This is one of those questions that doesn’t have a perfect answer, but don’t make the mistake of thinking your aircraft engine is like your car’s engine.
Opinion
One Pilot’s View: Complacency kills
Complacency is insidious. It creeps in disguised as routine. “Been there, done that and I know how this will come out because I have done it so many times before.” That is the complacency trap and I was going to be the next one caught…
The fragility of fly-ins
Whatever is to become of Wings Over Republic and the thousands of other smaller aviation events around the country, I hope we all will participate in as many in-person events as we can in 2021 and beyond.
From here to there, one decision at a time
There are many considerations, of course. You may have a few of your own that are worth passing on to others. The lessons you’ve learned might be the exact information some other reader will benefit from.
Mind your momma
The visual stimulation of flight coupled with the almost completely unfettered freedom the airplane gave me made me glad I zigged when others zagged. I fastidiously kept my nose clean while some of my peers went another way, to their ultimate detriment.
GAX: In search of a mission after World War I
The Army Air Services wanted a ground attack aircraft with heavy firepower and protected by armor plating to ensure its survival in low-altitude battlefield warfare. The GAX (Ground Attack Experimental) didn’t win any beauty contests, with its truncated nose and oversized rudder. Nor did it win friends in the flying community, as the weight of the armor and armament taxed the ability of two Liberty engines to propel it.
A solid first step
But the Alpha Electro is a trainer, with lots of one-hour flights in its future. These flights aren’t speculative, or some day dreams. They are happening today.
Ask Paul: The trouble with troubleshooting
Our engines expert Paul McBride helps troubleshoot a perplexing problem with an engine on an owner-maintained airplane.
They didn’t teach me that
On his student pilot cross-country flight, Eric realized he needed fuel. But he was at a non-towered field where his only option was a self-serve fuel farm. Having never pumped his own fuel before, this presented a bit of an issue. It’s a question many a flight student might find themselves asking — how do you fuel an airplane?