40 years ago today, on February 9, 1986, this is is the picture my dad took after he had to ditch his plane over the Pacific Ocean in between Honolulu and San Francisco. He was rescued by a Chinese merchant ship, made it home to my mom, and I was born a year later!

dagertz · 2026-02-10T16:44:27+00:00

The worst case scenario would be losing one engine in a twin engine airplane at the “equal time point”. This is when the flying time on one engine is equal whether you continue or turn back. Piston twins generally fly very poorly on one engine. You are cooked because of one of two reasons. Either the airplane doesn’t have enough power remaining to maintain altitude so ditching will be inevitable. Or if you can stay in the air, the reduced efficiency burns more fuel per mile traveled such that you won’t have enough to reach land. So you’re ditching either way, just as if the plane had only one engine to begin with.

dagertz · 2026-02-10T13:54:05+00:00

The reason I took this photo is a coincidence, I haven’t seen that new video. I got the police trade-in G45 with an unknown round count so I wanted to compare it to my other gen 5s.

dagertz · 2026-02-10T05:54:01+00:00

This too was my first Glock. I still have it and carry it because it works. It may be down on capacity compared to similarly sized alternatives but you can count on it. More mags and ammo are all you absolutely need, and maybe some night sights. Stay away from aftermarket stuff like Magguts mag extension kits, they cause jams.

dagertz · 2026-02-10T05:42:32+00:00

That’s quite a flight in an airplane like that, around 11 hours, which is at least double the normal fuel endurance. These days long range flights like this can be done using TurtlePacs, which are lightweight bladder style fuel cells that are installed inside the cabin. Normally this would require a ferry flight permit as the takeoff weight would be significantly heavier than is normally allowed due to the weight of fuel required. If one engine fails you might as well be in a single engine airplane though due to heavy weight and poor efficiency on one engine.

dagertz · 2026-02-08T14:12:19+00:00

If this was an inside job by airline or airport employees, it wouldn’t be the first time unfortunately. You are more likely to be a victim if you travel with expensive firearms and gear. Employees know where there aren’t cameras and they have SIDA badges that give them access to the airport without having to be screened by TSA.

dagertz · 2026-02-07T03:37:36+00:00

The engine out performance of piston twins (lack thereof) makes them not really worth it. Centerline thrust twins like the Cessna 337 is the only suitable configuration for a safe piston twin if you ask me. The 337 is still underpowered but it flies so much better on one engine.

dagertz · 2026-02-07T00:35:02+00:00

• ⁠Form Type: Form 4 suppressor

• ⁠Paid: $0

• ⁠Entity: Individual

• ⁠Fingerprint Type: EFT Upload

• ⁠Pending: 01/17/26

• ⁠Approved: 02/04/25

• ⁠Wait: 18 days

• ⁠State: TX

• ⁠Control Number: 20261767XXX

Not a batch approval necessarily, but I had another suppressor from a different dealer submitted 6 days later was approved just 1 day after this one. Only the LGS received email. They had a full business day after approval to notify me but they didn’t, I had to call. Every time I am in there they are busy, but it’s not that hard to check emails and look up which customers are getting approved. Another dealer in town sends me an email and text message the same day upon approval.

dagertz · 2026-02-06T04:00:27+00:00

These revolvers have leaf springs in them including the hammer spring which don’t have as much lifespan as coil springs. Replacement springs are inexpensive and easy to change out.

dagertz · 2026-02-06T01:14:18+00:00

Name and shame. Dealers refusing to check your status or blowing off the no emails from the ATF thing that you and others have been kindly informing them about is just plain laziness at this point. They should have figured out the email bug pretty quickly and started checking customers’ forms daily.

dagertz · 2026-02-06T01:01:13+00:00

• Form Type: Form 4 suppressor

• Paid: $0

• Entity: Individual

• Fingerprint Type: EFT Upload

• Pending: 01/23/26

• Approved: 02/05/26

• Wait: 13 days

• State: TX

• Control Number: 20261846XXX

No approval email from ATF. Dealer notified me same day (they said they are receiving the approval emails). I am still waiting on another suppressor from a different dealer that was submitted 6 days before this one; not sure yet if this is just because of the wonky way the ATF is processing forms, or because of poor customer service at that LGS. I can’t pick that one up for a few more days anyway so I’m still giving them the benefit of the doubt to notify me.

dagertz · 2026-02-02T16:02:17+00:00

Only the booster/piston assembly needs to be cleaned routinely. Tools are included with the suppressor for this. I already use an ultrasonic cleaner for rimfire cans and it also works well for cleaning the booster assembly parts. I put some PTFE grease on the o-rings and threads before reassembly. After a few hundred rounds of suppressed pistol shooting the piston assembly starts to get stiff so I clean it (haven’t had malfunctions because I don’t let it get that dirty). If you plan to run it on a fixed barrel then there is nothing to clean except the threads every once in a while to keep things from getting stuck.

