So there I was...

I will second the need to have instrument covers. Post-it
notes will work or you can get the vinyl covers that stick
by static. As a CFI, I carried them in my shirt pocket all
the time, but I used them several times on other flights
when instruments failed.


http://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotStore/sep/1022


"Todd W. Deckard" wrote in message
ink.net...
|
| "mbremer216" wrote in message
| . ..
| Passing through 7500. Southeast bound past the London
VOR. A whiff of
| oil smell in the cockpit that passed as quickly as it
came. Then, the
| suction needle drops from it's usual 5.0 to nothing at
all.
|
| Interesting that you got a sniff of oil to portend the
failure, I'll have to
| file that one away. The pumps are referred to
| as "dry" and "wet" can I ask which one you had? I
imagine the bearings are
| sealed and oiled even in the dry pump?
|
| Our club airplanes have backup electric suction, however
the 172s don't have
| annunciator lights for the vacuum and I am
| self conscious about the practical time to diagnose a
failure before
| adjusting my scan or activating the backup. I would
| second Mr. Macklin's comment about the electric AI. I
believe that would
| be a more important safety net than
| some of the other expensive accoutrements I have invested
in over the years.
| I have heard 400 hrs cited as the MTBF of
| the pumps and we replace them out of superstition on a
regular calendar
| schedule.
|
| The only failure I've ever experienced was on-top and the
layer was thin
| enough that we could see the city lights below so the
descent on turn and
| bank and airspeed was a non-event. I'm not sure I'd do as
well in bumpy IMC
| if
| it wasn't preceeded by an instructor sticking a sink
stopper over the AI.
|
| As a side note, I've experimented with taking a
photorealistic image of the
| AI and cementing it to the temporary instrument
| cover and for me it was quite distracting to have to scan
past even an
| artificial canted horizon.
|
| Good show Mike and thanks for posting.
|
| Todd
|
|
|