Shadrach

Reasonable guess but I’d bet less. My POH says the 100ROP fuel flow for that setting is 10.1 gph.

Depends on available MP.

Close. CR is 8.7:1 so multiplier is more like 15.1.

I’ve never operated a stock IO360 that does not run smoothly LOP far leaner than an setting I would use. Sure, there are exceptions but they are rare. I have never operated one that just gets quiet. Most start to get rough after one of the EGTs starts to rise again after peak. Most will run smoothly well beyond 50LOP depending on MP. The intake design makes for an inherently well balanced F/A ratio from cylinder to cylinder. I would personally have no problems running an IO360 LOP without an engine monitor as a temporary measure (like ferrying an airplane without one), but that does mean I would recommend it to others.

It appears that the city put her on that mower. Most county airports use full sized tractors with a full cab and lights, but I have seen formations of high speed, zero turn mowers pushed into service as well. So much is unknown. I would think if she entered the runway environment, the pilot would ensure that that fact was clear. I know I would. I am sure he is devastated. Judging from the city’s website, it’s a flat, 3200’x50’ paved strip in excellent condition. I want to believe there is more to this story. RIP.

Airport is owned by the city of Broken Bow. Deceased was employed by the city’s parks dept. Reads like she was on the job and likely conducting legitimate mowing operations. Looks like she was in the right place but at the wrong time and facing the wrong direction. Bad day to be sloppy on centerline discipline and situational awareness. “She had been employed by the city of Broken Bow’s Parks Division, a police official told The Post.”

I took the first sentence of the article at face value: “was killed Friday after she was struck in the head by the wing of a small airplane while she was on a riding lawn mower next to an airport runway.”

Runway width 50’ centerline to grass 25’ A36 wingspan 33.6’ Aircraft centerline to wingtip 16.8’ He had to be more than 8 feet off centerline to have a wing over the grass. That’s not a lot, but it’s not the kind of thing I would call “good enough” in my own flying. That would put a wheel in the grass or in the lights at some of the runways I’ve used. How close was she to the runway? It seems likely to me that both pilot and mower operator were lacking in situational awareness. I can almost guarantee that a 26 yr old on a mower was wearing earbuds, but it doesn’t really matter. Anyone with any sense would be wearing ear protection. You’re not going to hear a Bonanza at approach power over a mower when wearing ear protection. Operating near a runway requires traffic awareness. During my college years I spent winter and summer semester breaks conducting plow and maintenance ops at a small but busy country airport. Traffic was my primary focus when working around the runway. Airplanes and ground vehicles can easily maintain separation when it’s a priority. If she was wearing high visibility clothing, he should have seen her on approach.

Our F model was never leaned for taxi until I started flying it in 2002. Never had issues with lead fouling. Indeed the Lyc IO360 is very unlikely to suffer from lead scavenging issues in taxi. It has inherently good F/A distribution to all cylinders and some of the highest compression pistons in the certified GA fleet. No need to lean at reasonable DAs. I worry more about lead fouling in winter at low power settings as it can be challenging to keep some CHTs above 280°.

The old Westeys are really cool windows into the past. They’re no longer really useable for their intended purpose. With 50-60hp, I’m not sure they ever were. The memories are often better than the reality. Decades ago my brother had an eccentric neighbor that was crazy for air cooled 911s. He had at least 15 in various states of disrepair on the property and parts all through his house. (Shockingly he was twice divorced). He put a vintage Porsche flat six into his micro bus. Adding 100hp to the chassis transformed it for the better in a straight line and up hills and made it scary if mishandled in a turn.

No one read ends a Mooney…

Stop bragging…

I would think there might be olfactory clues in the cabin with that much fuel in the cowl. Him suspecting it was fuel I buy. Him tying the suspected fuel to the elevated TIT and deducing a leak at the servo is likely a bridge too far

I would not count on that from your average weekend warrior. But, one would think that an owner that fancied himself competent enough to assist in a fuel system install might put two and two together. Not much surprises me anymore.

Have you considered a SIRS? I think its a better compass and worth the extra $70. Mounting may be a challenge.

