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Showing results for 'Darter'.
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The Darter I fly came with a telescopic bar. I've not measured but it pulls out from 2ft to about 4ft I guess. It is simple in design, steel with a spring loaded hook style clamp Wish it was six inches longer. Yes, telescopic is nice.
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Flying the Darter around and found this O'2 in Uvalde. Darter in the background.
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On the last couple of flights, Flight Aware registered my flight and speed, but not elevation. What is that symptom an indication of? Disclosure: No, I don't know exactly what equipment the Darter has. One problem at a time. I know it is the same as others I have seen in the white Nav light in the tail. I will look for the book and any addendum when I get back to the airport later today. thanks David
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Cool looking Executive in Dugosh today. The sad looking Darter in the back that I fly.
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Whoops. Missed this for some reason. Upset to say, slow. Life always gets in the way it seems. The Darter is down, maybe permanently. My CFII got a real Jet job so he's gone all the time. The steak house is busy enough to take my extra time away. You know, life.
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I learned this exact thing on The Darter I am flying. Two cylinders showed low compression, but I can say I did not feel anything wrong. Power seemed good, no excessive oil consumption that I could tell, no oil down the belly, etc etc.
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Couple of questions on fouled plugs. I have been flying a Cherokee 180 since the Darter went down. This plane is flown regularly. Each time I get in and do the run up, the second click runs rough. I then do a lean rpm run to clear the plugs. Repeat the run up procedure to confirm the carbon burned off. I lean to taxi, lean after takeoff and cruise, etc, etc.... When I get back from my XC, I do a run up to see if the fouling returned. The answer is yes. This has happened the last three trips of 1.4 hours each. I don't know how the others fly the plane, but I doubt they lean as consistently as I do. I "feel" as if I lean enough, but what do I know? What is the best practice for burning off carbon? What is best practice for leaning? Is there something mechanical going on? Thanks, David.
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Hey guys (and girls). Questions please. Here is a picture of a crack in the motor mount of the Darter I am flying. It is in the shop for the 100hr. First question is can this crack be welded on site? It doesn't look all that complicated of a procedure to me, the untrained eye. Do we have to remove the mount to weld it? Second question is what are the legalities surrounding this kind of repiar? Next question is should we remove the engine and replace the motor mounts while we are waiting on the cylinders? Makes sense to me. Thanks for all the help, past and present. David
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The mechanic pulled the prop on the Aero Commander Darter I am (was) flying and said there is corrosion on the exposed part of the crankshaft. He then espoused almost gleefully of the impending teardown. I'm looking down at the color on the exposed journal with a skeptical grimace. I can barely feel anything with my fingernail. A friend has done some light reading on this subject, and says there is a procedure with dye and black lights to peer into the hole to see if there is any internal corrosion on the crank. Anyone have thoughts on this, or has done this procedure. Lycoming 320. Thanks David
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Hey folks. Here is a picture of some spots on the outside of the Darter that I rent. Is it corrosion? The location is about left rudder pedal distance from the spinner, but lower and behind the firewall. I will need to remove the floor and what appears to be some glue-on insulation to get to the exact location from the inside the cabin. David at Dugosh, who's mechanic is performing the 100hr, brought our attention to the area in question. I will attempt to have more pictures and info soon. On a funny/sad note along with the previously posted motor mount crack and two weak cylinders, we've discovered a five year old 100% NAPA aviation battery under the cowl. Sure does work well I am here to attest. Hope its replacement works just as well. thanks in advance. David
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Having the mount in place with the engine on it…. Is going to add to the variability of things… Welding stress in place… or getting the crack to close up properly before welding the gap in place… +1 for sending to a proper shop…. Gets all of the wonder ifs out of the way… PP guesses only… Go darter! Best regards, -a-
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The shop that built this is still in operation? For the Darter 100? Please advise.
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The shop that built this still in operation? For the Darter 100? Please advise.
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The Darter I am training in went in for the 100hr inspection. Two cylinders have compression in the 40's. My questions are; how could I not feel something, anything, that would clue me off that 50% of my engine is not pumping right? Shouldn't I have noted increased oil consumption, or something to do with the oil? Grrrrr
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Which engine does the Darter have in it? Compression tests are different for each manufacturer… Proper orifice is required for accuracy… So…. If the compression tests are correct, and you have bad compressions…. This is where the dental camera comes into play…. Looking for things like cross hatching on the cylinder walls and valve pizzas…. If the rings are failing…. Be on the look out for signs of blow by… dirty bubbly smelly oil…. PP thoughts as usual… -a-
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Had no idea what this plane was.
