Airplane Owner Maintenance - By Dean Showalter

In this podcast episode, we’re talking about alternator maintenance! Here’s the alternator I removed from a Beechcraft Bonanza to inspect the drive coupling and the brushes… note the brush assembly in the lower right side of the photo: The brushes had plenty of length left, but they needed a good cleaning due to carbon dust […]

When it’s time to overhaul your engine, who do you call? Where do you go? Listen to this episode to hear ideas from other airplane owners who have had good experiences with various engine overhaul shops around the country. I always love meeting podcast listeners, and I was surprised when I met Ken Blow recently […]

This ‘ol Piper Apache served me very well to get my MEI training and check ride done. Listen to the audio for this episode to hear how my check ride went… it was a challenging one! This part of the podcast is toward the end. This episode also covers something we did for our son […]

Note: Scroll down to see who I unexpectedly met in Florida this past week! Now for the Prebuy… it was some months ago, and I did a prebuy inspection on a nice airplane on behalf of the buyer. I also became good friends with the owner / seller, for which I was grateful, because sometimes […]

This podcast episode includes the following: Here’s a photo of the Piper Cherokee door stop I repaired by installing a new spring, P/N 65730-00. Now the door stop snaps nicely into the open detent, instead of closing on you while you’re getting in or out of the airplane. The post “238 – Check Ride Thoughts […]

My CFII checkride is in three days! Yikes! I’m excited, and I have a few butterflies as well… I just hope they are friendly butterflies 🙂 Today’s podcast episode is about checkrides, and some encouragement for all of us to move forward with whatever that next step is… whether it’s a private pilot certificate, an […]

Check out this spare parts case my friend Bill created! Although you might not want to carry that much extra stuff in YOUR airplane, it still might be worth thinking about some items to have in case of emergencies. This podcast episode will include the following: Some feedback from others about spare parts. A story […]

The paint was eroding on the King Air 350 prop blades. After a lot of research for paint and new Hartzell decals, I was ready to begin. Here’s where I bought the prop paint and new Hartzell decals: aerotouchups It was important to NOT get paint on anything other than the prop blades… Finally, after […]

I’ll get right to it… I think it was because one of the brushes in the heater combustion fan motor was severely worn, and when the motor / combustion fan did not run, the heater did not light. Here’s a comparison of the old brushes and the new brushes I just installed: (The 2 old […]

Mike Garcia has become a good friend over the past year or so. Recently we completed his annual inspection together, and he really enjoyed working on his airplane while learning more about what’s under the surface! Mike was my guest on the podcast this week, so be sure to listen to the audio for that […]