After weeks of unrelenting, never-ending bad weather, with freezing rain, sleet, fog, snow, high winds, low visibility, and low ceilings, I decided to have the plane annualed early. I mean, what the heck -- the weather has been horrendous anyway, right? Why screw up summer and wait till...

The Eastern Iowa Big Kids Toy Show will be held at the Iowa City Airport (KIOW) THIS coming weekend (May 20-21), both Saturday AND Sunday -- and it promises to be a lot of fun! Starting at 7 AM, we've got fly-in pancake & sausage breakfasts going BOTH mornings. There will be tons of cool "big...

Many thanks to everyone in the aviation community for making our annual Big Kids Toy Show in Iowa City (KIOW) a success! We had T-28s, T-6s, a Mustang, a Columbia 300, a turbine-powered Lancair IV-P, a Citation (straight from Cessna's factory!), a '29 Travel Air, a Gypsy Moth, a Pitts Special, a...

Well, we flew 2.4 hours today, in VERY cold (19 degree) air temps. Got done, carefully inspected the prop, cowling and windshield -- no oil/grease found. What's up with THAT? How could my prop leak just "heal itself"? Not that I'm complaining, mind you -- but I get skeptical when...

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...

(Besides, I hear Jay is throwing a hell of a party at OSH, so I'd better hurry up & pay the cover charge! :) ) From reliable sources: Jay throws a hell of a Pre-OSH party at a certain Inn (@ IOW). ....of which I have yet to see one left-over brat, BTW! In the N40 (@ OSH) Jay has...

You're invited to not one, but TWO Oshkosh parties! That's right, TWO Oshkosh blow-outs, organized just for pilots and their guests. Check 'em out: 1. ** 5th Annual Pre-Oshkosh Fly-In Pool Party ** Each year, on the Saturday before OSH, we host a fly-in pool party at our aviation theme-suite...

http://www.alexisparkinn.com/oshkosh_2007.htm Pix from the Fly-In Pool Party, the Rec.Aviation HOPS Party, and Airventure. It was one for the books, guys. Enjoy! -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993

I still haven't had time to work with my A&P to remove my (newly) flakey JPI EDM-700 unit. (As you may recall, some of the LED segments that make up the number display are going in and out.) Someone here suggested that it might be due to low voltage, possibly indicating an alternator problem. ...

Things are moving along. 1. My new tail-to-fuselage fairing has arrived, and my A&P has allowed as how we can use cherry pop rivets (rather than structural), which will save a bunch of headache. (Although Mary will still have to get back into the aft fuselage in order to vacuum up the rivets that...

Great stuff, Jim. Thanks for sharing it. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination"

It seems to be the season for finding oil leaks. At our completely uneventful annual (just finished two days ago) I asked my shop to investigate a new leak that I had detected when I de-cowled the engine for the inspection. All across the top of our 3-year-old, 500-hour engine, down the seam...

After finding the case bolts on top of our 500-hour Lycoming O-540 loose enough to cause a minor oil leak yesterday, today I had my A&P check the torque of all the through bolts and cylinder bolts that could be reached without dismantling the engine. As I watched him check, one by one, they were...

After reading the other posts about key locks, the responses brought another question to mind. My key ignition switch works very hard, and the key can be removed in any position. It's hard to push it in and keep the starter engaged (it's one of those turn-while-you-push switches), so we usually...

For you avionics guys out there...what should it cost to have an avionics shop install an audio input jack in my panel as an add-on to my panel-mounted stereo intercom? We have a Narco CP-136 audio panel, and a PS Engineering CD/Intercom. I'm assuming the input jack has to "patch in" to the...

Just installed the new Concorde RG 35AXC -- the most powerful battery approved for my plane -- and, wow, what a difference! No more "bumping" the starter to get the prop past the highest compression stroke of that big ol' six cylinder on a hot day... It just whirls it right around! When I...

Our constant speed prop is getting long in the tooth. It was last overhauled in 1991, when it received new blades. My A&P says there is no reason to O/H or replace a prop so long as it meets specs and doesn't leak. Since we fly a couple of times per week, internal corrosion shouldn't be an...

Lately I had noticed just a smidge of roughness in the engine. Not a roughness, really, but a slight vibration, maybe a little, tiny, occasional miss? It was not detectable by anyone except someone who flew the plane as often as I do (and, in fact, Mary often couldn't sense it), but it...

Another opinion, please: What would you pay to have your plane "detailed"? What, in your opinion, should be part of the "detailing"? Thanks! -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA

http://www.alexisparkinn.com/avtek_pulsar_installation.htm :-) -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination"