Wistarmo

Why would any man admit in public that he took his wife to a stimulator unless he...oh, never mind

Have been flying to the Bahamas for over twenty years and my wife and I go several times a year. For entering the Bahamas, the forms, number of forms, and fees seem to change with every trip. As I write this, we are currently in the Exumas. They wanted C7A's to enter, C7's to depart, and will be charging us $50 customs fee and $29 per person departure tax when we leave. An essential website is www.pilotpub.com. You can download the C7 forms and keep them on your computer for future trips, filling them out before you go and saving valuable beach time clearing customs/immigration. I also grab a handful of immigration cards there and U.S. Customs cards on the way in so that I can fill them out in advance. Pilotpub also sells the Bahamas Pilot Guide which covers evey possible aspect of the trip. In 2014, you could buy it as an app for the iPad, but for 2015 you have to order a hardcopy. It is indispensable. You can fly out directly from anywhere, but must return to a U.S. Customs port of entry closest to where you cross the coastline. Filing IFR eliminates all concerns about ADIZ crossing issues. EAPIS is a royal pain, but gets easier with use. You can save passenger manifests for re-use for future flights. Fort Pierce is a pleasure to return to, refuel, and get lunch. After a couple of trips, just buy lifejackets and a raft. Overall, it is much easier than years ago. GPS makes navigation a cinch. Foreflight covers the maps and FBO's. More and more FBO's are carrying 100LL blue AVGAS instead of the old 100 octane green AVGAS; haven't bought any of that in years. If you are flying off the range of the maps in Foreflight, you can order a Caribbean Trip Kit from Jeppesen, which may be overkill, or an L-5/L-6 map from a number of sources. Really, buy the Bahamas Pilot Guide and it will tell you everything you need to know. Check out my photo gallery.

Fly there yearly. Recommend TAC Air.

I had Champion fine-wires only a couple of years old and had repeated fouling. I switched to Tempest fine-wires last December, and so far so good.

GoodReader. I use it for everything. I have my POH, manuals for all my equipment, and my aircraft/engine logs all in there.

With a little time and effort, you can scan each page of the POH into a .pdf document. The Goodreader app will then let you carry it with you on your phone and iPad. You can even arrange the document with tabs and indexes. This can save wear and tear on a 20-year old book.

Saw it last night, loved it.

Forgive me, but I do not know which ones are available in Europe. In descending order of frequency of use: Foreflight, FltPlan, GoodReader, MyRadarPro, Audio CoPilot. I have copies of my logs and POH scanned as .pdf files and keep them in GoodReader. In addition, I was able to find .pdf files for the manuals for every single electronics item on my aircraft and keep those in GoodReader as well (Garmin 530/430, KAP 150, JPI 730, Stormscope, Lightspeed Zulu, and on and on). Audio CoPilot is an app that lets you voice record your checklist and then it will play it back to you via Bluetooth into your headset. You start the checklist and it will repeat what you recorded, keeping your hands and eyes free as you follow through on each item.

Coincidence, but I just replaced my engine mounts on a '93J a few weeks ago and noticed a huge decrease in vibration. (The prop had already been balanced and I use fine-wires.)

First time I've seen these... Jepp North Pole.pdf

Many trips to Savannah. Recommend: 1) Might Eighth Air Force Museum http://mightyeighth.org/ 2) Vic's on the River http://www.vicsontheriver.com/ 3) The Olde Pink House http://www.plantersinnsavannah.com/the-olde-pink-house/ 4) Leopold's Ice Cream http://www.leopoldsicecream.com/ 5) Repeat

I have one on my 93 J model MSE and did not see any improvement. Please see the post by PTK and the article by Cox in Plane and Pilot. The exhaust was optimized for 11,500 feet.

I have XM weather and radio and love them both. The satellite radio in particular is very important for my wife to enjoy flights.

I installed PlanePower and it works great. Technical support is good as well if you need to talk with them.

Have flown another four hours. Pulled all four lower plugs and they are clean. (The problem cylinder, #3, has new fine wire Champion plugs.) Will keep flying and checking and keep everyone posted.

I first created a checklist using Pages on the iPad with a written checklist, then tried a couple of electronic checklists. What I have been happiest with and have been using for over a year is AudioCoPilot. It is quite different, a sequential electronic checklist where you verbally record the items you want checked into the app on an iPhone. When you activate the app, it begins playing back each item as if someone were reading you the list. This allows you to be completely hands free and just follow the verbal prompts. If your headset will connect via Bluetooth to your iPhone it works even better. You can break up the checklist into different sections such as Before Start, Engine Start, Before Taxi, etc. The only time you have to touch the phone is to start each section. Costs $2.99.

There was Lycoming Service Letter L185B, 1988, which suggested running at 1800 RPM for one minute prior to shut-down in engines running 100LL that were rated for 80/87 octane. http://www.lycoming.com/support/publications/service-letters/pdfs/SL185B.pdf There was Lycoming Service Instruction 1497A, 2011, which gave detailed leaning instructions for ground and flight operations for Lycoming IO-360's installed in Cessna 172's used in training operations. http://www.lycoming.com/support/publications/service-instructions/pdfs/SI1497A.pdf Mike Busch, with Savvy Aircraft Maintenance, manages a large fleet of aircraft and has a Webinar on spark plugs. Their practice is to pull all spark plugs at 100 hours and resistance check them. They have found a very large percentage of the Champion plugs, especially the fine wire plugs, have out-of-limits resistance, even after only a few hundred hours. There is also a large number with nose-cone cracks in the Champion fine wire plugs. http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=1826468805001

Sorry, but just to recap: TTAF 1350 hours. Using Champion fine wire plugs for two years. Lower plug cylinder #3 fouled X 2, cleared with run-up. Pulled and inspected, clean. Four hours later, lower plug, #3 fouled, could not clear. Plug pulled and full of lead. Top and bottom plugs rotated. Four hours later lower plug #3 pulled and had lead deposits. Put in new fine wire plugs #3. One hour later lower plug, cylinder #4 fouled, cleared with run-up. Plugs pulled on #4, clean. Work-up to date: 1) Old plugs resistance tested at 2800 ohms (within new limits), bomb tested fine. Confirmed appropriate plugs being used 2) Harness wire tested fine. 3) Mags overhauled 250 hours ago. 4) Oil changed every 50 hours or six months, last time 25 hours ago, all oil analyses fine, using one quart every six hours, Phillips XC oil. 5) Fuel injectors cleaned. 6) Fuel divider checked for leaks. Fuel pressure stays at full after engine shutdown. 7) In flight mag checks OK. 8) GAMI test done two years ago and spread was 0.4-0.5 gph. 9) Cylinder compression 76/80 and borescope normal. 10) JPI during flight shows no abnormalities. CHT's 375, 345, 365, 365 and EGT diff is 40 degrees. 11) Mixture idle shutoff test shows bump in RPM. I suppose I could do another GAMI test now that the injectors have been cleaned.

Went for a test flight today and had fouling of #4 cylinder, left mag. This is the first time for #4 cylinder. We have changed fuel vendors in the last couple of months and the timing coincides with this. Will pull the plugs tonight and see what is there.

I do not fly LOP or use GAMI injectors, but I actually did a GAMI test and the spread was 0.4-0.5. Haven't had a chance to look for a possible extra washer yet. I do lean from engine start-up to take-off, and for ground run-up.

Sorry for the delayed response. I can see the unpopularity of the Champion plugs here, but all the plugs are clean except for whichever one is in the lower slot in the #3 cylinder. The resistance on the last plug that fouled was 2800 ohms, which is well within used limits and even within new limits. All CHT's and EGT's are fairly close with usually no more than a 40 degree spread.

