Maintenance

Throughout my flying career, I’ve occasionally run into what I might generously call the Marlboro Man of aviation. That should probably be the plural form, men, because there’s more than just a small handful of these guys. You know the type. It’s the guy who has no use for any kind of regulation, even if […]

Batteries are often crippled from the outset-that may be a bit of hyperbole, but it may be other causes than the battery maker responsible for problems with short lived or early failed batteries, especially with flooded cells. Look at the battery maker requirements for activation of a dry-charged battery as well as elements that an […]

With refurbs gaining momentum, we’re seeing more restoration of modest airplanes, especially Cessna 150s, which are among the most economical airplanes to own and fly. Don Toy of Homestead, Iowa, recently sent us this report on his refurb. “Here is my project of the last year. I boughta 1966 Cessna 150F model of a friend […]

When looking at the Piper Lance/Saratoga, it’s important to remember that all airplanes are compromises. Since most of us lack an unlimited budget, we’re often forced to choose between going fast in a relatively small cockpit or dragging around a larger cabin more slowly. It’s simple, really: The “go-fast” airplane will get us to our […]

In a growing market of ADS-B solutions, Avidyne Corporation has announced the MLB100ADS-B traffic and flight information system-an ADS-B solution designed for interface with the company’s recently certified IFD540 slide-in GPS navigator. The single-box MLB100, which is priced at $2495, is a 978MHz datalink receiver that offers full ADS-B traffic input capability when interfaced with […]

Last month, I spent a solid week on the phone talking to flight schools about their operations, their marketing and, especially AOPA’s idea to refurbish older Cessna150s and 152s and feed them into the training and flying club market. While they were intrigued by the idea, almost all of the schools were put off by […]

There’s nothing quite like the Grumman Tiger. On not much gas, the airplane is moderately fast, fun to fly and has that sporty canopy, which can be opened in flight.Our Refurb of the Month is Paul Curs’ 1977 AA5B. Here’s his report. “She started out in 1977 as N81169 and had three previous owners – […]

Continental Motors Services (CMS)-a division of Continental Motors Group-announcedThursday (PDF) that it has entered into an agreement with Aircraft Specialties Lubricants (ASL) to jointly evaluate the claimed benefits of ASLs CamGuard, an aviation oil additive. The evaluation program will be on engines overhauled or repaired by CMS (formerly Mattituck) to demonstrate merits of pairing the […]

A new Airworthiness Directive (AD) will require initial and repetitive borescope inspections of some 300 PT6A engines and potentially cost operators as much as $18,106,200. Following reports of compressor turbine (CT) blade failures causing engine power loss, the FAA issued an AD Wednesday that requires replacement of blades that fail inspection with a newly developed […]

To travel across the country buying gasoline is to be alternately amused, infuriated and perplexed. And I’m not talking about the price, nor am I referring to avgas. Mogas is on my mind for today’s consideration. To get to AirVenture this year, Val and I did the trip by motorcycle, a big grand swing along […]