by Mike Busch | Aug 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
The first flight after maintenance is special. My client wanted to buy a Bonanza A36, and narrowed his search to two promising candidates. One had recently suffered a “forgot to remove the tow bar” prop strike, necessitating an engine teardown inspection and prop...
by Mike Busch | Jul 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
What “stuff” do you carry in your airplane? It’s a well-known fact: Most mechanical problems occur between Friday night and Sunday afternoon when you’re hundreds of miles from home base. The difference between a minor annoyance and a major travel...
by Mike Busch | Jun 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Compared to Lycocontisauruses, the Rotax 912 is delightfully different. The past 20 years may well have yielded more outside-the-box ideas than any other comparable period in history. The iPod redefined the music industry in 2001. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter...
by Mike Busch | May 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Time to topple the venerable compression test? The venerable compression test: past retirement age? The differential compression check has been a mainstay of piston aircraft engine maintenance for the last 80 years. Like anything else in aviation that’s been...
by Mike Busch | Apr 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Do you really need the FAA’s blessing to modify your aircraft? Does this require a field approval? A Bonanza owner wanted to power his portable GPS and his iPad simultaneously in flight, so he asked his avionics shop to install an extra cigar lighter socket on the...
