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.
26
"I've had grass stains on my prop"
Engine teardown after a prop strike, preflight procedures, using the boost pump, and oversquare
72 min
27
"Placard it inop"
Leaky struts, leaky brakes, and a leaky defroster
67 min
28
"Don't pull the throttle back until you want to...
64 min
29
"Don't do that!"
Throwing away an engine that's hard to start
63 min
30
"I have permission to get an airplane."
The challenges of tying down, major or minor, fuel pump problems, and more.
62 min
31
"I'm against throwing a part at something"
How much oil burn is too much?
62 min
32
"You become the supervisor of your maintenance"
62 min
33
"Don't split the case halves"
Oil leaks don't always come from the case
59 min
34
"This guy is on his own, he's a test pilot"
The best plugs, advice for a Van's customer, and is carb heat necessary?
63 min
35
"Let us know how the exorcism goes"
Ridding an engine of it's demons
57 min
36
"The breather is a slobber pot"
An engine that won't quit, oil temps, tuned exhausts, and ELT batteries
53 min
37
"Think of the prop control as a gear shift"
Valve lapping, oversquare, and the basics of leaning
50 min
38
"Major and minor is in the eye of the beholder"
Can you make your own electronic components? The experts discuss.
59 min
39
"It's not good form to jam the throttle forward"
How to use a borescope, best throttle practices, and keeping water out of the tanks
58 min
40
"We call it an Italian tune-up"
Valve clatter, damage history that isn't, why POH numbers change, and more
54 min
41
"Use whatever time runs the slowest"
When the tachometers don't agree, which one do you pick?
55 min
42
"You can't fully pickle it"
A curiously rough running engine, another that's cursed, and one that needs to be preserved are on the agenda.
65 min
43
"Cleaning injectors causes more problems than i...
55 min
44
"Why don't you just fix the problem?"
Cold-weather flying, radio issues, and how to become an A&P
61 min
45
"It's not the mechanic's job to make flying che...
A wonky compass, lean of peak advice, and liabilities of being a mechanic
55 min
46
"Inspections are an imperfect process"
46 min
47
"Don't attack anything with tools"
How to hot start, a faulty tach, and unnecessary cylinder removals
51 min
48
Live from Airventure 2023
Mike, Paul, and Colleen take live questions from this year's Oshkosh
48 min
49
"My airplane is so clean you can eat off it"
Washing during annual, turbocharging problems, how to start an airplane, and more
59 min
50
"The only that thing that can cause CHT to rise...
Engines are blowing up all over in this latest epiosde
60 min