EricJ

It appears to me that the "electronic" ignition systems sold for GA airplanes these days are roughly equivalent to what was being put in automobile engines in the late 1980s. They're very basic and not very smart, which is kind of a necessity since most certified GA engines don't have the same sensors that started making automotive systems get really good starting about the 1990s.

FWIW, I just recently sent my D4LN-3000 dual mag off to Kelly Aerospace for 500-hour inspection. The inspection itself was $650, if I remember correctly, plus whatever they change beyond the normal points, condensers, bearings, etc, as part of the inspection. I did confirm that they send you new condensers regardless, so that is apparently included. In my case I couldn't get the harness grommets to release from the distributor blocks to remove the case top and they were pulling the shields up into accordion shapes. So I sent the whole thing, magneto and harness assembly, to Kelly to le

FAR 43 Appendix A (c)(31) is the relevant rule on Preventive Maintenance allowing front panel avionic swap outs. The first two words are, "Removing and replacing..." Installation is allowed.

No, but there should be one in the fuel selector/gascolator.

Admittedly I was getting a little help from a mountain wave at the time. I've found climb rates in the J up through about 15k to be not too bad, certainly not bad enough to make me wish I had a turbo.

I cruise 12-14k pretty routinely in my naturally-aspirated J, sometimes higher, usually to avoid terrain. I've been up to 17,500 with it with no significant issues. I could have easily gone higher but I was VFR at the time.

Something I do fairly frequently is find the airport on Google maps and then just start looking for the restaurant icons nearby. If there's one on the field they'll usually show up, or if one is within walking distance. It's also a fairly easy way to figure out where the fuel pumps are before you get there.

This reflects my general feelings regarding a moderated FAQ as well. It adds a lot of work for people and doesn't necessarily clarify much, and they can get stale quickly. There are authoritative sources for information regarding aviation, and none of them are internet forums. Info here, regardless of how carefully or painstakingly curated, will never rise above "got it from an internet forum" status. Any and all info here, or on any internet forum, should be taken for what it is, free internet advice. Whether it comes from a moderated FAQ or a random thread doesn't make any differen

I'm not sure it'll revert to the antenna if the driving GPS fails, although one would think it should. Also, I seem to recall when I looked at this before that there isn't really any significant requirement on the attached antenna if there is normally a GPS unit driving it. In my install manual the requirements for the antenna are pretty basic. When I was looking at this I was looking at just putting a generic GPS patch antenna on it and there didn't seem to be any barrier to doing that, especially if mounted on/under/in the vicinity of the glareshield.

Sounds like it's not regulating, so either there's a big enough leak that it can't keep up except at high rpm, or the regulator is bad.

AN bolts come in lengths of 1/8" increments, so it is standard practice to adjust within 1/8" using washers. Washers will spread the load and also take up any abrasion due to rotation of the fasteners. Also, I figured somebody would point out that the cotter pin is not done quite right per 43.13, and there's a description in AC 43.13 Par 7-127 (p.7-26) showing the two accepted methods for safetying with a cotter pin. The short tail is not supposed to touch the washer or surface below it, and the tail over the bolt should not extend past the bolt. There's an alternate method to wrap the t

+1 that they're probably turkey vultures. They're social, so they fly together, and (iirc) the only hawks that are social and fly together are Harris Hawks, and they're usually only a few at a time.

The Seminole I did my multi-engine training in came from the factory without a compass. Their check pilot told me he refused to fly it until they got a letter from Piper explaining how it was certified without one.

It may well be red shop-rag material. If somebody wiped down the inside of a tank somewhere with a shop rag it could easily wind up in your screen. I've heard of this during tank cleaning/prep during repairs and reseals, too. There's opportunity for contamination at many places along the supply chain, but the delivery system and the tank itself may be the most common.

Lots of people monitor guard. I do, and I hear traffic on there fairly regularly. Missed handoffs get sorted out on there all the time, so the idea is that a lot of people are monitoring it. You also hear the occasional mistake of somebody transmitting on there thinking they've switched to approach or center or something. There's usually an immediate response of, "You're on guard," from somebody monitoring. I haven't personally heard an ELT on there yet, but clearly it happens.