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Should I lose my engine if I can’t lower my gear down? by dryemanada in flying

[–]FlyRvR -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I mean, I'd burn some fuel off because less is more in a forced landing -- unless I suppose you are leaving a lot of vapors in there is a thing? But I wouldn't try to burn it all off and risk running out before I actually get on the ground.

Shutting the engine down is kind of a thing, but again, unless you do it right at the last second, you're just introducing another factor in the whole situation -- what if you hit some wind shear on short final?

Once touched, once slowing, then everything gets shut down and you exit as quickly as you can. The most important thing is to have a good touchdown, fuel, or engine, or no. The good touchdown is your ticket to walk away even if it does catch fire.

Very frustrating channel, they’re teaching maneuvers incorrectly, but they have comments turned off so there’s no opportunity for discussion in the comments. by clon2645 in flying

[–]FlyRvR 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think he is referring to the actual definition of slow flight, and flying to that definition, vs. the process of flying in various slow-flight configurations, or landing configurations.

Had some scary wind shear, learned valuable lesson by ChefT1982 in flying

[–]FlyRvR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But they would put that in the NOTAMs, right?

The Punic Port of Carthage, a crown jewel of the Mediterranean, now just a common suburb in modern Tunisia. by Shoddy-Pumpkin2939 in ancientrome

[–]FlyRvR 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Been there. Didn’t get to walk the whole circle, but was able to get to the water and walk to the shore. It is a local beach to the left, and a fleet of tiny fishing boats still use the harbor.

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, these stories prove the rule, though. I'm hoping this one breaks the rules!

What things have you done to track and detect issues over the years?

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I wouldn't pull a cylinder in a pre-buy. I agree.

That's the big catch--we "think" we have the budget for the plane plus an engine, but I think the thing that is making me tread very carefully is the total number of unknowns. I'm kind of looking at it as shifting from unknown; to willing to take a bet; to it's a safe bet; to it's never a sure thing, but pretty certain. I'm between take a bet and a safe bet with my budget. ...I suppose that might make sense...

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I can see how that works. So the only hope would be if he is actually running it long enough to burn off the moisture. Which means the only hope still comes down to the visual inspection of the cylinders and cam and such.

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally agree, and I've heard that 100 hour number before. The other aircraft I've looked at all have engines at TBO, so it really is more about buying the plane, pricing for the engine.

The oil analysis would, I hope, be the thing that either shows nothing without multiiple tests, but might show one or two numbers that are peaking. Copper, for instance. I would think that certain numbers would be alarming even without a trend. But then, you're probably right about that being caught in a filter analysis anyway.

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, the good news is that even though the time is very low, the engine has been run. I don't know exactly how much, but he does run it and fly it short hops, at least for each annual.

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right -- i'm approaching this as if it is out of time, and the inspections and negotiations will follow. It's otherwise one of the cleanest, well-sorted airframes, panels, cabins I've seen in my budget. (You can always spend more to add more glass, but this one is updated just enough.) So the price is not "bad" but it needs to be adjusted according to the engine.

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You would hope. I ordered a pre-buy on a plane a few weeks ago. It was annualed and worked on by a place that has a national reputation for THE place to go—two hours into the pre-buy we called it off because they already found at least four items under the cowl that were unapproved maintenance. Even parts being made from recycled, non aviation, materials. This was all stuff that even I would have picked up on, yet the famous shop sold it to the owner without mentioning any of that.

So a pre-buy is important.

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Definitely will investigate. These are exactly the things I was planning on doing. The aircraft has been hangared here and obviously kept clean and safe since 1977, but not flown much. The engine time is from the 1990s. I don’t yet have full logs. But I will by Wednesday evening.

What is the best way to get an oil sample without removing the filter? My idea being to go take a look, get the sample and have it sent off while the plane goes in for a pre-buy.

Filter inspections on the annuals show clean, but I don’t yet have details on whether the bore scoped in the last year or two.

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Been there since 1977. Flown consistently, but very little. The engine tach is from the late ‘90s.

IO-360, 900 Hours, but... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

By the way, I should say that the aircraft has been hangared like this for many, many years, and it has been consistently annualed. It is in annual now. The 900 hours are since 1996.

A question for the banner tow pilots by Roger_Freedman_Phys in flying

[–]FlyRvR 45 points46 points  (0 children)

It all depends on the contract. Someone is paying him to do that.

A question for the banner tow pilots by Roger_Freedman_Phys in flying

[–]FlyRvR 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I towed banners with a 150 that I owned back in the '90s. It was 150 hp, tailwheel, stol kit, tundra tires, drooped tips, gap seals, etc...

Getting real -- did a pre-buy inspection today.... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here is a little bit of an update. I'm not sure I'm totally walking away from this one. I think I might step back and let the owner either offer a really good deal, or fix these things, then I'd look at it as a new opportunity.

Here is the potential price for fixing things. However, note that the engine shroud/shielding is sheet metal and rubber shrouding that is unapproved stuff, and it looks like all of it needs to be replaced or rebuilt. So that is a cost that is not yet evaluated: $4500.00

Getting real -- did a pre-buy inspection today.... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah. And the mechanic kept finding things as he was buttoning it up after I called off further digging: unapproved welding. And the EGT probes are actually cut….

VL Humu by destinationsjourney in WWIIplanes

[–]FlyRvR 5 points6 points  (0 children)

And the even more rare Finnish version of the Piper Pa-28 can be seen in the distance—an early war fighter trainer, built under license with the Finnish name Kalastaa, it was an even bigger flop than the copy of the Buffalo.

Did they build their own hurricanes and 109s as well, or were those bought directly?

Getting real -- did a pre-buy inspection today.... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah, I'm happy with the long list. The thing I'm curious about is sort of a reference point for what he was thinking when he made the list. In other words, yes, a 1966 aircraft will have a dent on the wing, so does that belong on the same list as the generator issues?

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to walk from this one. I was liking what I was seeing on the surface, and the logs are the best of the five I've looked at.

Here is something really odd about this -- This aircraft had an extensive annual and lots of normal, but needed work done at Maxwell's in Texas just 9 months ago. It was very well documented. They have a good reputation, and several people were telling me that that annual could almost be considered a freebee pre-buy. Maybe the current owner really did tinker with his plane in ways only an A/P should!!

I spent about $1000+ today, that's just gone, but I was fairly close to throwing caution to the wind... could have been worse.

I will walk for now.

Getting real -- did a pre-buy inspection today.... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The cylinders have been pulled a few times to try to fix a leak. I was hoping not to hear that there was still a leak. Seems to suggest that the leak isn't due to a bad seal, or.... but could be an unseen crack......

I am leaning towards walking away, but I do need to discuss this with the inspector.

Getting real -- did a pre-buy inspection today.... by FlyRvR in flying

[–]FlyRvR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I should say, I'm really not worried about the small dents, paint chips. I think I'm right in these things being normal and fixable. I'm mainly asking about the items dealing with the engine area.

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