The Most Expensive Ironing Boards in the World...

Thanks for the compliment. I haven't measured -- is my story about the
length of time it takes for a "morning constitutional"? (That *is*
the standard story length for Reader's Digest, BTW...)

We have a bookcase in the aforementioned room. I don't have any books
in it. I think it's a guy thing (especially if She is WAITING for the
room)!

That's why we have three full bathroom/tubs/showers in a home occupied
by just four people.

(And each one has a good selection of reading material...)

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:


With a sinking feeling, I hopped off the wing to behold a mess of epic
proportions. Oil was EVERYWHERE on Atlas' right flank, dripping
steadily out the lower cowling. This obviously wasn't anything to be
ignored, so we de-cowled the engine, and stared numbly at the God-awful
mess that was our beautiful, low-time O-540.

Interestingly, we were only 1/2 quart down on the dipstick.

A very little oil sure goes a long way, eh? Amazing, isn't it?

In article .com,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:

[snip]
we
REALLY don't want to think about how much those ironing boards cost us
in real terms

Those ironing boards cost almost nothing. You found and fixed a problem
with your airplane. And what better way to find out about a failed
oil cooler than on a SHORT trip?

btw - instead of launching back to IOW, you could have orbited the field
for 30-45 minutes as an extra test, landed, rechecked everything,
and then RTB.

And, of course, I'm glad Atlas is fixed.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

Jay, just goes to show, ya gotta have friends!

denny

Sounds like Coumbia, MO ranks right up there with Dalhart, TX for service
and accommodating people!

Great story, glad everything worked out well. The last time I was in
Columbia MO, I got spanked for walking across the ramp towards an exit
gate.... which was on the other side of the yellow line that designated the
Air National Guard base.

Does your oil cooler "hang" from one side with the opposite side free to
vibrate and rattle around in the wind? If so, you might want to talk to
your A&P about fashioning a support brace for the unsupported side. Next
time we get together, I'll show you what we have on ours.

Jim

Jay Honeck wrote:
...
As I drove out of the lot, feeling crappy about leaving our plane at a
strange FBO far from home, I thought to call Keith, our A&P and good
friend -- mostly for a shoulder to cry on. (But also to see what he
thought about the local shop's diagnosis.) So I gave him a jingle and
we chatted for a bit, when he dropped the bomb shell: "You know, I
think I may have one of those coolers here in the shop."

Dumbfounded, I couldn't help but ask incredulously, "Why?" Keith runs
a very small, part-time shop, and he rarely keeps parts in stock. He
CERTAINLY doesn't keep major stuff like oil coolers laying around --
especially not ones made specifically for a Lycoming O-540 B4B5 model
engine. Yet, inexplicably, miraculously, he had the perfect match
laying on a shelf? I simply couldn't believe it.
...

That's one heck of a lucky coincidence. By any chance, did your a&p
acquire the part after you visited him about the oil problem or an
annual? (Not that I'm a conspiracist, or anything...) Most people in
aviation are true gems, but one does run into questionable characters
from time to time.

...That's one heck of a lucky coincidence. By any chance, did your a&p
acquire the part after you visited him about the oil problem or an
annual? (Not that I'm a conspiracist, or anything...) Most people in
aviation are true gems, but one does run into questionable characters
from time to time.

I just asked him, and it turned out that it belonged to a customer (who
owned a Skybolt) who had sent his oil cooler out for refurb after he
replaced his. When it came back, he made the deal with my A&P that he
could sell it and make a little profit on it, someday.

"Someday" arrived yesterday!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

The quickest repairs I've EVER had have been on the road. That would
have taken a week back at home base! I considered taking my airplane up
to Casper Wyoming and "breaking down" when I want something fixed
pronto, but never did it.

Did you bring the old one back? If fixable, a spare never hurts...

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

Did you bring the old one back? If fixable, a spare never hurts...

Yep -- but my A&P wants it for the core value. That was part of the
price he charged for the new one.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"