A Man and His Airplane

Yesterday, I spoke with the shop manager. The annual was finished and he'd signed off on it. There is a part they're waiting on, but it's not required and the plane is good to fly. He also wants me to fly it for at least five hours instead of two, after which they'll check the oil and filter again for metal. They will also send a sample out for oil analysis. I've never had an analysis done, but I've heard enough about what can be learned from one, especially when it comes to aircraft engines like mine, that I'm glad to have it done. So today I took it up for over 2.5 hours. My goal is to put the 5+ hours or so on it this weekend, so they can take it right back into the shop to check the oil and collect the sample for analysis. Hopefully it will be clear of visible metal. If so, I'm assuming I'll keep flying it and wait for the analysis results. If not, then I'll see what the recommendation is and follow it. As for today's flight, it ran great...

I went out the shop today and spent about half an hour or so talking with the shop manager about my plane. Much of the work is done, but some remains. The trim tab has been installed, but apparently the rivets are not ones they normally have a large supply of, as they're waiting for one more before they can finish the installation and paint it. Currently that rivet hole is occupied by a cleco . Some things still to be done are fixing the wing root seal, replacing the landing light bulb, and fixing the red interior light. He thinks it's not the bulb, so fixing it will be a bit more involved, but hopefully not too hard. Regarding the metal in the oil, he said it appears to be steel, so he doesn't think it's from the bearings. Rather, it could be from a gear, or possibly the cylinders. Either way, it's not like it's going to blow up or anything. The original plan was to run it for a time on the ground, then check it again. However, he is now recommending that I fly...

Nobody buys an airplane like mine because it makes financial sense. Airplanes are not investments. They will cost money, and you need to determine whether or not the experiences your plane will enable are worth the cost. I expect that, for many owners, there comes a time when they have to decide whether the ongoing and projected costs associated with their airplanes are worth it, or if they should sell them for what they can get. I've been thinking about the report from the shop at Harvey that metal was found in my plane's engine oil filter. It is still in the shop, so I don't yet know the full results of any investigation, but I have to face the very real possibility that my engine will require major repair, major overhaul, or even replacement. And even if it's good to go for now, it still might require one of these quite a bit sooner than I expected. In general, an engine like mine has a time-before-overhaul (TBOH) of 2000 hours. However, there are many factors which ...

This past Friday afternoon I went out to the shop where my plane is currently undergoing its annual inspection. I needed to take the logbooks out there, and I also wanted to take a look at the plane while the cowling was off. While I was there, I spoke with one of the mechanics who was working on a 150 or 152 (I can't remember which) that needed a replacement cylinder. That plane was sitting nose-to-nose with mine, so we also spoke about my plane for a while. He pointed out something that I'm going to have taken care of. A couple of the fuel hoses do not have that orange fire-retardant sleeve on them that it's a good idea to have. It's not something that will ground the plane, as it was certainly like that at the last annual. It is, however, more than a nice-to-have thing. Fortunately, installation of sleeves on those lines will be relatively easy and inexpensive and I plan to have them do it. The mechanic also noted that he has considerable time in Musketeers and admir...

My plane is in for its annual inspection and I just got off the phone with the shop manager. The good news is that they're making good progress on the plane, and both the landing light and trim tab piece arrived in time. I do need to take the books out to the shop, which I will do tomorrow afternoon. The not so good news is that they found some metal in the oil. When I had the pre-buy inspection performed back in January, I had them change the oil as well. The note in the engine log book states that no metal was found in the filter. If metal is in the filter now, that indicates that some unexpected wear has occurred. As far as I know, the engine has been running fine. So I have no real idea what might be causing this. Thinking about it, though, there is one potential cause, though it seems strange to me that it might be related. Several flights ago, when I was performing the magneto check during the run-up, I accidentally turned the ignition switch one step too far and turned it co...