Ask the A&Ps
Experts Mike Busch, Paul New, and Colleen Sterling answer your toughest aviation maintenance questions. Submit questions to podcasts@aopa.org. New episodes are released the first and fifteenth of every month.
1
"That's one way to flat spot a tire"
Parking brakes, valve guides, and preflight gotchas
39 min
2
"An airplane with no engine is worth nothing"
Oil issues cause problems for owners
58 min
3
"You have to cart mogas around like a homeless ...
Fuel flow, mogas, and overhaul concerns
60 min
4
"You have license to go zorching around"
58 min
5
"Continentals burn valves and Lycomings stick v...
69 min
6
"My airplane is a flying experiment"
Engines go bang, stick, and hold on to oil this episode
63 min
7
"They put all their maintenance records on napk...
Picking the right aircraft logbook, Continental bulletins, lead scavenging, and ADs
59 min
8
"Keep torturing those airplanes...and students"
Shutting down engines, electrical problems, and more
52 min
9
"Shame on you for even thinking about it"
Lead deposits, turbo tips, setting engine monitors, and trading good airplanes
55 min
10
"If that doesn't work you've got the flame thro...
Engine vibrations, getting the bugs out, leaning for takeoff, and flap problems
62 min
11
"Your airplane is on a full-time IV drip"
Oil pressure and temperature issues, compression test benefits
66 min
12
"You don’t know if he’s going to hit you with a...
67 min
13
"There's a serious brain drain in aviation main...
Power loss, how to train technicians, and engine theory
61 min
14
"Check it, log it, and then relax"
A prop strike without a prop, broken rings, carbon monoxide, and Continental rpm advice
74 min
15
"There’s a reason they call these amateur built"
How to check the oil, leaning basics, erratic idles, and oil analysis concerns
57 min
16
"Don't open up the fuel system if you don't hav...
Clogged injectors, altimeter checks, engine design, and being kind to engines
61 min
17
"The engine didn't explode"
Oil pumps, oil ratings, and oil filters
59 min
18
"When they go bad the engine is toast"
Parts no longer available, lean of peak vibrations, and more
60 min
19
"It goes through cylinders like flapjacks"
When things rattle, shake, and go boom
57 min
20
"When it starts to talk to you it's time to rep...
TBO myths, preflight techiques, on-condition maintenance, and lean of peak
55 min
21
"The people who design these airplanes don't wo...
Some problems are easy to fix, if you can reach them
68 min
22
"Full rich is horrendously rich"
Fuel issues dominate, featuring problems with set-up, leaning, and more
66 min
23
Live from Saturday Airventure 2024
A live audience tries to stump Mike, Paul, and Colleen
49 min
24
"Mechanics are the surgeons of aviation"
Cooling issues, getting along with your mechanic, and approved data
71 min
25
"I've had grass stains on my prop"
Engine teardown after a prop strike, preflight procedures, using the boost pump, and oversquare
72 min