Prepare yourself for blasphemy. It pains me to write this, but it is true.
Not all flight instruction is good. Not all flight instructors are sharing beneficial information. Not every flight school is acting in your best interest. [Read more…]
What kind of fix do I need to get this engine to TBO?
Q: I have a 1977 Piper Lance, which has 1,800 total time on engine and airframe since new. The engine is now starting to consume excess oil, about one quart every hour or so.
I’m wondering if it makes sense to hone the cylinders and replaced the rings versus an overhaul?
I do not really know much about engines, and really cannot afford the cost of an overhaul, so I’m looking for a fix to get another 200 hours out of the engine to get it to TBO.
Compressions at the July annual were 74, 76, 78, 77, 77, 77. The underbelly of plane is oiled. There’s also a few drops of oil under the engine when sitting. [Read more…]
JATO pushed performance
Ever since the Wright brothers used a falling weight from a tower to accelerate some of their early aircraft on takeoff when winds alone were not enough, the need to apply external energy to achieve flying speed has been recognized and pursued in different ways. The Wright’s device was an early form of a catapult, a system much-modified and used by aircraft carriers still.
But another takeoff booster found favor because it could be attached to many types of aircraft and did not require a modified runway or takeoff surface. Commonly known as JATO, for jet-assisted takeoff, it is also called RATO for rocket-assisted takeoff. You get the idea from either acronym — a special thruster helps accelerate the aircraft to give it flying speed more quickly. [Read more…]
Freedom to Fly tells much more than the story of AOPA
A lot can happen in 80 years. Indeed, a lot has happened since the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) was founded in 1939.
Events large and not-so-large dot the calendar. Putting those events into the larger context of the development of general aviation can be a challenge for anyone who has a busy life. [Read more…]
A perfect day of flying
Do you want to go flying?
Is that a trick question? The sky out the window looked clear and inviting. [Read more…]
Godspeed Peter Anderson
For anyone who has flown in the Pacific Northwest in general and at Boeing Field (KBFI) specifically, Galvin Flying is an FBO you’ve likely heard of. At the end of January, the skies of the Pacific Northwest darkened just a bit with the loss of longtime owner Peter Galvin Anderson. [Read more…]
To unmuddy the muddiest of waters
Recently, a reader named Valerie Lynn Booth left a comment in the online edition of this column, where she shared some impressive enthusiasm – and one errant thought that deserves correction. (Thanks so much for reading and writing, Valerie.)
Valerie’s misinterpretation of a complicated rule is common. As she wrote it, ”FAA takes a dim view of learning to fly at a flying club at federally obligated airports.” [Read more…]
A match made in heaven
One of the marvelous transformations to be witnessed is a lonely expanse of World War II concrete ramp morphing into a colorful, energetic, ultimately cool place to hang out, look at lots of modern airplanes of all kinds, talk flying to your old pals and new friends, catch a forum, participate in a workshop, and take a demo flight — or several — if you’re in the market for a new airplane.
In fact, taking a demo flight is one of the main reasons people come to events like the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, and is the main reason vendors bring their shiny, new airplanes.
It’s a match made in heaven and all pilots are invited. [Read more…]
What’s the point?
So here we are racing toward the end of the decade with the ADS-B deadline approaching and a strong sense that aviation is lacking the volume of trained workers it will require to barrel into the future with the gusto it should.
Solutions to this conundrum abound. Not the least of which is the shift at high schools across the country to begin offering aerospace programs to their students. This is encouraging.
It’s also fraught with problems for those who are intent on seeing the risk behind every opportunity.
For far too long, far too many have been willing — even eager — to forego practical, beneficial opportunities in a myopic and largely futile effort to avoid risk. [Read more…]
All 100 octane fuels are not equal
In the past few years, I have written a lot of columns about octane ratings. However, the questions I receive indicate there is still a lot of confusion as to what the ratings systems are and their relationship to each other.
Many people do not realize that the octane rating of a fuel is not a physical property of the fuel, like specific gravity or pour point. It is a performance perimeter that gives a rating for the fuel under very tightly controlled lab conditions.
How that fuel will perform in the real world under a variety of conditions is another matter. [Read more…]