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G-SLOT

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Everything posted by G-SLOT

  1. Been to BGSF and BGKK in a -J. Over the ice cap at 12k. Wonderful experience.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. In a similar vein, what fuel flow do you typically see when priming with the low boost pump (mixture and throttle full forward)?
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Wouldn't their response be: "the letter you posted on a public forum"?
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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?
  12. 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.
  13. 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!
  14. 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).
  15. @carusoam, re EGT1 & 2 being below the others, this has pretty consistently been the case with my engine though I've always been advised to ignore the actual EGT values as they are very dependent on probe placement. Plan is to pull the Cylinder 2 injector this week (before the next flight) and have it cleaned.
  16. The maintenance just before the flight (albeit a week before) was an oil and filter change. The injector was replaced at the annual in October (about 18 flying hours ago) because i was chasing smoother LOP operation and it was discovered it was the wrong type of injector (was type F while, according to GAMI, it should have been type E - replacement kindly supplied by GAMI). Running smoothly since (including LOP). The odd thing is that, during yesterday’s flight, it was running nicely LOP while I was at 2,300’ but, sometime between going ROP for the climb and settling into cruise at 10K, that cylinder became leaner, evidenced by it peaking way before the other cylinders. My best guess at the moment is that some small piece of debris became lodged in the fuel line or the cylinder 2 injector, but I’m very keen to hear other theories. That injector, and possibly the line supplying it, will definitely be the first thing I have checked.
  17. I wanted to share an issue I experienced during my last flight to see what others think. The engine has been running very well lately but, part through this flight, Cylinder 2 suddenly seemed to start running lean.IO-550-G with GAMIjectors and electronic ignition. Normally smooth running LOP. First flight since an oil/filter change and, during the last annual (October 2020), the ignition harnesses, all spark plugs and the Cylinder 2 GAMIjector were replaced. I'm thinking there might be something blocking the Cylinder 2 fuel injector or the fuel line itself. Magneto/electronic ignition OK and no change when I tried running on alternate air (though, oddly, and perhaps unrelated, the alternate air annunciator light did not illuminate when I pulled the alternate air handle).Here is a Savvy link to today's flight (note that it's an older JPI700 and does not show the fuel flow - I'm thinking of a 900 or 930 but this is the best data have for now): Savvy 20210220Referring to the elapsed times within this flight (all approximate): Time 00:13: Takeoff. WOT, 2,700RPM and mixture full rich. Circa 30-31 GPH. Reduction to 2500 RPM shortly after departure but WOT. Time 00:17: Level at 2,300' (under controlled airspace). 23"/2400RPM. Big mixture pull to around 12GPH and tweaked to about 13GPH which normally gives me 50 degrees LOP. All smooth and acting normally. Time 00:25: Mixture rich, 2500RPM and full throttle for climb to 10,000' (at 500fpm). Climbed ROP and leaned during the climb to maintain a broadly constant EGT. Time 00:41: Levelled at 10,000'. WOT/2400RPM. I wanted to assess my best power true airspeed (I normally fly LOP) so I was messing around with the mixture ROP and, when I then tried to find peak and LOP settings, I found that Cylinder 2 was peaking about 1.8GPH before the others (it peaked at about 14.5 GPH whereas the others peaked around 12.8 GPH - normal spread is around 0.5 GPH so this is quite unusual). Naturally, the engine was too rough to stay LOP so I stayed ROP for the rest of the flight, although I tried a couple of different times, including at a slightly lower MAP. Descent was at a reduced MAP and I enrichened the mixture on the way down as and when the engine became too lean and started running a little rough. Normal landing and shutdown. I'll touch base with a local mechanic on Monday and think the first thing we should check is the fuel line to Cylinder 2 and the Cylinder 2 injector.Does anyone have any other thoughts or can you see anything else on the chart that looks suspicious?In case helpful, here is a link to the previous flight, right before the oil change, which was flown at about 2,500', 23 or so inches MAP / 2,400RPM and about 50 degrees LOP (approx. 13 GPH): Savvy Previous Flight
