In 1992 I stumbled across the first airplane I ever seriously considered buying. I was a hard-working CFI back then. My income wasn’t going to set the world on fire, but maybe, just maybe I could find a way to buy the classic T-craft with the faded “For Sale” sign behind its windshield. Even though […]
Opinion
The FAA gets its knuckles rapped
The FAA’s drone registry is unlawful. So says the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Way back when the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act was passed, the legislation stated “that the FAA ‘may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.’” Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh wrote, “Statutory interpretation does not […]
High temps after overhaul
Q: I have a Lycoming O-320 engine that was overhauled by an IA who has overhauled lots of engines and, ever since, the oil temperature runs very high. The oil gauge was checked for accuracy, and the oil cooler was sent out, cleaned and checked. I replaced the varitherm and the induction tubes have new couplings and clamps with […]
Rationalization vs. reason
I came over the fence at 100 mph in the Cessna 172. Even the traffic reporter sitting to my right knew I was way too fast. I saw her hands tighten around her seatbelt harness, her knuckles whiten. Halfway down the 3,000-foot runway, I’d only bled off 20 mph. Normally I’d have firewalled the throttle […]
Donald Shimoda is my co-pilot
In the mid-1980s I was a professional musician. I lived in in the Greenwich Village section of New York City with my best friend and musical collaborator, Michael Mazzarella. Our apartment sat on Bleecker Street, just around the corner from MacDougal. We walked on sidewalks Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Paul Simon had walked. We […]
Pilot, humble thyself
As you might imagine of a guy who writes for an aviation publication with the reputation enjoyed by General Aviation News, I’ve been flying for quite a while. You might also get the impression I pretty much know what I’m doing. That’s not necessarily true. Sure, I can get an airplane into the air and […]
Is the O-435 a tough engine?
With regard to the overall reliability of any engine, it’s simply a matter of operating and maintaining it in accordance with Lycoming’s manuals using the old philosophy — you take care of it and it’ll take care of you!
Nat Browne’s attempted Tokyo flight
Aviator Nat Browne had a plan he figured would enable his single-engine Fokker Universal to fly from Seattle to Tokyo before anyone else could do it. Browne’s Universal was modified to remove steel tube wing struts and part of the landing gear, using flying wires and simplified gear struts instead. It was the end of […]
From hooves to helicopters
By Alexa Paprosky. The only thing I had ever piloted before my intro flight had four legs, a mane and a tail. I was type rated in thoroughbreds and had only soloed airframes with hooves and brains. I walked into the hangar expecting to see a Clydesdale of a machine, but instead was faced with […]