What do you hate about your plane?

Fearless Tower said:
Don't feel bad. It just kind of happened in the last week. I don't exactly 'have' it yet....I'm waiting for the weather and schedules to align so that o can bring it here. But once I do get it, I'll take you up. Might even make it up to your neck of the woods when they have the big Waco club gathering.
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You got a picture?

Want to let it over winter a little farther South? ;-)
 
My 6 cylinder O300 leaks. Or more accurately the cylinders do around the pushrod tubes. I hate looking in my cowling and seeing drips of oil. I've put three of the Real Gasket pushrod cylinder kits on the left side and its dry as a bone over there. I want to put three on the right side. Will be interesting to see where the leaks migrate to then. I'm convinced the O300s were designed to leak!
 
I wish my 85 y/o Waco was easier to land, easier to get in, stalled slower, used less fuel, but overall it's darn near perfect. :yes::yes::yes:

Nothing about it to hate. :nono:

:D
 
Henning said:
Glad you used 'virtually' because the differences while minute often create a big difference in the failure mode. When you design aircraft parts, you can't only think about how they work, you also have to think about how they fail. One of our regulars had an automotive charging system (virtually identical to an aircraft system) burn up his avionics suite when it failed into an over volt condition.
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I was thinking more like paying for a certified prop spinner versus one from Van's.
 
My biggest gripe about my bird (below) is the uneven fuel draw from the tanks while in cruise. Currently averages 4.75 gph from L tank and 7.375 gph from R tank with fuel selector on "both". Probably typical for this type, but annoying none the less when it does this to this degree. Fuel selector needs attention?
 
Uh oh. You called it a bird. Cue unnecessary Captain rant in 3... 2... 1...
 
Fearless Tower said:
Don't feel bad. It just kind of happened in the last week. I don't exactly 'have' it yet....I'm waiting for the weather and schedules to align so that o can bring it here. But once I do get it, I'll take you up. Might even make it up to your neck of the woods when they have the big Waco club gathering.
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I feel much better. Yes you come to Troy. That's only about 30 minutes from me. Lots of Waco people at I73 also.
 
oilburner said:
My biggest gripe about my bird (below) is the uneven fuel draw from the tanks while in cruise. Currently averages 4.75 gph from L tank and 7.375 gph from R tank with fuel selector on "both". Probably typical for this type, but annoying none the less when it does this to this degree. Fuel selector needs attention?
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It's due to the venting system, it's really common in 182s, but I have never run out of fuel on both regardless what the gauge split was.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Don't feel bad. It just kind of happened in the last week. I don't exactly 'have' it yet....I'm waiting for the weather and schedules to align so that o can bring it here. But once I do get it, I'll take you up. Might even make it up to your neck of the woods when they have the big Waco club gathering.
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Wheres it at now, If I may ask? We have quite a few Waco's in this part of the country!
 
The DA20 is as close to perfect as any plane ever made, but for an old fart with bad knees, getting out is painful. :sad:
 
Irish_Armada said:
Lotta talk about what we all really like or even love about our planes on here, but there has to be some stuff we hate. Be candid and specific, so none of this "nothing, it's a perfect plane and also for sale!" or "I hate that it's expensive to maintain." I'll start the negativity off: I hate that our 1968 Piper Cherokee only has one door and practically no leg room for the back seat passengers.
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The amount of time is spends on the ground.
 
I hate the rubber biscuit landing gear, thing rides like a cement truck on the ground.
 
Bill Jennings said:
I hate the rubber biscuit landing gear, thing rides like a cement truck on the ground.
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But when you do a greaser, do you ever feel good about it!
 
N5922S said:
The DA20 is as close to perfect as any plane ever made, but for an old fart with bad knees, getting out is painful. :sad:
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Yea, but those are some sweet aircraft :)
 
That and I worry about the fuel tanks (seals) when I land on grass.

bouceybounceybouncey
 
I hate that I do not have de-ice. This invariably results in a seasonal atrophy of IFR competency, and currency concerns as I find myself having to drive trips that I would otherwise be flying.
 
FORANE said:
I hate that I do not have de-ice. This invariably results in a seasonal atrophy of IFR competency, and currency concerns as I find myself having to drive trips that I would otherwise be flying.
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Is Kelly selling their hot wing pad yet?
 
