Airplane Owner Maintenance - By Dean Showalter

Today is a little different . Instead of me just sharing things with you that I hope will be helpful, I’m asking for your help here. But first, in today’s episode, I clarified something that I talked about in a previous episode… the one about the simple alternator inspection. And then, for today, find out […]

As an airplane owner, do you have your airplane moved around the airport by ground personnel, using power tug equipment? If so, make sure it’s being done properly, safely, and competently. And after listening to today’s episode, you may find yourself wanting to avoid power tugs on your airplane as much as possible. After all, […]

              Electrical power… you need it in your airplane, especially for night flying and for IFR. In light of this, you want to avoid surprise electrical problems, if at all possible. So here is one simple inspection that you, as an airplane owner, can do yourself, to help verify […]

    This is not the actual airplane that had the oil leak, but it was similar to this one.       Oil leaks. They’re aggravating. They’re frustrating. And sometimes, they’re hard to figure out. But as an airplane owner, you will probably deal with an oil leak at some point in your flying […]

Thanks! Thanks to all of you who have contacted me in some way recently. Aviation is great, and airplanes are great. But without the PEOPLE, there really wouldn’t be much to it. I am grateful for all the fascinating people I’ve had the privilege of meeting, because of aviation, and podcasting. Here are a few […]

I had an opportunity to fly this C-172RG the other day, and something out of the ordinary happened.  I’m sure you’ve guessed it, by the title of today’s episode.  To find out how it all turned out, listen to today’s podcast.   The area that ended up needing attention was a wiring plug behind that […]

I recently did an annual inspection on a Mooney M20J, and when I checked the brake fluid level, the reservoir was empty.               In this airplane, the brake fluid reservoir is inside a panel on the left side of the airplane, behind the left wing.         […]

  Any idea what that red switch is?  This airplane is a Diamond DA-40 with a Garmin G-1000 system.  The red switch is for activating the emergency battery power for the attitude indicator to the right of the airspeed indicator.           The battery pack is mounted behind the copilot’s instrument panel, […]

Hey, check out this conference… It’s called the “Live It Forward ADVANCE” conference, with Kent Julian.  (He has one of the most inspiring new podcasts that I’ve found recently. I’m planning to be there (in Duluth, Georgia,) in 2 weeks, November 10, 11, and 12. Why am I telling you this?  Because I would love […]

Warning and indicator lights on an airplane instrument panel… they give a lot of useful information when they’re interpreted correctly. When everything is working properly, an “Idiot Light” can tell you when a system has failed. According to Google, an “Idiot Light” is, “A warning light that goes on when a fault occurs in a device, […]

As a pilot, this is the part of the ignition switch you’re used to seeing… the part where you put the key in when you start the engine.  It’s also the part you use to do your mag checks.  Beyond that, it’s “Out of sight, out of mind,” when it comes to ignition switches.   […]

When it comes to flying an airplane, total electrical system failure is something you hope to never experience in real life. But it happens, and it happened at our airport the other day.  Thankfully everything turned out well in this case. Your aircraft battery is the heart of your electrical system.         […]

As an airplane owner, you are authorized to remove and reinstall your engine’s cowling, as long as it does not involve “removal of the propeller or disconnection of flight controls.” So, have you ever wondered what to look for in there? Listen to today’s podcast episode to learn about some key colors that can be […]

It’s getting cooler these days! This ‘ol gravel road is one of my favorite places to take a walk in the morning.               And the last two mornings, it has actually been slightly chilly… today I even wore a jacket. It’s such a contrast to the recent, normal hot […]

Recently, I’ve been working on a Cessna 414, for the annual inspection and associated repairs. Listen to today’s episode to find out about why we removed both the left and right fuel selector valves for repair, and how it all worked out. Each wing has one of these selector valves           […]