Ragsf15e

That’s how I ended up with an overhaul instead of a reseal. It was on the airplane for ~14 years and they said they wouldn’t do a reseal on that. (American prop in Redding CA)

Definitely possible it’s been on that long and it probably needs a reseal. That’s what mine started doing. I was getting a fine mist of oil on the windscreen just before I had it overhauled. Reseal would be better. BTW, it’s way past TBO… they have 6 or 7 years as well as the hours. Not that it matters.

Yeah that’s not right. I also have an F and it shouldn’t rub like that. That being said, it’s a PIA to get the hydraulic system properly bled if your mechanic isn’t familiar. You might want to read some previous threads on here about bleeding the system. Some angle on the airplane (nose up) apparently helps too…

My ‘68 had manual gear, hydraulic flaps and the rivets look the same. It got electric gear as a mod after leaving the factory. It doesn’t have the twisted wing though. Could that have been more costly to build?

Possibly your right, and there’s always some room and some need for “flexibility” or adjusting on the fly. However, if I’m flying around in very low weather using nothing but my instruments, I’d rather have over engineered it (ahead of time) than under engineered it. Especially for people with less experience recognizing and adjusting on the fly.

What you’re doing to improve is good. Just be careful with finding an “optimum airspeed, descent rate, flap setting” because the descent rate will change based on the approach design. Usually the biggest difference will be in the portion between the IAF & FAF, but sometimes non precision approaches require healthy descent after the FAF to reach mins in time to make a normal landing. There isn’t always one “optimum” continuous descent for all approaches.

I got a new zeph VR a while back and it didn’t match the existing cannon plug in my ‘68. The existing one was a larger metal cannon plug and the zeph came with a smaller plastic one. There’s only like 3 wires in/out, so it wasn’t hard to rectify, but I think the cannon plugs changed over the years.

Yeah there’s gonna be a lot of techniques for that. Mine comes from my USAF training and my belief that ensuring the gear is down and confirmed should happen before the final descent so that I can solely focus on flying during the last critical stage. You’re correct though that dropping the gear from level flight generally gives close to GS descent. I’m just not a fan.

Had to have special KC-135s too so they could be loaded with the special fuel, but not mix it with their own. KC-135Q/T. Normally KC-135s can use/transfer almost all their fuel interchangeably, but these ones kept two types separate.

You can. Install a Surefly mag. You described the advance mapping almost perfectly. There are some people who aren’t fans, and that’s fine, but it does almost exactly as you describe. It even use MP. It would be nice to have both mags do it though.

There’s gonna be several techniques for that. My personal one is 1nm prior to the FAF. That gives me time to finish the before landing checklist, trim, and be on speed (90kts, t/o flaps for me) before the faf. I also like to come into the FAF level, but there’s a lot of people who will like being on the glide slope into the FAF. If you do that, you’ll need to start slowing earlier because it’s real hard to slow down clean while descending on GS.

Yes, the standard location on the F is in the front left of the lower cowling, right below the #2 cylinder. Some people have an stc relocating it behind #4. I also think the intake and cowling improved airflow significantly between the F/J.

How were you making it do that? By physically pushing the rod up/down? Trimming the wheel? I will look more closely at mine next annual, but that would concern me.

Are you using 25degrees? How much hotter did the CHTs run when you switched to 25?

No “ete” when you’re planning/chair flying before shooting the approach. I like to have people figure out the required descent before they actually fly it. There are some approaches around that require a pretty healthy descent if you are going to get to the MDA at/before the VDP.

Yes, I probably have 65 degrees between 1-3. The cylinders are same type and age (relatively new). I think it’s just the standard cooling issue on 3.

Yeah I read one of our threads on that. It’s not overly hot so I haven’t tried it, but on really hot days in climb it’s between 380-400. In cruise ((ROP) it’s ~370 so I don’t really worry about it. A little more even airflow would be nice because my #1 can be at 290-300 while 3 is at 370. I even swapped the probes once just to see if they were wrong, but no. Baffles are newish and pretty good seal, maybe a little wrinkle behind #3 by the oil dipstick door, but I can usually smooth it out.

I wish that little bump in the back of the cylinder was bigger and could let more air around the back.

Weird that you see #1 warm too. My #3 is always hottest and my #1 always coolest. I thought they were all like that?

Have you seen the engine on @M20Doc comanche?! He don’t care about saving no 40lbs!

I agree mostly. Some people just like the math though. There are two times I do use it though… if there’s no VDP published on a non precision approach, it’s good to know where a normal descent would begin. Second, when cruising, descent planning can be tough sometimes. Especially in a jet in the flight levels. You really can’t get down steeper than 3 degrees, and that’s probably 100nm or more from your destination. In the Mooney it’s a little easier to eyeball it and/or fix it if you’re off a little.

I also teach folks the simple math to get the descent gradient when it’s not published. Say a vdp on a non precision approach or multiple stepdowns such as this. Some people like the math more than the charts. I’m sure you guys knew these, just thought I’d chime in in case someone likes the math. A little practice and you can quickly do it in your head. alt (in 100s) / nm = degrees So 4000’/6nm = 40 / 6 = ~6.5 degrees usually 90kts gs (1.5nm/min) or 120kts gs (2nm/min), so 6.5 degrees x 1.5 nm/min = ~1000ft/min for creating your own 3 degree vdp if none is published: alt (in 100s) / 3 = VDP distance from runway so 900’ MDA gives 900’ / 3 = 3nm

You do hear that a lot, but my old 3 blade mccaully on my F seems fine. I have heard a few folks that thought theirs had more vibration than a 2 blade, something about 3 blades on a 4 cylinder, but hasn’t been my experience.

Was that on the work order / estimate?!

This is a good point about takeoff. I typically don’t use full rich for runup, and I relean after runup, but you want to make damn sure you’re full rich (or leaned appropriately at high altitude airports) when you takeoff. Leaning during climb is ok if you know how. Easier with an engine monitor.