Degaussing a Warrior

Denny wrote:

WIth the flux meter and a Color TV degausser coil, you should be able
to cure it... Even a compass will help you pick out the magnetized
areas in the engine compartment for giving the buzz treatment... The
key to using the degausser is to buzz the part and keep the power on
while you withdraw the coil, not put the coil against it and just turn
the power on and off...

How about a tape eraser? Would be easier to get into tight places...

Yes, a bulk tape eraser will work.

"Darrel Toepfer" wrote in message
.. .
Denny wrote:

How about a tape eraser? Would be easier to get into tight places...

I strongly doubt a tape degausser will do you much good.
Likewise a color-TV coil.

You need a lot of field strength to clean [really, re-randomize..]
structual steel. You also need to be able to get that field where
it's needed.

Tapes and TV sets are orders of magnitude more subtle than the
results of a strike.

But feel free to try; just get the compasses well away before you
start.
--
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

DavidM wrote:

We've done the compass walkaround in great detail, and as best we can
tell, the remaining problem is close to the firewall (the engine mount
was already degaussed in Halifax while the engine was being

How about the rudder pedal/bar assemblies?

Also the control yoke shafts and central control column/T-bar/chain
drive assembly?

Aren't those all also made of steel in a PA28?

A proper airplane degausser and flux meter (??) arrived at the shop
from Halifax, and my AME (= IA/A&P) spent the day carefully degaussing
my plane. Everything that could be easily removed, like the steering
rods, was degaussed externally (the mount and main engine had already
been degaussed during overhaul). The main magnetism was on the left
side of the firewall, particularly where there's a steel band for bolts
to attach. Working very carefully (to avoid introducing any new,
opposite magnetism) he worked over it bit by bit, and believes he's got
it all -- at least, a handheld compass in the plane now indicates close
to the correct direction, rather than always north or north-northwest.

Every ferrous part in the plane showed a bit deflection on the meter
before degaussing.


All the best,


David

On 4 Nov 2005 04:48:20 -0800, "DavidM"
wrote:

A proper airplane degausser and flux meter (??) arrived at the shop
from Halifax, and my AME (= IA/A&P) spent the day carefully degaussing
my plane. Everything that could be easily removed, like the steering
rods, was degaussed externally (the mount and main engine had already
been degaussed during overhaul). The main magnetism was on the left
side of the firewall, particularly where there's a steel band for bolts
to attach. Working very carefully (to avoid introducing any new,
opposite magnetism) he worked over it bit by bit, and believes he's got
it all -- at least, a handheld compass in the plane now indicates close
to the correct direction, rather than always north or north-northwest.

Every ferrous part in the plane showed a bit deflection on the meter
before degaussing.


All the best,


David


I wish you well, and hope you got it all. Thanks for sharing your
tribulations with this ordeal.

z

It doesn't matter how intense the strike was. The metal can only hold a
certain magnetic flux. If you exceed the metals maximum flux then the
degausser will work. The TV degausser was designed to degause iron and
steel, and so it can exceed the maximum magnetic flux of steel. It should
work fine. You can also use an AC motor as a degausser, and a small compass
as a field detector.

The Navy still has a number of degaussing stations in operation. If you can
just convince them to let you park your plane on the deck...

"David Lesher" wrote in message
...

I strongly doubt a tape degausser will do you much good.
Likewise a color-TV coil.

You need a lot of field strength to clean [really, re-randomize..]
structual steel. You also need to be able to get that field where
it's needed.

Tapes and TV sets are orders of magnitude more subtle than the
results of a strike.

But feel free to try; just get the compasses well away before you
start.
--
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

Where do you live Dave?

We fly a Warrior (151) out of Fredericton, - was in HFX
last weekend..

Dave


On 4 Nov 2005 04:48:20 -0800, "DavidM"
wrote:

A proper airplane degausser and flux meter (??) arrived at the shop
from Halifax, and my AME (= IA/A&P) spent the day carefully degaussing
my plane. Everything that could be easily removed, like the steering
rods, was degaussed externally (the mount and main engine had already
been degaussed during overhaul). The main magnetism was on the left
side of the firewall, particularly where there's a steel band for bolts
to attach. Working very carefully (to avoid introducing any new,
opposite magnetism) he worked over it bit by bit, and believes he's got
it all -- at least, a handheld compass in the plane now indicates close
to the correct direction, rather than always north or north-northwest.

Every ferrous part in the plane showed a bit deflection on the meter
before degaussing.


All the best,


David

Dave wrote:

We fly a Warrior (151) out of Fredericton, - was in HFX
last weekend..

I'm based at Ottawa (CYOW), but stopped at Moncton, Port Hawkesbury,
Halifax, and Fredericton as part of a family trip to Cape Breton in
summer 2004 -- it's a beautiful area for flying, especially around the
Bay of Fundy and along the Northumberland Strait. I'd strongly
recommend that any U.S. pilots in New England reading this make the
short flight up there.

This summer, because of the lightning strike, we ended up cancelling
our trip to the Gaspe, along with a few other planned trips.

You guys must have had quite a time early in the summer with all the
problems at Halifax airport. Did you see a lot of diversions into
Fredericton?


All the best,


David

Maybe you should just give up and get a vertical card compass with a
remote sensor out in a wing tip.

Both Canadian and American law require a nonstabilized magnetic
direction indicator that isn't dependent on the aircraft's electrical
system. The remote systems don't qualify. I wish they did, as the mag
compass can be a real pain to calibrate in any airplane that has
miscellaneous magnetic fields in it.

Dan