Annual time

[ScottM]

Since I am traveling for a couple of weeks my plane went in for it's annual. I was not expecting much and true to form it has been going swimmingly.

One thing I wanted taken care of was the habitually high oil temps that I have been getting when the OAT is above 70. I go to red line, pressure drops a little but not out of green. Since I have owned the plane I have taken care of just about everything firewall forward except a bottom overhaul and anything with the alternator. More on the alternator later.

So I bought a new oil cooler, last year I did the hoses and it got a little better. I figured with the colder WX there was no rush for the oil cooler install and it would be a good thing to do at annual. It was the only deffered item I had.

My wheel pant had cracked again so I had them patch it. This year I will search for some new ones as this is the third time it has cracked. All on the same spot.

Nothing surprising, aka expensive, but I just had one eye opener.

A friend was doing a preflight with me and when I checked the alternator belt it felt like it always did to me. To him it felt loose. He also has a warrior and we figured it was just tensioned a little different or the belt was getting old. We noticed this about two months ago. So I figured I would have the mechanics look at it. i had also received a coupon for a free dynamic prop balance. I thought they pulled the prop for that and told them to check just install a new belt.

Well for dynamic prop balance they do not pull the prop but they did look at the belt and alternator and what they found was one of the close to scary things. Years ago when the alternator was installed it was installed with the wrong bolt and the bolt has worn through the alternator and there was only a small amount of metal holding it on. Maybe in 10 or 20 hours it would have come off. We know it never comes off on run up, it would be at some inopportune time. I am glad my mechanics are so thorough!! So my big surprise for the annual is a new alternator. But everything else is just minor little stuff. This annual should be about $2k.

I am in Munich for the night with a terrible cold. I am glad to be out of Finland, it was getting very depressing never really seeing the sun.

A couple of pics are attached. One taken at noon (the one with the ski slope) which shows how bright it gets at midday. We never saw the sun up in the sky. And the other is of the airport. Note all the ice on the taxiway and ramp. The runway was clear but there is about an inch of ice everywhere else. SOP for the arctic!

 

[woodstock]

Where in Munich are you staying? I will likely be there in June. Sorry you feel like crap - hazards of commercial airline travel I've decided. It's likely why I have had recurrences of the same cold since October (Colorado in Oct, Portugal in Nov, Italy in Dec - and sick three times).

Glad they found the problem! 2 grand isn't too bad overall.

ps. did you notice my photo? it was taken near Berchtesgaden - the annual "bring the cows back from the high pastures"

 

[ScottM]

Where in Munich are you staying?

I am jsut staying at the airport. The plane was to take the S-bahn into town and have dinner and a few cocktails. My flight to the US is at noon. But considering that I feel like crap I am just hanging out here in my PJs and just ordered zimmerservice for dinner.

I will likely be there in June.

Munich is really great. It is one of my favorite places in Germany to visit, well outside of the alps. Lots of stuff to see here. When you visit do take the side trip to Dachu though. It puts a lot in perspective.

ps. did you notice my photo? it was taken near Berchtesgaden - the annual "bring the cows back from the high pastures"

I did not. I always wanted to visit there. Supposed to be beautiful.

 

[woodstock]

I am jsut staying at the airport. The plane was to take the S-bahn into town and have dinner and a few cocktails. My flight to the US is at noon. But considering that I feel like crap I am just hanging out here in my PJs and just ordered zimmerservice for dinner.

Munich is really great. It is one of my favorite places in Germany to visit, well outside of the alps. Lots of stuff to see here. When you visit do take the side trip to Dachu though. It puts a lot in perspective.


I did not. I always wanted to visit there. Supposed to be beautiful.

let me guess, Arabella Sheraton? if so, GREAT breakfast buffet.

Yeah, visited Dachau in 1993. very sobering. if Bill is reading this, he can tell his stories from there too.

I will likely swing past Berchtesgaden again this summer. Current plan (if it doesn't change) is an Alpine drive - scenic roads, passes, and villages.

 

[ScottM]

let me guess, Arabella Sheraton? if so, GREAT breakfast buffet.

Actually the Kempinski. Nice place.

 

[Stache]

One item that is usually over looked on inspections is the baffle seals. A good way to check them is with a flash light looking up from the bottom and see if you can see light on top. If you do you have a air leak which will cause a cylinder to run hot. Remember your temp gauge pick up is on the hot cylider in the back this is where most air leaks are.

