开云体育

Kurt, I was a professional maintenance mechanic several times and on a really wide range of equipment types, AND a hobbyist. Before that I helped my dad with his hobby farm. Been fixing and maintaining stuff since I was about six. :) Doesn't make me an expert. Does give me more than a tad bit of experience. Hobby shop machines don't need the kind of detailed procedures the USAF & AUS use on their equipment. Though it surely won't hurt them.?

I also knew a guy who bought a 67 Dodge Coronet with the 440 & a six-pack brand new. I was 12 in 67. That guy was a nut. When he filled the gas tank, he changed the oil and filter. I met him in 1988, and he had over a million miles on that Dodge. And the engine was as tight as when he bought it.?

Good maintenance won't prevent all breakdowns. But it sure can help. Good lubrication can help. Good visual inspection can help. Listening to the machine and knowing what it sounds like when it's working properly can help.?

The Air Force did some testing? a few years before I enlisted. They took several bases where they had similar aircraft types and set them up to do careful preventive maintenance. Several more bases, again with similar aircraft, got told to run their stuff until it broke and then fix it. My instructor said it was about 30% cheaper to run the bases where they did preventive maintenance. The jet I worked on had two very powerful engines. It cost about $100k to do a teardown & inspection on those engines, and replace the consumable parts. And that was cheaper than running them to death. It cost about $12k per hour to fly the aircraft. And they cost $27 million each.?

A cheap plexiglass window isn't necessarily a bad idea. ;)

Bill in OKC?