I dislike seeing the Hoskins on take-off power......40 gal/side:no:
 
Henning said:
Is Kelly selling their hot wing pad yet?
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I have no idea. Even if they did, I do not see it being a feasible solution. I may be off base but I suspect issues with weight, power requirements, cost, lack of prop and hot plate coverage, etc would doom the utility. Further, I really am conservative around ice and would want FIKI if I planned to go there.
 
Here's the panel from my viewpoint. Notice anything important missing...?
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That darn mass on the left side of my yoke blocks the turn coordinator. Not sure why it couldn't be switched with that waste-of-space ADF that we're not even authorized to use...
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HighFlyingA380 said:
No, the electric boost pump assists the main ejector pump to get fuel from the reservoir to the engine driven fuel pump at ~30psi. But from there to the fuel nozzles is done solely by the engine driven at 950psi.
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It's a mechanical pump. There's nothing to break and I've never heard of one breaking. Plus, there's no more room on the accessory box for another FCU or HP fuel pump.

Have you ever lost a PT6? Not saying they've never failed but if one did I'd suspect the mechanic or operator and not the engine...they're just that reliable.
 
Captain said:
It's a mechanical pump. There's nothing to break and I've never heard of one breaking. Plus, there's no more room on the accessory box for another FCU or HP fuel pump.

Have you ever lost a PT6? Not saying they've never failed but if one did I'd suspect the mechanic or operator and not the engine...they're just that reliable.
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Absolutely agree, the PT6 seems to be just about bulletproof, and I can't find any record of the engine driven pump failing. Even so, still just seems odd to me...
 
What do I hate about my plane? Besides the fact that it only trues at 130 kts and more like 120-125 LOP? I guess I would have to say I'd like a GPS with a better user interface than the 480. The 480 beats the 430/530 series hands down with airways plus a very logical flight plan structure, but entering/modifying a flight plan is still a lot of keystrokes, especially modifying. Rubberbanding would be nice. The GTN 750 would be my first choice to replace it when it goes TU, but at its price point, I hope that doesn't happen for a while. (I shouldn't jinx myself by even saying that.)
 
Captain said:
It's a mechanical pump. There's nothing to break and I've never heard of one breaking. Plus, there's no more room on the accessory box for another FCU or HP fuel pump.

Have you ever lost a PT6? Not saying they've never failed but if one did I'd suspect the mechanic or operator and not the engine...they're just that reliable.
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We've lost a couple of them HP pumps in the T-6A. Considering the amount of hours and the mammoth fleet we have, it is an incredibly rare occurrence. We're also running the 1100SHP variant in flight training (which we mitigate by running behind a PMU that governs all parameters and handles even the start sequence), so our use profile is by far above average aggressive. So it speaks positively to the general reliability of the engine and primary fuel components.
 
azure said:
What do I hate about my plane? Besides the fact that it only trues at 130 kts and more like 120-125 LOP?
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Huh?? Did you mean ROP? Otherwise if your plane only goes 130kts at 125 LOP and you wish it were faster, run it at 20 LOP, or 10 LOP. 125 LOP is crazy lean and making very little power. Mine won't even run that lean.

Oh yeah, don't criticize your radio here, otherwise you'll get a load of comments about how wrong you are and what a great fine piece of machinery it is. :rolleyes:
 
Dav8or said:
Sounds about right for 125 deg LOP. That's probably around 55-60% power.
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Hmm. I won't claim any experience flying a 177RG with LOP with GAMIs, but I was getting 140 KTAS from the one I used to fly using the basic lean to rough/enrich until smooth. I know I lose a few kts in the Baron LOP, but 10 KTS seems like a pretty stiff penalty for running LOP.
 
Dav8or said:
Huh?? Did you mean ROP? Otherwise if your plane only goes 130kts at 125 LOP and you wish it were faster, run it at 20 LOP, or 10 LOP. 125 LOP is crazy lean and making very little power. Mine won't even run that lean.
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120-125 kts when run LOP - usually 20-30 LOP, and only above 6000 feet or so since my gph spread is too large to get all cylinders comfortably LOP.

There is no way I could even get my leanest cylinder >100 LOP - by that point I get into secondary peak behavior.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Don't you have a 177RG? 130 KTAS seems awfully slow for a Cardinal Retract.
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Yup. But that's what it does. I flew another C77RG years ago that trued in that same neighborhood. When the engine was brand spanking new I could get 135 kts at about 75% power, but at 500 hrs on the engine, 130 is about what I get.

I should add that both planes have a 3-blade prop.
 
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