MBDiagMan

Thanks very much Paul! Looks like Joyce has made the big time! It is very nice of you to put time into this.

I am pretty sure we could make it next week. We will be there on four wheels this morning though. Well it looks like the chance of thunderstorms is down, but so is the ceiling. Anyone trying to sneak underneath best beware of the Cedar Hill towers.

I put my airport identifier in my profile. Hopefully that qualifies me.

From all this, I am thinking it might do me well to put both my airplanes on Aeroshell 100 +. I would like to use the same oil in both.

Fuel tank leaks!

Ooh! Given that the entire tail section pivots for trim, that is a little concerning! Does the trim work smoothly?

I can't imagine my sinuses clearing enough for me to fly on Saturday, so we will be on foru wheels. If you have to put the plane away Scott, Sandy and I can probably give you a ride back to Addison.

As of this morning, it appears that the weather forecast might be opening a little for us. Now if my sinuses would just do the same thing......

Thanks Terry! I will indeed do some research.

Fair enough Cyril! Maybe I should stay with the Philips and add the CAMGUARD.

Sounds good! Oil lives a really tough life in a Turbo'd engine.

Thanks very much for the clarification Cyril! Sounds like the PLUS as opposed to the 100 is still the way to go for a Lycoming? My Mooney was annualed with Philips Crosscountry oil when I bought it. I use Aeroshell plus in my Cessna, although it is a Continental. I have given thought to changing the Mooney to the Aeroshell at the next change to make it easier to keep oil around.

I grew up in my Dad's independent auto repair shop. I have lots of car and truck engine experience even though I was an engineer during most of my career. In the old days, yes I am plenty old enough to remember the old days, motor oil was primitive and lacking to say the least. In addition, engine cooling systems operated at low temperatures and there were road draft tubes for crankcase ventilation rather than modern positive crankcase ventilation. Oil had to be changed REALLY often or it would gunk up fast. When it did, measures such as pouring a solvent in the crankcase was sometimes, maybe even often, necessary. When we resorted to that we used kerosene or maybe diesel fuel very carefully. These solvents are slightly oily so they are not as likely to remove the oil film from between the bearings and crankshaft/camshaft surfaces. With modern oils and engines, if the oil is changed even on the outer limits of reccommended oil change interval, there should never be a sludge problem to the point of needing use of a solvent. Even in your old design aircraft engine, unless it has been neglected you should never have to remove sludge. You CERTAINLY would not want to pour solvent through an engine as a preventive maintenance measure. Pouring solvent through the crankcase should be considered as a last resort ditch effort. Most especially a hot solvent like gasoline. Gasoline would most likely remove at least part of, but probably ALL of the oil film between bearings and bearing surfaces which would make the next loaded movement of that bearing before the film was replenished by the oil pump very destructive. Pouring solvent in the crankcase of an old neglected farm truck in an effort to get one more season of hay hauling would be one thing. Doing the same thing to an engine worth twenty times as much as that old hay truck as a preventive maintenance measure is quite different. my $0.02,

Aeroshell 100 PLUS is th one with CAMGUARD included. If it doesn't have PLUS in the name it doesn't have camguard.

My first plane I used AOPA and they did fine, but it was expen$ive. My Mooney went through a title company in OKC. Even though the Mooney cost twice as much as my first plane, the independent title company charged a lot less. I looked up their name for you. It was Aerotitle in OKC. I can recommend them without reservation.

Sunday's don't work for us, but if the majority want Sunday, majority rules. We are planning on being there this Saturday. The mode of transportation is the only question for us. The odds of the weather clearing AND my cold clearing by that time are looking slim. If the following Saturday is also at KRBD we are good with that too. Hopefully we can actually fly to the fly in by then.

Change oil hot & change oil often! If the plane has a good tight engine with no blow by AND is being flown regularly and often, the oil change interval can stretch a bit. If the oil will be drained when the engine is hot and be allowed to drain an extended interval, it will provide a more thorough cleaning, helping with the slightly extended interval. For those doing their own changes, the hot, overnight drain can be manageable. If you are hiring it done, very few shops will do this or even believe that it is helpful. My $0.02,

I don't have a Private Message Don.

Thanks Mitch! Hope yours goes great!

We may end up driving in if my cold doesn't back off.

The cold I brought back from Europe is refusing to go away. I went one trip around the patch Monday morning and landed. I was really groggy. SO, I not only have to get a weather change, but the cold will have to heal too. I am still hopeful.

Will do! There are Indian burial mounds on my place, so maybe I am the one who should start the rain dance, whoops! The NO rain dance.

Yes, I expect so. There was a long time DFW meteorologist that balked at the five day forecasts when they started doing them. He said that you could only be 50% accurate five days out and flipping a coin could accomplish that.

Hope there is no rain on our parade. Todays forecast is calling for 30% chance of rain and thunderstorms for Saturday. Still time for that to chaange. Fingers crossed.

Great pictures! Sorry to show my ignorance, but what is the red thing sticking up on the wing? BTW, yes I was talking about THAT Terry Bradshaw being a cutting horse guy.