With EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 coming up soon, I’d like to take a moment to share some tips for how to troubleshoot any problem you may have with your aircraft.
Many aircraft owners look forward to the biggest aviation event of the year for the chance to discover new products for their airplanes or watch the air shows. Others use the event as a chance to get face to face with representatives of the companies that manufactured the many products on their airplane, including the engine.
I can’t recall how many AirVentures and SUN ’n FUNs I’ve attended, manning the Lycoming booth to answer technical questions. And it was something that I really enjoyed.
But through the years I noticed there’s a general feeling by members of the public that any person who works for a manufacturer knows all that there is to know about every product that company produces.
If it needs to be said out loud, let me say it: I can honestly tell you from my personal experience that it just isn’t so.
Now a factory representative may have knowledge about a product that a maintenance technician or repair facility may not be aware of simply because the factory does have the ability to collect a large amount of technical information from the field. We sometimes forget that the factory guy actually gets a lot of his information from those of you in the field who encounter various issues that come with engines and airframes that have been operating for an untold number of hours and years.
So when you decide to take a moment at the show and stop by the Lycoming exhibit (or any company that supplies parts for your airplane or flying) to seek assistance in troubleshooting a problem or just ask a simple question about your engine, come prepared.
What does that mean?
At Lycoming, for instance, there are somewhere near 60 different configurations of the O-320 engines. And that only includes engine models that have carburetors, not the 320 engines that use fuel injection.
So when asking about your 320 series engine, we must have more information to give you the right answer. For someone to just say “I have an O-320 engine,” that just doesn’t give us enough information because there are O-320-A, B, C, D, and H series 320 engines, which may be 140, 150, or 160 horsepower. That means the engine series suffix becomes important.
We understand that the O-320 is in the right church, but we need the suffix to make certain we get into the right pew.
Let me give you an actual experience that one of my colleagues had at one of the big shows many years ago. An aircraft owner and his wife approached our booth and asked my colleague what the part number was of the oil filter used on his engine. As you can imagine, this isn’t enough information to give an accurate answer.
When the customer was asked what model engine he had, this is where things started to go downhill. Instead of answering this simple question, he got indignant, arguing with my colleague. At one point he asked why Lycoming would “spend all this money to send someone to a show who came ill-prepared to answer customers’ questions?”
While trying to explain to the customer why more detailed information was needed to answer his question, the customer interrupted my colleague and said he was going to write a letter to the president of Lycoming and point out the fact that the people at the show were unqualified to staff an event like this when they can’t even answer a simple question.
In answer to that, my colleague handed the customer his business card and said, “When you write the president of Lycoming, make sure you spell my name correctly, because it really makes me mad when someone misspells my name.”
Reluctantly, the customer took the card and very quickly left the area. About 20 minutes later, this gentleman’s wife returned to the booth and apologized for her husband’s actions. Needless to say, a letter to the president of Lycoming was never sent.
So what is the point I’m trying to make?
If you want to take advantage of the expertise and experience of a company’s representative at a show, come prepared to give specific information about the subject you want to discuss. (By the way, this goes for any product you are enquiring about, not just aviation-related items.)
For instance, to get the right answer on your aircraft engine, know the make, model, serial number, total time, what aircraft it is installed in, and any other information that may assist in answering your question. For example, if you’ve recently had an operational issue with the engine, be able to describe when you first noticed it. Does it only happen when it’s hot outside? What else is going on when it happens? Did it happen after maintenance?
Sometimes problems can be tied to a recent maintenance event and we can work our way backwards to resolve the issue.
I don’t believe any manufacturer ever shot anyone for providing too much information when trying to troubleshoot a problem.
And remember, nobody on the staff of any aviation company has a crystal ball or can read minds, so the more specific information you can provide, the quicker you can get an answer.
And then get back to enjoying the air show!
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