Vic Syracuse
Vic is a commercial pilot, CFII with ASMEL/ASES ratings, an A&P/IA, DAR, and EAA technical advisor and flight counselor. Passionately involved in aviation for over 40 years, he has built 11 aircraft and logged over 10,000 hours in 72 different kinds of aircraft. Vic volunteers as a Young Eagle pilot and Angel Flight pilot. He chairs the EAA Homebuilt Council and is a member of EAA’s board of directors. He also has his own sport aviation business called Base Leg Aviation.
No Backshell and No Screw
I hate seeing D-sub connectors not supported or fastened correctly, as the wires will eventually break. In this case, two broken wires on the...
Deformed Gascolator O-Ring
Some gascolators have internal O-rings that should be checked for deformation regularly. This was caught on an inspection, but the gascolator had blue telltale...
Overheating and Intermittent Electrical Problems
I find that overheating and intermittent electrical gremlins are some of the toughest problems to fix. Often, the data you are given to work...
The Repairman Certificate
Those of us who have built or are building Experimental/Amateur-Built aircraft know that one of the rewards besides the airworthiness certificate is another document...
Plastic Tubing No-No
The symptom was a static system that leaked like a sieve when tested. Further investigation discovered this AN fitting being used with plastic tubing. AN...
Broken Control Cable
Here’s a throttle control cable that has separated from the housing. It is very likely that on a stiff throttle, the cable might bend...
Alternator Woes
I had the opportunity to address a couple of alternator problems this past week, and the irony is that they were on two of...
Cracked Landing Gear Weldment
Landing gear sockets should be checked regularly for those who fly off of grass and certainly after a hard landing. Using a bright light...
Loose Intake Pipe
Sometimes the intake pipes on Lycoming engines can come loose. This will cause an intake leak, usually indicated by a rough idle and higher...
In Case You Missed it
Letters
Tungsten
In Eric Stewart's article, "Titans of Tungsten" , he mentioned using tungsten as a...
Hiring Help With Avionics
Larry Anglisano makes the case for homebuilders getting professional assistance with complex avionics installations.
Build It Better: Where’s Your Margin?
How can you give yourself that margin of safety that you hope you'll never need?