by Mike Busch | Oct 1, 2020 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
There’s a lot more to piston aircraft engine oil than you might think Friction and wear are caused by fracturing of “micro-welds” between moving surfaces. When it comes to piston aircraft engines, the role of engine oil is complicated. It lubricates moving parts to...
by Mike Busch | Sep 1, 2020 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
What if your airplane breaks and there’s no one to fix it? Being a dyed-in-the-wool technology freak, I drive a Tesla Model 3. It has been a superbly reliable vehicle that doesn’t require maintenance very often. When I take my Tesla to the dealership for maintenance,...
by Mike Busch | Aug 1, 2020 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Why it’s no substitute for a proper independent prebuy. Shortly after the student pilot buyer and his CFI ferried the Warrior from Texas to California, the buyer’s mechanic found nearly a half-teaspoon of ferrous metal in the Lycoming’s suction screen and oil filter....
by Mike Busch | Jul 1, 2020 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
…and how you can avoid engine damage and power loss if you know the answer. A stuck exhaust valve caused a bent pushrod and broken pushrod housing on this Lycoming engine. If you fly behind a Continental or Lycoming, each of your engine’s cylinders has two valves,...
by Mike Busch | Jun 1, 2020 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
When it comes to GA crashes, the NTSB doesn’t always get it right, nor does the jury In December of 2012, a father and his son arrived at the airport to pick up the father’s Cessna 421C cabin-class piston twin, which had been in the maintenance shop for months...
