Airplane Owner Maintenance - By Dean Showalter

This ‘ol Piper Apache served me very well to get my MEI training and check ride done. Listen to the audio for this episode to hear how my check ride went… it was a challenging one! This part of the podcast is toward the end. This episode also covers something we did for our son […]

Note: Scroll down to see who I unexpectedly met in Florida this past week! Now for the Prebuy… it was some months ago, and I did a prebuy inspection on a nice airplane on behalf of the buyer. I also became good friends with the owner / seller, for which I was grateful, because sometimes […]

This podcast episode includes the following: Here’s a photo of the Piper Cherokee door stop I repaired by installing a new spring, P/N 65730-00. Now the door stop snaps nicely into the open detent, instead of closing on you while you’re getting in or out of the airplane. The post “238 – Check Ride Thoughts […]

My CFII checkride is in three days! Yikes! I’m excited, and I have a few butterflies as well… I just hope they are friendly butterflies

Check out this spare parts case my friend Bill created! Although you might not want to carry that much extra stuff in YOUR airplane, it still might be worth thinking about some items to have in case of emergencies. This podcast episode will include the following: Some feedback from others about spare parts. A story […]

The paint was eroding on the King Air 350 prop blades. After a lot of research for paint and new Hartzell decals, I was ready to begin. Here’s where I bought the prop paint and new Hartzell decals: aerotouchups It was important to NOT get paint on anything other than the prop blades… Finally, after […]

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 […]

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 […]

Be sure to scroll down to see how my Maui Gold Pineapple plant turned out! (It’s been growing in a pot here at our house for a very long time

In this week’s podcast episode, you’ll hear about: King Air flying. Listener feedback from the last episode on “Phantom Cylinder Cracks.” The latest annual inspection I’m involved in. … and a few other things! I’m in the midst of an annual inspection on a Piper Comanche. I might talk more about this one in a […]

Do you think these really are cracks between the spark plug bosses and the fuel injector bosses? (Cirrus SR22 Continental engine.) The owner of a Cirrus SR22 was told by a service center he had 4 cracked cylinders on his engine. However, after taking a closer look and bringing their most experienced technicians together to […]

The charging system was not working, but why? There was normal voltage at the alternator field terminal. The field circuit resistance seemed normal as well. But the alternator was not producing the normal 28 volts during operation. Occasionally, it would produce a small amount of output voltage, like 25 or 26 volts, and then drop […]

Dan and Jeanne are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, so it’s always a privilege to work on their airplane. It was annual inspection time, and the compression test on cylinder #1 was 25/80. The borescope showed a corresponding reason for the low compression… the exhaust valve had an uneven appearance, indicating […]

This Bonanza had a problem in the landing light wiring circuit. All kinds of weird things were happening when the light was turned on in flight. You can listen to the podcast audio for more details on this squawk. I removed the induction filter cover and the landing light assembly and inspected the wiring. It […]

It was a beautiful Tuesday morning at KSHD, and we had the maintenance hangar door open with a good view of the runway. A nice, red and white Piper Lance made a perfect landing on runway 5. As the airplane taxied up to the ramp, I thought, “It would be nice to meet that guy, […]

And the winner is… Ben Moroze! Recently, in podcast episode #223, I asked for help in identifying an ATC intersection we flew over on our way into Dulles Airport, (KIAD) awhile back. I remembered it sounded something like “you-dee-ah” or something similar. Maybe something like “UDIYA” except that’s not it. Well, Ben emailed me after […]

Recently, I received an email from Jim Janaitus, owner of a Cessna 182. He told me the story of lapping an exhaust valve on his engine because the valve showed signs of burning even though the compression was still in the high 60’s. Take a look at the appearance of the valve before lapping: The […]

In the beginning of this week’s podcast episode, I want to give a big congratulations to my friend, Chris Wieczorek, who recently got his A&P certificate! Listen to the audio to find out how Chris pursued getting his A&P in the midst of being a full time attorney and engineer with a wife and 4 […]

I inspected another A36 Bonanza recently, and one of the cylinder compressions was too low… lower than the minimum prescribed by Continental using the master orifice tool. I had two options: Option One: Remove the cylinder for repair or replacement. Option Two: Make the exhaust valve seal better and improve the compression result in hopes […]

Maui is simply amazing! Maria and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and here are some highlights. (And for the aviation maintenance portion of the trip, see the last episode, 220.) So many indescribably beautiful beaches to see: Maria and her new friend, Firmiana, at the Upcountry Farmers Market… the most amazing farmer’s market I’ve ever […]