by Mike Busch | Jan 1, 2013 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
There’s metal in your oil filter. Now what? “I’ve been a happy aircraft owner until this morning,” Frank wrote me. “My aircraft is in the shop for its annual inspection, and the mechanic just called to say that they found magnetic chips in the oil filter, and the...
by Mike Busch | Dec 1, 2012 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
How NOT to lean your engine. At my July pilgrimage to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, I had the opportunity to speak to thousands of pilots and aircraft owners on a wide variety of subjects ranging from reliability-centered maintenance to TBO busting to corrosion, and to...
by Mike Busch | Nov 1, 2012 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
Is your mechanic a minimalist or a maximalist? I’m an unabashed maintenance minimalist. I believe in doing only maintenance necessary to make an aircraft safe, reliable, and compliant with regulations. I believe that doing more maintenance than that is not only a...
by Mike Busch | Oct 1, 2012 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
In a world of $7 avgas, it’s more important than ever to get the best bang for the buck. How can we get the best fuel economy from our airplanes? Given the painful cost of avgas these days, this is a question on lots of airplane owner’s minds. That goes at least...
by Mike Busch | Sep 1, 2012 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
When your engine finally needs to be overhauled, the most likely cause will be corrosion-induced distress to the cam lobes. I recently received an email from a Skylane owner in Miami, Florida who was understandably upset after receiving bad news from his IA, and...
by Mike Busch | Aug 1, 2012 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
The decision whether or not to tear down an aircraft engine is among the most difficult and agonizing ones we make. My company manages the maintenance of many hundreds of piston-powered GA airplanes, so we frequently deal with all manner of engine problems. Our...
by Mike Busch | Aug 1, 2012 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
We’re seeing an epidemic of Champion spark plug problems. Champion insists its plugs are fine and the problems are self-inflicted. The truth may be a bit more complicated. By Mike Busch Premature failures of Champion-brand aviation spark plugs first showed up on my...
by Mike Busch | Jul 1, 2012 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
During every annual inspection, there’s a particular point in time when you and your IA need to sit down and make decisions. Regular readers of this column know how strongly I feel about aircraft owners taking charge of their maintenance and managing the mechanics and...
by Mike Busch | Jun 1, 2012 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
Before you approve any costly or invasive repair to your aircraft, make sure the discrepancy is real. Arguably the worst part of being an aircraft owner is the annual ordeal of putting your plane in the shop every 12 calendar months and then bracing yourself for bad...
by Mike Busch | May 1, 2012 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
A mechanical problem away from home is every aircraft owner’s worst nightmare. Here are some thoughts about how best to deal with one. As a tech rep for the three largest airplane type clubs in the world (ABS, CPA, COPA) and as the founder and CEO of the world’s...
