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I had a situation last week at Classic Aviation that made me think about this topic… cable tensions and how easy it is for confusion to creep in around this topic.  Listen to today’s episode to hear about a situation on a Piper Saratoga that took some digging to get to the bottom of it.

But first, I want to say thanks to Matt Reedy for his feedback about a gear down light in his Piper Arrow.  He referred to episode 058, and if you have not listened to it, you can find it here:  Airplane OwnerMaintenance.com/058

If you have a gear down light in your airplane that is slow to illuminate after you extend the landing gear, you might find that episode helpful as one idea to consider.

Matt also shared with me something about safety wiring.  Here is what he said:

“I watched your YouTube video on safety wiring a brake caliper several times.  It really helped me figure out how to safety wire the oil filter and oil sump suction screen on my Lycoming engine.  I’ve now changed my own oil several times.”

Thank you Matt!

The safety wiring video course will soon be available.  More information to come on that.

In the mean time, if you’d like to watch the video Matt was talking about, here it is:

The upcoming safety wiring course, “Safety Wire Like A Pro,” will go far beyond what you see in this video.  I

Also in this episode, I mentioned a very special Christmas gift I received from my daughter.  Here’s a picture of that 🙂

(You’ll have to listen to the audio to find out why in the world she wrote “#bestbananaever” on that banana…  I loved this gift!

Today’s main feature:  Airplane cable tensions.  Find out what it took to get all the cable tensions up to proper specs, including the primary cables, trim cables, and autopilot servo cables.

And after this experience, I’m more convinced than ever, that it would be a really good idea for every airplane owner to put together some sort of maintenance file that can be used as a reference when it comes time for the annual inspection.  It could include things like:

  • Cable tensions
  • Tire pressures
  • Strut extension levels
  • Engine oil type
  • Common part numbers
  • Recurring AD’s
  • Acomplete AD compliance record
  • And more

And, if you have other great ideas about what to include in a maintenance file like this please let me know… leave a voice message here on the website, or send me an email.  dean{at}airplaneownermaintenance{dot}com

Thanks everyone, and have a great weekend!