floridaflyer

I had a Lancair IV a while back. Bought it from the guy who bought it from couple of German engineers who built it and they did a great job. I can't say as much about the other specimens I've seen. Let's just say some people can build planes and most others can't. I'm in the most other category. After 1,000+ hours all over the Carribean I can also say it beats the pants off any other experimental or certificated piston 4-seater, but that's for another forum. Mooney Rocket was half the acquisition cost and half the insurance. If only it could keep from puking oil...

1.1 hr test flight today with cowl flap open resulted in losing about 3 quarts oil and oil pressure in the yellow (30PSI) on landing... Was cruising along fine reading steady 80MPH case pressure for first 1/2 hour, then pressure inexplicably started climbing to 110MPH over the course of 30 seconds and stayed there for the rest of the flight with +/-5 MPH oscillations. Next is to extend the breather hose to vent outside the cowling and see if case pressure is reduced enough to end oil loss.

Carusoam thanks for your thoughts, I don't know what normal is but maximum case pressure for big bore TCM is airspeed < 90 mph per TCM SB 89. Based on my research the higher the case pressure the more oil goes out the breather. On the ground at full power (36" MP and ~2550 RPM) my Rocket shows 60 mph. A brand new engine would probably read lower but its got 1400 hours SMOH. As I mentioned in my last post my breather hose (1-3/4" scat) is connected at the Airwolf air separator and runs about 2 feet to vent 4" up from the bottom of the engine cowling so inside the cowling as specified by Airwolf. There is no tube like with the stock 252/Rocket breather tube. Airwolf says it usually takes several trials to properly locate the vent side of the hose and they warn against placing in slipstream (negative pressure) to avoid a Venturi effect which doesn't let the airsep do its job. They do not mention the opposite problem which is positive pressure but told me the higher the case pressure the harder it is for the airsep to push the oil back into the engine. Here's probably the most thorough discussion of the airsep functionality from a respected Lancair owner: http://lancair.net/lists/lml/Message/63034-02-B/Engine. Weather is looking better this morning so going to fly to Ft Myers and back at altitude with engine cowl open all the way to see how much oil comes out, hoping none!

OK so replacing the crankshaft seal made no difference, same readings in flight as previously reported and same oil loss BUT... closing the cowl flap in flight increases crankcase pressure by 50%. So for example cruising at 32" MP, 2400 RPM and 160 KIAS (1000 MSL) the crankcase pressure reads 80 MPH with the cowl flap open and jumps to 120 MPH when I close it. The Airwolf airsep breather scat hose ends/vents inside the engine bottom cowling about 4" above the bottom of the cowling as specified by Airwolf, I'm thinking it's where the excess pressure is picked up and works its way back to the crankcase via the airsep and the breather connecting it to the oil filler where our airspeed indicator reads pressure. According to Airwolf, excess crankcase pressure prevents the airsep from returning the oil to the engine so it has nowhere to go but out the breather which of course defeats the purpose of having the airsep in the first place. We're going to go fly for an hour with the flap open and see if there is any oil loss at the 80 MPH reading. If not it's likely a matter of moving the airsep breather hose. If anybody who reads this has the Airwolf setup on a Rocket please post the location where the breather hose vents, that would be very helpful.

UPDATE: the air oil separator is in and no oil loss in ground runs but still spewing out one quart an hour in flight, now it's coming out of the air oil separator breather. AirWolf says its excessive crankcase pressure which prevents the oil from returning to crankcase, and there is no separator that can keep that much oil in. So we took the plane out for a flight test with the A/S indicator hooked up per TCM SB M89-9, here's what the crankcase pressure reads at different settings. Looks like ram air leaks into the engine since pressure rises as airspeed rises. The maximum specified by TCM is 90MPH... Oil filler cap is tight so next we're going to replace the crankshaft seal and see what happens.

I never used speed brakes in my F because they made no difference. I'm almost always IFR in the Rocket and use them to slow down or drop down (or both depending on ATC) and I always land with them to reduce ground effect. Also it makes you look like a bad ass to the Airbus holding short.

So after one year I can confirm the following hot start works every time on my Rocket: full throttle, full mixture prime 5 secs (fuel flow will climb to 18GPH) 1/4 throttle, Mixture to ICO crank engine and slowly advance mixture when engine starts to fires give short primer bursts until idles smoothly

On my Rocket the top cowling has two scoops that pick up RAM air from the engine side of the baffle and redirect it over the top of each intercooler. Once the air passes through the intercoolers, it exits via the open area on the bottom cowling. Proper cooling requires minimal obstruction below the intercoolers.

