Airplane Owner Maintenance

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

Month: September 2023

234 – Why the Airplane’s Heater Didn’t Light Last Winter

September 23, 2023 /

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I’ll get right to it… I think it was because one of the brushes in the heater combustion fan motor was severely worn, and when the motor / combustion fan did not run, the heater did not light.

Here’s a comparison of the old brushes and the new brushes I just installed:

(The 2 old brushes are on the left.)

This episode also includes the nose gear support structure rivets that needed to be replaced:

Now you might be wondering, “What kind of airplane is this?!”

It’s an Aerostar… a great airplane, but like all airplanes, it does take some maintenance.

And one area that needs to be inspected closely is the nose gear support structure. (The rivets in the above photo are in a bracket that supports the nose gear door rod shaft. The bolt below the center red arrow holds the left side of the shaft in place in the nose gear well.)

Listen to the audio to hear the complete list of squawks being addressed in this year’s annual inspection.

Have a great week!

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233 – Mike’s Owner Assisted Annual on His F33A Bonanza

September 8, 2023 /

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Mike Garcia has become a good friend over the past year or so.

Recently we completed his annual inspection together, and he really enjoyed working on his airplane while learning more about what’s under the surface!

Mike was my guest on the podcast this week, so be sure to listen to the audio for that conversation.

Mike’s wife is also learning to fly, and one of their favorite ways to use the airplane is flying from Virginia to New Mexico to see family!

And of course they take their favorite companion, Rama along on these trips as well!

Now for all you maintenance geeks out there, you might like a couple photos I took from the old parts we removed from Mike’s Bonanza.

First, the crankshaft seal that came out in pieces, along with the lock nuts we replaced when we reinstalled the prop:

And here’s the pile of rusty hardware we replaced when we installed the new tail pipes:

(I sometimes hang on to old airplane parts and pieces, to the point of driving my wife crazy… but if I can do something useful with them like including photos for a podcast episode, I feel better about throwing them in the trash! 🙂

Links mentioned in this episode:

Flight-Insight.com (This is the resource Mike Garcia mentioned that he found helpful.)

MauiPineappleStore.com (You can help these people recuperate from the terrible fire that destroyed their store in Lahaina, by buying pineapples… I ordered a case of them, and they are the best tasting pineapples ever!) My grandson helped me open the box when they arrived!

Have a great weekend!

The post “233 – Mike’s Owner Assisted Annual on His F33A Bonanza” appeared first at AirplaneOwnerMaintenance.com

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