  18. For my "short" over water flights, e.g. UK to Holland, the over-water portion of which is 100nm, I wear a dry suit (done up all the way) and a life jacket to which I have attached a PLB and a small box of flares. The life jacket is the waistcoat type (comfortable to wear) and has been retrofitted with a spray hood. On the seat next to me is a 4-person covered life raft (it's very compact and only weighs about 12lbs). I have a seatbelt cutter on my keychain (which is a good reminder for me to rethink that since I had this installed...) For my much longer flights (e.g. 500+ miles over water), I have various supplies packed into a waterproof bag including high calorie food, water, space blankets, etc. Some may think this is overkill but I also carry a motorcycle helmet to protect my head during an impact. I plan to put my satellite locator/communicator and handheld VHF radio into the waterproof bag on the way down too. The ditching courses are OK but most are based on helicopter airframes. The best part of the course I did was being able to learn how to get into my type of raft as well as the importance of attaching the raft to you before inflating it (as they tend to blow away otherwise). Over time, I have become uncertain as to whether I would be able to grab my waterproof bag during the scramble to exit the aircraft and I have thought of wearing some sort of fishing vest between my dry suit and lifejacket into which I could wrap a few essential items and supplies in waterproof material (cling film, etc). It's also important to ensure that your raft, jacket, PLB battery and other equipment are in date. The areas over which I have flown do not have issues with sharks but, if they did, I would likely carry shark repellent or a couple of these devices: Sharkbanz Many people will tell you to put your dry suit and lifejacket on before you get into the plane and that it will be difficult/impossible to do so in the plane. Obviously, in an emergency, it's the last thing you want to worry about but, while flying (solo) in my Ovation, I have successfully gone from wearing normal clothes to being fully dressed in my dry suit and life jacket (when a winter time reroute gave me a 100nm water crossing instead of the 20nm route I initially thought I would fly). You should experiment with this on the ground and, especially if it is hot in the ground, it's not impossible to keep the suit off your torso until you climb higher. Keep a watch on 121.5 (all the airliners do) - you'll likely be able to reach someone there even if you're out of VHF range of ATC. ATC aside, have someone watching your satellite pings with a list of numbers to call if they see something worrying. Most require a subscription and some testing, all of which should be sorted well before your trip. If you've had any maintenance done before the trip, fly a bit to ensure no maintenance induced failures are lurking under the cowl or elsewhere. Top the oil before you go and be familiar with your engine's usual operating parameters (I'm sure you already are but knowing that your oil sits at 64psi and where your CHTs, EGTs and oil temps normally sit is comforting). Also keep a written log of fuel usage and tank switches - the Ovation's fuel indicators are much better than in many other aircraft but I learnt to do this through experience (fortunately I only discovered my mistake when I was safely on the ground). Lastly, I've read all of the ferry pilot books I could get my hands on. Not quite Harry Potter but good, fun reads that'll make you laugh out loud in places and give you some great practical insights (Shark Bait by James Creighton, So You Want to be a Ferry Pilot by Spike Nasmyth, Rubber Suits & Lukewarm Soup by Steve Randall, Air Vagabonds by Anthony Vallone and, if you're ever going near Greenland: Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff). Looking up my list of books on the Amazon website, I've just discovered and ordered Ferry Pilot by Kerry McCauley. Good luck with the trip!
  19. I believe that the FAA has approved the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. It's quite likely that when my turn for the vaccine rolls around I'll be offered the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine. Does anyone know the implications of taking that vaccine on Third Class Medical holders?
  20. Completely agree with this advice. Speaking for myself and I suspect most others, I know how to start the engine and run it up and I don't need a checklist to remind me to do basic things like checking oil pressure after start or waiting for suitable temps before runup. A sensible flow is very effective but the time when I most want a memory jogger is pre-take off. I've created the following list by sitting in the plane, figuring out what's important and putting it in a sensible order determined by location. I've made the list as physically small as possible and pasted it to the pilot and co-pilot sides of my panel (if I'm flying with someone else, I usually involve them by getting them to read out the items). Devising a list yourself that works for you will make you more 'at one' with the machine. Runup Doors/Window Seat Latch Emergency Gear Trim Fuel Selector Flaps Alternate Air TKS Boots Pumps Pitot Heat Flight Controls Autopilot Speed Brakes Alternator Ignition Oxygen HSI Annunciators Avionics Transponder ELT Circuit Breakers Lights Brief GUMPS Time
  21. The escrow company is in Oklahoma City.
  22. Somewhat urgent... A fairly well-known aircraft escrow company seems to be in trouble (I have independently substantiated the rumours of arrests) and a friend, who has just sold his aircraft through this escrow company, cannot contact anyone there. Can anyone recommend a good lawyer who can determine what is going on, file relevant claim(s) and try to protect my friend's interests? Thanks!
  23. I though one of the 201s at EGTR is now a 196 (i.e. what a 201 becomes without inner gear doors).
  24. Three at EGLD - M20R, M20J and a M20F but @Hyett6420's is so close that it's almost at the same place.
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