Guides for aircraft owners and buyers
Plain-English guides on pre-buys, annuals, Cirrus maintenance, magnetos and AOG trouble, from Brooks Margolien's shop at Orange Municipal Airport.
What a pre-buy inspection covers, and what it costs
What a good pre-buy inspection checks on a used airplane, how it differs from an annual, and what drives the price.
Buying a used airplane: a mechanic's checklist
A step-by-step checklist for buying a used airplane, with the mistakes a mechanic sees most often.
Stuck on the ground in New England? What to do next
What to do when your airplane is AOG away from home, what to tell your mechanic, and how Brooks helps owners across New England and the islands.
Cirrus SR20 and SR22 annual inspections: what's covered
What goes into an annual on a Cirrus SR20, SR22 or SR22T, including the engine, the composite airframe and the CAPS parachute system.
Magneto timing and the 500-hour magneto inspection
How magneto timing works, what the 500-hour magneto inspection involves, and the run-up signs that mean the plane stays on the ground.
Annual vs. 100-hour inspection: what's the difference?
Who needs a 100-hour inspection, who can sign off each one, and why an annual can replace a 100-hour but not the other way around.
What does an aircraft annual inspection cost?
Typical 2026 annual inspection costs for piston singles, what pushes the bill up, and how owners keep it down.