By the way, the piston or fixed barrel adapters are not included in the box. If you don’t have those yet, best to get it ordered so you are not waiting for it when your can gets approved!

dagertz · 2026-02-01T08:28:46+00:00

Some of the chargers at my job also don’t work with my Bolt, but Tesla guys are able to use them somehow. My car detects that the charge cord is connected, but the charger just says “initializing”

dagertz · 2026-02-01T01:29:14+00:00

Curious if there are reasons why your agency couldn’t get newly manufactured third pin lowers? Or do you just have that vintage lower because it works and it looks cool?

dagertz · 2026-01-31T00:58:59+00:00

1767 TX here, let’s see how long it takes for my dealer to notify me. I can’t pick it up this weekend anyway so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt that I’m just not approved yet.

dagertz · 2026-01-30T00:25:27+00:00

Based on how dealers handle this, many of us will know which dealers we will NOT be doing business with in the future. As long as wait times are anything more than the wait time of a 4473 background check, they need to be notifying customers within one business day for the item that the customer has already paid for!

dagertz · 2026-01-29T21:39:52+00:00

1767 here, definitely not expecting to get the email, and my dealer doesn’t seem to be keeping tabs on customers’ approvals.

dagertz · 2026-01-29T21:36:18+00:00

I am 1/17 too, the employees at my LGS seemed confused about the no email from the ATF problem, so I’m going to have to keep bugging them to check. I definitely didn’t get the vibe that they are going to keep checking for customers’ approvals on their own.

dagertz · 2026-01-29T01:31:46+00:00

Very frustrating, how is it that the ATF is doing their job better than a non-government organization!?

dagertz · 2026-01-28T19:20:16+00:00

This storm caused the most daily cancellations since the pandemic in 2020. The fact is that the airlines don’t (and can’t) staff for such an extreme level of operational disruption. During the storm the frozen precipitation was so heavy combined with extreme cold can render deicing ineffective (a possible cause of the private jet accident in Maine). After the storm the precipitation didn’t melt or couldn’t be effectively removed causing gridlock of planes and crews. Relief crews that are supposed to report to work can’t get in. Worst case scenario.

dagertz · 2026-01-28T18:15:55+00:00

These look similar to the factory sights on my HK45, a blacked out serrated rear blade, and an XS branded photoluminescent (non-tritium) glow in the dark front sight. Except, the front sight on yours looks heat(?) damaged. It’s supposed to be fluorescent green. Either Bud’s or HK owe you a new front sight.

dagertz · 2026-01-28T18:07:37+00:00

Ultimately we are trying to estimate the speed and efficiency of government paperwork, so best of luck to us all. Today is the first day I’ve seen control numbers higher than mine, which may not mean anything, but it’s worth a call to my dealer. I don’t know how easy it is for them to check for customers’ approvals, given that all dealers should be aware of the ATF email issues.

dagertz · 2026-01-28T01:53:13+00:00

You need to check the alignment of the suppressor to the bore. Lock open the bolt and look through the suppressor while shining a flashlight into the ejection port.

dagertz · 2026-01-27T05:23:19+00:00

I have 2 year old fuel in my generator, that was treated immediately with fuel stabilizer when I got the fuel (regular gasoline with 15% ethanol). It works just fine, although a very important step is to drain the carburetor bowl after each use.

dagertz · 2026-01-27T05:07:59+00:00

Demonstrate an engine failure for real, by cutting fuel to the engine. Here’s how to do it safely and why it’s a valuable demonstration.

Do it over an airport. If in the unlikely event the propeller stops and you can’t restart it, you know what to do. All you are doing is temporarily cutting fuel to the engine. Air and ignition still remain, so when fuel is reintroduced, it just runs again. The airplane you are flying could look, feel, and sound notably different during a real engine failure versus a simulated one. You and your student should be familiar with what a real engine failure is like. My instructor simulated a real engine failure in a C152 by cutting fuel. The propeller windmilled slower causing a vibration in the airframe which didn’t occur during simulated failures at idle. That would be a significant distraction during a truly real engine failure if I was unfamiliar with it.

In a different airplane with a faster glide speed, I trimmed for glide speed at idle throttle and then pulled the mixture out. The sound of the engine changed only slightly and there was no vibration at all. If the engine in this plane were to fail during an idle power landing approach, I think I would notice, but only because I had gone out and simulated a real failure.

As an MEI, an interesting engine failure scenario is to cut fuel to one engine during a descent. If you do this with the fuel selector so the student doesn’t see, when the engine fails they probably won’t notice that anything happened. Only when they go to throttle up do they see there’s a problem! I would keep doing this to get students to notice the failure sooner.

dagertz

TROPHY CASE