ANNUAL, 2005 Redux...

Speaking of being toasty warm, the last trip I made in my Aztec was at the
first
of January at night with the OAT around 20 degs F. The heater was not
working.
After a 6 hour round trip in that, even with heavy clothes, jackets, gloves
and blankets,
we were miserable. It is hard to tune the radios with ski gloves, so my
right hand was in
and out of the glove a lot, and the result was numb fingers.

That finally provided the motivation needed to get the heater working. It
is a Southwind
Model 940DB12, which is rated at 15,500 BTU/hr on low and 27,500 BTU/hr on
high. I used to wonder if it were even capable of keeping the cabin warm,
but after
looking at my old thermo book and doing a little calculation, I determined
that if a heater
that size can't keep the Aztec cabin warm, something is really, bad wrong.

Anyway, after studying the service manual on the heater for a while to
understand how it
was supposed to worked and doing a little trouble shooting, it was revealed
that the heater
overhaul shop had incorrectly wired the heater. I don't know how it ever
passed a burn
test. I'll bet it didn't. It would light from the prime fuel charge, open
both fuel
values, burn very rich and smoke migthly until the high temperature
thermostat opened which
closed both fuel values. Only the high heat fuel value was suppoed to be
controlled
by the thermostat. Controlling both fuel values with the thermostat caused
combustion
to stop once the heater exceeded the 240 deg F outlet temperature. Once the
flame was
out, the heater had to be turned off, allowed to cool, and reprimed before
it would ignite again.

It was supposed to ignite, burn on low, and only open the second fuel value
if the operator
selected high heat. In high heat, the increased fuel flow requires
additional combustion air
for the proper mixture. Proper combustion airflow depends on an increased
pressure head
from the slipstream. The airplane needs to be flying to provide this 1" to
2" of water pressure
head in the intake. There is a very small ram air scoop on the air intake
for this purpose, which
has been "calibrated" with a couple of small holes drilled into the flage,
at least I'm guessing that what
the small holes are for. This is why the airplane's Approved Flight Manual
advices against using
high heat during ground operatiions and cautions that doing so will result
in excessive smoking
from the heater exhaust.

Once it was wired to match the wiring diagram in the service manual, it
works like a champ.
We have heat!!!!!!!

I'm still thankful for you guys educating me about C&D and I will use them
for
parts and/or a rebuilt should the old Southwind hang it up, but for now, it
is going
strong. Now I need to add a CO detector in the cabin to warn is the heat
exchanger
springs a leak.

I also need to get motivated to relace the side windows like. I need Jim
Burns for
my partner :-)

Ronnie


"Denny" wrote in message
oups.com...
That's true Jim... I am toasty warm and heven't even run the heater on
the highest setting yet. Subzero wx is comin so I will have the chance
I'm sure... The carb seems to be running just fine, now that we put
all the parts inside that the designer intended...

denny

We have heat!!!!!!!

Congrats!! Although we have a Janitrol, both heaters are fairly simple,
it just takes some patience to figure out what's going on. Am I remembering
correctly that you are in TX? There's also a well known heater shop in
Dothan AL, http://www.haroldhaskinsinc.com/pages/1/index.htm

I also need to get motivated to relace the side windows like. I need Jim
Burns for
my partner :-)

The side windows are easy and you can trim them to fit with a belt sander.
Just clean everything up real good before installing so you get a good bond
if you use silicone. Clean up the excess while it's wet, you'll never get
it off without damage if you let it dry. You can also use the original black
window seal goo. We bought LP Aero windows, 1/4 which required a 337, or
you can go with 3/16 or 1/8" and thermopanes from Great Lakes without a 337.

Jim

Yes, I'm Austin, TX.

Matter of fact, I didn't want to mention any names, but since you
brought it up, that heater shop in Dothan, AL is the one who's
sticker is on the heater and who's signature is in the log books
as having done the last overhaul. Hopefully their work on testing
the heat exchanger for leaks was better than their work on the wiring.
Maybe the tech who did the wiring was having a bad hair day.
Everybody makes mistakes, but I would have expected those errors
to be caught during the burn and post installation test. But who knows,
maybe the heater left their shop propely wired and adjusted and the
mechanic in the field who reinstalled the heater decided he needed to
move a few wires around to make it work better.

I saved your original post about installing the side windows. I need to
tack that project. One of our windows has a crack in the inside pane.
Maybe when the weather gets too bad to fly here in Texas, I'll tackle that
project :-)

Ronnie

"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
We have heat!!!!!!!

