maintenance

Maintenance-related accidents may be due to mistakes or maintenance left undone—as an owner, you can reduce the risk of a maintenance-related event.

A properly rigged landing gear and frequent close inspections are keys to safety and longevity. DIY compass swings save shop labor.

The FAA says the task is fair game for aircraft owners, but there are installation traps that can have nasty consequences.

Sealing oil leaks that seep from an engine through-stud can be a challenge. But taming the heat buildup behind a tightly packed instrument panel is easy.

A newly overhauled Lycoming IO-360 with notably low fuel pressure needs logical troubleshooting, while a Cherokee has a nagging pitot/static system leak.

Again and again when we research the NTSB accident reports for the magazine’s Used Aircraft Guide feature, we find wrecks that might have been avoided if it weren’t for maintenance errors.

The metal flakes of aluminum showing up in oil samples from a Lycoming and poor VHF nav reception issues in a 172 are worth troubleshooting.

A drop in oil temperature at higher altitudes on a twin Cessna and the loss of GPS signal on a Mooney both require skilled troubleshooting.