Ragsf15e

Just finished reinstalling all my belly panels after annual. Next year I’m just going throw away all the existing sheet metal screws and tinnerman nuts on the front panel and the panels under the exhaust & fuel pump. All the screws are different and the nuts are worn. Heres the problem, the manual says use AN530-8R8 screws but the head on those sits much higher (like pimples) than the existing ones which look like pan head or truss head from my brief research. What is the correct head type? Do I just accept that what Spruce says is AN530-8R8 with a very round head is what is supposed to be in there? Thanks!

I’m not sure if I agree with the SF causing problems above 6000’. I’m always above 6,000’ and mine has been great. I’ve had it as high as 15,500 in my na IO-360. I agree there’s not much Performance gain, but I certainly haven’t noticed any cht or other issues.

It did slip a lot, my IA said it was a lot too. The mag was overhauled about 175 hours ago and he attributed it to the points wearing in. Retimed it and good to go. I’m gonna try to fly it tomorrow. Much better than pulling and/putting in screws under the belly all day!

Totally agree with the weight being the majority of the issue.

I think you’re on to something. When we checked timings, mag was at 26 degrees, supposed to be at 20. SF is set to 20. Plugs are all gapped the same. Between those two things you’re probably getting close.

Did he make any posts…. Never mind, strike that. How many posts did he make during lunch??

Been there (FPS), but we generally try to call her Mimi. Mimi the Mooney.

I have an F and they are nice. If I found 2 comparable airplanes, one an F and the other a J, I’d want the J if possible. If the price isn’t right or the J isn’t in good condition, the F will do you good. The F cools just fine. It’s about 10 kts slower. Everything else is almost exactly the same. The J will obviously be a few years newer.

Jeez it sure does look like that doesn’t it.

What matters (usually) for setting your altitude is in the clearance you wrote down before takeoff and/or any amendment given by tower before takeoff. So if you use CRAFT (clrnc fix, route, ALT, frequency, transponder) to write down your clearance, then that Altitude is generally what you want set. If tower gives you a different altitude prior to departure, then set that.

Thanks. I just ordered them!

Possibly. Also right now try buying a Tempest fine wire UREM 38S. I ordered a couple in November from Chief. Nobody has them even now. Maybe in a couple weeks I keep hearing…

The bottom plugs were similar but much closer in color so tough to say for sure. The SF folks answered right away but didn’t have anything to add: “I don’t know why that would happen?”

Mine is on a 14v system so I didn’t have any issues with the power fluctuations that some 28v folks suffered. It also does provide slightly better LOP ops if you fly high where the advance is greater. I have pretty good data showing a couple knots faster LOP above about 8k. I am concerned about what it does to the plugs though.

I’ve also posted this question to SF so I’ll let you know what they say. Both the mag (overhauled) and SF were installed 2 years ago and now both have about 160 hours.

He just grunted, cleaned them, tested them and reinstalled the 3 that tested ok. One of the SF plugs was only firing intermittently. I can’t specifically blame the SF as those plugs are about 8 years and 800 hours old, so could have just worn out.

Yes. those 4 are all my top plugs, so 2 fired by the right mag and 2 by the Surefly.

Those 4 are all top.

So started my annual today. So far engine and prop looking good according to my IA. All I saw was the 1000s of access panel and belly screws as I pulled them. How did that possibly take me 6 hours? Anyway, my top plugs are in this picture before cleaning. The dark tips are from the Surefly, cleaner looking white-ish ones from the mag. Thoughts?

The mirrors in the F-15E are to see if the WSO is still awake.

This is a long thread but several people talk about it…

There are some previous threads where people swore it came open even after they fully closed and locked it. There’s a good discussion on the thread where the door separated and wrapped around the horizontal stab. It was in the UK if I remember right.

Yeah, also your leg timing gets tricky if you don’t set the throttles very carefully. Apparently there’s a big difference between 350ktas and 500ktas.

During my last F-15E flying deployment to Afghanistan, I actually used the whiskey compass for navigation twice. Once was at night so the stars helped a little (you can see a lot of stars without any cultural lighting). Neither time did I end up in Iran or Pakistan. Damn “G1000” screen system reset once and the other time my INS crapped out. It’s a useless instrument until you need it, then it’s priceless.

Totally agree. I actually had a small extension welded on my hand towbar where it goes through the nose gear so I can slip a large cotter pin through a hole and keep from ending up on my butt. It’s poor form after you’ve just arrived at a new place.