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I can count my "real" missed approaches over the 30 years I've been flying IFR on one hand and in every case I flew to a nearby alternate rather than hanging around waiting for the weather to improve. As to "just making it in", those are pretty few as well but maybe a little more frequent than...

I installed Aircraft Door Seals products on my Baron several years ago and they've performed well since then. They do recommend that you apply silicone grease every year to keep the seals pliant. Guy Ginby make die cut seals for Beech doors and windows that are supposed to be very good. I...

Unless your baffles are in bad shape, chances are your full power FF is a little too low. Before and after I upgraded my IO470s to IO520s I've had no problem with full power climbs other than the need to keep the IAS at or above Vy after a minute or two on hot days which isn't much of a problem...

Oops, my bad. Was relying on 40 year old memories that apparently aren't reliable. :redface:

Last time I checked the upper frequency limit on ANR cancellation was less than 500 Hz. 440 Hz is middle C on a piano if you can find one. Any beeper with a higher frequency (most Sonalerts are 1000Hz for example) should actually be more noticeable with the ANR on vs off (headset on head in...

If radar coverage is really good in that area and there are no obstructions near the lake (or the lake is really big) the MVA over the middle of the lake might be pretty low. If the pilot could get below the clouds at the MVA and was in an area where Class E doesn't go to the ground it might be...

Same here. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not so much. I've also seen a trend at Enterprise over the last several years where they don't leave cars with the FBO or let you drop the car at the airport which used to be the norm and was a great convenience. These days you have to call them when...

Because I often suspected that most concerns WRT "voltage spikes" during engine start, alternator turn on, etc were pretty much OWTs I actually made some measurements last year looking for excessive voltage on the main bus with a digital oscilloscope under various conditions. What I found was...

The difficulty with using most handheld radios with an intercom comes from the way the handhelds implement the PTT function. Panel mounted radios activate the transmitter via a separate "Key" signal wire that's grounded when transmitting but the handhelds eliminate that extra wire and rely on...

Minnesota passed a law excluding virtually all aircraft parts and maintenance from sales tax. This definitely applies to avionics.

This set of graphs really pinned the BS meter: No mater how you produce them, power is always proportional to RPM * Torque so the second graph simply cannot be correct and implies a serious lack of knowledge on someone's part. IME, any design that relies on violating simple laws of physics...

There are a few limitations (e.g. Certified before 1980, under 12,500 MGW, unpressurized): (AC) 23-27, issued in May 2009, allows owners with aircraft Type-Certified before 1980, and meeting certain criteria, to simply replace the current battery on the TC or STC, with an FAA-PMA Concorde...

A little thread drift but the rules on aircraft batteries have changed and you no longer need to stick with the battery listed on the TCDS for most of the airplanes we fly.

IO550 cylinders have the exact same bore as those on a IO346 or IO520. The 550 displacement comes from a longer stroke (different crank throw) compared with the IO520. And an IO346 has the exact same displacement per cylinder as an IO520.

I've got a few hundred hours in a 177RG but that was many years ago. But in every certified retract I've flown, it's quite possible to slow below Vle sans flaps as long as you can fly level for a few miles. The key is to make a power reduction to something just a little above where the gear...

Pretty much true although a few singles actually do have feathering props, some even have beta (reverse). Also the hydraulic prop conversion for the early Bonanzas which came with electric prop pitch control uses a hub that works like the ones on most twins which means that it goes to coarse...

The Continental A65 in my antique taildragger was last overhauled in 1981 and has less than 1000 hrs on it. I see no reason to overhaul it as long as it's running well. I'd be willing to bet that less than 1% of owner flown airplanes have their engine(s) overhauled just because the calendar...

Did you know Chris Teodecki? He was at Lewis for many years and was involved in the telemetry systems on some of those spacecraft.

Paul was correct about both the cold and hot resistance and the bottom line is you can't tell much about an incandescent lamp by measuring the cold resistance. If you really want to know if these lamps are truly 200W @ 120 V, measure the current while operating on 120V (should be...

Good on you Lance. I've considered going this route but have always been concerned about the liability (my retirement nest egg might make a juicy target). I figured that CFI insurance would cost more than I'd make as a CFI unless I was doing it full time. How are you going to deal with that?