GeeBee

One thing you can do if you are using incandescent is to orient the filament vertical. That makes it less susceptible to breaking. The factory did this on the R models and up. It requires cutting a new orientation notch in the retaining ring. That said, do not discount the value of prop balance. It makes everything from avionics to fasteners last longer. I usually get 3-5 years out of a balance.

You won't feel vibration (barely) until about .04 ips and a prop balance will get you to .02 or .01 ips

Ford makes a silicon remover called Motorcraft Silicon Gasket Remover, part number ZC-30A available on Amazon. It works like no other. I use it to safely remove the glass globes on my outdoor lights that are RTV'd into place. I also use it on my boat to remove deck hardware and such. It takes about 24 hours to work, but work it does. That all said, what is pictured is no worse than most. I don't spare the silicon on my engine and in cruise my cylinders run in the low 300's. Don't let "pretty" be the enemy of cylinder life.

Cool cylinders are way more important than pretty RTV.

If the bearing spun it likely would show up on oil analysis. What is that telling you?

The law firm representing the case has a 1000 batting average at the SCOTUS on civil forfeiture cases. I also think there is one SCOTUS justice that might be with the defendant in the case.

I agree that an ASTM standard is important to production and distribution, but face it, we could have an ASTM standard for rubber chickens. The question is, can you burn it in your engine?

Because it is an STC, detonation testing is the responsibility of the STC applicant, not the FAA. Swift needs to get a test cell with full instrumentation including knock sensors. Lots of detonation is undetected by the operator without sensitive knock sensors. Equally so the FAA requires a 12% detonation margin. The anecdotal fact that a Cirrus ran, "detonation free" means nothing in certification. The hp/cylinder is equally meaning less. Cylinders have different volumes, head designs, piston tops, intake and exhaust efficiencies. There is a reason why "It's a Hemi" actually has meaning in ME terms. There are few test cells designed to detect detonation and believe it or not, the best test cell in the world is owned by.........GAMI.

Full detonation testing on a big bore engine. (Which is an FAA requirement) Also hp per cylinder is not the only measure There are issues of volumetric efficiency and effectiveness. I am not saying it won't work, I'm saying it needs test results that has not been revealed.

The question remains....will it work in the big bore engines.

https://avbrief.com/supreme-court-asked-to-hear-cessna-206-forfeiture-case/?utm_source=newsletter-20&utm_medium=email

Welcome to aircraft ownership. You might think that when you pay for an inspection, everything is inspected. Not so. I've had brand new aircraft with tools left in the inspection bay and the inspectors stamp to ok the close up of the bay on the inspection panel. A lot of shops service the airplane in accordance with the MM, lubricate, clean filter etc but do not poke around. Some get into the weeds more than others. You will find good shops who carry a lot of Roundup. Those are the ones you want as they will keep you ahead of problems. The avionics shop seems like those kind of people.

Before you start tearing into things, try getting a large Gats jar and push up all the way to fully open the valve and get lots of fuel out. Do it several times. There may be some gunk under the seal which will clear out with a substantial draw. I've found most people don't pull enough fuel out to fully flush the valve on a regular basis. Do it several times to see if you can clear any gunk under the valve seat.

Pawl rivets was the progenitor of a crash of an Aero Commander at South Lake Tahoe. It left the owner of Rosedin Electric a well known Bay Area electrical contractor and philanthropist a paraplegic. It resulted at the time (1967) the largest aviation tort liability in award in history (11 million). Small thing, results in big disaster. Good job recognizing that something was not right.

I would suggest you forward it to AMS. They might have a viewpoint.

This!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Again I would contact Aircraft Magneto Service. I only fly two kinds of mags, new Bendix or a Bendix serviced by AMS. Everything else is crap IMHO. They can advise you on fitment.

You have two commonalities. Slick 4000 mag and QAA. I know of people who won't have anything to do with QAA. Not entirely their fault, they "try to overhaul Slicks" which is a reputation destroyer. They should stop. I would call Aircraft Magneto Service up in Montana. I know what he will say. First thing is he is going to tell you is what is on his web site "Slick 4000 series magneto were the "throw away mag" and were intended to be run for 800 hours then removed from service. No parts nor maintenance manuals were produced to support/ inspect/ repair this series of magneto. We recommend you replace these with a new Bendix kit or Slick kit. Contact us with your complete engine model number and size of spark plug being used and we can provide price and availability for each kit." So basically any overhaul facility is "flying blind" because there is no manufacturers manuals or parts. If I were you, I would convert to Bendix mags. The Lycomings have a tendency for kickback on start and shutdown and the Bendix units are more robust in that regard. Almost every SuperCub guy in Alaska converts to Bendix on their O-320 and O360s. A lot of people only start and shut down their Lycomings on one mag to minimize kick back. I don't think that is necessary here, but get rid of those Slicks.

Prop blades erode, sometimes you have to dress out nicks and if you have de-ice boots so do they. Mine did not change much but it did change.

Yes, do it. I just had mine done last Friday. I usually do it every 3 years or 500 hours whichever occurs first. I was talking with the shop about changes that require re-balance and changing cylinders is one of them.

The problem with XM is you can't get a vertical profile and Doppler velocities as well as indications of returns over 50db. These are common to on board radar and necessary to evaluate what you are dealing with close up. I use XM and it is good, but it is strictly a strategic tool. Within the terminal area you often need really up to date data to be tactical in your decision making.

Darth Vader is Luke's father too.

The demise of Aviation Consumer really hurts. It used to be hard hitting, just the facts good and bad. Now it's just advertising masquerading as unbiased journalism.

It is not a Google product. They do have it for Apple, Android and Windows. https://radarscope.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8970695921170-Getting-Started

I am looking at radar.weather.gov and it still has about 7 minutes latency. According to Google RadarScope or RadarOmega is near real time and what the storm chasers are using. Anyone have any opinions?