Month: March 2019

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A little pesky fuel leak can be aggravating.

Especially when you’ve already had it “fixed” in the past, but it’s still leaking.  That was the case recently on an airplane that arrived at Classic Aviation for a fuel leak repair.

It turns out the inboard fuel quantity probe in this aircraft is about six feet long, and the wing must be removed from the aircraft in order to remove the probe.  The probe threads are sealed with a special sealant, and in this case, fuel was leaking past the threads.

So… we had to bite the bullet and remove the wing.

With the wing removed, it was simple to access the fuel tank at the inboard end.  This nylon rope worked well to dislodge the fuel tank assembly from its position in the wing, so it could be slid out of the wing cavity.  The leak was at the bottom left hole in the inboard end of this fuel tank, where the fuel quantity probe screws into the tank.  The tank assembly had to be removed from the wing because when the probe is reinstalled, it must be inserted into a teflon bushing, and this is nearly impossible unless you can reach inside the tank at the outboard end… and the only way to do this is to remove the whole assembly from the wing.

Since it was a rare opportunity, I had to take a picture of the inside of the DA-40 wing, where the fuel tank lives.

You can hear all about the process of fixing this fuel leak, and some lessons I learned, in today’s episode of the Airplane Owner Maintenance Podcast.

And… if you have a Diamond Aircraft (or any other general aviation aircraft, and you need some reliable maintenance, give us a call at Classic Aviation, LLC.

Yev Bondarev, Manager  540-234-0226

classicaviationshd@gmail.com

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Have you ever experienced an electrical failure in flight?

If not, I’m sure you’ve wondered what it would be like, and at the same time, probably hoped it would never happen to you.  Unfortunately, it does happen.  There are however, some things you can do to help ensure your electrical system is performing reliably.  Listen to today’s episode for one special tip to make sure your split rocker master switch is wired correctly.

Here are some highlights in today’s episode:

• An iTunes rating and review of the podcast.
• An email from Jeff Bell sharing his experience about his pressurization system in his P-Baron.
• A story I heard about on the Fly Maui podcast with John and Leslie Caubble.  They talked about a story that was on the Aviation News Talk podcast with Max Trescott, and how a student pilot had a severe oil leak that covered the windshield with oil… totally worth listening to!  You can find it here:  https://aviationnewstalk.com/
• And the main story in this episode:  A Cessna 172, or more specifically, a military designation airplane… a T41.  Basically, a beefed up  Cessna 172 with a Continental IO-360 engine in it.  This airplane had an electrical failure, and we fixed to fairly simple, but extremely important things in this airplane to get them going again.

That’s it for this week.  See you in the next episode!

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Note:  CLICK HERE for more episodes of the Airplane Owner Maintenance Podcast. 

Classic Aviation needs one or two more experienced A&P / IA’s!

If you know of any good possibilities, contact our manager, Yev Bondarev:

540-234-0226 or classicaviationshd@gmail.com

Classic Aviation is a great place to get a well-rounded general aviation maintenance experience.

Website:  https://www.classicaviationshd.com/

Now for today’s episode:

Today is actually March 2, 2019, but I recorded the audio for this episode the day after my birthday, February 21, 2019.  So I reflected back over my time at Classic Aviation and talked about some of my experiences there, and about the changes of ownership and management that have happened over the years.

In my time at Classic, there have been three different owners:

Richard Kiser (the founder of the business.)  1993-2010.

Kyle London 2011-2018.

Rick Kelley 2018- present time.

Listen to today’s episode to hear about some of my experiences over the years.   I cover a wide range of stuff in this episode, including people I’ve appreciated and learned from, various airplanes we’ve worked on, and some people I’ve learned about more recently.  Some of these are:

Jason Catanzariti:  I found Jason online when I was looking for information about the concept of “Transfer of Learning.”  He wrote an article called, “How Juggling, Bulldozer Driving & Savvy Instructors Can Build Flight Skills.”  What an amazing article… well worth your time to read!  The article is about the fascinating reality that our past experience affects new learning.   Here’s a great example:  Jason says, “I’ve observed that bulldozer operators have no problems learning to taxi because they are already accustomed to steering with their feet.”  We need more flight instructors like Jason – the kind who are not just interested in “checking all the boxes of required training,” but instead, are interested in higher levels of training where a passion for aviation is ignited that goes far beyond the status quo.  Well done Jason, and thanks for writing that article!

And just now, I found another article Jason wrote about learning to fly.  It’s called “Instructor Report – Is Flying Hard?”  Another great article!

You can check out Jason at JasonCFI.com

Chris Palmer:  Chris has a podcast called “Angle of Attack.”  Chris says “There are pilots.  Then there are aviators.”  Chris is all about training “aviators” – pilots who have a passion for aviation that goes far beyond the standard requirements.  Check out Chris’ podcast and training opportunities here:

For the podcast:  https://www.aviatortraining.com/category/aviatorcast-podcast/

For aviation training opportunities:   https://www.aviatortraining.com/

I find it totally fascinating that Chris lives in Homer, Alaska!  This is by far one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited!

John and Leslie Caubble:  I’ve mentioned these great people before, and  I want to recommend their new podcast “Fly Maui.”  Recently, they had Chris Palmer on the show as a guest, and it was an EXCELLENT episode.  (Fly Maui episode 18 from February 11, 2019.)  Check it out here:  https://www.flymauihi.com/blog/chrispalmer

Rick Kelley:  Now I’m coming back around to the new owner of Classic Aviation, Rick Kelley.  I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Rick.  He loves aviation of all types.  In fact, that’s why he bought Classic Aviation.  Rick is also on the board of “Sheltering Arms,” an organization that is building a rehabilitation hospital in the Richmond, Virginia area.  Rick has his own fascinating story of recovering from a stroke 6 years ago, and he is super excited about the new opportunity for this new hospital that will serve the eastern United States.

Yev Bondarev:   I want to end this episode with a reminder to give Yev a call or send an email if you know of any good A&P / IA’s who would like to work at Classic Aviation.  We have a good opportunity to add one or two more right now.  Yev is the manager at Classic, and he would love to talk with you!

540-234-0226

classicaviationshd@gmail.com

Contact Yev today!

The post “My Story With Classic Aviation” appeared first on Dean Showalter’s website, AirplaneOwnerMaintenance.com