QUESTION: Last year I bought a 1971 C172L model with a Lycoming O-320-E2D. When I bought the plane I did an annual at the same time and for the most part everything was fine. This year it was discovered that the camshaft had been damaged along with lobe wear on the No. 4 cylinder. I […]
Opinion
Can you explain lifter bleed?
QUESTION: Can you explain the lifter bleed down check procedure in detail (or tell me where I can find it) for my IO-360-B1E on my 1967 Arrow? Wayne Whittington Blackwell, Okla. ANSWER: Wayne, I suggest you focus your attention on Lycoming Service Instruction 1011H. It will give you the general inspection requirements and checks for […]
Think it’s just a freckle? Maybe, but it could be cancer
In the course of examining airmen for FAA medical certificates, aeromedical examiners sometimes see skin lesions of various kinds. Most are inconsequential, but we sometimes find cancerous growths. Any time the word “cancer” comes up, it is a scary situation. The cancerous lesions we see most frequently are basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. […]
Who held the original speed record?
QUESTION: Who did Lt. Russell Maughan take the air speed record from when he set the record in March 1923? Sue Hechinger Flower Mound, Texas ANSWER: Lt. Russell Maughan set his record in 1922, not 1923, when he won that year’s Pulitzer Race on Oct. 14 at 205.856 mph in a Curtiss R-6, beating a […]
Here we go again: Lawmakers introduce bill to open Reagan National to GA
WASHINGTON, D.C. — It has been tried before, but here we go again: an attempt to get Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reopened to general aviation. This time a bipartisan bill has been introduced in the U.S. House directing the Department of Transportation to allow general aviation access within six months. Except for a number […]
Why accidents make headlines
Nice story (Flying with the NASCAR Air Force, March 11) and very complete, except that one major fact is wrong. The recent accident involving the Hendrick Motorsports Team occurred in Stuart, Va., in the Martinsville, Va., area, not in Richmond. What is important here is that the flight originated in Concord, N.C., less than a 100 […]
Nice cover, missing info
Saw the recent issue with the Glastar 2+2 amphib on the cover…nice cover (March 11 issue)! Question: Why is there no mention at all that those are Montana Float Co. amphibs under that spectacular airplane? Bob Andrews via email
A world of hurt
I am a pilot, member of AOPA, life member of the NRA and proud of it (To build a powerhouse GA, model the NRA, Jan. 28 issue). Yes the NRA has done some things that I don’t agree with, but if they were not there, we gun owners would be in a world of hurt. […]
Look again
Christian Holtz better look again (Filmmakers need to get it right, March 11 issue): It just happened that I watched “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” last night. His aircraft recognition skills need a little honing. That’s a P-40 that Jude Law is careening around the sky in, not a P-51. Remember the Flying […]