by Mike Busch | Aug 1, 2016 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Before following expert advice, choose your expert with care. We aviators are of necessity a trusting lot. We constantly trust other people with our lives, our safety, and our financial wellbeing. We trust nameless and faceless air traffic controllers to keep us from...
by Mike Busch | Jul 1, 2016 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
The definition of this ubiquitous term depends on the context. A bit over two years ago, a fellow I’ll call “Bob” bought a 10-year-old Cirrus SR22 from another fellow I’ll call “Sam.” Prior to the purchase, Bob had a very thorough pre-buy performed by an independent...
by Mike Busch | Jun 1, 2016 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Aircraft parts are expensive, so we really should be repairing rather than replacing them whenever possible. When the co-owner of a 1976 Cessna 172M emailed me, she had just come from talking to her mechanic and was clearly in a state of sticker shock: “Where can I...
by Mike Busch | May 1, 2016 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
What do you do if a mechanic working on your airplane tells you, “I can’t sign it off”? Dick is the maintenance officer of an 80-member flying club in northern New Jersey. The club operates several aircraft including a 2011 Cessna Skyhawk SP powered by a Lycoming...
by Mike Busch | Apr 1, 2016 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
The new crop of factory-built LSAs are impressive and exciting, but the maintenance regulations for them are…ah…different I recently returned from the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, the foremost aviation event devoted to light sport, homebuilt, and...
