Search Results for: gn aircraft inc custom engine overhaul

With a crop of very light jets (VLJs) in development it’s interesting to look back at another would be revolution in airplane design, the Lear Fan. In the late 1970s inventor and promoter Bill Lear conceived a turboprop airplane that would have twin engines driving a single propeller mounted on the tail. The airplane was […]

What do the Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1 and the Apollo 11 Lunar Module have in common? Somehow, each of these flying machines managed to attain an honored place in aerospace history despite having small landing gear tires or none at all. This is a paradox of sorts, considering the […]

It may be hard not to think of “Pratt & Whitney PT-6” when one thinks of the remarkably successful “Cessna Caravan,” but Alaskan aircraft mod shop Aero Twin hopes that in time it can change that perception with its 850 Caravan conversion, which it expects to have STC’d around the time that you read this. […]

The following briefs were selected from the 118 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in January 2003. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed. Click here to view “Accident Totals, January.”

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January 01, Milford, Utah
AMD CH2000
At approximately 2200 mountain time, an AMD CH2000 crashed 7.1 miles southeast of Milford, seriously injuring the instrument student and instructor. The airplane was flying from Cedar City to Salt Lake City and had filed an IFR flight plan to be activated at Delta, Utah. VMC prevailed at the…

Its somewhat astonishing to see how many accidents, or at least scary moments, occur on the first flight after maintenance. Perhaps the most striking one is the notorious case of a Navajo, in which the aircraft came out of the shop, took off, rolled over,and crashed, killing the pilot. The investigators discovered that the ailerons were connected backwards – yoke left rolled the plane right.

Its pretty easy to sit back in the cold, hard light of day and think, What a dummy! about that pilot. If the pilot really did follow the preflight checklist and note controls free and proper, theres a lesson for another day about seeing what you expect to see rather than what you really see. F…

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts.

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An FAA certified repair station received a Janitrol cabin heater combustion head in exchange for a new part purchased by a customer. The trade-in combustion head had a hole approximately 0.4375 inches in diameter burned through it and the entire part was severely corroded.

Clearly cabin heaters are operated with minimal maintenance until they fail. A pressure decay test of this unit would have made its deficiencies obvious.

Cabin heaters are neglected during the summer, then expected to perform perfectly during the first cold snap. However, cabin heaters tha…

The following briefs were selected from the 223 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in August 2001. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed.

Aug. 01, Sugar Grove, Ill.
Beech Bonanza
At 11:31 central time, a Beech A36 lost engine power and was damaged in the ensuing forced landing. The pilot was not injured. The flight was a post-maintenance test flight and the airplane had just come from its annual inspection. A ground run showed no anomalies, but during a post-accident inspection it appeared a fuel line had loosened enough to leak but not enough to come off its f…

[IMGCAP(1)]Advice: $50. Good Advice: $100. Questions Answered: $50. Dumb Questions Answered: $100. Service: $50/hr. Service if you participate: $100/hr.

For most owners, airplane maintenance is a pit of quicksand. If you plunge in, its easy to get in over your head. But if you stay out, mechanical problems can accumulate until dispatch reliability and safety are severely compromised.

The question each owner has to ask is how involved in maintenance they want to be. The question has many answers, and the road to answering it depends upon first determining your objectives. Is the goal to save money? Improve reliability? Log hours toward the A&P requirement?

Next, you have to ask yo…

Old airplane and twin-engine psychology take Apache pilot down the wrong road toward emergency landing.