Does anyone out there have a good handle on the two year depreciation (percent) in probable sale price of a new airplane such as a Skyhawk SP? Even though this is a newsgroup, this time I'd prefer answers based on actual facts and real knowledge. -- Roger Long

Every 172 I've ever flown has had so much air pouring in around the left doorpost that the pilot's air vent was superfluous. I've thought about wearing a ski mask for winter flying. I, and many others, have always thought it was coming in through the stall horn and just something you had to put up...

Word was just getting around about a year ago that it is possible to run some carbureted engines lean of peak. It was discovered that using carb heat would improve the mixture distribution. I had a lot of time early in the year to look into this because our O320 H2AD was apart due to premature...

We need to buy a new DG for our 172 N immediately. Any PIREP's on a good place to buy (or avoid) much appreciated. -- Roger Long

We are upgrading the McCaully three piece main wheels and brakes on our 1977 172 N because of the unavailability of a brake cylinder that went bad. If you are faced with the same $2300 upgrade because of a cracked wheel or bad brake cylinder, we will shortly have the whole set, with one bad...

I stopped by the shop yesterday for what I thought would be a quick check on the progress of the annual. The fellow had stopped working on the windshield replacement and moved on to other things in hopes I would stop by and discuss the appalling appearance of our glareshield. I had to agree that...

I am looking into the possibility that a large number of substandard quality valve lifters were introduced into the supply pipeline in the late 90's. If you have experienced lifter spalling at mid TBO or before, I would like to talk to you. I am particularly interested in cases where there are...

Annual costs are a hot hanger topic. All of us who follow GA maintenance issues have seen how it goes. Preferred Aviation gives good advice so an owner spends $5000 on his Skyhawk while it's in for the annual. When his friends ask why the long face, he tells them he just had a five grand annual at...

Despite a very favorable service profile, careful preheating, and frequent lifter inspection, the engine in our 172 N has fallen victim to the sudden lifter face disintegration that the Lycoming O-320 H2AD is especially prone to. Conventional wisdom is that his problem is the result of poor...

We put a fresh battery in our plane for the winter starting season even though the old one was in good shape. On advice from several sources, I put the old one on a Sears trickle charger as a spare. The charger claims to sense the battery condition and be suitable for long term connections. I...

I need 30 answers by Friday morning. What is your favorite type of car? (The one you dreamed of as a kid, that is) BMW Lamborghini Farrari Jaguar

Anyone have experience with installing the oversize roller service kit for Cessna's from McFarlane? Our tracks have a little ways to go before the .6035 wear limit but the wear is not even. We are getting some skin wear between the flaps and wing. Would these rollers be a viable alternative to new...

I see on AOPA's web site that the FAA has blown off AOPA and all the other industry groups on DRVSM implementation. Does not getting your biz jet or turboprop outfitted with this equipment mean you won't be able to fly it above FL 290 or only at the new intermediate levels? -- Roger Long

I'd like to hear from anyone who has a Franklin 220 h.p., especially in a 172. Any other comments or rumors, informed or otherwise, fire away. -- Roger Long

Has anyone ever dealt with them.

Every day these noisy, small private planes from Palo Alto airport destroy my living space. They fly too low, and this causes their low frequency motor noise to enter my home and drive me crazy. Especially on weekend days, there is either one plane entering or leaving my airsapce, so there is a...

All day long heard private plane noise, couldn't have my usual barbaque outside, drove me crazy. Had to go inside, cook ribs inside with loud music playing to drown out the plane noise.

Well, I finally made it out to the airport (3BS) today. With the 4-Runner in 4WD I managed to get within about 10 feet of the man door. That's where those big tires dropped through the ice and snow to the sod underneath. sigh at least the ground is still frozen but I think we may be missing a...

What's the difference between the KY 197 and the current KY 97? Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member) (N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair) www.rogerhalstead.com

My old Telex ANRs finally gave out. They still work in the passive mode, just not the ANR. I need to find a schematic to check them out, although there's not a whole lot there. I've e-mailed Telex, but heard nothing so far. Roger (K8RI)