2006 Annual -- My 8th Owner Assisted -- Update

[Jay Honeck]

Things are moving along.

1. My new tail-to-fuselage fairing has arrived, and my A&P has allowed
as how we can use cherry pop rivets (rather than structural), which
will save a bunch of headache. (Although Mary will still have to get
back into the aft fuselage in order to vacuum up the rivets that fell
into the plane when we cut the old ones off...so pictures will be
forthcoming... ;-) Thanks for the suggestion!

2. We're still hunting down the source of a pesky oil leak that has
driven me nuts over the last year. I pulled the prop off yesterday,
under the suspicion that the seal right behind the prop might be the
culprit. It wasn't. It looks like the oil might be coming out where
the case halves come together, right behind that seal -- but it's sure
hard to tell.

So, we're retorqueing all the case through bolts again, and my A&P is
going to apply some sealant (that he uses on the big jets at his "day"
job) to that joint, in hopes of licking this incredibly aggravating
problem. (I want the Japanese to come out with an airplane engine.
I'll bet it wouldn't "mark its territory" like an old Harley, and maybe
the competition would force Lycoming/Continental to figure out a better
way to seal their engines....)

3. As long as the prop is off, I sanded the backside of the prop, and
will be applying a nice, new coat of flat black prop paint to it. It
was pretty badly scoured, and -- with the sun at our back -- was really
getting annoying.

3. The new Ameri-King ELT arrived, which I'm suppose to be installing
right now. Unfortunately, our lead housekeeper called in sick this
morning, so Mary is out cleaning rooms, which means I'm covering the
desk. (I've got other staff on vacation.) So I'm paying my A&P $65/hour
instead of $8/hour for someone to cover the desk. Stupid, stupid,
stupid. :-(

Otherwise, no surprises...yet.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Montblack]

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
> So, we're retorqueing all the case through bolts again, and my A&P is
> going to apply some sealant (that he uses on the big jets at his "day"
> job) to that joint, in hopes of licking this incredibly aggravating
> problem. (I want the Japanese to come out with an airplane engine. I'll
> bet it wouldn't "mark its territory" like an old Harley, and maybe the
> competition would force Lycoming/Continental to figure out a better way to
> seal their engines....)

> 3. The new Ameri-King ELT arrived, which I'm suppose to be installing
> right now. Unfortunately, our lead housekeeper called in sick this
> morning, so Mary is out cleaning rooms, which means I'm covering the desk.
> (I've got other staff on vacation.) So I'm paying my A&P $65/hour instead
> of $8/hour for someone to cover the desk. Stupid, stupid, stupid. :-(


#3. Joe or Becca, how'd you like to make $10 hr while Mom is cleaning rooms
and I'm over at the airport? Call if you need us. Be nice to the guests
......"Do good work." :-)

http://makeashorterlink.com/?A4C763BDC
(Same link as below ...wait for it)

RAH thread about ....thread.
#50 silk thread to be exact. (Japanese silk? <g>)

<http://groups.google.com/group/rec.aviation.homebuilt/browse_thread/thread/009ae0fef5d88232/3a557cffb048493c?hl=en#3a557cffb048493c>


Montblack

[real_name]

In article >,
"Montblack" > wrote:

> #3. Joe or Becca, how'd you like to make $10 hr while Mom is cleaning rooms
> and I'm over at the airport? Call if you need us. Be nice to the guests
> ....."Do good work." :-)

Response: Well, Dad, make it $20/hr. It's still saving you $45/hr.

:-)

[nrp]

Might it be practical to pressurize the crankcase thru the breather
line with a couple of psi of air & then use a soap solution to find the
extent of the leak? You are probably going to have to clean the area
with solvent anyway and then suck your mechanic's magic stuff into the
joint with a vacuum pump.

A silk thread was supposedly used on the initial assembly of the engine
but there is no way you can "slightly" split the case now & get it to
seal again with silk. Simply torqueing it won't work either.

I don't think the Continental and Lycoming seal system is that bad.
I've never had trouble sealing the case halves or the rear cover. It
is important to apply the RTV (or whatever) very thin, but complete to
the ends & with the silk thread.

Good luck!

[Jay Honeck]

> Might it be practical to pressurize the crankcase thru the breather
> line with a couple of psi of air & then use a soap solution to find the
> extent of the leak? You are probably going to have to clean the area
> with solvent anyway and then suck your mechanic's magic stuff into the
> joint with a vacuum pump.