1993 M20J MSE, engine time 1250 hours. Was using massive electrode spark plugs. No problem with spark plugs for twenty years. Had lower plug on cylinder #3 foul in-flight in 2010, landed and cleared the plug on the ground with lean engine run-up. Had the plugs cleaned and inspected, nothing obvious. Mags overhauled two months later, 250 hours ago. No further problems with fouling for the next three years. Champion fine wire plugs installed 2011, 150 hours ago. My standard technique is to lean the engine as soon as possible after starting, taxi out lean, take off and climb rich, lean to 100 degrees rich-of-peak for cruise, enrichen slightly for descent, landing, and final taxi. Had fouling of lower plug, cylinder #3 in April of this year found on engine run-up, cleared at that time. Had the same problem a few weeks later, again at run-up, cleared at that time. Had the plugs inspected and nothing was found. Took a four hour trip without event. On the attempted return trip, lower plug, cylinder #3 again fouled and could not be cleared--again, four hours after inspection. Had to remove the plug and clean it, and it was definitely lead fouling. Upper and lower plugs switched. Returned home and back to my mechanic. Pulled the lower plug on cylinder #3 and saw extensive lead deposits, again after only a four hour flight. This was also not the same plug that had fouled on the previous flight as the upper and lower plugs had been switched. The plug tested fine by the ohm-meter and pressure test. The harness cable tested fine. The compression on the cylinder was 76/80. Borescope was normal. Fuel injectors were cleaned. The only thing left to do would be to tear down the mag, although one episode occurred before mag overhaul and that was only 250 hours ago. We did replace both cylinder #3 fine wire plugs with new. I have a JPI monitor and other than when the plug fouls, can find nothing at all unusual. Plan is to fly for several hours, then pull the plugs and inspect. If more lead deposits, thinking about replacing the harness and overhauling the mags again. Thoughts?

So in February I get a letter from the FAA telling me that I have to renew my registration by March 31. The heading on the letter says: "FINAL NOTICE: EXPIRATION OF AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION." The letter says I have to download a form from the FAA website and fill it out and mail it in. When I go to the website, there seems to be an option to do that on-line provided you have the "On-line Re-registration Code" on the letter. There is no such code on my letter. This code apparently only comes on the first letter which should have been received in October, and the option to use that code for on-line renewal expired in January. So I download the form, fill it out and mail it in. They didn't like my title as co-owner of the aircraft LLC, and they sent it back for me to change a word. Time was getting short, so I had to FedEx it back. Fortunately, I got it done in the nick of time and got my re-registration. I received the original NOTICE: EXPIRATION OF AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION letter, complete with the "On-line Re-registration Code" today, May 13, 2013. The notice is dated October 1, 2012. FAA or USPS? I'm glad FedEx knows how to get things done on time.

Like many before, I need to relate to the members the outstanding work being done by Paul Beck and Weep No More. I have a 1993 M20J MSE that developed a small leak at an underwing access panel, in addition to two leaking screws at the forward wing-walk area. Two prior attempts to seal these by good mechanics about two years apart were unsuccessful. I contacted Paul who was always responsive and eager to help me solve the problem. I sent him pictures of the leaks and he assured me they could be fixed successfully. (In my favor was the quality of the sealant in the later "J" models and pictures of the inside of my tanks showed my particular sealant to overall be in good shape.) Paul offered to come to take care of my problem in Florida, and paying his commercial travel expenses and hotel room worked out to be less than taking the aircraft up to Minnesota. I was later able to connect with another owner in this area who split Paul's expenses with me, making this very affordable. He shipped his tools and sealants in advance to my local shop. Paul arrived around two o'clock in the afternoon and within an hour had the panel off, identified the problem, and had the panel back on as well as the leaking screws. These access panels are actually composed of two pieces of metal that overlap, and the problem the other two mechanics had misunderstood was that the leak was coming between the two layers of metal. After Paul reinstalled the panel, he cured it for about two hours and that was all it took. It has been several months and flights since and there is no recurrence of either leak. I was fortunate that Paul was able to identify in advance that this was a problem he could treat locally; he tells me that in most cases the sealant is so badly deteriorated that a trip to his shop is necessary, so he can't always travel to your plane. I cannot emphasize enough how professional he was and how sincerely interested he was in taking care of my problem. His extensive experience gives him the ability to rapidly assess the problem and provide the exact solution necessary. He is thoroughly reliable and a pleasure to deal with, and it was a great experience working with him. I would give him my highest recommendation.

I obtained my IFR rating in eight days twenty years ago at an accelerated flight school course. It worked very well for me and I was immediately able to go out and put my training into practice while it was still fresh. I used higher personal minimums at first but felt comfortable going to published minimums within a few months.