Listening on the radio to a call-in talk show isn’t one of my favorite activities. Of course, like most folks, I end up listening to parts of one show or another as I drive down the road. It doesn’t take me long to start switching stations hoping to catch some meaningful dialogue before I get […]
Opinion
What led to camshaft damage?
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 […]
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 […]
Bridging generations in Dallas
I can now honestly say, “I was on the grassy knoll.” I visited Dealey Plaza in Dallas when I was in the Lone Star State attending the 16th annual Women in Aviation International Conference. I was not born when President Kennedy was assassinated, but I have seen the film of the motorcade and the black […]
A story worth telling
Just wanted to say thanks to Tom Norton for the nice book review you ran on “Things My Flight Instructor Never Told Me” (Need to know info, Feb. 25 issue). I see you ran my good friend Jim Gardner’s seaplane story as well (Buying an amphibian? How about some tips from someone who’s been there, […]