G-SLOT

Been to BGSF and BGKK in a -J. Over the ice cap at 12k. Wonderful experience.

You could even go from Reykjavik to Egilstadir, which leaves about 520nm to Wick with the possibility of a stop half way at Vagar. Check the insurance situation before you do anything else though. Whereas cover was available for relative peanuts just a few years ago, it has become almost prohibitively expensive, if available at all.

In many places, hangarage is either non existent, subject to a waiting list that moves at a glacial pace or prohibitively expensive. Plenty of aircraft are kept outside and, apart from paint looking a bit tired, seem not much worse for wear. I would invest in a good cockpit/fuselage/engine cover and be aware of (and regularly clean) bird mess but, more important than anything, fly it often. You can also get wing and tail covers but they are a real pain to put on and take off.

In a similar vein, what fuel flow do you typically see when priming with the low boost pump (mixture and throttle full forward)?

Unless the wind is totally calm or right down the runway, there is always some degree of aileron input to keep you from drifting and rudder to keep the nose pointed correctly.

I had a sagging prop when I bought the plane (O2) in late 2019 and replaced the mounts in January 2020 when I overhauled the prop. I was disappointed to see that it made no difference. During the annual later in 2020, having asked for washers to be installed to level the prop, the excellent MSC sent me a picture of the mounts, noting they had been installed upside down!! Put right and the prop now sits straight.

I'm sympathetic to these issues, both as a buyer and as a seller. There are a few shops near me that I would not let anywhere near my aircraft and, if that meant losing a buyer, so be it. My view is that, while I own the aircraft and am responsible for paying its bills and for its condition, I am entitled to be very fussy about anyone touching or flying it. On the other hand, no buyer should be expected to make or pressured into a purchase decision without being comfortable that an independent and trusted expert has assessed and reported on its condition. After all, it's caveat emptor in most aircraft sales/purchases. A prebuy inspection must be subject to the seller's approval and, if the seller's conditions as to location, shop or the extent of the inspection create a situation where the buyer cannot achieve what he/she wants from the inspection, the buyer should simply walk away. That said, the buyer should understand, and in some cases take comfort from, a seller who is maintenance focussed and concerned about what an unknown party might do to his/her aircraft - it swings both ways as one also has to be very careful about a seller trying to hide something. I've seen terms in purchase contracts about the buyer returning the aircraft to the seller in no worse condition than prior to the prebuy inspection (if the deal does not go ahead). It's a little vague but captures the spirit. There are also typical terms around the prebuy shop being satisfactory to both parties.

Welcome to flying in the UK.

Wouldn't their response be: "the letter you posted on a public forum"?

I noticed TKS fluid dripping from the same place when I first bought my FIKI Ovation. There is a TKS line that runs from the firewall, through the engine compartment, to the prop slinger. In my case, the shielded part of that line running past the oil cooler was touching the oil cooler and had burnt through, allowing some fluid to leak out when the system was operated. I had the line replaced and routed away from the oil cooler and that solved the problem instantly.

I’m approx 30gph (slightly more) with everything forward near sea level in an O2 with 310hp. I insisted on this setting when I bought the plane and I’ve made it clear to every mechanic that it’s not to be lowered. I find that CHTs climb until I bring the RPM back to 2500 shortly after departure.

Slightly different Covid vaccine question... The CDC/FAA have approved the vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna and, recently, Johnson & Johnson. Here in the UK, the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is predominantly being administered, though not exclusively. I anticipate being in line for my first dose next month. I was wondering what impact, if any, receiving the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine might have on my FAA medical certificate, assuming the CDC/FAA has not specifically approved this vaccine and also assuming that I am otherwise fit and healthy following my receipt of the vaccine?

Update from earlier today: Cylinder 2 injector removed and cleaned (no visible sign of debris) and the fuel line from the distributor to that injector was also disconnected and had high pressure air put through it to clear out anything that might have been causing a blockage. Also, the area was inspected for any fuel staining that might have indicated a fuel leak and fortunately there was none. All put back together, fired up and flew for about 40 minutes. Delighted to say that smooth LOP operation has now been restored and it seems like some miniscule blockage of the GAMIjector was the likely culprit. Looking back through the engine data from the flight in question, it does seem that whatever restricted the fuel flow to Cylinder 2 arose when I transitioned from LOP cruise to a ROP climb. Hopefully a one-off but thanks for all of the comments and suggestions.

Good idea. The mechanic thought it would be difficult to see anything but it would be an excellent confirmation of the problem if something does come out. The next question would then be where it came from!

With the JPI700 not recording fuel flow, my GAMI spread test has to be done manually. Data I collected a while ago as well as experience running smoothly LOP pointed to the spread being within 0.5GPH but I have found that small (0.1GPH) variations in fuel flow create a small margin of error in this data. I really need a JPI900 or 930, which may be in my future plans (then again so is a second engine...). I'm not planning to fly before the mechanic has the cowl off and cleans the #2 injector. If there is something blocking that injector, I don't want to risk an over temp on departure. The interesting thing is that, if something is blocking the injector, the blockage was created during the flight (at or after time 00:25 when I went ROP for the climb). That said, from my airborne investigations on Saturday, I determined the spread to be circa 2GPH (with cylinder 2 peaking first and the other five cylinders peaking around the same time about 1.8 GPH leaner).