Our JPI EDM-700 engine analyzer may have paid for itself today. Here's the scenario: Mary is PIC. During her run-up, the left mag dropped a bit more than the right. She leaned it back (the usual fouled-plug procedure) and it smoothed out to within specs. Still not as smooth at the right, but...

We've got two updates to our Rec.Aviation "Rogues Gallery" of photos thus far this month: - From Montana, Michelle P has updated her listing with some new pix from her fire-fighting gig. See them he http://www.alexisparkinn.com/rogue's_gallery_i_-_p.htm#P - From New York, Lee "Rosspilot" Ross...

To recap our problem, last week Tony (and his guys) at McCandless Aviation in Waterloo, IA, had no luck connecting the XM radio (music) output from my Garmin 496 to our PS Engineering PCD-7100 (a stereo CD Player/4-place intercom that we've had in the panel since '02). They found that connecting...

More than one person has questioned the logic behind owning an aircraft. Financially, it's a hard sell, and there are more than a few times when owning a plane can be a real hassle. But then there are days like Wednesday. The sun was shining brightly (and warmly, for December -- almost 60...

Okay, so I finally figured out how to turn the XM radio off without killing all audio output from the 496. (It's not as easy as it should be...) This has enabled us to finally hear the little "Southwest Airlines" chime, followed by bitchin' Betty purring "Altitude...500 feet..." through our...

....in my hangar. ....on January 3rd... ....in a light jacket... ....in Iowa.... Is this the twilight zone, or global warming? Either way, I'm loving it!

Since many aircraft owners have asked me about building our mogas fuel truck (which we called "The Mighty Grape" because of its horrible purple color) I thought I'd post my experiences with bringing our new "Grape" -- a '95 Toyota T100 -- to life. The Mighty Grape -- subject of magazine articles...

Last week, in -22 temperatures, our nose gear drooped all the way to the stop. Later, we were able to put some down pressure on the stabilator (in the hangar) and bring it back up a couple of inches, but made plans to have our A&P look at it. Yesterday, since he wasn't coming in the shop till...

Here's a great list of aircraft salvage yards in the United States: http://www.pa28.com/cherokee235/salvage.htm -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination"

We received notification of a Ramada Inn that was selling everything to the bare walls, in preparation for demolition. Although our hotel is unique in many ways, we *all* use blow dryers, lamps, end tables -- and, yes, ironing boards -- so this seemed like a great opportunity to find some real...

All of the sudden the last three fly-in guests (with kids) we've had at the inn have had those slick little portable DVD players attached to the backs of the head-rests, for viewing in the plane. Two of the three had two of them -- on on each seatback, for separate viewing. I've watched as the...

Due to popular demand, here is a rare "mid-month" Rogue's Gallery Update: - See Mike Rappaport's awesome (what year is that bird anyway, Mike?) Helio Courier at: http://www.alexisparkinn.com/rogue's_gallery_q_-_z.htm - See Mike Granby's outstanding 1980 Saratoga...

In discussing our relatively new Skycraft landing lights (the cut-into-the-leading-edge-of-the-wings type) here the other day, I noted that I had just burned out a GE 4509 after around 35 hours. This surprised me, since, being out in the wing, I expected there to be less filament-killing...

Okay, so I've been "volunteered" to be on the board of directors of the biggest fly-in event in Iowa City's history, the Eastern Iowa Big Kids Toy Show, scheduled for May 20 - 21, 2006. See us at www.BigKidToyShow.com (Yes, they made me wear a -- *sob* -- TIE for the photos... It was awful! ...

Of course, we have a new squawk shortly after coming out of the shop. Perhaps someone here can point me in the right direction? Here's the scenario with our 1974 Piper Cherokee Pathfinder, with a 530 hour, normally aspirated Lycoming O-540-B4B5 engine: 1) Flying to Janesville, WI today. ...

I've finally located the manuals at http://www.pilotmall.com/page/1/PROD/26/17390 Mary and I own (and LOVE) the AvMap EKP-IIIC, the predecessor to the EKP-IV. We played with the IV extensively at OSH this year, and I fell in love with it. It's smaller, thinner -- yet still has a BIGGER,...

No, not *that* down... Had my A&P install my new whiz-bang Iridium fine wire plugs yesterday, and sent him on a chase for that pesky oil leak. So what did he find? A cracked exhaust pipe, right at the weld in the "gatherer" (where the three pipes come together). Then, when we pulled the thing...

We were grounded last week, after discovering a cracked exhaust pipe and rotted muffler baffles during routine maintenance. Amazingly, we discovered that Dawley Aviation (*the* exhaust repair station in the Midwest, and the place my A&P recommended) is located in Burlington, WI -- literally on the...

On our flight to Nevada, I was impressed with the smoothness and car-like predictability of Jim Burns' start-up technique with his Lycoming IO-540s. Jim had a way to start them that I'd not seen demonstrated before, which I will describe he 1. Fuel pump on 2. Electric primer on for (a few?)...

Warning! Danger! Shameless Self-Promotion! After four years of preparation and two years of work, the "Oshkosh Suite" -- our 17th aviation theme suite -- is finally complete! With 24 consecutive Oshkosh Fly-Ins under our belts, we *knew* from the moment we bought the hotel in '02 that we...