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FloridaMan

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Everything posted by FloridaMan

  1. I had the same thing last week. There was a piece of metal in one of my injectors. It stumbled between 2200 and 2400 RPM. EGT was "0" on the offending cylinder when stumbling at 2400 RPM. When I backed down to 1900 RPM, EGT was very high on that cylinder. It behaved the same on L/R and Both mags; switching to a single mag would raise EGT on that cylinder even more. The logic is that the cylinder with the clogged injector will run excessively lean; at the same time, all other cylinders will get extra fuel and run excessively rich.
  2. Hmmm... I never thought of this, but in the event of an engine failure, your step will deploy as a speed brake.
  3. The IA on the field thought it might've come from the gascolator, but, in being "downstream" from the fuel servo and, from looking at the screen in the servo, I don't think that piece could've made it through the screen. I'm not completely familiar with the arrangement of the system, but one of the hoses that goes to the firewall was replaced with a braided stainless hose. I'm going to guess that the little piece of metal came from the assembly of that new hose.
  4. Update. I went through the fuel system with a mechanic and inspected the servo filter and other components. I did not pull the injectors, ran the engine up again and the problem had returned with a vengeance. This time the problem was there and stayed there at 2400 RPM. While it was occurring, I noticed that pulling power back got me past 2400 RPM. I also did some work with my primitive EGT which has a 4-cylinder selector, but it's not marked as to which cylinder is which. I noticed at 2400 RPM, one EGT was cold, and upon backing the RPM to 1900 it was significantly higher than the other cylinders. It turns out there was a piece of metal partially clogging one of the injectors. The issue seems to be completely fixed now.
  5. Keep in mind that customs agents are trained to be belligerent a-holes. I regard this as generally a good thing, as I would want anyone who isn't supposed to be here to not be allowed in. Keep this in mind as you deal with them and do not take anything personally if you find yourself with someone who's a bit hostile.
  6. Just thought I'd share my minimal understanding of cooling and cowling. If I am completely wrong, by all means, correct me. A number of things have been explained to me that are counter-intuitive -- and apparently the mentality of aircraft designers changed in the 70s to reflect some of this. I've heard it as this: 1/3rd of all drag is cooling drag. Tight baffling is very important for cooling. Air through your cowling will take the path of least resistance, which means that it will avoid those fins around your cylinders if it can. Breaks or bends in baffling can divert air critically causing premature failure due to lack of cooling. Baffling that inverts itself can prevent the needed cooling air from going where it needs to. At speeds above 160kts, you start to gain a (very) slight amount of thrust from the heated air that expands while cooling. On aircraft such as the P51, the thrust from the heated air through the radiator aided in efficiency. Running your engine without the cowling can lead to overheating very quickly due to lack of airflow where it matters (around the cylinders as opposed to that air being force through the fins. The tighter cowling of the modern Mooneys should cool more efficiently than the vintage cowls.
  7. I would do the two cylinders. They say when cylinders start to go, others follow. Granted, I have the bulletproof IO360, but mine had the first cylinder go around 500 hours ago and the next one this past annual. Out of curiosity, which cylinders are they?
  8. What would it cost to have someone fly it for an hour a week vs. pickling? There are other things that need exercise and engine corrosion isn't the only thing -- you have all sorts of diaphragms and seals that can dry out and need to be worked, control surfaces need to move, electrical connections can corrode as well. I think you'd be better off if you could find someone to fly your airplane an hour every week or two and change your oil every three months.
  9. This is just a wild-assed guess, but I think that birds look for updrafts, which you can find beneath the flat bases of building clouds. If there is bird activity, I will cut across in the sunlight and avoid the bases, though I will also sometimes cruise under the bases to take advantage of increased speed. Also, I've read the the rule is to never fly below flocks of geese that members of the flock will dive into your airplane to defend the flock.
  10. I'd say that there are likely not many arrivals and departures at 5:30AM at ABQ to interfere with. I always, without exception, wear one of those LED red/white headlamps when flying at night. This is my favorite one because it has a separate button for red and white and is super bright; it's nice to have the bright white spotlight when you need it: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RKBLHW/ref=twister_B009MJAVCW
  11. Can a single fouled plug cause an engine to stumble when adding in full power? I pulled my upper and lower cowlings today, inspected for leaks around all the fuel lines and fuel servo. I really need to go ahead and bite the bullet and buy an engine monitor. It would have at least helped me figure out where to start looking if it were a single cylinder, or fuel flow issue, et cetera.
