Security Violation

My 80th Christmas was a memorable one. I had been feeling guilty about all the time my poor airplane had been sitting unloved in the hangar during the last months of 2024, and I decided that Christmas week would be a great time to do some serious flying.  I’d been...

Worth the squeeze?

Like many of you, I’m an aircraft owner. I have been one for a long time. I bought my first airplane—a Cessna 182—in 1968 when I was 24 years old. Four years later at age 28, I traded up to a Bellanca 17-30A Super Viking. Then at age 43, I upgraded to a Cessna Turbo...

Data-Driven Diagnosis

Why don’t more A&Ps use engine monitor data for troubleshooting? The owner of a 2005 Cessna T182 was on vacation in Key West Florida. He decided to go up for a local sightseeing flight, but when he started the Lycoming TIO-540 engine it seemed to be running...

Supervised Maintenance

Who is allowed to perform maintenance on a certificated aircraft? The FAA rule that answers that question is 14 CFR 43.3—Persons authorized to perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alterations. This rule authorizes repair stations, A&P...

Concierge Maintenance

Rethinking the business model for maintenance of GA aircraft. For more than a decade, my primary care physician was Dr. F. She was a wonderful doctor with a deep understanding of internal medicine and superb people skills who cared deeply for her patients. I felt...