I was wrong, the orange is a small 28V 4A backup alternator.

No the prior owner took the spare alternator out to try to improve the CG.

Thanks for the info. I'm quite happy with the extractor I bought: https://www.harborfreight.com/6-1-4-quarter-gallon-oil-extractor-46149.html

Can anybody post a picture or link to this Rocket drain tube we're talking about? My quick drain can be activated with a rather fat Bogert-style probe (see pic below), and the turbo housing is too close to reach the valve. I'm not a big fan of quick drains and I don't like removing the bottom cowling, but it would be nice to change the oil the old fashioned way once in a while. BTW I misspoke, removing the I/C is not a requirement, it's a 5-minute job well worth the improved access to the oil filter and minor considering the oil extractor avoids having to remove the bottom cowling.

Jim F I understand the Airwolf system uses the vac pump discharge to help push the oil separated by the airsep back into the crankcase. If there is no vacuum pump available it says to hook up the hose to a hole in the baffle to use ram air pressure instead. At $950 this better work!

Peevee this engine is so tightly cowled I had to buy an oil extractor from Harbor Freight to suck the oil out of the filler cap because the oil "quick drain" is so difficult to access. Makes my old Lancair IV look roomy in comparison. The oil filter is a PITA to remove and requires intercooler removal. Good news is in the picture the rubber hose connecting the vacuum pump outlet to the airsep looks like it goes over the top of the oil filter, but it actually goes aft so it's not in the way and easy to disconnect anyways.

Just finished installing an Airwolf oil separator so I figured I'd post the pics for other Rocket owners. The airsep is big. 10 hour job, could have been 2 hours less if I had the proper spring compressor and crowsfoot 7/16" wrench for the #2 back intake bolt. The most time-consuming step was replacing the #2 cylinder pushrod tube with the Airwolf tube so it can be used to return the oil to the engine, it was a real tight fit to wedge the new tube past the cylinder cooling fins after removing the intake. Had to fabricate a simple L-shape aluminium bracket to secure the airsep using the three bolts holding the LH side of the oil cooler. It's a tight fit but there was no space on the RH side of the cowling, not enough space under the LH intercooler (which would have probably disrupted the air flow anyways), and the space next to the LH intercooler wouldn't have placed the airsep high enough for the oil return hose to continuously slope downward back to the pushrod tube. I'll report on performance soon. On a related note an A/S indicator hooked up to the oil filler cap read around 20 MPH at 2,200 RPM on the ground, so well below the TCM maximum of 90 MPH which would indicate blowby is not the issue.

Stephen thanks for the details, this is very helpful. My filler cap/dipstick seems rather loose so I'll try to seal it better and go fly it to see if it makes a difference on amount of oil consumed and whatever pressure I'm reading on the airspeed indicator I'm in the process of hooking up to the filler.

Thanks Jose. I'm already using 100W oil and according to engine monitor oil temp stays below 200F during climb. I ordered an AIrwolf separator, unless and until leakdown + borescope says otherwise, oil won't have any other way to go but back in crankcase...

Thank you for the heads up.

Snowds I'm reviving this post in the hope you found a fix. My 87 Rocket 305 has the exact same symptoms as you described in your original post. The most frustrating part is No predictability with no warning on long flights and related safety issue. All comps good, no oil on plugs, waiting on used airspeed indicator to do the crankcase pressure test, Air wolf 311E Air separator on order. Any resolution appreciated.

Adjusting the King KFC150 Autopilot View File DIY. Submitter floridaflyer Submitted 08/23/2016 Category Avionics

King KAS297A Altitude Selector Maintenance Manual View File Similar to KAS297B but without vertical speed. Revision 3 July 2002 Submitter floridaflyer Submitted 08/23/2016 Category Avionics

King KAS297B Altitude Preselect Installation Manual View File Revision 1 August 1985 Submitter floridaflyer Submitted 08/23/2016 Category Avionics

King KFC150 Autopilot Installation Manual View File Revision 3, September 1996 KFC 150 installation manual.pdf Submitter floridaflyer Submitted 08/23/2016 Category Avionics

carusoam, there are no service manuals to be found on the Bendix King website,

Can someone post the service manual for the KFC150 (it's not the same as the pilot's guide or the installation manual)? Thanks.