no Edit or Delete on an entry – a pilot can change only the entries they logged. Ask the person who logged it, a mechanic, or a hangar admin.

There’s no status at the top of the screen, and the dashboard says “Alerting isn’t configured.” – the aircraft has no oil change interval. A hangar admin can press Set an interval on that card, or set it in the aircraft’s settings.