tomn

I enjoy waiting to see what we will see next! Keep em coming

Bob, I don't know yet about SNF - things are very busy these days. I'll let you know when I figure it out. On the G4 - I put 8 hours on it the past three days. I'm very happy with it - everything works great. Its easy to use and very intuitive. I have not used a JPI etc. so I can't compare but I will say that I do not want to fly without one ever again. Knowing your individual CHT's is great along with all the other parameters. The G4 has a vibration sensor that gives you a graph of the vibration frequencies going on at any given time. You can record these and compare over time. Certain frequencies will indicate cam/valve issues while another will show magneto issues if I understand the documentation correctly. It is extremely easy to use to determine peak EGT for all cylinders and then displays the degree lean or rich depending on what you want. Just slowly lean until the boxes on top of the EGT bar graphs turn white - that indicates that you have reached peak and have started to go lean of peak. That value is shown in that white box and you can continue to lean as desired. To go ROP, just enrich the mixture and the boxes will turn blue once you pass peak back to the rich side. The degree rich value is displayed in the blue box with an "R" preceding it - just continue enriching until you get it where you want. The only issue I have so far is the voltage readout. The G4 says 12.3 and my 696 says 13.7. I think I believe my 696 at this point but will investigate further. I have much more learning to do on this but right now I think its great. This type of instrumentation really is something every plane should have in this day and time if at all possible.

Beginning to wonder about these avatars Chris......

Chris, glad you enjoyed your visit to DKX - that's my home base. I was out there Sunday but missed seeing your plane. I have Bob's 66E that he owned years ago. Same issue as others have mentioned. Hot starts are always difficult with this model. I have found the best method for me to be the one described on an earlier thread where you open the mixture and throttle full for about 10 seconds prior to starting - set the throttle to produce 1000 RPM when running, and then start with mixture off then add fuel once she fires. This has been working well usually taking about 20 blades or so to fire. Lean to highest rpm after starting - you'll still get some roughness etc. as everyone has mentioned. Tom

Bob, glad to hear you have her back in the air. Flew 49M Sunday after 2-1/2 months downtime for lots of TLC and a new Insight G4. Also just balanced my prop with all this and the difference is very noticable. It even shuts down smoother! I think its a no brainer. Tom

I done a number of PNP flights and the behavior is always the same for the most part. Your dog will be curious at first then will sit very still or fall asleep. I believe the loud noise subdues them quite a bit. They will sit up and take notice when you begin your decent and land. I have not put hearing protection on the dogs I've transported and they have done fine but I would definitely get some ear muffs for my dogs if they flew with me from time to time. Dogs have incredible hearing and the engine noise must be very loud to them. Sportys has the muffs I think. Tom

I would bet that it had been cold when this occurred. I'd check the sending units first for your issue then proceed to other areas as mentioned above. I have had the same thing occur while on a trip up north to colder area when the plane sat overnight. Tightening sending units fixed it.

How did you attach it to the wing?

Sounds like you are referring to Airtex.

Made it to 212 one day but did not get a picture of it.

I like left wing down slips better too - don't know why - probably better sight picture. Slipping and cross controlling in general is a very important skill to learn in my opinion. Flying aerobatics can teach you this - did me. I have landed in a very strong crosswind slipping with my foot to the floor and still had to land drifting across the runway. I do not think it would have worked out very well w/out the aerobatic training. Its worth it.

+1 Its called an induction boot. Got my last one from Russell.

I ended up replacing mine with a entire new assembly from Air Forms in Alaska. It works great but took a long time to install due to changes made from engine swap etc. Vibration had taken its toll on mine with cracks etc. It looks great but removing it all together would have been a good option. Tom

Read this last night - I have always thought my radios should perform better than they do. Looked at the antenna today - Its painted white. It is the same as the rest of the plane so it was done years ago by the previous owner. Anyone had any luck stripping the paint off or is it better to just get a new one? Spruce shows the blade type for $335. Any other suggestions? Tom

Plane down for annual and Insight G4 install. Hope to catch up this weekend.

I have an Aerospace Logic ASL-EGT100 4 cylinder EGT monitor complete with all probes that I recently took out of my E - was working fine when removed. Let me know if anyone is interested in it - no idea what its worth... Tom

Just curious - if one were to strip an entire plane, what type of products/stripper would one use? I assume ailerones, elevators, rudder, flaps, etc. would need to come off - correct? Or could the control surfaces be left on and the paint left on in the inner areas if cleaned etc.? Also, whats involved in the alodine process? How much work would it take etc.? Tom

I'll be working on mine tomorrow - will try to remember to take pictures for you. Tom

One note about the bladders: I have them in my E that have been there a while. During the annual recently, we found a small fuel leak around the fuel sending units inside the cabin area. We tightened the screws and the leak stopped completely. It is probably a good idea to check these screws every once in a while to make sure they are tight - I'm sure the bladders relax over time under pressure. Tom

I have a drawing of the left side panel for a 66E. I worked it up to make a new front face panel but the mount hole locations should be pretty close. I don't know if a 62 used the same mount setup. Give me your email address and I'll be happy to send it to you - let me know what format you'd like as well (dwg, dxf, etc.) Tom

You can also buy these from Essco to download or printed. www.esscoaircraft.com

I have the Johnson bar. I'll check and see how much room I have left from the stops.

I'm curious about how far the main wheels should retract into the wing wheel wells. With the wheels retracted, you can push up on each wheel and get them to move a little farther into the well. Looking at the linkage, it does not appear that there is leverage available through it to pull the wheel up tighter. There is the spring to pull it up and maybe that is weak. So how tight should the wheel fit up in the well? Should I be able to push it up any farther once it is fully retracted or should it be all the way against the stops? Tom

I have my 696 mounted on my left yoke - hard mounted to the yoke with a quick remove mount plate I made. This works out much better than the ram mount since it holds it firmly in place and at a good viewing angle. I found it a little heavy for the ram mount I tried first. I have my Ipad mounted on the right yoke using a ram mount clamped to the yoke shaft with it angled towards me. This setup works great and does not block my view of any other instruments. Tom

I have and use both. I like the robust operation of the 696 and use it more than the iPad. The iPad is used as a backup for the 696 and for working out possible route changes etc. it would be nice if Garmin were more reasonable with their subscription costs. Tom