Ask the A&Ps
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Ask the A&Ps
Experts Mike Busch, Paul New, and Colleen Sterling answer your toughest aviation maintenance questions. Submit questions to podcasts@aopa.org. New episodes are released the first and fifteenth of every month.
Episodi recenti
90 episodi
"More time to fly, less time to turn wrenches"
In this episode, Mike, Paul, and Colleen discuss unnecessary maintenance, lean of peak, and flaming exhausts!
Email podcasts@aopa.org fo...
"You have a lot of splaining to do"
Gotchas and head-scratchers are the theme this episode, as Mike, Paul, and Colleen help an owner with a pitted camshaft, an inop instrument, a faulty...
"Mechanics can be ornery sometimes"
How do you fix a fix? Mike, Paul, and Colleen explore STC challenges, including parts, wrong installations, and ADS-B that isn't working.
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Live from Airventure 2025
Mike, Paul, and Colleen are in the hot seat as they answer live audience questions from Airventure 2025.
We'll be back with our regular s...
"That'd be like putting grease on the road"
How to tell the difference between greases? Mike, Paul, and Collen break it down, plus high lean of peak temps, breaking in an engine on an experiment...
"That's one way to flat spot a tire"
Mike, Paul, and Colleen explain why they almost never set their parking brakes. Plus, valve guide concerns and gotchas on preflight. Email podcasts@ao...
"An airplane with no engine is worth nothing"
Oil is everywhere this time, with consumption and temperatures problems for three of our owners. Email podcasts@aopa.org for a chance to get on the sh...
"You have to cart mogas around like a homeless person"
A Cirrus with fluctuating fuel flow, de-injecting an engine, and fear of overhaul are on tap for this episode. Email podcasts@aopa.org for a chance to...
"You have license to go zorching around"
An owner wants to fly his engine after it sat for 7 years. Plus, prop strike at the shop, lean of peak, and break-in trouble. Email podcasts@aopa.org...
"Continentals burn valves and Lycomings stick valves"
Valves are sticking all over as the hosts give advice on how to avoid pulling cylinders.
Send your questions to podcasts@aopa.org for a...
"My airplane is a flying experiment"
It's all engines all the time this episode. Rusty ones, sticky ones, and one that doesn't burn oil. Email podcasts@aopa.org for a chance to be on the...
"They put all their maintenance records on napkins"
Chris is trying to make sense of his logbooks. He has a Cessna 172 RG and he and his partners had a few electrical issues recently. Some of the logboo...
"Keep torturing those airplanes...and students"
John is a maintenance officer in a club, and he is wondering about tire ply ratings. The manual calls for 4 ply, but they often install 6 ply and he’s...
"Shame on you for even thinking about it"
Should you trade your aging airplane in anticipation of higher repair costs on your current bird? Mike, Paul, and Colleen have a strong opinion on thi...
"If that doesn't work you've got the flame thrower option"
Ever wonder how the flap system in a Cessna works? This episode Mike, Paul, and Colleen take a deep dive on the system, plus engine vibrations, leanin...
"Your airplane is on a full-time IV drip"
Can one high oil pressure reading forever alter your engine? Mike, Paul, and Colleen answer this question, plus the quirks of the O-470, compression t...
"You don’t know if he’s going to hit you with a wrench or a lawsuit"
Should you overhaul an engine based on oil analysis? The hosts answer this question, plus fuel pumps, valve grinding, and a pesky hot cylinder.
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"There's a serious brain drain in aviation maintenance"
A 182 mysteriously losses power and the hosts struggle to explain why. Plus, basic engine temperature theory, confusing ADs, and why it's so hard to f...
"Check it, log it, and then relax"
Can you have a prop strike without a prop? This is one of the more unusual questions the hosts have faced. They also track down a carbon monoxide leak...
"There’s a reason they call these amateur built"
How to identify CamGuard in an oil analysis, erratic idles, how to check the oil, and what the wrong prop does to an engine are on tap for the latest...
"Don't open up the fuel system if you don't have to"
Clogged injectors, how to care for an engine while training, avoiding costly altimeter checks, and engine design considerations are on tap for this ep...
"The engine didn't explode"
Mike, Paul, and Colleen sludge through oil pumps that lose prime, skipping an oil filter change, and using the right oil in this Texas tea-themed epis...
"When they go bad the engine is toast"
Lean of peak is causing odd vibrations in a Commander, and the hosts discuss proper troubleshooting. Plus carb heat on the ground, dehydrators, and pa...
"It goes through cylinders like flapjacks"
Rough idle, electronic ignition basics, airplanes to avoid (or not), and the difference between detonation and pre-ignition are on tap for this episod...
"When it starts to talk to you it's time to replace it"
How do you know when to replace certain parts? They begin to talk to you. Find out what, why, how, and when when Mike, Paul, and Colleen tackle this a...
"The people who design these airplanes don't work on them"
Metal in the filter, starting problems, and mechanics who don't understand the definition of installed are on tap this episode. Email podcasts@aopa.or...
"Full rich is horrendously rich"
An airplane that hasn't flown in 8 years quits when going to full power. A turbocharged Mooney meters out less fuel as it climbs. Mike, Paul, and Coll...
Live from Saturday Airventure 2024
Live from Airventure 2024, we present the first of two sessions. Listen as the audience tries to stump Mike, Paul, and Colleen with its toughest maint...
"Mechanics are the surgeons of aviation"
An owner wants his engine perfect for flying around the world, how to start an airplane with electronic ignition, when to fire your mechanic, and defi...
"I've had grass stains on my prop"
An owner wants to know if he should tear down his engine after harvesting some corn with his prop. Plus, the benefits of flying oversquare, why you sh...
"Placard it inop"
Lots of leaks this episode, as Mike, Paul, and Colleen diagnose a leaky strut, a defroster that's not working, a leaking brake system, and more. Send...
"Don't pull the throttle back until you want to land"
This month Mike, Paul, and Colleen cover the basics. An owner wants to know if he should pull the throttle or propeller first in a climb, another wond...
"Don't do that!"
This episode Mike, Paul, and Colleen tell a flight school owner not to throw away a perfectly good engine. Plus, the origins of the annual inspection,...
"I have permission to get an airplane."
This episode a perspective owner wonders about the cost of tying down outside. Plus fuel pump problems, major versus minor, and more. Email podcasts@a...
"I'm against throwing a part at something"
Is there a limit to how much oil consumption is too much? This episode, Mike, Paul, and Colleen answer this important question. Email podcasts@aopa.or...
"You become the supervisor of your maintenance"
Can you fly a turbocharged airplane lean of peak? Absolutely! This episode, Mike, Paul, and Colleen describe how to do it. Email podcasts@aopa.org for...
"Don't split the case halves"
A light oil mist on his windscreen has one caller concerned he needs to split the case. Plus, Mike, Paul, and Colleen tackle cold cabins, tire changes...
"This guy is on his own, he's a test pilot"
A Vans customer wonders what to do next, and a 172 pilot asks if carb heat is really necessary all the way to the ground. Plus, the best spark plugs,...
"Let us know how the exorcism goes"
This episode Mike, Paul, and Colleen help an owner with an engine that randomly dies after 2100 rpm. Plus, the role of avgas as a lubricant, prop gove...
"The breather is a slobber pot"
Mike, Paul, and Colleen help an owner raise his oil temperatures, explain the rules around ELT battery replacements, debate the merits of a tuned exha...