The engines need about 4-5 lbs of air pressure to cool the cylinders and even a small hole of split in the seals can drop the cooling air pressure and cause hot cylinders.

I would suggest checking the seals and sealing up any cracks, opens at the corners and make sure positive seal with the cowling and cut outs. Also having the proper baffle seal material is a must.

 

[ScottM]

One item that is usually over looked on inspections is the baffle seals. A good way to check them is with a flash light looking up from the bottom and see if you can see light on top. If you do you have a air leak which will cause a cylinder to run hot. Remember your temp gauge pick up is on the hot cylider in the back this is where most air leaks are.

The engines need about 4-5 lbs of air pressure to cool the cylinders and even a small hole of split in the seals can drop the cooling air pressure and cause hot cylinders.

I would suggest checking the seals and sealing up any cracks, opens at the corners and make sure positive seal with the cowling and cut outs. Also having the proper baffle seal material is a must.

Did that two years ago. Oil cooler is the last thing. BTW it is not a ChT issue so wherever that temp probe is, is immaterial it is an oil temp issue. The CHTs are normal.

 

[ScottM]

I had guessed $2k this for the annual and the total came out to be $2065!

Lowest yet.

 

[bstratt]

I am glad to be out of Finland, it was getting very depressing never really seeing the sun.

A couple of pics are attached. One taken at noon (the one with the ski slope) which shows how bright it gets at midday. We never saw the sun up in the sky. And the other is of the airport. Note all the ice on the taxiway and ramp. The runway was clear but there is about an inch of ice everywhere else. SOP for the arctic!

That's no difference than at home here in Chicago this year!!

 

[tonycondon]

not too bad scott. i suppose i need to hide away another 150 bucks so i can pay for the gliders annual coming up this spring.

 

[KennyFlys]

not too bad scott. i suppose i need to hide away another 150 bucks so i can pay for the gliders annual coming up this spring.

How hard can it be?

Ailerons Attached: Yes
Rudder Attached: Yes
Wheel Attached: Yes
Instruments Working: Yes
Yarn Attached: Yes

Pass!

 

[tonycondon]

instrument function isnt really part of the annual. lubricate all the hinges, inspect all of the wood, grease the bearing. yea thats about it. last year we pulled out the airbrake handle and painted it so it took a little longer than planned, an extra day!

 

[flyersfan31]

It's stories like yours that give me pause about buying an older plane. I guess you only hear the horror/near-horror stories, but there is so much stuff lurking inside an old airframe. Every year, I read about the AOPA sweeps plane and all the crap they find on the strip-down. I guess there are plenty of stories about finding spanners in new aircraft, or unplugged hoses.

Nothing beats a conscientious, detail-oriented, knowledgeable A&P, I suppose.

 

[tonycondon]

AOPA doesnt really search for an airplane with a great airframe though. they are looking for something cheap because they know they are going to strip it down to the bare bones and rebuild it back up. Things that would give us pause on a pre-buy are no problems for them because they have a much larger budget than most of us.

 

[Ghery]

let me guess, Arabella Sheraton? if so, GREAT breakfast buffet.

Yeah, visited Dachau in 1993. very sobering. if Bill is reading this, he can tell his stories from there too.

I will likely swing past Berchtesgaden again this summer. Current plan (if it doesn't change) is an Alpine drive - scenic roads, passes, and villages.

Been to Dachau a couple of times. Once with our kids.

The area around Berchtesgaden is beautiful. Have fun. We drove over from the Saltzburg, Austria area in 1992. Little two lane road. Guard shack at the border. Both the German and Austrian border guards looked annoyed as we drove up because we interrupted their bull session.

 

[Pjsmith]

Scott - I'm thinking of having the prop balance at the same place (though I'm not eligible yet for the free coupon). Did you notice an improvement?

 

[ScottM]

Scott - I'm thinking of having the prop balance at the same place (though I'm not eligible yet for the free coupon). Did you notice an improvement?

I have not flown it yet.

 

[bsdunek]

Just a question - does it have a thermostat controlling the oil flow to the cooler? It's been a long time, but I think my Cherokee 180 had one. Could a thermostat be reducing flow to the cooler?