Tom Wilson
Pumping avgas and waxing flight school airplanes got Tom into general aviation in 1973, but the lure of racing cars and motorcycles sent him down a motor journalism career heavy on engines and racing. Today he still writes for peanuts and flies for fun.
Radial and Rotary
Engine Buyer's Guide Index
Introduction
Flat Four-Stroke Gasoline
Inline and V Four-Stroke
Radial and Rotary
Rotary (Wankel)
Compression Ignition (Diesel & Jet A)
Volkswagen
...
Volkswagen
Engine Buyer's Guide Index
Introduction
Flat Four-Stroke Gasoline
Inline and V Four-Stroke
Radial and Rotary
Rotary (Wankel)
Compression Ignition (Diesel & Jet A)
Volkswagen
...
Flights of Fancy
It’s more cliché than observation to note there’s a whole lot of dreaming going on in aviation.
Forgetting How?
Overheard comments are often the most interesting, probably because your brain is in a more receptive mode than if also occupied trying to one-up...
Fast Squeeze
Todd Rudberg’s RV-8 helps usher in a modern era of nitrous-oxide-assisted sport planes.
Fun With Emissions
Making the rounds on the canned news circuit recently was the EPA announcing it’s going after emission controls for aviation. Oh boy.
As an old...
Ly-Con Awarded GARDSert Process
We were at Ly-Con Aircraft Engines the other day checking in on some O-200 cylinders when Ly-Con majordomo Ken Tunnell showed us a nifty...
The Fly As You Go Plan
Learned colleague Paul Dye recently wrote about the time-limited nature of aviation hardware. That is, every bolt has its day. Eventually the cad plate...
Old World, New Engines
After putting another $140 into the gas tanks of my 300-hp biplane, I have to admit the newer sport planes coming out of Europe...
Going Around
Gallons of ink have been dedicated—with only minor effect—to figuring out what it is that joins pilots together. But clearly there’s something in the...
In Case You Missed It
Build Your Skills: Composites (Part 6)
In this series installment, author Bob Fritz takes you through the basics of a three-day project you can really use: lightweight fiberglass wheel chocks. The article covers materials, cutting, patterns, foam cutting, eliminating bubbles, and pitfalls to look out for during the build; by Bob Fritz.
Design Process: Tail Trim Functions
In addition to stabilizing the airplane in pitch, the horizontal tail must also trim...