I totally agree. The reality is that nothing video graphic evidence can guarantee torque was applied… The next best thing is to have a visual indicator that a process was followed and completed. Your premise seems to be that there is no benefit to having a process in place that generates a visual indicator that maintenance personnel completed a process which includes torquing the fastener. I mean to disrespect when I say I think that is obtuse. When conducting the final inspection if the inspector finds a fastener that is not marked, said inspector can reasonably conclude that the correct process was not followed and investigate. It is certainly possible that a fastener may be torqued and not painted. If that is discovered, the inspector can address it by ensuring the already torqued fastener is retorqued and painted. If indeed the fastener wasn’t torqued or painter, the outcome is the same…it gets torqued and painted. The notion that maintenance personnel would deviate from a methodical process and paint a fastener without ensuring it was properly torqued is of course possible but is a much lower probability in my opinion. I’ve said my peice. Folks can take from it whatever they will. I don’t have your credentials nor your experience. I have however R&R’d more than one engine and completely removed and reinstalled the landing gear from several aircraft in addition to other maintenance processes that fall well outside of basic preventative maintenance. I mark every fastener after it’s been torqued. It’s especially useful when fitting fuel and oil hoses, alternators, starters and other components where fasteners are hand tightened while components are adjusted before final torque is applied. Everyone that has been involved in the above mentioned endeavors has found this methodical process to be useful. However, I’m always happy to read dissenting opinion. Perhaps we should start a new thread called the Socratic Paradox of aviation maintenance.

In addition to good service, they are super nice people. They are local to me, so I personally drop off a check each year. I gotten to know the owner and encounter many of the employees in the community. Years ago, he gave me my HP check out in his C185. They treat their employees very well, most of whom are pilots.

I think it is context. My primary use of torque seal is as a visual verification that a fastener has been properly tightened/torqued. My assumption was that most people use it this way. The auto industry does. When I hung my engine, my IA insisted every nut bolt and hose be marked after torquing. I painted the fastener right after tightening. I think the process helps to avoid un-torqued fasteners. If the owner of the Money Uboat and his mechanic would have had such an agreement, I think it could have prevented this accident.

I was not confused by your assertion, only the tenacity with which you demonstrate in denying my point. Here ya go. To simplify… A shopping list requires that a check mark be applied to the list after an item is put in the cart. There are four possible outcomes. 1. The item is put in the cart, and the list is checked. 2. The item is not put in the cart, and the list is checked. 3. The item is not put in the cart, and the list is not checked. 4. The item is put in the cart, and the list is not checked. in this case the item was not purchased, so the use of a shopping list seems moot?

This will likely come as a surprise to you, but many mechanics do not carry liability insurance. The airport may require anyone hanging a shingle out on the premises to carry insurance, but it is not required to act as an A&P/IA. Most repair stations have numerous individuals working on airplanes that are not credentialed. I worked for such an organization in college (we were insured). I did lots of disassembly, cleaning and bucked lots of rivets that summer. The primary engine builder at the repair station on my field had zero aviation credentials. When the owner of that repair station passed away his engine builder had no problems getting a job at another engine shop 40 miles south of my airport. I don’t think insurance companies distinguish maintenance from owner assist maintenance. The credentialed individual that puts their signature in the book and gets compensated for verifying airworthiness.

No one is saying the torque seal maintains torque. Torque seal does two things. It serves as a visual verification that the fastener has been torqued and ad a visual verification that the fastener has not moved during subsequent inspections. In this case, the B nut did not lose torque…It was not ever torqued in the first place. If the maintenance personnel involved had made it policy to use torque seal on every fastener after tightening/torquing, they would’ve known they missed it during the final inspection and leak test. Don’t ask me how I know this method works. I’m all too familiar with human shortcomings both my own or others. The auto workers in Munich that assembled my cars didn’t torque seal all of the suspension subassemblies so that they could check on it in a month to see if the fasteners moved; they did it so the inspector at the end of the assembly line could verify that they did their jobs.

The problem is that they likely missed torquing it and had no visual cue that they hadn’t. It leak checks OK when hand tight but works loose over the next 2 months. Everything could’ve been mitigated with torque seal.

Meh. Cast a wide enough regulatory net and you will always be first.

To my way of thinking, torque seal is a visual verification that the fastener has been torqued. Marking the fastener immediately follows torquing the fastener. I have never seen a fastener move after it’s been properly torqued and sealed.