  12. It seems ok now, but I wanted to run the issue by you guys. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  13. Prop was full. The misfire would hold for just long enough for me to notice the hesitation and then the rpm would increase to 2700. It never lasted for more than a second. Typically, it sounded like "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrbumpbumpbumprrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  14. Performed oil change Tuesday. Cut open filter and inspected for debris. No debris. Full power run-up and leak check good. I decided to take it up for a quick flight. My hangar is very close the runway that's most often used so I usually warm up and run up before taxiing out and leave the fuel pump on, mixture rich, take off flaps, et cetera. I had to spent a significantly more time idling around on the ground at full rich than usual. Went to take off. Applied full power. Engine stumbled. Taxied off runway. Performed run-up. Went to take off again. Same stumble. Taxied back to my hangar and did some more run-ups and checks. It seems to always occur between about 2250 and 2400 RPM and is a slight stumble. It would always go to full power, but sometimes would just stumble a bit and sometimes it would hang for a couple seconds at 2400 RPM before progressing. All engine instruments appear normal. The stumble is similar to what you might feel if you tried to taxi/takeoff with the mixture too far out. It felt like a misfire. Cycling the prop and then running up made the issue go away, so did trying it a little bit leaner, but neither was consistent. Two notes: I changed the oil and filter with the engine cold; I usually do it hot, but decided to try it in a way that I didn't risk burning my hands and spilling hot oil. I did not sump the ring by the fuel selector; I had flown since previously fueled and the plane stays in a private T-hangar. Yesterday, I performed the fuel servo check with the ram air open (so I could look inside), mixture idle cut-off, throttle open and fuel pump on. No fuel leaks observed. The fuel pump did sound a bit anemic. I sumped the hell out of the tanks and pulled the ring under my feet for several seconds until I got a decent puddle. I let the plane sit for a couple hours and then pulled it out, fired it up and taxied around for about half an hour doing every combination of fuel-pump on/off, run ups from idle to full power, from 1900 to full power, et cetera. The stumble did not occur a single time, but it concerns me that I don't know what caused it. I guess it could've been fouled plugs that didn't show up at my 1900 RPM mag check, vapor lock or possibly air in the prop governor, but the fact that I don't know what caused it is cause for concern as it was fairly consistent the day it occurred and now is no more. Also, last month after spending an hour in IMC, I opened the ram air in VMC and noticed the airplane surging, so I closed it and as was good. I assumed that perhaps some water had loaded up in the port in front of the gate. I tried it again the next day; the surging started. I enrichened the mixture and the issue went away. There has been no significant change in fuel burn. I do not have an engine monitor. There are two suggestions that I've heard. One is that there could be air in the prop governor and the other is that it may be the fuel servo. The engine is 1700SFRM/1994. Last annual was completed by Phil at Avon Park (reputable Mooney tech in Florida) in August. Cylinder #4 showed 56/80 so it was removed and overhauled; the piston was replaced. Propellor was removed, inspected and resealed. Cylinder #1 was replaced a few years ago. I have put 55 hours on the tach in the month following annual. The thought of possible blockage or contamination within the fuel lines is also something I'd want to get checked. Is there a screen or filter that I should request an A&P inspect? I found this document: http://www.precisionairmotive.com/Publications/15-810_b.pdf Page 16 states that hesitation between 2200 and 2400 RPM is often a propellor issue.
  15. The issue with this is that so many military pilots and business professionals affiliated with cabin class business jets and corporate aviation are also pilots and light aircraft owners themselves. These are the people that make the decisions regarding which FBO to go to on the field, or which airport to fly into, when they arrive in their Gulfstream or squadron of military aircraft.
  16. You'd think that with so many airliners now having high speed internet connections, among other data connections, that it'd be nice to get what their weather instruments are detecting, and combine it for better real-time weather and atmospheric data.
  17. I think I've seen your plane on the ramp at KSPG.
  18. Looks like those TFRs screw NYC less than the ones we get here in Tampa. I don't imagine LGA and JFK get much part 91/135 traffic anyways. Down here in Florida, when there's a TFR it shuts everybody down since most of us are based within 10nm of whatever big airport he's flying into.
  19. That sounds odd for the Midwest (I'm guessing there's so much competition out there that it's hard to hold a monopoly like in southeast Florida where all the land is developed or is wildlife reserves. I opted to play it safe when flying into Wichita for work and chose KICT. For a Class C airport, I was pleasantly surprised with Yingling. I took 50 gallons on self-serve at $5.50/gallon and they didn't charge me for the four nights I was parked on their ramp.
  20. I'm not sure I would consider AirBnB to be all that bad for hotels that could leverage it. I haven't looked into it from a property owner's perspective, but I would assume that it would make it easy for hotels to dump cheap rooms on low utilization nights to offset fixed costs and the booking process is easier than most hotels current websites/apps. I know that there's a service charge for the booking with AirBnB, but I don't know how different it is from Kayak, or hotels.com et cetera. You aren't necessarily in somebody else's house. I'd say more often it's somebody's vacation home or condo that they're not using.
  21. My F feels like you're flying a surfboard, as if it wants to slide off of localized pressure increases under the wing.
  22. I know that Uber requires background checks and driving records. Most cab drivers just have to front the $75/day to rent the cab. My girlfriend picked up a cab with a foreign driver who then picked up another foreign passenger last halloween in Tampa. The passenger tried to divert the cab to another location with her in it. She said that she convinced the guy that she was staying with friends to get him to stop so "she could get her things."
  23. I just thought I'd mention this gem of an app to those of you who are not using it yet. It's available in a lot of cities already and is a good option when you need to get from point A to point B and you need more time than the crew car allows, cabs are a pain and a rental is overkill. Their rates seem to be better than taxis, the drivers are just about always better than cab drivers, and once a driver elects you to be their pick-up, nobody else can snake them away from you. Also, you know your fare from the app's estimates and can see exactly where your driver is on the map. You're not expected to tip and the entire transaction takes place without you having to touch your wallet or phone once you book your driver. AirBnB isn't quite as popular yet, but it's certainly a useful app as well when on the road. It's private rental properties. You can often find a cottage or an annex apartment on somebody's house for less than half the cost of a hotel room, with better amenities and somebody helpful who knows the area.
  24. I will oftentimes throw the line guys a $10 tip when they come help me out -- especially if they have to handle my airplane. I figure $10 is a small price to pay to get them to handle your plane with better care.
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