We ground an aircraft during the refueling process to ensure that the plane and the refueling apparatus are at the same electrical potential and to dissipate the electrical charge that is generated by the fuel transfer process.
Opinion
Tribute dinner shines light on GA’s humanitarian efforts
WASHINGTON, DC — A tribute dinner was held at a hotel just two blocks from the Capitol where legislators are wrestling over FAA budgets, user fees and other issues of aviation. Dinners here are as numerous as fleas on a mangy dog. But this one showed what aviation means to the nation by honoring just […]
Travels with Meg
“Need a ride?” One of my favorite parts about Sun ‘n Fun is the people I meet when I’m driving around in the golf cart. We get golf carts because we have to cover a lot of territory for the daily paper we put out at the show. If it won’t impact my deadline I’ll […]
What causes a formerly flawless engine to run rough?
QUESTION: I have a 2001 Maule with an O-360-C1F engine that had been running flawlessly until a few months ago. I have a JPI-700 and have noticed that the peak EGTs have been slowly climbing from the original low-1500°s to 1600° or so. Cylinders #1 and #3 are higher than #2 and #4. Also, #1 […]
Prove it!
When I was a small boy, if a schoolmate made a statement with which another disagreed, the accepted rejoinder was “Prove it!” Later on, having discovered an interest in science, I learned that this is an appropriate response to any theory. “Prove it.” Today, however, theories abound, proofs are as scarce as hens’ teeth, and […]
Race in on to convince lawmakers about how to fund the FAA
WASHINGTON, D.C. — One thing about Washington politics: It is believed that if something is said often enough, it is going to be believed — that is, unless someone or something also says the opposite often enough. Take funding of the Federal Aviation Administration for instance. Like Chicken Little running around screaming that “”the sky […]
Vertical engines for kit-built heilcopters
I have been traveling and was way behind in my reading. I saw your comments regarding a vertical piston engine for a homebuilt helicoper (Ask Paul: What’s the best engine for a kit-built helicopter? March 10 issue). The Brantly used the V0-360 with a carb for the model B-2 and B-2A. I owned the TC […]
Drawings could revitalize GA
GAN could sell more issues than it could print! The thousands of model builders would subscribe if you would publish three-view drawings of all popular personal airplanes as you just did on the cover of the April 7 issue. You could add to those all owners who would like to plan their own T-hangars as […]
Sikorsky’s S-38: The Beauty and the Beast
Dave Paulley, who is known for Western art as well as aviation art, has an affinity for stories of the Golden Era of aviation – the late 1920s and 1930s. One of his favorite subjects is seaplanes because of their artistic beauty and the adventuresome stories they have to tell. One plane in particular, the […]