Vic Syracuse
Vic is a fixed-wing and helicopter 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, has his own sport aviation business called Base Leg Aviation, and has written two books on aircraft prebuy and condition inspections.
Cracked Alternator Bracket
Look closely and you will see that the bracket is cracked on the left side of the slot.
Building the ‘Beater
In my “New Sojourn” column in the July 2022 issue, I told you I was committed to building a Hummingbird helicopter. I have begun...
SCAT Tubing Cut
Be careful when routing SCAT tubing close to metal structures like engine mounts. The hard spring wire can actually cut through the 4130 engine mount...
Always Learning
While I see lots of recurring maintenance problems every day, tough ones that require some additional thinking for the Diagnosis column don’t always happen...
What’s AirVenture Without a Little Storm?
Although, last night’s storm was one of the bigger ones. Lots of rain and wind gusts over 50 mph. So far, we are not...
Volunteers—The First People You Meet in Oshkosh
We arrived here around 9 am this am, after a wonderful flight from Dekalb, IL. Nothing like a nice calm flight over the IL...
Leaky Primer Line
Primer lines need to be silver soldered into their fittings. Using RTV to fix a leak is not acceptable and poses a serious fire...
Another Alternator Gotcha
Well, it seems to be the season for alternator problems, as just this week I had to diagnose another interesting one. As with any...
No Brake Fluid
Perhaps brake lines in the cockpit should be part of the preflight? This aircraft was moments away from having no left brake due to...
A New Sojourn
My aviation dream has not been much different than for thousands of other aviation lovers. Kid loves airplanes. Kid builds model airplanes. Kid flies...
In Case You Missed it
Something to Do
Upon his retirement, Jim Shy embarked on a lifelong dream of building his own airplane. But before he even decided on a design, he bought a place to keep it: his own airport.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook looks closely the TSAs proposed badging plan for GA aircraft, which was buried in the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP). Also, is there a chance for a Superior Air Parts revival?
