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General Aviation News

Seize the sky

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On most mornings throughout the year, commuters driving along Interstate 4 through central Florida are treated to the elegantly bouyant eye candy of a low-speed airshow. Hot air balloons dot the skies for miles, drifting on light winds, and bringing joy to passengers and observers alike.

It’s perfectly natural to be attracted to the sight of a ballon in flight. The original manned flying machine is slow, sluggish, not particularly maneuverable, and brilliant. Kudos to those who fly them and entertain the rest of us in the process.

I’m an airplane guy. Fixed wings are my thing. Over the course of my career I’ve had the chance to fly high wings and low wings, biplanes and monoplanes, pushers and tractors, seaplanes and land planes, single engine and multi-engine machines. I’ve been lucky. [Read more…]

Avoid regrets. Live big. Live now.

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While wandering the streets of Manhattan recently it occurred to me that historic events have occurred on almost every street in that megalopolis.

In the 1980s, I lived just off Washington Square Park on Bleecker Street. There in the shadow of New York University (NYU) is a broad open space that hosts chess players, musicians, acrobats, curious tourists, and several thousand dead bodies. [Read more…]

Three things no pilot wants to hear

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Pilots have many popular sayings we share among ourselves and with others.

They result from a desire to impress non-pilots with our “daredevil” spirit and how we “conquer” the mystique of flying, sprinkled with a certain fatalism.

I’m thinking of things like, “The only time you can have too much fuel is when you’re on fire,” or “Any landing you can use the airplane again is a great one.”

As if airplanes catch fire all the time or the outcome of my landings always is in doubt. Okay, maybe the last one has some merit. [Read more…]

Invasion of the Titan

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In my many years in aviation, I’ve learned this about light aviation pilots: If 80-horsepower is good, then 100-horsepower is better, and even more is best of all.

It explains why interest was so high when Rotax announced its new 915iS that will provide 135 horsepower. It also illustrates why the 180 horses of the Titan X-340 is succeeding in the Light-Sport industry. [Read more…]

Video: Greg Koontz’s crazy flying act in a Titan Legend

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No, he’s not going to fly into the hangar… you hope, but Greg Koontz’s airshow act keeps you wondering.

Probably you’ve seen an act like this before. A crazy-acting farmer or a supposed drunk hops into a Piper Cub or similar aircraft after the regular pilot leaves it unattended for a few minutes. The crazy guy has no flying experience but somehow proceeds to start up the airplane and to take off in the most out-of-control manner imaginable.

As he erratically careens around the sky, handling the aircraft wickedly out of control, he nearly hits the ground over and over. The entire act takes place within a couple hundred feet of a hard-as-concrete surface. To top it off? He lands on a pickup truck.

Even though it’s only an act and even if the pilot is actually a gifted aviator, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and fear that nutjob is going to whack the airplane into the ground right in front of the airshow crowd watching in fascination. [Read more…]

I’m a pilot, not an airman

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The FAA should have titled the Practical Test Standards (PTS) replacement Pilot Certification Standards, not Airman Certification Standards (ACS).

Regardless what you think of the new standards for awarding (or earning) a pilot — see there it is — certificate, the title is wrong. [Read more…]

Is there a gentle way to determine the condition of this engine?

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Q: Last year our club bought a PA-25 tow plane. It has a Lycoming O-540 G1A5 260-hp engine. We bought it with 100 hours after overhaul and flew it 95 hours, so total 195 hours after overhaul. Now the annual inspection revealed a massive contamination of the oil filter with shiny non-magnetic particles. Also some soft sealant
particles (rubber or silicone) are present (See photo below). [Read more…]

Taking a break from the regular routine

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Typically, I write this column from an office in my home.

My writing space used to be a single-car garage. But since single-car garages are generally too narrow and shallow to actually park a car in them, I converted mine into two rooms. The larger of the two is my office. The other is a laundry room.

You see, anything can be converted, rearranged, redesigned, or repaired. Anything.

Even a single-car garage can be reborn as something new, more practical, and genuinely useful.

So can you. So can anyone, frankly. You just have to make a break from the regular routine. [Read more…]

What is the proper procedure to break in my engine?

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Q: What is the proper procedure to break in an IO-540-AB1A5 that I own on a 1998 C182S?

We pulled and replaced the compression and oil control rings on cylinders 2 and 4. The rest of the cylinders were untouched.

Where can I find Lycoming recommendations for a replacement of rings like we are about to complete? I do not have an engine owners manual, nor does my A&P mechanic. [Read more…]