So I've taken on a project for my club, as a part of my desire to get more involved in the maintenance side of things. I'm to seek out options for new and improved instrument lighting for one of our aircraft. The club Maintenance Chief provided me with some information he'd already collected. ...

Most owners, I assume, have corporations which do the actual owning and which provide a liability firewall. But how are taxes managed? The issue I think I'm facing is we pay money into the corporation against future events like overhaul, repainting, etc. These monies add up. But since this is...

I'm not asking about LOP itself, but why it's so "hot" snicker a topic. It would seem to be a simple thing to me: the cylinders run at decent temperatures LOP or they do not. What else is there? I know at least one person in person, and others from their postings, that are getting success...

Some work was done on an airplane. The new W&B is of the "removed/added" sort and computes a new empty weight and moment arm. But the document doesn't state the gross weight. The changes were all avionics; no airframe or power plant work was done. So I'd expect the gross weight to remain...

Wanting to put our club's 430s on the upgrade list, I need to get the serial numbers. Is there a page with this in the unit itself? I looked the other day, but didn't spot it. Thanks... Andrew

I read a review of the Chelton AP-3C recently, and it has me wondering some things. It's attitude-based. The article I read seems to work on the presumption that this is better than rate-based, but it does later say that one shouldn't be dependent upon a vacuum-based AI for one's autopilot. So...

I'm putting together a proposal for my club to replace TCs with electric AIs over time. But for this to work, we need an autopilot that can connect to the electric AI (therefo roll-based). I found a new Chelton that looks quite nice, but is likely overkill (in terms of price and function) for...

My club is purchasing another 172. One of the choices we've found - and otherwise nice airplane - has racked up 10,000 hours total time. Most of the other aircraft at which we've looked have had TTs of something less than half this. Are there special considerations for an airframe with this much...

I've been surprised to read nothing here about the new delay for WAAS on the 430/530s. Perhaps it's not new to everyone else? It was supposed to be available this summer. It's not. It's now projected for third quarter of 2006. However, one must order before some time this year to lock in the...

I'd like to acquire the available wisdom on pricing flight time (though I'll forgo standing on a single leg for now {8^). This is for a club, but I'm sure it's the same problem for a partnership or even a single owner. The only difference is that a club has multiple aircraft, but we price...

How "particular" to an AP are DGs? We're looking to replace a DG in an aircraft that has an Cessna Navomatic 300A (I think it is called) autopilot. In the not too distant future, we'll be upgrading the AP (probably to an STEC unit, likely to the STEC 20 (we already have the STEC 30 Alt...

One of our club aircraft, as a result of water damage, needs a new AI and DG. But rather than just replacing the units with the same type, we're going to give careful consideration to the possibility of an upgrade. Since this is prime flying time, I've been given an entire day to...

I've been tasked by my flying club http://flyingclub.org/ with a job I've been trying to do informally anyway: design our "panel of the future", and draw up a plan for getting from our current state to there. The mandate is pretty wide, though I get the feeling that an electric AI is more likely...

Our Cessna R182 is getting CO in the cockpit. We've now had three different shops look at it multiple times, all to no (complete) effect. They've done things like resealing the firewall, the gear-wells, the exhaust, and the like. But still we get CO. We've swapped CO detectors around between...

I posted here recently that the club to which I belong in Northern NJ: http://flyingclub.org has some memberships available. Through an odd chain of reasoning (and searching the 'net for comparable clubs), I came upon what I found to be an interesting thought. But is it "good" interesting or...

The club to which I belong is upgrading the instrument lighting in one of our 182s. I've been doing the research side of this. All was going well. We ultimately decided upon the panel overlay product from Aero Enhancement, and started looking at shops to do the installation. And here's where I...

I'm not sure that the subject accurately portrays the topic about which I'm asking, but I couldn't arrive at a better term. The person that flew the club airplane before me reported a magneto problem in the squawk book. When I tried to start the plane the next day, I found it unwilling to start. ...

I vaguely recall someone mentioning to me once that there was an AD regarding cigarette lighters in Cessna 172s of some vintage. But I've searched around trying to find this (including at the FAA web site), and have failed. Anyone have pointers (or is this perhaps an "urban...

As a new pilot and new owner of a cessna 172, I've noticed the seeimingly unlimited amount of accessories available for my plane. Most seem to have one thing in common - a high price tag. I was wondering if anyone reading this thread would share information on any devices that are perhaps homemade...

I need an A&I to assist with purchasing a Cessna 172 in the STL area.