Andy95W

@Alan Fox

The way you describe it, that’s a Bob Fields. I wouldn’t worry about your door too much, like Lance said above, I’ve also never seen an issue with any Bob Fields installation after decades of use. Gee-Bee makes good products, but at times he disparages his competitors while trying to sell more of his stuff.

@Shadrach @PT20J Count me in!

Yes, it’s required per FAR 91.205.

It’s 2019 all over again!

I completely understand that rationale. I appreciate having a dispatcher in my day job (I fly a very advanced jet) who looks at all possibilities and provides fuel burn numbers that are accurate to within 1/2 of 1%. Makes me feel good knowing that someone like you is looking out for us. But we’re not talking about a FADEC controlled jet that has been so thoroughly checked and tested that it is extraordinarily accurate and predictable. We’re talking about a modified 57 year old airplane that never had an accurate POH, but instead an “Owners Manual” that wasn’t regulated by the FAA or EASA. Instead of digital engine control, it has a carbureted O-360 that, in essence, throws avgas upwards into the induction tubes and, if lucky, some amount of it will get sucked into a cylinder through a carbon-encrusted intake valve and ignited with sparks from a magneto that was designed almost 100 years ago. Unfortunately, we’re all looking for digital accuracy in an old-fashioned analog world. Hopefully you can do some testing and provide some real-world accurate numbers to help others with your engine/prop combination.

The OP owns an M20C. His carbureted engine is a very different animal than the injected IO-360, even when the idle is set correctly. For cooling purposes, the M20C carburetor is set to make the mixture very rich. Setting the idle is done at a very low rpm, but when the throttle is advanced to a normal taxi setting (about 1000-1200 rpm), additional idle jets open and allow more fuel to the throat of the carburetor. That is why you have to lean so aggressively on the ground, even when the carburetor idle is set correctly.

I have the EDM 730 and I love it and the display.

Yes, it matters. The oil should be pushed up from the bottom. Otherwise, there is the likelihood of an air “bubble” existing at the top of the oil cooler, which means the oil doesn’t get the benefit of all of the cooler’s fins and surface area, resulting in higher oil temperatures.

Ross- do you have the vacuum step or the old crank step like steingar and me? I lubricate my crank and cables regularly and it is still noticeably stiffer to crank up in the winter.

That’s a different system. Pre-1965, the step retracted via a crank handle by the pilot’s left knee, where your emergency gear extension crank is.

Unless you’re using significantly more than one quart of oil per 6 hours, that looks 100% normal for a Lycoming engine marking its spot. Just put an old pie pan or cookie sheet under that spot and wipe it out when you change your oil. Your breather is taking acids and other corrosive combustion by-products away from your camshaft, and it looks like it’s doing a nice job of it.

For the belly, mineral spirits and those nice blue paper towels. Probably cost about 5¢. Just my 2¢ worth. If you use Byron’s suggestion of kerosene and old towels, it would probably be an actual 2¢.

First, you should really get a modern engine monitor that will give you an accurate reading. In the meantime, make sure it stays in the green and don’t worry about it. Everything sounds fine the way you described it.

That type of sensor “sees” the magnet rotating in order to determine the rpm. The magnet rotates whether the magneto is producing spark or not.