We'd known for some time that our A&P/IA has been cleaning & repairing our 172's battery box every year. Usually it's just amounted to pulling the battery, rinsing the box to neutralize the acid and sanding / painting any areas where corrosion has gotten the better of it. The last few years,...

I have (2) KX170B radios which I'm very happy with, except that one of them has been diagnosed with a bad MHz crystal on the comm side. The new crystals are apparently no longer available from Bendix/King. The avionics shop apparently scavenged a replacement from a used radio they had in the...

Folks, My nagging problem of lost sat reception appears to still be with me. Switching off the entire electrical system does not help. So, I believe we have eliminated the Narco radios as a possible source. Moving the antenna around the glareshield may or may not help. I am beginning to think...

Damn. I thought I'd be good for a couple of years on not spending the $1,700+ on the Garmin 430 WAAS upgrade. Now the airport mgmt at my homebase (KFRG) says that we're on the fast-track to get not one but two LPV approaches with one being to a runway with no current approaches. Should be...

After 6 years of Mooney ownership my squawk list is getting pretty small. One thing that really bothers me is a new mag switch that was installed 4 years ago (the key switch). Sometimes I can easily start the plane, sometimes it seems like I have to hunt for the magic key position that will engage...

The transmit light has gone out on my King transponder. I know the transponder is working alright because ATC reads it just fine. Before I pay an exorbitant amount to an avionics shop for a new bulb, is this bulb something I can easily find and change myself? (have to admit I didn't have time to...

It has been a while since I posted and viewed the rec.aviation groups. I sold my 1958 C310 nearly 3 years ago and have been waiting for my new plane to arrive. I am now the "proud" owner of a DA42 (Diamond Twin Star) and I have a total of 6 hours in this plane. While I am still learning what the...

Hey Guys, I was at Walgreens today, and I saw some cheap interior lights for cars (LEDs) which plug into a cigarette lighter and light up your dash... The lights were the wrong color, but otherwise I was intrigued. It got me thinking about doing a similar thing to upgrade the...

The oil in my Lyc. O-360 F1A6 is black only two hours after being changed. What could be causing this? Compressions were in the 70s at annual in September. -- Dan C172RG at BFM

Went to pick up my Baron today, and was given a ride in my buddy's turbine Bonanza (a great plane made even better). Cruised at 17,000! OK, so I picked up my plane with the new Garmin 530W/430W installation, which worked great. They communicate with each other, and the info displays are much...

Our 172 has two screws missing from under the wing where it connects to the fuselage above passenger door. The size of those screws are quite big. My question is whether they are important to the stuctural integrity of the wing ? They may have come off during flight due to the vibrations. But...

It looks like the Archer needs a new engine. We're just short of 2,000 hours, the pressures are all 70 or above, and it's not making metal, but there is a lot of loud piston slap going on. We get mixed opinions about whether or not this can cause a sudden stoppage, so we're probably erring on...

I posted a question a week or so ago about multi-probe engine monitors. I decided to go with Electronics-international UGB-16. I can monitor a total of 16 points. So with 6 EGT's and 6 CHT's, I have 4 spares. I opted for an OAT function because I don't like the placement of my...

I'm looking for one of the airplane. 1. What are the pros and cons ? 2. What's the meaning of this post concerning the Commander: "The only downfall is I was looking through the TC & there is mention of a limited life of the wing structure." ? Thank you

Considering the disdain for general aviation seemingly held by this administration I think everyone who owns an aircraft should make their voice heard aby participating in this survey: http://www.aviationsurvey.org

I own a 2004 DA40 (my first plane) and on the left side under the engine is a breather tube and some sort of overflow line for oil. I noticed pushing the plane in yesterday that there is a sooty residue under the airplane, only on the left side. I went an looked at another DA40 of the same year and...

As is apparent from my other recent thread, we're planning to fly to Texas Sunday afternoon. Well, today was a beautiful day here in Iowa, and we agreed to fly a good friend to a nearby airport, where he was supposed to pick up his new (to him) Cessna 172, and take his biennial flight review. We...

Hello, I've noticed during a flight the other day to Columbus that our Mode C was reading high... by about 250 feet. The altimeter seems to be indicating fine as on the ground, with the correct altimeter setting, it shows the correct altitude. As well, flying the ILS, i make a habit to check the...

I'm looking for advice to help shorten the trouble-shooting process here. My Arrow has developed an alternator whine over the past few hours. It is *barely, barely" noticable on both radios when receiving, but loud and obnoxious (both to me and other aircraft) when transmitting. No doubt it...

Well, Fat Albert still sits on jacks at Steve's shop... Not much happening... The vaunted new engine hoses have yet to arrive despite being paid for in advance... The #1 radio was sent out to the radio shop - the King KI-214 VOR heading had suddenly gone off about 12 degrees - though the ILS...