“”How do you ground a composite aircraft during fueling?”” asks Russell Green. “”How do you ground a composite aircraft during fueling?”” asks Russell Green. When a non-conductive fuel like avgas is transferred from one vessel to another, it can build up an electrical charge. This electrical charge, or difference in electrical potential, needs to be […]
What oil is best for winter?
A few issues back, I wrote about what steps to take to winterize your aircraft (A chill is in the air: What does that mean for aircraft owners? Oct. 6 issue). Since that time several people have asked me the age-old question, “”what oil should I use in the winter to best protect my aircraft?”” […]
What if my plane is filled with the wrong fuel?
Ray Woodmansee from Porterville, Calif., has a problem. His Cessna 195 was accidentally fueled with a mixture of 100LL and ethanol-containing auto gas. He has drained all of the fuel out of the aircraft and was wondering what he could do with it. Ray Woodmansee from Porterville, Calif., has a problem. His Cessna 195 was […]
A chill is in the air: What does that mean for owners?
Each fall I get asked the same question: What should I do to my aircraft before I put it away for the winter? Each fall I get asked the same question: What should I do to my aircraft before I put it away for the winter? The questions usually come from people with open cockpit […]
What is the shelf life of fuel?
One of the great things about living in a small town is the number of characters you meet. One of the characters in our area is a man who always has a foolproof way of beating the system. His latest scheme was to buy extra diesel fuel each year and put it in storage in […]
Do you need a pre-oiler?
Reader Edward Zeigler has some questions about pre-oilers. “”We see statements like “”70% of engine wear happens on start up.? So will a $3,000 pre-oiler pay for itself, and is it worth carrying around the extra weight of the system? Are there any scientific test results comparing engines with and without pre-oilers? And do the […]
Waht’s the best lubricant to use?
I recently got a letter from Verl Thompson, who is restoring a 1960s Piper TriPacer. He points out that one of the weak points of this aircraft is the jack screw in the tail that controls the elevator trim. The jack screw is about 8 inches long and a half inch in diameter. There is […]
Where is the best grounding point n an airplane?
“”Your article on grounding the airplane prior to fueling was informative on why we ground the plane,”” wrote Ken Kellogg after he read my June 9 column, “”Grounded: What’s the proper way to ground during refueling?”” “”Your article on grounding the airplane prior to fueling was informative on why we ground the plane,”” wrote Ken […]
Ethanol”” Energy balance or a balance of power?
The number one question about ethanol should be “”does it take more energy to produce than we get out of it?”” The number one question about ethanol should be “”does it take more energy to produce than we get out of it?”” Here is one of those questions that I can answer with a question, […]