500-hour Inspection vs. Overhaul
About every 500 hours, your magnetos need to be inspected and repaired as needed (IRAN) to keep them performing well. Some of this work...
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...
Chattering Timers
Back in November 1999, I sadly consigned my old battery eating “buzz box,” a WW-II 1940s-era mechanical doorbell-ringer magneto timer, to that big buzz...
Start Building Your Aircraft With a Subkit
Deciding to build an aircraft does not have to be one big, final decision.
Hang Up!
I have been flying my RV-9 for 14 years and a thousand hours. You would think that by now I’d have this figured out,...
Broken Battery Hold-Down Bracket
This battery hold-down bracket was discovered in an RV-10 during a condition inspection. It is a very serious safety issue that probably needs no...
Installing and Maintaining Your Pitot-Static System
The pitot-static system is usually one of those items appearing on your to-do list when you are at the point of being 90% done...
Oil in Line
Look very closely and you will see liquid in the tubing. This is the manifold pressure line to the electronic ignition system.
The fluid in...
In Case You Missed It
Brake Turn
My local airport, Corona Municipal in Southern California, sits in the Prodo Dam basin...
Flight Review: Van’s RV-14A with Lycoming IO-390-EXP119 Engine
Van's Aircraft recently began offering a new version of the RV-14 and RV-14A kits...
Preparing For First Start
Steve Ells discusses the preparation and procedures for starting your new or newly overhauled engine for the first time.