When I come to big shows such as Sun ‘n Fun I feel like there’s a whole bunch of learning to be done. To that end, I make a point of attending the forums in the Homebuilt Area. You can learn about fabric covering, or riveting aluminum, bending aluminum, or even welding.
This year at Sun ‘n Fun former NASA Space Shuttle engineer and I-A mechanic Marcia Buckingham gave great advice in her engine troubleshooting forum. Essentially, her advice can be summarized in three words, “Go to ground.”
By ground she means, literally, a lot of the troubleshooting issues she’s found with engines, especially older engines, revolve around a grounding issue (or lack thereof).
The troubleshooting handout sheet we walked away from the forum with was all by itself well worth the time invested listening to Marcia on Tuesday afternoon (yep, in a forum during the air show—that’s me).
There are literally hundreds of educational forums that take place at Sun ‘n Fun, or any other aviation gathering its size (think AirVenture, Copperstate, and a few others). Bring your questions to the experts and be ready to take notes. You just may learn a thing or two.
