Home Authors Posts by Dave Prizio

Dave Prizio

Dave Prizio
181 POSTS 0 COMMENTS
Dave Prizio has been plying the skies of the L.A. basin and beyond since 1973. Born into a family of builders, it was only natural that he would make his living as a contractor and spend his leisure time building airplanes. He has so far completed four—two GlaStars, a Glasair Sportsman, and a Texas Sport Cub—and is helping a friend build an RV-8. When he isn’t building something, he shares his love of aviation with others by flying Young Eagles or volunteering as an EAA Technical Counselor. He is also an A&P mechanic, Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR), and was a member of the EAA Homebuilt Aircraft Council for six years.

Buyer Beware

11
Registering a homebuilt airplane you didn’t start.

Grease Options

1
As supply-chain problems continue to make it hard to find the products you seek, it is worth noting that not all manufacturers have the...

The Other Power Failure

0
In the days of steam gauges, an alternator failure was inconvenient. In the age of glass panels, it is potentially more serious. Now, if...

Drills and Bits

0
As handy as a cordless drill is, it is not the best tool for many drilling jobs.

What You Should Know About Screwdrivers

1
Screwdrivers come in many shapes and sizes. Wikipedia lists some 42 different types of screwdriver tips—from the common to the almost unheard-of. Here we...

An Approach to Airplane Maintenance

0
If we put maintenance and repairs together, we can easily see a link between maintenance well done and minimizing repairs. Of course, too much...

Maintenance Tools

6
If you are going to do a proper job of maintaining your airplane, you will need some tools that don’t have much use outside of aviation.

Smooth Out Your Ride

0
Dynamic propeller balancing can smooth out your ride and reduce wear and tear on engine parts.

Lessons From A Repeat Offender

6
What I learned from building four airplanes.

500-hour Inspection vs. Overhaul

4
About every 500 hours, your magnetos need to be inspected and repaired as needed (IRAN) to keep them performing well. Some of this work...

In Case You Missed It

Aircraft tailwheel springs and linkage

Putting Off the Tailwheel Spring Repair

0
After decades of delay, a cracked tailwheel spring finally forces long-overdue upgrades on a well-worn Starduster Too.

VHF Com–the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

1
With a panel full of glass and diodes turned into all the colors of...

The Most Dangerous Thing in the Cockpit

2
Forget about all those sharp corners, the quantity of fuel aboard and the fire extinguisher you threw in the baggage compartment without tying it down. It is always important to at least consider the fact that the most dangerous thing to have in the cockpit when things go wrong is the owner of the airplane.

Ask the DAR

0
Common paperwork errors.