The other day I returned from a week-long trip to Arizona to visit my father for his 90th birthday. This is why I hadn't flown my plane since its first post-overhaul flight that lasted only half an hour. Before I came home, I called up the shop and was told that they had indeed taken the plane in and checked it out, and that it was good to go for the full break-in process.
Yesterday the weather was quite nice. It was cold, but still above freezing. So I took the afternoon and went flying for a couple of hours. Since I'm still at the beginning of the break-in period, I flew it at 75% power for an hour, then varied the power between 65% and 75% for another hour. Once I was done I landed and put it away.
When I was pushing the plane back into the hangar, I noticed that one of the screws holding the spinner on had worked itself about half way out. I tightened it up as best I could with the little multi-tool I carry around, and planned to tighten it fully the next time I was out there. I also decided to wait to check the oil level until later so it had time to cool and flow down into the sump and provide an accurate reading.
At this point, I'm not exactly sure what I should do. I need to look it up again, and also chat with Preston to get his advice. What I did yesterday was basically what the Lycoming service bulletin regarding engine break-in says to do for the first test flight. However, the first test flight was, as Preston instructed, only half an hour. So I'm not sure if I should continue to fly it in the same manner as I did yesterday, or if I should now be able to fly it however I want while continuing to monitor oil usage. I do know that, in general, I should continue to use mineral oil for 20 hours or so, or until oil usage stabilizes. There's documentation I've seen before, I just need to look it up again.
So today I went out to the airport to check the oil level and tighten that screw properly. I took a small screwdriver kit out and used it to tighten the screw that had been loose, then I made sure all of the rest of them were tight as well. Then I checked the oil level, which read 6.5 quarts. It was about what I expected.
Back when I was first going to fly it, but then decided not to because I was just too tired, the oil level read about 6 quarts when I checked it. When I told Preston I wasn't going to fly that day, I also told him the oil reading. He had one of his line personnel put some oil in it so it was ready to go the next day when I did fly it. Before that flight, it was almost at 8 quarts.
Before the flight yesterday, it was at 7 quarts, so a full quart was consumed during that first short flight. It's not surprising, actually. It's also possible that some was blown out. The current wisdom on the Beech Aero Club is that this will happen if you fill it to 8 quarts. Yesterday's flight appeared to consume only half a quart, and that for a flight four times as long. I expect that part of that dramatic reduction in oil consumption rate is due to the rings becoming properly seated, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the oil consumed during the first flight came out elsewhere as folks on the BAC forum say it will. Regardless, it seems to me that only half a quart during a two hour flight when the engine is still this fresh is not bad at all.
The weather is now crappy, and the forecast for the next week or so is not promising. It's possible that it will be nice enough to go flying again before the end of the year, but I'm not expecting it to be. So I'm really glad I was able to take it up yesterday.
There is one thing I want them to check the next time it's in the shop. My plane has always pulled to the left a bit while flying at cruise. How much depends on the power setting. If I'm running at about 2450 rpm or so, it's not bad, and the ball is almost centered. However, during these last two flights, it's been worse. I don't know if the rigging of the rudder was altered at all during this process. I doubt it, since it shouldn't have been affected by any engine work, and it's unlikely it was touched during the annual inspection. However, it's possible that the nosewheel centering spring and cable isn't quite centered. That was all disassembled in order to pull the engine mount off for refurbishment, so it could be that it needs adjustment. Because the nosewheel is connected to the rudder pedals for steering, if it's not properly centered it could definitely be pulling the rudder to the left a bit. It's not bad enough to keep me from flying, it's just something I have to be aware of.
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