Ownership

My recent columns about reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) have elicited some interesting questions from readers. Here are some questions I’ve been asked, along with my answers. Quarter-Century-Old Engines? Mike:I read with very great interest your latest article regarding operating engines beyond the recommended TBO. My personal observation is that many engines are needlessly overhauled way too […]

This article originally appeared in Light Plane Maintenance, Mar. 2005. Elbow grease, grease the skids, greasy kid’s stuff; grease makes the world go ’round — literally. The earliest forms of grease were various and sundry animal extrusions and leftovers.Today still, numerous organically based greases give excellent service — although their origins are more from lithium […]

For three decades, the airlines and military have been using the principles of reliability-centered maintenance to achieve drastic reductions in maintenance cost while actually improving reliability (discussed in last month’s column). The lion’s share of this improvement in maintenance cost-effectiveness has come from a major shift away from fixed overhaul, replacement or retirement intervals towards […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Consumer, Aug. 2005. For most aircraft owners, dealings with insurance companies will be limited to shopping rates and paying premiums. Not many will file claims for a damaged airplane. But if the worst does happen, does the insurance company hold the upper hand?Generally, yes. Insurers employ claims adjusters and […]

More than 30 years ago, in 1974, the U.S. Department of Defense commissioned United Airlines to prepare a report on the techniques used by the airline industry to develop cost-efficient maintenance programs for civil airliners. The resulting report, titled Reliability-Centered Maintenance (F. S. Nowlan & H. Heap, National Technical Information Service, 1978) described a radically […]

This article originally appeared in Light Plane Maintenance, Jan. 2005. This article will cover things that cause problems with propeller governor systems and how to diagnose them. Often, governor problems don’t give any warning until something obvious happens, such as the inability to hold selected RPM, the propeller surges or seeks an RPM, or is […]

As many of you know, I’ve owned, flown and maintained a Cessna T310R for the past 20 years, powered by a pair of Teledyne Continental Motors TSIO-520-BB engines. I’ve achieved remarkable longevity from the cylinders on these engines — 10 out of 12 are still originals with more than 4000 hours in service so far.But […]

By now, I suspect most AVweb readers know that I am a strong advocate of overhauling piston aircraft engines “on condition” rather than “on time.” I have always considered it both irrational and uneconomical to tear down an otherwise healthy engine just because it has attained some arbitrary number of hours or years in service.In […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Consumer, May 2005. We like to think we remain instantly abreast of every important development in general aviation and now we’re in possession of a scientific discovery only we can reveal to the world: If you want your phone to ring off the hook, your fax machine to choke […]

Recently, I heard from an aircraft owner who had just discovered something worrisome during an owner-assisted annual: Great questions!Let me start by saying that this owner was wise to ask for a second opinion at this point. That’s always a smart move any time you have a question or concern about the advice you’re getting, […]