Well, supposedly this magic stuff just needs to be on a clean, dry
surface -- no need for vacuum. I degreased the engine yesterday, let
it dry overnight, and we applied the goop today. We'll see if it does
anything.

> A silk thread was supposedly used on the initial assembly of the engine
> but there is no way you can "slightly" split the case now & get it to
> seal again with silk. Simply torqueing it won't work either.

Yeah, I figured as much. If the goop doesn't work, I'm resigned to
having a messy engine for the next 1100 hours or so... :-(
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Mark Hansen]

On 03/25/06 13:22, real_name wrote:
> In article >,
> "Montblack" > wrote:
>
>> #3. Joe or Becca, how'd you like to make $10 hr while Mom is cleaning rooms
>> and I'm over at the airport? Call if you need us. Be nice to the guests
>> ....."Do good work." :-)
>
> Response: Well, Dad, make it $20/hr. It's still saving you $45/hr.

No, no, no ... you *never* *ever* tell the child how much money they're
saving you...

;-)

--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA

[Kyle Boatright]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>> Might it be practical to pressurize the crankcase thru the breather
>> line with a couple of psi of air & then use a soap solution to find the
>> extent of the leak? You are probably going to have to clean the area
>> with solvent anyway and then suck your mechanic's magic stuff into the
>> joint with a vacuum pump.
>
> Well, supposedly this magic stuff just needs to be on a clean, dry
> surface -- no need for vacuum. I degreased the engine yesterday, let
> it dry overnight, and we applied the goop today. We'll see if it does
> anything.

What make and model of goop is it? My 0-320 has had a case seam leak since
I built the thing, and I'd like to correct it.

KB

>
>> A silk thread was supposedly used on the initial assembly of the engine
>> but there is no way you can "slightly" split the case now & get it to
>> seal again with silk. Simply torqueing it won't work either.
>
> Yeah, I figured as much. If the goop doesn't work, I'm resigned to
> having a messy engine for the next 1100 hours or so... :-(
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[RST Engineering]

Sorry, I don't buy it. No sealant will work without being sucked into the
void. IMHO, you are wasting your time with surface sealant. Talk your mech
into letting you at least put the vacuum on the exhaust pipe and trying to
suck some of the goop into the gap. Let it be "tossing coraiander over your
shoulder to keep the rhinocerosus at bay" if that is what (s)he thinks. It
is YOUR plane and YOU get to say what you think is correct.

Jim


> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>>> Might it be practical to pressurize the crankcase thru the breather
>>> line with a couple of psi of air & then use a soap solution to find the
>>> extent of the leak? You are probably going to have to clean the area
>>> with solvent anyway and then suck your mechanic's magic stuff into the
>>> joint with a vacuum pump.

[Jay Honeck]

> Sorry, I don't buy it. No sealant will work without being sucked into the
> void.

Well, I hear ya -- but every time I've questioned my A&P, I've been
proven wrong. He's been building engines for 40 years, and if he says
it might work, I'm willing to give it a shot. (He has allowed that it
might not.)

They've come a long ways with this kind of sealant stuff. We had a
leak in a high-pressure hot water pipe that would have been a helluva
thing to solder. It would have required ripping the ceiling down,
cutting joists, the whole nine yards. Instead, the plumber put some
kind of goop on the leaky joint that worked. I wouldn't have believed
it if I hadn't seen it -- but it sets up like iron, even on the wet
surface, and is water-tight.

Dunno what this stuff is that my A&P is using, but as I said they use
it on jets for fuel leaks. I'll let you know if it works.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[.Blueskies.]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message oups.com...
>
> Dunno what this stuff is that my A&P is using, but as I said they use
> it on jets for fuel leaks. I'll let you know if it works.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

Sounds like ProSeal in one of it's many flavors....

[Jay Honeck]

> Sounds like ProSeal in one of it's many flavors....

I was gonna ask my A&P the name of that stuff today, but (*gasp!*) he
didn't come in today. Imagine, not working on a Sunday! The gall!
:-)

Luckily, his hangar was wide open (several of us are working on various
projects, and he's very generous with his hangar, tools, etc.), so I
spent the afternoon...

....Running the wiring from the tail up to the panel for the stupid new
ELT annunciator light & switch.

....Replacing a bunch of ugly, rusty, and/or partially stripped screws
from the interior. I also added two, to a side panel that's always
bugged me for being slightly bowed outward.

