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.
51
"Full rich is horrendously rich"
Fuel issues dominate, featuring problems with set-up, leaning, and more
66 min
52
Live from Saturday Airventure 2024
A live audience tries to stump Mike, Paul, and Colleen
49 min
53
"Mechanics are the surgeons of aviation"
Cooling issues, getting along with your mechanic, and approved data
71 min
54
"I've had grass stains on my prop"
Engine teardown after a prop strike, preflight procedures, using the boost pump, and oversquare
72 min
55
"Placard it inop"
Leaky struts, leaky brakes, and a leaky defroster
67 min
56
"Don't pull the throttle back until you want to...
64 min
57
"Don't do that!"
Throwing away an engine that's hard to start
63 min
58
"I have permission to get an airplane."
The challenges of tying down, major or minor, fuel pump problems, and more.
62 min
59
"I'm against throwing a part at something"
How much oil burn is too much?
62 min
60
"You become the supervisor of your maintenance"
62 min
61
"Don't split the case halves"
Oil leaks don't always come from the case
59 min
62
"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
63
"Let us know how the exorcism goes"
Ridding an engine of it's demons
57 min
64
"The breather is a slobber pot"
An engine that won't quit, oil temps, tuned exhausts, and ELT batteries
53 min
65
"Think of the prop control as a gear shift"
Valve lapping, oversquare, and the basics of leaning
50 min
66
"Major and minor is in the eye of the beholder"
Can you make your own electronic components? The experts discuss.
59 min
67
"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
68
"We call it an Italian tune-up"
Valve clatter, damage history that isn't, why POH numbers change, and more
54 min
69
"Use whatever time runs the slowest"
When the tachometers don't agree, which one do you pick?
55 min
70
"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
71
"Cleaning injectors causes more problems than i...
55 min
72
"Why don't you just fix the problem?"
Cold-weather flying, radio issues, and how to become an A&P
61 min
73
"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
74
"Inspections are an imperfect process"
46 min
75
"Don't attack anything with tools"
How to hot start, a faulty tach, and unnecessary cylinder removals
51 min