Maintenance

Inlet air filters are critical when it comes to keeping dust and dirt from entering the engine, but not all FAA-certified air filters are created equal. In this video, Larry Anglisano from Aviation Consumermagazine looks at three competing filters to see how they compare. view on YouTube

We get e-mail from readers who have had what they often prefer to call prop incidents as to possibly avoid the term prop-strike, and its frequent need for a recommended or mandatory engine tear down. In our response to readers we quote the latest manufacturer directives and FAA guidance, and add our perspectives and experience […]

The love-hate relationship between pilots/aircraft owners and mechanics/shops seems to wax and wane, depending on the person you spoke with last. The good news is that most of the time mechanics and pilots recognize that they depend on each other for their livelihood and existence. The bad news is that there are times that certain […]

Cessna 172s may be not be fast or sexy, but there are plenty of them out there and prices reflect that supply. There are also lots of aftermarket mods for these airplanes. Larry Gettleman of Louisville, Ky., put that to work in his refurb of this months Refurbished Aircraft the Month. I have owned this […]

Owners who fancy a little light aerobatics—or even semi-serious competition—might lust after a Pitts S1 or an Extra 300. But then reality sets in. Those airplanes require no small degree of skill to simply fly safely and that’s before we consider the insurance premiums. And that’s why so many owners inevitably gravitate toward the American […]

The last plane to undergo maintenance inside Boeing Wichitas facility, an E-4B, started its engines and took off Thursday. It flew to the south, then gracefully turned back north for a final goodbye pass before disappearing from sight. A fixture in Wichita, Kan., since 1927, Boeing once employed as many as 40,000 people there. It […]

That’s not a Beech, and it didn’t just roll off the line. It’s Joe Shepherd’s immaculately restored Lockheed 12A Electra Junior. We got story on this aircraft (and a good look at it) at Sun ‘n Fun 2014. Learn more here. view on YouTube

Thank goodness there are passionate and determined owners of vintage aircraft in this world. Due to people such as Joe Shepherd, the lives of we who are crazy about flying machines have been vastly enriched because we get to see the results of their passion fly rather than gather dust. Shepherd owns, and regularly operates, […]

We Americans like our stuff. We accumulate it madly and take it with us when we go places. We happily buy and jam our highways with SUVs, minivans and gigantic pickup trucks, each able to comfortably swallow several people and their stuff. Yet, when it comes to airplanes, it’s tough to fulfill the deep-seated desire […]

Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry officials are claiming that FAA employees and managers are in some cases imposing ad hoc rules on MRO companies. They claim the FAA officials are improperly using the FAAs internal online flight standards information management system (FSIMS), an electronic documentation system the agency adopted to replace the legacy inspectors […]