Airplane Owner Maintenance - By Dean Showalter

You might be wondering, “How is that possible,” or “What kind of shady operation is that?!” Same here. When I first heard about the $200 annual inspection, I was skeptical… until I actually researched what Jim does and how he does it. That prompted me to call him, and he was gracious enough to take […]

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce my good friend, Aram Basmadjian! Aram has a very interesting aviation journey, and it was fun talking with him for this episode. Aram flew for Skywest Airlines for about 8 years, which was a great foundation for the flying he does today. Aram enjoys going places with his […]

The part in the yellow circle is an oil scavenge pump that returns oil back to the engine oil sump after it lubricates the turbocharger center bearings. The right side of the assembly is the adapter that fits into the engine accessory case. The left side of the assembly is the hydraulic pump that is […]

NOTE: I now have limited spots available on Fridays for one-on-one calls. Here’s how it works: Click the following link and pick a time on my calendar that works for you. https://calendly.com/deanshow/60min Send me a payment for $100 at the following link: PayPal.Me/airplaneownermaint (This is for a one-hour call.) Why would you invest in one […]

Joe Godfrey is an expert when it comes to analyzing engine data from aircraft engine monitoring systems. Joe is the Director of Operations at SavvyAnalysis, as well as a Columnist and Editor for SavvyAviation News. Not only does Joe analyze airplane engine data, but he also owns and flies his own airplane, a Bellanca Viking. […]

Note: The “Safety Wire Like A Pro!” video training course is available for one more day at 20% off (use code “canard” for discount coupon.) Read about the training here: https://airplane-owner-maintenance.teachable.com/p/safetywiring Three stories for today: Story #1: A Lycoming exhaust stud pulled out. It was disappointing, but turned out to be an inspiring learning experience. […]

What an adventure! This airplane got stranded at Wilmington, Delaware due to failure of the #2 cylinder on the Lycoming IO-360 engine. The local maintenance shop discovered the exhaust valve rocker shaft stud had broken… here’s what it looked like: Obviously, that cylinder was rendered useless… and it caused a significant power loss. Thankfully, the […]

Scroll down for pictures of some things included in today’s episode. Sitting in my truck the other day, I had a revelation. Here it is: When you are having maintenance done on your airplane, Aviate, Navigate, Communicate, is exactly backwards. Instead, it’s important to “Communicate, then Navigate, and finally Aviate.” First, communicate. TALK WITH your […]

Before we get into the places I “traveled” through FaceTime calls, I wanted to share something you might be interested in… my friends, John and Leslie Caubble (FlyMauiHI.com) now have a “Fly Maui” YouTube channel, and I recently watched their new video where they talked about ForeFlight basics… It’s called ForeFlight 101. It’s really good […]

NOTICE: UNTIL THE END OF MAY 2020, USE CODE “CANARD” FOR A 20% DISCOUNT ON MY VIDEO COURSE “SAFETY WIRE LIKE A PRO!” (Listen to the podcast to hear the story behind the word “canard” and why I chose that for the code.) Click the following link to learn about the course: https://airplane-owner-maintenance.teachable.com/p/safetywiring I received […]

——————————————————————————————————————– Special announcement: We have more pictures of Mike’s airplane, but first, I want to let you know about a Zoom call I’ve scheduled for tomorrow. I’m hoping to provide a way to get together online for some aviation encouragement in this weird time we’re in with the Corona Virus and the effects of it. […]

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to present a talk at our local IA renewal seminar about exhaust valve borescoping. I shared some of my favorite pictures – the ones that demonstrate how critically important borescoping is, and that compression testing alone is not sufficient. The following three examples are especially startling, since they showed a […]

Engine oil leaks are a common problem on small airplanes with piston engines. But how much oil leakage is too much? Here’s an indicator: If there’s oil on the nose tire, and it paints a stripe on the pavement with each revolution, that’s too much oil leakage. This was the case the other day on […]

After a successful career in computers early in life, Carl Valeri decided years ago it was time to pursue his passion for aviation. Since that time, he’s been an airline pilot, flight instructor, aviation careers coach, mentor, Piper Cherokee pilot, and many other things. Carl is well known as the host of two podcasts, the […]

“There’s no RPM drop when I select left mag, and if I turn the ignition switch off, the engine continues to run.” That’s what the owner of this Cirrus reported when he arrived at our airport the other day. One of our technicians got to work to troubleshoot the problem. Here’s what he found: The […]

I was sitting in my car that day, having lunch with my friend Matt, when we noticed the airport fire trucks were rolling out toward the runway. Although they exercise these trucks regularly, this time seemed different. And sure enough, a Piper Navajo made a low pass and it was obvious the landing gear was […]

Note: scroll to the bottom of this post for a special announcement. Have you ever experienced an inflight magneto failure? If not, you might some day… but if you take action on the recommendation in today’s episode, you can dramatically reduce the likelihood of that happening. The left mag on this Cessna 172RG failed in […]

During the recent annual inspection on Drew Wright’s Cessna 182, cylinder #1 had a low compression of 42/80. However, with the amazing technology of borescoping, he was able to take a look inside the cylinder. The nice concentric circle of deposits on the face of the exhaust valve indicates a healthy valve. Drew wondered if […]

Limited time offer on the “Safety Wire Like A Pro!” video tutorial course: (Offer good until midnight December 24, 2019. Just use code “2019” at checkout.) Click here to save 10% and become an expert! Hey, check out this 10 second video of an absolutely startling fuel leak I found this past week during a […]

Whether your airplane has a “Brackett” brand filter like the first picture, or a “Donaldson” brand filter like the second filter, or another brand like “Challenger” or something else, they all need to be clean and in good condition. The air your airplane breathes is critically important. Your engine, your vacuum instruments, and even other […]