Expert advice for maintaining your aircraft


Aircraft ownership series: Maintenance	September 30, 2020

Featured Story

Pilot magazine

Ready to fly when you are

One of the biggest benefits of owning an airplane is having it at your disposal anytime you want to fly. These essential preventive maintenance tips can help keep your aircraft ready to launch on your next adventure. Read more >

Maintenance Management

Pilot magazine

Engine and propeller overhauls: One thing leads to another

AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines details the engine and propeller overhauls on his Beechcraft Bonanza A36 and suggests going into an overhaul "expecting a few 'extras'" that might increase the bill. Read more and watch a video >

Aircraft Maintenance

Ins and outs of replacing a fuel bladder

Those blue stains under your aircraft might be more than a leaky aircraft fuel sump drain. It might be time to bite the bullet and replace the aluminum tanks, wet wings, or flexible bladders. Read more >

Aircraft Maintenance

Continental starter adapters

If your prop turns a little slowly when starting certain Continental engines, give the starter prompt attention. Read more >

Pilot magazine

Obsolete panel made modern

An instrument panel makeover is one of the more glamorous aircraft updates. See how we took a 1989 panel (with a few updates), fitted it with modern IFR instrumentation, and shaved off 125 pounds. Read more >

Expert Advice

Savvy Maintenance

Condition-based maintenance meets big data

With predictive maintenance, it will increasingly be our aircraft—not our mechanics—that tell us what maintenance is needed. Read more >

Aircraft Maintenance

Black lights aren't just for parties

A simple black light can be a useful tool when checking your aircraft's engine for leaks. Read more >

Podcast

'Ask the A&Ps': I'm upside down and there's no oil in my engine!

In this first episode of AOPA's new monthly podcast, Ask the A&Ps, three airplane maintenance experts talk about checking an airplane for aerobatics, oil starvation, why replacing cylinders could be a bad idea, and more. Listen to the podcast >

Submit your maintenance-related question

Have a burning question for an A&P? Submit your question to [email protected] for a chance to get on the Ask the A&Ps podcast.

Article

Airplane engines demystified

Piston aircraft engines can perplex students and veteran pilots alike. A new pilot-friendly manual from PilotWorkshops demystifies the engines we use. Read more >

Protect Your Investment

Article

Improper disinfectant can damage panels

Disinfecting cockpits is top of mind during the coronavirus pandemic. See what happens when improper disinfectant is used on an instrument panel, and find out which cleaners are safe to use. Read more >

Pilot magazine

Aircraft paint protection for bug season and beyond

A new product makes painstakingly wiping insect splatters from aircraft leading edges a little easier. Read more >

AOPA Resources

Flash-based course

'Aging Aircraft'

Learn how to recognize the symptoms of aircraft aging, understand its impact, and mitigate the risks in the AOPA Air Safety Institute's Aging Aircraft online course. Take the course >

Online resource

Join the discussion

Log in to AOPA's online Pilot Information Center to pose questions and discuss aircraft and equipment topics. Join the discussion >

Online resource

'Maintenance and Inspections' subject report

This AOPA subject report provides helpful links to the Pilot's Guide to Preventive Maintenance; the FAA's databases for airworthiness directives, advisory circulars, supplemental type certificates, and special airworthiness information bulletins; a guide to aircraft inspections; and more. Learn more >