Tilting the Mill Head
Most milling machines have the capability to tilt the head to make angled cuts. This comes in handy when the workpiece can’t be conveniently...
Design Process: Braced Wings
As we saw last month, the designer has two fundamental choices of wing structural architecture: cantilever or externally braced. In a cantilever layout all...
Statistics, Lies and Damn Lies…
Aviation is a numbers game. We fly the airplane by the numbers, we use numbers to navigate and we have to deal with numbers...
Headset Histrionics
I logged my first official instructional flight on June 17, 1975, at age 15. I already had my private and an instrument rating before...
What Capability Are You Building Toward?
New home, new airport—they present an opportunity to learn. This learning has been especially acute since the beginning of the year and my move...
Low Compression
Usually, we look for something greater than 60/80 when doing compression checks on Lycoming engines. A reading such as this one (36/80) really warrants...
Off the Grid (Chapter 2)
Here we go with what I promised you last month. This may be the simplest—and yet the most complex—discussion of what it means to...
NPT and Aircraft Fittings–Don’t Get That Size Wrong!
National Pipe Thread is a U.S. standard for tapered threads, which we find on many aircraft fittings. Contrast this with straight threads, which are...
In Case You Missed it
When the Rooster Flies
Just because real roosters don't fly doesn't mean that a 100%-original aircraft designed and painted to resemble one wont. By Geoff Jones.