....Repairing the 4" circular plastic panel that covers my fuel drain
selector, which (on a Pathfinder) is stupidly located on the front of
the back seat floor panel, right at ankle height, facing front. This
is where my kids feet hit, and where people step while getting in and
out of the back seat. This problem is made even worse in winter, when
wearing big boots -- and that panel just takes a beating. It's got a
spring loaded metal door that covers the fuel drain lever, and if it's
partially open when someone gets in -- crack! I've repaired it at
every annual inspection since we got the plane in 2002 -- it's mostly
JB Weld, now. (A new part is stupidly expensive -- like over $100!
-- and it's crappily designed, even at that price.)

Funny thing is, I KNOW that piece was not broken when I brought the
plane in -- cuz I looked at it and smirked to myself "Ha! I don't have
to fix it this year!" So, my A&P must've broken it opening it to test
the drain lever.... :-0

....Replacing ugly, stained fuel tank placards with less-ugly new fuel
tank placards. The newer label makers are terrific for this, BTW.

My 15 year old son spent four hours cleaning a winter's worth of grime
from the underside of the plane. What a mess! He went through four
complete bottles of Lemon Pledge, a bunch of Castrol Super Clean, and
15 cotton diapers. Yech.

Tomorrow, hopefully, we'll finish installing the tail fairings. We
replaced the brake pads on the pilot side yesterday (the copilot's side
was new earlier this year), and THEN I can button everything back up,
just in time to go flying Wednesday -- I hope.

So, we're still on track for a pretty easy inspection. If it weren't
for the danged ELT, we'd have been done by now.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Don Tuite]

On 26 Mar 2006 20:23:26 -0800, "Jay Honeck" >
wrote:

>...Repairing the 4" circular plastic panel that covers my fuel drain
>selector, which (on a Pathfinder) is stupidly located on the front of
>the back seat floor panel, right at ankle height, facing front. This
>is where my kids feet hit, and where people step while getting in and
>out of the back seat. This problem is made even worse in winter, when
>wearing big boots -- and that panel just takes a beating. It's got a
>spring loaded metal door that covers the fuel drain lever, and if it's
>partially open when someone gets in -- crack! I've repaired it at
>every annual inspection since we got the plane in 2002 -- it's mostly
>JB Weld, now. (A new part is stupidly expensive -- like over $100!
>-- and it's crappily designed, even at that price.)

Jay, have you looked at subparagraph (b) in 78-23-01?

link:
http://www8.landings.com/cgi-bin/get_file?pass=12345&ADS/1978/78-23-01.html

Don

[Gig 601XL Builder]

"Mark Hansen" > wrote in message
...
> On 03/25/06 13:22, real_name wrote:
>> In article >,
>> "Montblack" > wrote:
>>
>>> #3. Joe or Becca, how'd you like to make $10 hr while Mom is cleaning
>>> rooms and I'm over at the airport? Call if you need us. Be nice to the
>>> guests ....."Do good work." :-)
>>
>> Response: Well, Dad, make it $20/hr. It's still saving you $45/hr.
>
> No, no, no ... you *never* *ever* tell the child how much money they're
> saving you...
>
> ;-)
>


I can think of no situation in my 14 years of parenthood that the word
"child" and the phrase "Saving me money" have ever been able to be used
together.

[Gig 601XL Builder]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
oups.com...
(Although Mary will still have to get
> back into the aft fuselage in order to vacuum up the rivets that fell
> into the plane when we cut the old ones off...so pictures will be
> forthcoming... ;-) Thanks for the suggestion!
>


No, no... The way you get the old rivets is that after the annual is over
and you are flying again take the aircraft to altitude, roll inverted, and
then dive. They will all mover forward where they will be much easier to get
to.

[Matt Barrow]

"Gig 601XL Builder" <wrDOTgiaconaATcox.net> wrote in message
...
>
> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> (Although Mary will still have to get
>> back into the aft fuselage in order to vacuum up the rivets that fell
>> into the plane when we cut the old ones off...so pictures will be
>> forthcoming... ;-) Thanks for the suggestion!
>>
>
>
> No, no... The way you get the old rivets is that after the annual is over
> and you are flying again take the aircraft to altitude, roll inverted, and
> then dive. They will all mover forward where they will be much easier to
> get to.
Yer a lotta help! :~)