good2eat

Dude - why you always gotta be a troll?

Premier in Troutdale, OR

Living this nightmare currently. Engine delivered to rebuilder in October of 2022. Spent many months waiting on parts. Still waiting on assembly. In line behind all the engines that came in before mine during supply disruption. At this point I have no idea when I might fly again. Have owned since August 2022 and have a grand total of 30 on my plane. At this point in time, I would not get in line for a rebuild if the engine is in safe flying condition.

Mine is a 77, let me know what you’d like and let’s make a deal. Only really need 1 but wouldn’t mind extras.

Makes a guy appreciate scientific/technical minds. Hell, I can’t even get through the one page without going “huh?” Fun reading the smart people conversations.

Looking for glare shield bulb holders?

Was listening to a podcast the other day with Doug Stewart. I really like his take on VFR into IMC - it’s much like being lost. His take is the time to make the 180 is before you get into IMC. If that didn’t work then: 1. Full power and let the plane climb (mitigate terrain issues). Plane should climb at the same airspeed you are trimmed for so no need to pull or worry about stalling. 2. Confess - contact ATC 3. Comply - ATC should be able to vector you out of IMC better than we can guess were to go. 4. When making turns, keep bank angle at no more than 10 degrees. Of course it all goes out the window if you don’t have the ability to communicate or keep the plane wings level.

We’re headed to watch Saturday and Sunday - can’t wait and will miss the event in the future.

I’m guessing there’s more to that story….

“It’s an old story, one you’ve probably heard before” - Naven Johnson August marks 1 year of ownership of our J. It’s a fantastic plane. During the purchase process the seller was terrific, we completed a thorough pre-buy that we converted to an annual. Flew the plane from Maryland to Oregon trouble-free and we’re able to enjoy the general aviation culture tremendously! We put 27 hours on the clock from checkout through arrive at home. Since arriving home, we have only been able to put 2.3 hours on the clock. Do to a non-movement prop strike (entirely my fault) that caused enough damage to the prop to require a tear down inspection (prop had to be removed for repair, necessitating the tear down) the plane has now been down since October of last year. The delay is primarily due to the scarcity of parts. Prop came back repaired and overhauled without a hitch. Engine was removed and delivered to the engine builder. Due to workload, the disassembly didn’t take place for a 8 weeks. Once disassembled, the case was found to be fretted so it was sent off for repair. Turns out the fretting was beyond spec for repair so a new case is needed. Calendar continues to march forward and we wait for a case. Finally in June a case comes available (A3B6D cases are hard to come by these days). We actually ended up going with a roller case jetdriver Byron had after all the waiting. Once the case issue was handled, the engine shop notified me the cylinders were out of spec due to corrosion, the oil pump had something go through it that scored it up precipitating the need for replacement, one of the oil back lines had been cut by something, the crank is fine but the gear and 1 idler are pitted to the point of replacement, cam has to be replaced (was a part of the decision to go with the roller case), accessory cover has issues needing replacement. Not sure if this is everything yet. Needless to say, this has turned nearly into the worst case scenario for a new owner. With a mid-time engine showing reasonably regular use, we expected to have some time to prepared for additional investment -guess not. Those who know me well, know I always look for the silver lining. I believe in nearly every circumstance there is a silver lining - sometimes you gotta look damn hard, but there is always one to be found. For us, the silver lining is we weren’t in the air when something broke loose. And, once through this, we should have a safer airplane for a while (fingers crossed!). I write this post as an example of what can happen and to, unfortunately, prove what many here say about being prepared to put significantly more money into a plane the first few years of ownership. Sometimes it’s the luck of the draw, you can do everything possible to eliminate the “big” issues via thorough inspections. Sometimes you do all that and still get bit. One thing I want to make sure is clear - no “blame” falls on anyone - it just is, what it is. For everyone looking to get into plane ownership - don’t let this scare you away, rather keep it in the back of your mind that it CAN happen and prepare accordingly. Not sure when we’ll be back in the air but dreaming of it every day. Even with this setback, our passion for general aviation has not waned one bit!

Some financing entities require fewer than 20 years since overhaul. That said, it is also possible to finance an overhaul as part of the purchase as well.

Ok, so the conversion is as easy as……finding parts. Lycoming says the service instruction is the all of it. Parts needed are: Roller case, roller camshaft, roller tappers, new (shorter) push rods, tubes and gaskets. All other parts can be swapped out from my current engine. Was told Lycoming is not expecting kits to be available until January. My builder tells me we can find the parts, just not in a complete kit. Change over delta seems to be around $7k more. It’s kind of a “the devil you know vs the one you don’t” situation. No idea how long finding a useable non-roller case will be vs the extra cost. Feels like a bite the bullet deal….once I know time frame on camshaft and other parts, will have to decide to just wait and hope or move forward.

He and I are talking!

If you saw my post looking for a new case, boy are they hard to come by. My plane has been down since November and looks like it could be another year at this rate. So, I’m looking at options. Another forum member has a certified Roller case available. Looking at the Service Instruction document, https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/attachments/SI1514D%2520Roller%2520Tappet%2520Part%2520Info%2520Update%252002-05-18.pdf It appears the only parts required are the case, camshaft and roller lifters (was already replacing these so cost-wise just the delta between is the extra expense), tubes, seals and washers. Has anyone completed this conversion or have additional knowledge as to whether or not there are additional parts from the current A3B6D that won’t just bolt on? I do realize there are other options - reman. new, move away from the dual mag, etc. At this point in my evaluation I have eliminated those options due to both cost and availability. Thanks in advance for info and advice! -Rob-