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
"More time to fly, less time to turn wrenches"
Flaming exhausts, lean of peak, and unnecessary maintenance
46 min
2
"You have a lot of splaining to do"
How to cycle the prop, cam spalding, and inop parts
50 min
3
"Mechanics can be ornery sometimes"
54 min
4
Live from Airventure 2025
The audience questions come fast at the AOPA tent
44 min
5
"That'd be like putting grease on the road"
Grease options, lean of peak temps, break-in, composite cracks
59 min
6
"That's one way to flat spot a tire"
Parking brakes, valve guides, and preflight gotchas
39 min
7
"An airplane with no engine is worth nothing"
Oil issues cause problems for owners
58 min
8
"You have to cart mogas around like a homeless ...
Fuel flow, mogas, and overhaul concerns
60 min
9
"You have license to go zorching around"
58 min
10
"Continentals burn valves and Lycomings stick v...
69 min
11
"My airplane is a flying experiment"
Engines go bang, stick, and hold on to oil this episode
63 min
12
"They put all their maintenance records on napk...
Picking the right aircraft logbook, Continental bulletins, lead scavenging, and ADs
59 min
13
"Keep torturing those airplanes...and students"
Shutting down engines, electrical problems, and more
52 min
14
"Shame on you for even thinking about it"
Lead deposits, turbo tips, setting engine monitors, and trading good airplanes
55 min
15
"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
16
"Your airplane is on a full-time IV drip"
Oil pressure and temperature issues, compression test benefits
66 min
17
"You don’t know if he’s going to hit you with a...
67 min
18
"There's a serious brain drain in aviation main...
Power loss, how to train technicians, and engine theory
61 min
19
"Check it, log it, and then relax"
A prop strike without a prop, broken rings, carbon monoxide, and Continental rpm advice
74 min
20
"There’s a reason they call these amateur built"
How to check the oil, leaning basics, erratic idles, and oil analysis concerns
57 min
21
"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
22
"The engine didn't explode"
Oil pumps, oil ratings, and oil filters
59 min
23
"When they go bad the engine is toast"
Parts no longer available, lean of peak vibrations, and more
60 min
24
"It goes through cylinders like flapjacks"
When things rattle, shake, and go boom
57 min
25
"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