Ownership

You know me. I’m the “To TBO and Beyond” guy. I believe in running engines as long as they’re demonstrably healthy, even if that means going beyond the manufacturer’s recommended TBO. Nothing disturbs me more than when I hear about owners who are talked into tearing down an engine that’s running just fine (or talk […]

The FAA held its second public “summit meeting” about aging GA airplanes on March 22-23, 2006. More than 170 representatives of government, industry, owner groups and type clubs packed the meeting room in Kansas City to listen to what the FAA had to say on the subject, and to present their views and ideas to […]

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that aircraft engines are often not the cleanest things in the world, especially when compared to a typical auto of today. Loose engine-fit tolerances, the use of leaded fuels, substantially higher constant power levels and designs optimized for power rather than cleanliness tend to make oil staining and leaks […]

This much I know: Sun ‘n Fun is my first big airshow of the season and every year manages to put a new spring into my aeronautical step. Like many pilots, I emerge from the doldrums of winter ready to see lines of new airplanes, scads of new products and shiny faces everywhere. Where Oshkosh […]

If every one of our landings were a perfect “grease job” where the mains kiss the runway at an infinitesimally small descent rate — and if every runway we land on were a perfectly smooth surface without any bumps or potholes — then the landing gear on our airplanes could be dead simple. Wheel assemblies […]

It used to be that a bucket of soap — any soap — and a rag was all you needed to clean anything. That same bucket of soap, it turns out, could be the worst thing you can use on your airplane (or your modern auto for that matter).Why are airplanes so different? There are […]

CLICK ANY IMAGE FOR A LARGER VERSION Diamond offers the most complete line of modern general aviation aircraft. Clockwise: D-JET, DA40-FP, DA20, DA40-180, DA42. After a series of high speed taxi and rotation tests, Diamonds D-JET S/N 001, lifted off at 17:08 on Tuesday April 18th, 2006. The test was conducted from the London International […]

Picture this: You’re away from home base when your airplane develops a minor problem. You ask the local repair shop to fix it. After working on the problem for a few hours, the shop reports back that it will take much longer to fix than you anticipated, and cost a lot more than you were […]

Galaxy Quest is truly one of my favorite movies, a splendid yet warm-hearted send-up of every schlocky sci-fi series you’ve ever seen. In it, we learn that the crew’s motto — “Never give up, never surrender” — begins its bane but concludes its savior.Recently, this phrase has been threading through my gray matter like some […]

Sometimes I just can’t fathom what makes aircraft owners do some of the things they do. Particularly amazing to me are some of the mechanical problems that aircraft owners elect to live with rather than fix.Now I’m just as averse to spending money as the next guy (and probably more than most). In fact, I’ve […]