Save Some Money In The Process

Approach Aviation has always been out to get pilots under the cowling. The idea is, the more we know about how the aircraft works, the more apt we are to save money in performing routine tasks like opening inspection plates and save a lot of billable mechanic time.

That's the idea behind Approach's new emergency spark plug kit.

"How many pilots have cancelled flights because of a fouled spark plug?" asked Approach's Jeff Simon at Sun-N-Fun Saturday. "They do the run-up and they see a problem. Instead of being able to troubleshoot it themselves, they cancel the flight altogether and call a mechanic."

With the new spark plug kit, Simon says pilots can certainly pull a troublesome plug, gap a new one, seat it and then seal it.

The kit comes with a spark plug maintenance tray, a pick to remove lead from a plug's firing point, anti-seize formula and thread lubricant. It also comes with a hand held gap tool.

"We went with the hand held gap tool because we found it helped keep pilots from over-torquing the spark plug," Simon said.

With the spark plug kit, aircraft owners can do their own spark plug checks as often as every oil change, a procedure Simon strongly recommends.

Approach Aviation has a number of how-to videos and brochures, as well as tool kits that a lot of pilots find indispensable. The emergency spark plug kit costs about $99 -- roughly the same as a set of new plugs. It should be available soon on the company's web site.

FMI: www.approachaviation.com