Ragsf15e

https://www.amazon.com/Verizon-Wireless-Unlocked-Advanced-Included/dp/B09FXP1G86/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Z758UekhlfbXYCxVrOcaWdT2NNMRzvOKhNIpWl7ehgLgnNJEpoUfCaEvqKSRbQlHlN-zn5O8EsvLZB_NgotC-ALhr5gkQLCEpBviQzCjT1NcsQ5_crXw3krHOTPGwXb1TPdaj9jlKj60mBC3mmvvg28heweOq9Ao-SnIUdPiEcp4WGeQdIPTihhCRbFZVrePWcDBmo8ZvoRnpH5e68DQPA.HHzWK922l6YGYaiy6gU68Bck0oVA0EHQQViPURNcxfI&dib_tag=se&keywords=Verizon+Hotspot+WiFi+Device&qid=1765634451&sr=8-1 i use an older version of this one.

I’d get that just for the heat rejection. We use a 10% tint static cling on 3 of the 5 windows in our airplane and it’s shocking how much cooler it stays compared to without the tint.

Basically whenever it was 30s or cooler at night. Obviously that’s a little above where you have to, but it’s nice to have everything around 80 to start. I’ve gone a few times when it was single digits for a high and negative the night before. Even the space heater/dryer vent shoved in the cowl flap worked well after several hours.

The plastcs in my cockpit are testimony to at least some of it getting through!! However, what I found showed it was surprisingly effective by itself. I agree though, if I ever had my windows redone, I’d definitely use uv protection.

Yeah, back then pretty much all fighter/bomber pilots had to do a tour doing something else- teaching pilot training, fighter lead in training, air liaison officer, etc. I got a choice gig being a liaison for the 25th ID in Hawaii! Then I realized that they were going to be in Afghanistan for ~18 months of my 2 year tour on Hawaii. So my 2 years in Hawaii turned into ~8 months in Afghanistan and 16 months in Hawaii. So yeah, I was a liaison officer between Air Force and army as a jtac. My next tour was in the F-15E and I was back in Afghanistan flying over the exact same outposts I’d been living in a year earlier! Good times. But a standard JTAC doesn’t do the crazy stuff those cct guys do!

One thing about aerotherm or other heaters promising a “30 minute” preheat… I have zero data to back this up, but I suspect the inside of the engine is still really cold. That’s a lot of thermal mass to heat in 30 minutes. You want the oil warm for sure, and the pistons, cylinders, etc at an acceptable temperature, not just the outside surfaces. I prefer gentle heat for longer. If you’re “preheating” in South georgia, 30 minutes is probably fine.

I don’t think id set it up in a puddle of 100ll, but mine is all metal vents and i used it set to low. Air was ~90.

I live in Washington, so preheat like 10 months of the year. The switcheon and a reiff/tanis on the airplane are your “gucci” options. I decided I could be a CB here (while still getting excellent preheat). I bought a cheap ceramic heater, used some foil tape, hvac vent, and dryer vent to give it a flexible duct, and shove that into the cowl flap. With the heater on low, I get nice warm air in the whole engine compartment. Takes an hour or two to make sure it’s all evenly heated, but I like it. My new plane came with a tanis so i just use that now. As far as triggering it… I bought a used Verizon 4g lte hotspot off amazon for $25. I got a iot sim chip from 1nce for $15. Boom, i have a (very limited data) wifi connection in the hangar with no subscription! Then I purchased a wifi outlet (i use ge cync) and I m in business! Switcheon is probably the easy button, however, I am proud of my solution!

@Fix there is an actual approved winterization plate! I believe it’s a small piece of sheet metal that you can flip up or down depending on conditions, but @PeteMcs picture will tell us for sure. I tried to order one through lasar a while back and basically they didn’t have any and then ghosted me on it. I plan to use tape this year. Interestingly, i flew in very cold air last year and didn’t notice the issues with mp you mentioned. My issue was that my oil wouldn’t stay above about 120 deg f in cruise which isn’t warm enough. This was around -20c at cruise altitude. Im glad pete has an example of the plate he can show us! ** I use xc20w-50 and CG year round, so maybe that’s why I didn’t have the mp issues?

Holy smokes, is that with the oil warmed all the way up at operating temp around 180?

@GeeBee, at least with my 252, it’s not really the ground temps that affect my oil temp, but the real cold temps aloft. If you’re looking at -20c or so, Id put on the winterization kit.

