PT20J

+1 for calling the TRACON. They have all sorts of procedures and LOAs and such that the FSDO probably doesn't know about. If it happens again, I'd just politely ask for a phone number and go over it on the ground.

It's not a problem with the A3B6D. The A3B6 has the filter mounted farther aft and the lip where the top cowling mounts interferes. I'm pretty sure that the Tempest wrench would fit because I have a 1" ratchet box end wrench that will get on it.

I can’t get the torque wrench on my IO-360-A3B6 filter either. I just turn them 3/4 turn after the gasket makes contact like an auto filter and they don’t leak and come off easily. Really, a torque spec doesn’t make a lot of sense with a rubber gasket. I’m pretty sure that the spec is just to keep from over tightening.

Tempest, no lube. Champions use DC-4. If it is stuck, use an automotive band type oil filter wrench to remove it.

Been there, did that. Even a good prepurchase inspection can't find everything. Look at how many airplanes have a problem crop up during annual that was missed during years of previous annuals. But, to get some value of the inspection, there should be a description of what was inspected as well as what was found, good or bad.

I think the primary failure mode of thermocouples is open precipitated by erosion of the enclosure. Other issues are probably wiring or the electronics.

They are usually available for download from the manufacturer's website. They should have been provided by the installer of the equipment. A lot of the Garmin equipment has installation options so you should review the AFMS and check the boxes for the options you have installed. The most important part is the Limitations section which is the only part of the POH/AFM or AFMS that is approved by the FAA. The limitations are important because if you don't abide by them, you are technically in violation of FAR 91.9.

Good for you to get the POH/AFM in order. While only the current W&B is required, most keep all the old ones (marked superseded with the date). This allows going back and rechecking for math errors (which are not uncommon). However, if you reweigh the aircraft, there is no value in the old W&B calculations. It's not a bad idea to update the equipment list to agree with what is currently installed, but I would not try to recreate all the additions and deletions over time. Also, a lot of equipment comes with an Aircraft Flight Manual Supplement (AFMS) that is legally required to be added to the POH/AFM and you should collect any of those that are missing. When you get this done, if there is not a current AD and service document history, it would be good to comb through the logbooks and create one. This way you and your maintainer can easily verify compliance with ADs and service bulletins/instructions. There also should be an airplane file where you keep other documents such as invoices and wiring diagrams and 337s and the like. Skip

I haven't studied thermocouples since an undergraduate instrumentation class many years ago. But, I don't remember drift over time in service being a really big deal. I did a little prowling around the Internet. Type K thermocouples have a sensitivity of about 41 microvolts per deg C. I found many descriptions of aging and drift in Type-K thermocouples, but it seems that it's only an issue where precision measurements are required and a change of a couple of degrees makes a difference. An aging curve I found shows that the effect of running at 500 deg C for 1000 hours causes an increase of about 65 microvolts or 1.6 deg C (3.6 deg F). From: https://www.msm.cam.ac.uk/utc/thermocouple/pages/Drift.html

I really like the Redline UL https://redlineaviation.com/ul-hand-tow-bar/. It collapses to fit in the baggage compartment yet extends for easier maneuvering. And, it uses the same locking mechanism as the Sidewinder so it can't slip out of the nose gear, even when wet. It's not cheap, but like the Sidewinder, it's worth it. Skip

A good inspection report should list everything they checked and the results. This is just a discrepancy list. Since most of the items are minor, it causes one to wonder how in-depth the inspection was, Skip

EXACTLY.

The door is heat treated after forming and is very stiff. It's would be difficult to spring it without damaging the hinge. It looks like the part that is rubbing may be the hold open arm. I wonder if it is shimmed properly. The end where it attaches to the door should have enough AN960-10(L) washers inside the door to hold the arm up close to the bottom of the door. Also, I notice that the interior aluminum trim piece is attached with screws and I believe it was originally attached with 1/8" pop rivets which have much smaller heads so I would check to make sure that the screws are not interfering. If you remove the right seat, you can lay down on the floor and observe the bottom edge of the door as it closes and see exactly what's rubbing. Skip

Running the tank dry must be a good idea because all the airlines do it, right? And, the airlines always try to dispatch with minimum legal fuel because tankering extra fuel costs money.

I used to fly float Beavers part 135. The fuel tanks in the Beaver are in the belly. You have to be circumspect about putting fuel in the aft tank due to CG considerations. On long flights with a light load, we would fill the aft tank to avoid a fuel stop, but it was SOP to run that tank dry for the next pilot. When the gauge got low, we would watch the fuel pressure and when it would drop you had a few seconds to switch tanks before the float bowl ran out of fuel and the engine would die. The problem was that it’s several minutes between low fuel level and low fuel pressure and it is easy for a distraction to take your attention away from the fuel pressure gauge. I can tell you from experience that passengers hate it when the engine quits. After that, I decided that a couple of gallons didn’t amount to enough to be worth it. Skip