Bob Hadley
Bob Hadley is the R&D manager for a California-based consumer products company. He holds a Sport Pilot certificate and a Light-Sport Repairman certificate with inspection authorization for his Jabiru J250-SP.
Bob’s Donut Shop
In my April 2021 column, I described making custom rivet nuts to replace self-tapping screws for the wing root fairings on my Jabiru. While...
Fuel Cap Dipstick (and Always Chock Your Wheels)
Before I delve into this month’s project, here’s the backstory on where it came from: I started my flight training with 10 hours in...
Shop-made Blind Rivet Nut
Blind rivet nuts, also called rivnuts, rivet nuts or insert nuts, are a clever way to add threaded bosses to thin-wall sheet metal structures...
Cylinder Hones and Honing
Honing and lapping are similar inasmuch as both employ abrasive action to remove metal and refine the finish of the surface that’s being honed...
Laps and Lapping
Lapping was an important step featured in two recent columns. Last month’s gauge block project and the September 2020 drain adapter both demonstrated basic...
Confessions of a Blockhead
Gauge blocks are the foundation for pretty much everything. At least everything that has to do with precision measuring and manufacturing. I use parallels,...
Light Sport Repairman—Maintenance
Have you ever thought about becoming a licensed airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic, but put the idea out of your head because of the...
A Seal Deal
Radial oil seals, the kind found on rotating parts such as crankshafts, cam shafts and axles, are wear items and occasionally need to be...
Prop-aganda
The other day I heard about a guy at my local airport lamenting the cost of overhauling the prop on his $4 million SOCATA...
Billet or Weldment With Off-Axis Turning?
People tend to design around their particular expertise. A machinist will design based on machining parts out of solid billet, a welder will design...
In Case You Missed It
Classic Amendment
Alan Arps, fourth owner of a Starduster SA-100 that had seen better days, treads the fine line between updating the plansbuilt design and keeping it true to its era.
