Backcountry Pilot

Against my better judgment, I'm seriously considering bushwheels on my C185. I have McCauley wheels and brakes, presently with 8.50x6. In order to mount Bushwheels, it looks like I'd have to get new...

I'm beginning to think about another western trek in the Spring, considering options for paying someone in the right seat for another day or two. Every time I do this, I consider flying with the McCall...

As of today, the trim in my A185F won't roll nose up. It'll go forward, but not back. I can roll it back a little, but it just feels like it's taking up slack and nothing moves. There's no vertical or...

I'm leaving soon for a trip to Idaho, stopping to visit friends in Colorado Springs. They live close to Meadow Lake (KFLY), where I think we'll stay. Springs Aviation, located at KFLY, has a website detailing...

This is an email I sent to Reiff. I'm interested in other input from you: I have an XP System on an IO-520 in a Cessna 185. I find that, if I preheat for a relatively short time (4-6 hours), the oil...

I picked up a set of Soros Ventube replacements for the Cessna juice can vents. The installation doesn’t look like a HUGE deal, but it does appear there are a couple of holes to drill. It also appears...

Posted this to the Skywagon group and haven’t gotten a response: I'm looking for a part I can't find in the IPC. Fuel drain (sump -- under the wing thing) for 1981 A185F, s/n 18504181. Eyeballing...

I’m a midwesterner with about 500 hours in a 185. Still getting instruction locally to get sharper, etc. Thinking about a major western trip to the photogenic places, and I’d like to get some instruction...

Life changes, so I'm selling my 185. Here's a link to the TAP ad. Yes, I'm using a broker because I don't know enough about the paperwork to do it all without one. But feel free to email me at swfraley...

I’m sitting at breakfast at a friend’s camp in northern Maine. We’ve been talking about flying into Red Pine Grove some time this week. Sounds interesting. BUT, airfield.guide lists a Runway Hazard...

If I've read it once on BCP, I've read it a thousand times: practice slow flight. I have to admit, when I do slow flight, after a few minutes I think, "ok, now what?" It doesn't seem like anything has...

Looking for a PIREP on the Skywagon Club convention. It’s in Minot this year. The description in the newsletter doesn’t sound especially interesting. What really goes on?

How do I know if my IO-520-D has the affected oil filter adaptor? It's impossible to get a good look at it, even sticking the borescope in there.

I posted this to BT, but then realized there are probably more people here who get themselves into significant trouble! Every winter, I rethink my preheat options. Every spring, I rethink my emergency...

I posted a version of this question to BeechTalk which, it turns out, might not have been the most appropriate place for it. Sometimes that place is indistinguishable from PoA. I took some instruction...

It’s time to get serious about this tail ad. I have an appointment with Beegles in September, but the logistics of getting there and back are looking like a major pain. I got a reference for a guy up in...

I just got back from OSH, where I went to a couple of forums on safety and spoke to sellers of safety equipment. Steve McCaughey, SPA President, said that SAR services in response to a PLB or 406 ELT...