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.
Bad Indication or a Real Problem?
How many of us have seen an unusual engine temp/parameter indication and wondered if it was really the engine or a faulty reading? The...
Cracked Exhaust
Exhaust cracks can be insidious, although sometimes they leave a gray-looking residue. Use a bright flashlight and inspect them every time the cowling is...
Missing Safety Wire
The jam nut on this flap motor is required to be safety wired to prevent the nut from coming loose. There is a lot...
Homebuilt Aircraft Council Awards Hats to First-Time Builders
The Homebuilt Aircraft Council this year introduced a new hat to recognize first-time aircraft builders bringing their aircraft to AirVenture for the first time....
The Case of Electrical Dropouts
Electrical gremlins can be tough to track down. This month’s case involved a non-builder owner of a fairly new RV-8, and it took us...
Improperly Installed Intake Gaskets
We noticed the intake gaskets were leaking on cylinders 3 and 4 on the Lycoming IO-320 in an RV-9A. There was a logbook entry...
Disconnected Pitot Line
Ever lose your airspeed in flight? The nylon lines held in the “push-grip” fittings must have some flexibility in them so they aren’t pulled...
Listen To the Engine
This month’s column is the start of a new series based upon feedback from KITPLANES® subscribers who said they missed my contributions. Thankfully, Marc...
Unlabeled Controls
It is a requirement that the engine controls are labeled as to their function and operation. In this case, labeling the blue knob “Prop—Push...
Broken Battery Hold-Down Bracket
This battery hold-down bracket was discovered in an RV-10 during a condition inspection. It is a very serious safety issue that probably needs no...
In Case You Missed it
A Wooden Kneeboard for Tablets
While I owned my Fisher FP-404 (“Restoring a Stored Homebuilt,” February 2017), I was...