by Mike Busch | Jul 1, 2011 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
Sensitive and fragile compared to their automotive brethren, aircraft batteries need TLC if you don’t want to be left stranded. Aircraft batteries are the Rodney Dangerfields of general aviation. They get no respect. We let them sit unflown for weeks at a time,...
by Mike Busch | May 1, 2011 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
We often treat the words “safe” and “airworthy” as if they were synonyms. They’re not. On the landing roll, something didn’t feel right. The Cessna pulled strongly to the left. The pilot had to apply full right pedal and some right brake to keep it on the runway. As...
by Mike Busch | Apr 1, 2011 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
How to ensure that nothing is coming apart inside your crankcase. I’d been working with a Bonanza owner in Memphis for several weeks helping him chase down a problem with his Lycoming engine. Yes, Lycoming—the aircraft was an A36 with a Machen conversion to a...
by Mike Busch | Mar 1, 2011 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
Contrary to popular belief, more maintenance isn’t necessarily better. Often it’s worse—a lesson that was learned during WWII. I’ve written at length in prior issues of EAA Sport Aviation on the subject of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM), the scientific and...
by Mike Busch | Feb 1, 2011 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles, Uncategorized
More about what aircraft owners should know about piston aircraft engine oil. Last month, we began our discussion of piston aircraft engine oil by discussing the types and properties of the various kinds of engine oil available, and I offered some thoughts about which...
by Mike Busch | Feb 1, 2011 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
What aircraft owners should know about piston aircraft engine oil. This is the first of a two-part article about the lubricating oil we use in our piston aircraft engines, and we’ll be covering a lot of territory. We’ll discuss the various types of engine...
by Mike Busch | Dec 1, 2010 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
You’ve been doing mag checks since your first flight lesson, but are you doing them right? From your first days as a student pilot, you were undoubtedly taught to perform a “mag check” as part of each pre-takeoff runup. But do you know how to do it correctly,...
by Mike Busch | Nov 1, 2010 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
Mechanics approve an aircraft for return to service after maintenance by signing a logbook entry, but pilots actually return the aircraft to service by flying it. Never forget that on the first flight after maintenance, you’re a test pilot…so please act accordingly....
by Mike Busch | Oct 1, 2010 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
Pilots still seem to have a lot of misconceptions about EGT. Let’s see if we can clear some of them up. These days, pilots of piston-powered aircraft seem to be fixated upon exhaust gas temperature (EGT). Scarcely a day goes by that I don’t receive a phone call or...
by Mike Busch | Sep 1, 2010 | EAA Sport Aviation Magazine, Magazine Articles
Destructive detonation and pre-ignition events can destroy your engine in two minutes flat. Know the symptoms, and act fast! At least once a year, I am contacted by an aircraft owner whose piston aircraft engine was destroyed or severely damaged by a destructive...
