Airplane Owner Maintenance

A Maintenance Oriented Podcast For Airplane Owners, Pilots, and Mechanics

Month: January 2021

166 – A Strong and Humble Blue Angels Pilot: Jim Cox

January 29, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) James Cox, a member of the Navy’s Blue Angels Team, is our guest today on the podcast! He exceeded my expectations in so many ways in our conversation, and I’m thrilled to share this interview with you. You’ll definitely want to listen to this one!

Although the Blue Angels do a lot of traveling, Jim is also a dedicated family man, and we talked about how he stays connected with his wife and kids while serving with the Blue Angels. Jim said, “Communication is key.” That’s a good word for all of us, in all kinds of life situations!

Throughout our conversation, Jim was quick to say, “This is not about me. This is about the team, and I’m grateful to be a part of it. As a team, we have the great privilege and responsibility to serve and inspire people and communities all over the country with a message of teamwork, professionalism, and excellence, in order to motivate individuals to reach their greatest potential in life.” (My paraphrase.)

Here’s the team:

In our conversation, Jim said so many things worth remembering, and here are a few noteworthy quotes:

  • “I always had an eye for the sky.”
  • “I’m proof that hard work alone can get you anywhere.”
  • “The flying is utterly amazing, but the community outreach portion of what we do is definitely the highlight.”
  • “I couldn’t be where I am today without my mom and dad.”
  • “The best thing you can absolutely do as a 16 year old in high school is to be the BEST 16 year old you can possibly be.”
  • “You start with the end in mind, but the PROCESS is so important!”
  • “The only way that we can fly the way we do is because of trust.”
  • “Everything we do is predicated on safety.  Safety is absolutely first and foremost number one in everything.”

You can learn more about the Blue Angels at the website: BlueAngels.Navy.Mil

Jim, I am absolutely grateful for the opportunity to speak with you. Thank you Sir, and your family, and the whole Blue Angels team, for representing our country so well. We appreciate you!

I hope to see you at one of the airshows in 2021!

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165 – A Shop Towel in the Engine! Don’t Do What I Did!

January 22, 2021 / / 2 Comments

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Hi Friends!

I have a story for you today that I wish I didn’t have. But it’s true, so we might as well learn from it. Thankfully, everything turned out well on this one.

At Moody Aviation where I went to school years ago, we had a concept called “SYE.” It stood for “Share Your Experience.”

It was a concept to encourage us to take our mistakes and make a learning opportunity from them.

Listen to today’s podcast for the story of how I accidentally left a red shop towel inside an airplane engine… I hope I never do that again! Definitely an opportunity to learn “what not to do!”

Ok… it’s time to ‘fess up 🙂 I know I’m not the only one out here who’s done a dumb thing or two in airplane maintenance… so, if you’re willing to share your story, leave me a message here on the website, or shoot me an email dean{at}airplaneownermaintenance{dot}com

I’ll assume it’s ok to share the stories, without names (unless you ask me to share your name.) Thanks!

Another item we discussed in this episode is a Cessna 172 that would not start. It turned out to be a problem with the left magneto, but in the process of troubleshooting, we discovered the spark plugs had gone far too long without being cleaned.

Take a look:

And here’s the loose distributor electrode inside the magneto:

Other items we discussed in this episode:

  • An oil leak on a Twin Cessna (you might have seen the email I sent out about this.)
  • The items we used to fix that oil leak: Aviation Permatex, Continental silk thread P/N 641543 (If you only need a small amount, check with Fresno Airparts… they sell it for 20 cents per foot) and the third item used was Loctite 515. These 3 components, used properly, make an excellent seal for the oil pump cover.
  • Some interesting electrical information about a Cirrus SR22 – here’s the YouTube video I mentioned with some excellent visuals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCeHxk-fJvE

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