BDPetersen

I will watch with interest for answers/theories. After replacing my oil sump gasket a couple years ago I noted an increase in oil pressure (no connection implied). Haven’t figured out a reason or problem.

When the battery on my tug let me down I resorted to the factory towbar to pull mine out of the hangar against a very slight ramp upslope. In the midst of a hard pull the bar slipped out of the nose gear and sent me sprawling and cursing. Note to self: use the towbar that latches on from both sides. Or fix the tug.

I have a Switcheon to sell, by the way. The joy of hangar wi-fi lets me use a smart outlet with the pad heater and old sleeping blanket insulator. About 3 hours does the trick. $150 for the Switcheon. Great system.

I love the LockNLube concept. However, I have some problems with the ergonomics of the device. Besides the Mooney, I own and maintain 2 Howard Price wide area mowers for maintaining the county airport. Each machine has 21 grease zerks that require regular service. When the LockNLube attaches properly, it’s great. But a miss connection generally results in the device becoming greasy and not that easy to grip and squeeze to attach. I chatted with the LockNLube owner/investor and he was quite helpful in that he sent me repair parts for the tip. Good guy. There is an alternative device out there (don’t know its name) that doesn’t require the squeeze-to-connect. But if your not an old guy with arthritic hands, you will like the LockNLube, I’m sure.

After retuning the plane to service after changing the oil sump gasket a couple of years ago, I thought I noticed the oil pressure running higher than I remembered. Near top of green, higher if not fully warm. I removed all but one washer from the pressure regulator, but it still remained high. I assured myself that high was not a bad thing and kept on keeping on. But the gnawing question is if there is any “bad” thing it could be pointing at. Oil analysis and filter cut has been normal. On an unrelated note (I think), a spike in oil consumption led me to pulling #4 cylinder, finding a broken top ring. Reworked cylinder (Phil’s) and finally flew the first hour of run-in yesterday. This morning’s inspection happily shows negligible oil consumption and for the first time in a long time, no drip puddle under the breather. This is on my 2300 hour engine. While the cylinder was off, internal inspection of the cam, etc., looked very good. It was never my intention to care for a geriatric engine, but apparently it is doing better than I am.

I recall a break-in discussion by a GAMI expert making the case for LOP break-in. The assertion was that the slower “burn” yielded a protracted power stroke that kept the pressure up on the rings for a longer travel in the cylinder, spreading the wear (break-in)over a bit more of the cylinder walls. I believe I used this method a time or two. Please don’t shoot the messenger.

Whew. This discussion makes me feel much better about myself. After 60+ years of flying I occasionally felt guilty about not having brake tapping on takeoff in my usual procedure. I think the Boeings handled that on their own, and something stuck in my brain that cautioned us against that in the DC-3 (maybe the DC-6) on the grounds it might spin the tire on the stopped wheel. Not sure that idea stands up to scrutiny, but it stuck with me. Eliminating the gyroscopic forces makes perfect sense. At times I have had the presence of mind to do that before swinging the manual gear on my “C”, but I didn’t come up with a conclusion as to whether it made it any easier.

Purdue Pro Pilot grad here (‘67) as is my son (‘11). We flew DC-3’s and -6’s in the ‘60’s. Not so now, but good sim fleet, I think.

Every holiday season I make it a point to treating myself to a rebroadcast of The Shepherd by Fredrick Forstyhe as read on CBC. (I won’t try to find a link. There are several out there.) It a telling of an RAF pilot’s eventful Christmas Eve flight across the North Sea in 1957. Today I noticed that it has been made into a short (39min) film showing on Disney+ so I couldn’t wait to have a look. I can report that it isn’t too bad. The radio version makes a more compelling story and probably needs to be heard before watching, but I was pleased. See what you think.

Back in the day of dial-up internet the go-to aviation forum was Avsig. Maybe it still is, but I haven’t logged on in decades. Anyway, one of the regulars was an “expert” of sorts with technical knowledge of aircraft oil with connections to Phillips. His opinion was that Phillips X-C was fine for break-ins. His assertion was that the base oil had characteristics that made it comparable to mineral for break in, that it would keep junk in suspension, and that the viscosity range made it more immediately available to a cold engine. Sorry I don’t recall his name and this is a pretty sketchy account, but it seemed reasonable. Personally, I used that information breaking in Continental cylinders on a Bonanza and a C310. That’s a lot of cylinders.

Your picture and consumption scenario look identical to mine, although I had 78/80 compression. #4 cylinder. Pulled the cylinder under the advisement of a reputable overhauler. Top ring was broken. Now waiting for cylinder to come back from shop. Hopefully worth it. No scoring, clean oil filter, slightly elevated chrome in oil analysis but no higher than earlier tests. We’ll see.

I almost made the title “How often do you change oil in your spark plugs”. Today I decided to remove the bottom plug in my #2 cylinder, as one does. But when I pulled the lead out of the plug, I was amazed to find it (the lead) dripping oil. Hmmm, thought I, I’ve never seen that before. I imagined that when I pulled the plug it would be cracked or something, but no . . . air tight. The electrode end was unremarkable but the lead chamber was oily. Now, mind you this plug spends its life upside down. How in the world does oil climb inside a plug? I didn’t see any particular oil leak on the outside of the engine. Is it possible a plug wire could be a conduit for oil, assuming there was a way for oil to get inside it? The engine was running fine. On 1st mag check, roughness was sometimes attributable to #2 cylinder, but would clear and be normal in flight. Any thoughts?

I can’t put my top cowl back on and tuck in the front rubber baffle without fearing if I forget he will once again catch my mistake. Thanks Anthony, you make me want to be a better Mooney owner.

May I ask where in Ohio you and plane are?

I smile to recall my early airline days (pre-wheeled luggage) when they were derisively referred to as “whimp wagons”. We were so stupidly macho. At one time we had airline pilots producing retractable wheeled luggage. I’m sure better stuff available now. Actually, I think the Hefty trash bags do just fine.