We have an MX300 in our 172 that has started producing squeals and static whenever it is turned on. It was intermittent a month ago and proceeded to being continuous. We can still transmit and receive if we can stand listening to the noise. I turned it on today and could clearly hear a...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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

I started a thread about a week ago in which I passed on something I was told by AOPA two or three times. You can be in violation of your private pilot privileges if you make a flight solely to accommodate the needs of your passenger, even if you accept no reimbursement for costs. A number of...

I was always taught that WOT was a "renter's setting" and that you should back off to 2300-2400 if you want to get good life out of your engine. I keep running across the Advanced Pilot Seminar guys asking, "Why EVER be partial throttle in cruise? Of course, they are probably also talking about...

We have a shop that's proved that shimmy isn't inevitable in Cessnas, as other shops have tried to tell me in the past. The nose gear started to shimmy after 18 months solid as a rock. Turned out to be water in the wheel, trapped between the two halves and acting like a wheel weight. How it got...

The particular O-320 in our 172N is the sweetest running aircraft engine I have ever known. We maintain it rigorously and proactively and lean aggressively for all ground operations. I have not had to clear a mag once in the 880 hours since it was installed. I flew the plane the day before...

I see that the FAA has issued an AC http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular ..nsf/ACNumber/26BA6B66CF38D2BC86256D560054CE8A?OpenDocument which permits installing a second AI instead of a Turn Coordinator as long as it is powered differently than the primary...

We still have one of these and it works great in the simple airspace we fly in. Also good backup for the handheld GPS. The database is very old however. Does anyone out there have one of these that they have retired? I'd like to get a more recent database card? -- Roger Long

What's the rough hourly cost of operating a high end corporate jet such as a Gulfstream? -- Roger Long

The FAA is looking for two things when considering the question of whether a private pilot was carrying a passenger(s) legitimately. One is evidence that the passenger is incidentally aboard on a flight that was going to take place anyway. Second is that the pilot and passenger have a shared...

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...

On 27 Jun 2003 02:57:39 -0700, (Patty) wrote: Jizhong: Try Calling Brian Eklund at Suburban Aviation at the Toledo Suburban Airport. They're a Cessna Service Station and Brian knows the Cessna Aircraft like the back of his hand. The Airport is also very...