As others have said, I wouldn’t really want to do this often, however… I have a 252 updated to the SB engine (encore upgrade) with extended tanks. You can get 104-110 gallons in depending on how persistent you are. I cruise at ~175ktas around 15,000’ at 65% power burning 10.4gph. Mine runs lean of peak well, others might have some issues and rop or book (which is about peak) costs more fuel for the same speed. So I count 15gallons for the first hour (climb is 26gph!), 11 gph thereafter (10.4 if you want to be exact). That gets you 7.5hours with 15gallon reserve. If you multiply that by 175ktas, you will see a range of 1200nm no wind. That doesn’t sound fun, it doesn’t account for westbound winds, requires you to be in the mid/upper teens sucking oxygen for 7 hours, and crosses several fronts. It’s probably useful on rare occasions, not a normal flight.

However, if you just wanted a ride in one or to sit in it and see how it feels, you won’t need a cfi and you’ll probably find someone who will gladly show you their airplane.

Yeah I saw it sitting in the shop for a long time waiting on new flaps from Mooney!

The “collapse” ones scare me. That shouldn’t be able to happen should it? I guess a worn down lock block on a Johnson bar maybe? Really hard landing? Especially when it’s just 1 gear collapse. That shouldn’t happen, but it does somehow? There was one (maybe a Bravo?) at KSFF that had the left main collapse (it was a transient from ~Seattle maybe). No prop strike! Needed new flaps, gear rods, and a few other things but he got it flying again. How does that happen? Poorly rigged gear?

Mine is set fully closed as well. It also “seems” a knot or two faster there than if it’s open slightly. But I haven’t done real good testing on that. I haven’t had cooling issues running lop and flying in the teens except in the dead of summer. Usually it’s still cool up there in the northwest where I live.

To find the proper thickness, do I measure it with a micrometer or do I need to completely take it off? I’d like to order some and play with it (and improve my pigtails) before getting my mechanic to help R&R the whole thing?

You guys are awesome, thank you! My mechanic did put liberal mouse milk along the cable so that might wick in as you said. I’m on the hunt for proper size wire so I’m ready when it fails again.

Today I taxied over to do an oil change with my mechanic. It was cold, so I put the cowl flaps halfway up to let the oil warm up while I taxied. Well, that didn't work. They wouldn't go up. But they would go all the way down... anyway, long story short, when we got the cowl off, the "Bowden" cable was bent all up. Cowl flaps actually worked fine, but the cable is connected to the indicator. Apparently they don't slide very well in the sheath after ~40 years. We disconnected it and were able to get kroil in there at both ends and it seems to go back and forth ok. Straightened the end where it was bent, and actually got it to work again, but I think the cable is not long for this world. I need to find a new one. So IPC says it's part 650246-003/005 "wire" and "housing". Not on Lasar's website. If it's really a "Bowden" Cable, I think I could measure it and buy it through Spruce by the foot, however, the end by the cowl flap has the cable wrapped in a "pigtail" where it connects. I can't see one like that on Spruce. My mechanic said "rolling our own" pigtail is problematic, even if we try to heat the wire. We'll either break it if it's cold or ruin the heat treatment on the part that needs to be stiff, so I should find one that's already pig tailed. Great. Has anyone else had experience with replacing the "piano wire" type of cables? Did you get parts from Lasar? Did you ever see a coiled "pigtail" connection? How did you find the specific cable sizes you should use? Thanks, Drew

I thought the “e-mag” is only for experimental?

@Jake@BevanAviation is the expert…

I hope they put a pretty good effort into it instead of just saying it was all too damaged in the fire and they can’t tell. I think it could potentially save lives in the future to know what really happened.

The other thing that’s hard to quantify (and I don’t think foreflight calculates this very well) is that you have to turn into (and thus reduce) any quartering tailwind to maintain course. If it’s really strong, you have to turn into it a lot which further reduces the tailwind and increases the amount you turn into it. Depending on your own speed and the wind speed/direction, you could have a “tailwind” that is actually a headwind by the time you apply enough correction. The wind side of old e6b calculators makes this easier to see. For some reason, I don’t feel like foreflight fully takes the course correction and subsequent change of head/tailwind into account.

In addition to what @midlifeflyer said, he never mentioned rolling wings level. I have to wonder if he added power, lowered the nose (as he described) and then tried to complete the pattern by increasing back pressure and bank as he was now likely nose low and overshooting. The description sounds vaguely like an accelerated stall to me. If you’re doing a stall recovery in the pattern, the pattern is over, recover fully from the stall.

Well that ended up awesome!