Tag Archives: maintenance

Adding an autopilot

Posted on July 27, 2011 by David Megginson

Today I flew my plane home from Waterloo to Ottawa with a brand-new autopilot installed. I’ve flown over 850 hours, about 120 of them in actual instrument conditions, and all by hand. I’m proud that I can do that, but … Continue reading →

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Hiatus and Return

Posted on April 10, 2011 by David Megginson

I took a six month break from flying — basically, work, a long wait for new fuel caps at my annual, and a family vacation in London (UK) got in the way. I also managed to prove the third rule … Continue reading →

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Dead airspeed indicator

Posted on March 28, 2008 by David Megginson

The incident I flew through some light snow showers on my way to Kingston with my daughter this morning, so I turned on the pitot heat just before joining the circuit to make sure the pitot blade was clear. At … Continue reading →

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Assault by battery

Posted on March 9, 2007 by David Megginson

Recently, in the cold weather, my Warrior’s battery has barely managed one try starting the plane — any more, and it goes flat. Most recently, it happened after I’d just been flying 1.7 hours and tried to restart after a … Continue reading →

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Threats to general aviation

Posted on January 26, 2007 by David Megginson

According to AOPA, the biggest issue facing general aviation in the U.S. is the risk of user fees. I agree with Phil Boyer that user fees could hurt GA, especially if they are per use (as in Australia) rather than … Continue reading →

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Simple, at last

Posted on December 12, 2006 by David Megginson

It’s been four years, almost to the day, since I bought my 1979 Piper Warrior II, and it’s time for another annual inspection (I’ve moved it up from May to December to avoid missing good flying weather, so this is … Continue reading →

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Man vs. machine

Posted on April 25, 2006 by David Megginson

On most airplanes, you can trim the elevator by turning a wheel or crank that sets a tab — a flap on a flap — that then redirects the airflow to hold the elevator or stabilator at a certain angle … Continue reading →

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Nav Canada approves new service charges

Posted on April 13, 2006 by David Megginson

Nav Canada has decided to go ahead and charge small aircraft a daily fee of $10.00, starting in March 2008, for using any of Canada’s seven busiest airports (and the Vancouver harbour water aerodrome) — that’s on top of any … Continue reading →

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Buying a first plane

Posted on January 25, 2006 by David Megginson

Niss, who flies out of Barrie Airpark (CNA3), left this comment on my posting Should I buy or rent? (divide all prices by about 1.2 to get US dollars): I am looking to buy a share in an aircraft. Right … Continue reading →

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Partial panel and fixed gear

Posted on December 18, 2005 by David Megginson

From aviation pundits with deadlines to meet and empty pages to fill, we hear a lot about the dangers of losing a vacuum pump (and consequently, attitude indicator and directional gyro) in IMC, and why IFR pilots need to (a) … Continue reading →

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