Mcstealth replied to Mcstealth's topic in Miscellaneous Aviation Talk
I have since flown most my current hours in this Darter. I officially like the feel of it better than the 172's though that is me just being a critic. The owner repaired the ILS so we do have precision capabilities. The 430 is non-waas. Getting it IFR certified has been a little quirky. One shop said the Type certificate says its not able to be certified. Another shop said it could, but it needs a heated Pitot tube which the plane doesn't have. And a third tech says it could be certified even without a heated tube. All said, this Aero Commander is fine for me to get my XC hours accumulated for the IFR requirement. Anyone with moderate to low pilot skills could fly this plane. -
I was "what the heck is that" Never seen one before. Called a "Darter?"
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One of my students owns a Darter, so I have about 20 (mostly hands-off) hours in it now. But whenever I have to demonstrate things, it flies very nicely. Because of the relatively short dashboard and resulting forward visibility, people who come from the C172 seem to think that its level flight attitude is more nose-down than it really is. His airspeed indicator is in serious need of recalibration, so I'm fairly certain that the V speeds we settled on (there are none published) are higher than reality. Yes, it's kind of wild that it shipped like this. He tied a loop of string from the door latch forward to the fixed handle. Pull the lop to open the door -- much easier! Agree 100% about the seat and rails being superior to Cessna's.
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On a short XC in the Darter, I watched a small jet cross my path, right to left at a similar altitude, 1000ft or so in front of me. What device is best that Bluetooth to a tablet, so I see this kind of traffic?
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Is the Darter ADS-B out? If not you won't see some of the traffic on whatever you use for ads-b in. I like the Garmin GDL-52. You get ADS-B in, AHRS, XM weather and Music (if you subscribe). It connects via bluetooth or directly connects. It's the most stable device I've owned. Stratus lost me forever when they had a known problem with the power connector on the Stratus 2 and didn't do the right thing by taking care of their customers.
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A portable ADSB in, with weather and traffic is perfect for IFR training… ATC calls out traffic… Part of your scan is the iPad…. If you don’t see the traffic they called, outside the window… check the iPad to know where it is supposed to be… then back out the window… Works in the darter… will work in your first Mooney… when that time comes…. PP thoughts only, Not a futurist… Best regards, -a-
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I am doing some training in an Aero Commander Darter 100. I have taken it upon myself to do some of the preventive maintenance. One of the wheel pants is missing a mounting bolt. The bolts presently in both the wheel pants are a mish-mash of non-aviation parts. I can not find in the plane any schematics and the owner likewise hasn't a copy. The question is two part obviously. How do I find the schematics, to find the bolt? Thanks David
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That aircraft was built in Albany Ga in what became the Thrush plant. It’s possible that there may be a parts manual laying around. Thrush does not own the TC though. Ask to speak to Ed Rusk, he used to be the quality control manager and would likely be more willing to help and would know where the old manuals are, if there is one. If you want to hear him cuss, tell him Jody gave you his name He’s an old Retired Marine, I’m Retired Army it’s a shot in the dark, but worth asking Another possibility is to try to find out who does own the TC, they may be a parts manual source. I doubt it, but there may even be a type club, if there is they will be an invaluable source of information. Picture of the plant back in the day, you can see a Lark and a Darter, I think the Lark has a 180 hp motor and conventional tail, but honestly that was before my time, they were AC 100, the AC 200 was the Meyers 200, which is no dog, and the airframe has never had an AD
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summary, IPCs, MMs, and CommanderSpace! (If they exist) After that… AI, AircraftSpruce, based on general aircraft maintenance procedures… (there may be a whole bunch of aircraft hardware standards to follow…) The snail darter would still be around today… if its trim wheel moved the whole tail…. PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… -a-
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The Darter on the field is not IFR certified. I asked Gulf Avionics what it would take to get the Dart certifiable. The lead tech said we have everything accept an outside temp Guage, and a heated pito tube. Then he said something which made me pause. "If you were only training IFR, you probably won't need the tube heated". ??????? Is that a thing?