Congrats!! Although we have a Janitrol, both heaters are fairly
simple,
it just takes some patience to figure out what's going on. Am I
remembering
correctly that you are in TX? There's also a well known heater shop in
Dothan AL, http://www.haroldhaskinsinc.com/pages/1/index.htm

I also need to get motivated to relace the side windows like. I need Jim
Burns for
my partner :-)

The side windows are easy and you can trim them to fit with a belt sander.
Just clean everything up real good before installing so you get a good
bond
if you use silicone. Clean up the excess while it's wet, you'll never get
it off without damage if you let it dry. You can also use the original
black
window seal goo. We bought LP Aero windows, 1/4 which required a 337, or
you can go with 3/16 or 1/8" and thermopanes from Great Lakes without a
337.

Jim

The thing that annoys me about all this, $2,000 later, is that the
clapped out mags have been starting immediately and running like gang
busters... I can hardly wait to see how the new mags run...

denny

That was a good write up, Denny. My problem with AS is that they don't list shipping charges or calculate them for
you on their website. I ordered a wingtip light bulb for the Cherokee a few days before Christmas. It cost around
$14.00. I knew shipping UPS or FEDEX would be very expensive so I chose USPS knowing that the Holidays would slow
down delivery. It arrived yesterday, so it took nearly two weeks. The shipping charge for the $14 light bulb was
$8.80. Their website offers a free catalog with free shipping and I ordered that as well. I wonder if they didn't
charge me shipping on both items?

Joe Schneider
8437R



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ALL shipping has become expensive... I try to batch my orders so I hit
their minimum dollar amount for "free" shipping without going over the
weight limit... Not possible with the mags, so I got hit with the
freight charges for the weight... That's life I guess...

denny

Denny, looks like you and I has similar annuals! This year both my mags
where replaced with new from aircraft spruce I went with slick conversion
kit after all core credits & rebates my total cost for Plugs, Mags & Harness
was about $1,025 + Labor


"Denny" wrote in message
oups.com...
The dreaded annual condition inspection time has arrived... Fat
Albert is currently perched upon the wing jacks pending gear swing
testing...
I have put 500 hours on the fat boy over the past three years and one
of the topics this year was the mags.... I had gone to the yellow
newspaper and priced the various Bendix magneto parts... Steve, the
mechanic, had the mags on the bench when I arrived... After looking at
the disassembled parts I got that familiar (to airplane owners) sinking
sensation (much like a big down draft on short final)... It was clearly
visible that the mags were in need of significantly more than points
and condensor... Bearing balls were significantly out of round, the
distributors were burned and pitted, one rotor had been rubbing on the
stator and was scarred, one coil had been arcing, etc...After spending
an hour (another $55 in labor) jawing about the mags, looking in
Steve's parts catalogs (going back to the Wright Bros.), and making
phone calls we came to several conclusions...
First, is that the mags needed total overhauls - actually more like a
sledgehammer massage...
Second, that two of the mags were a collection of random parts from
various fly-market magnetos, not all of which parts were from dash
numbers called for by Lycoming... One case was -30, one was missing
the tag, one was a -29, and one was a -11...
The plug wires are 4 years old and in fine shape... The cost of
Steve's time and parts to rebuild these mags was not economical... We
tossed around the idea of going to Slicks, but
that mean't buying new wires, which were not needed... In the end we
opted for a set of rebuilt mags from AVIAL by way of Aircraft Spruce...


First phone call to AS: I got a young male voice... Told him what I
needed, rattling off the 10 number... Got a long silence in return
followed by a plaintive request , 'did I know what page number in the
catalog that was on'... I advised him I wasn't looking at a catalog
and I suggested that he type 'magneto' into his computer screen
followed by the 10 number I gave him and see what turned up... Long
story short, after 5 agonizing minutes he finally located the magnetos
and announced that the -30 mags were special order only... At this
point it was clear he was in over his head and I did not believe
anything he said, told him I would think about it and hung up...

Second phone call: I counted to 20, slowly to allow Forrest Gump there
to be on the phone with someone else, and redialed AS... The bubbly,
blond, southern bimbo answers... I can smell the fresh nail polish
clear through the phone, as she is waving her hands to dry the gleaming
red lacquer.. The smooth southern drawl would make Dolly Parton
jealous..
I need some magnetos, I announce, with dread in my heart...
Bendix or Slick, y'all, she fires back...
This catches me off guard for a second... Bendix, I admit, stumbling
over my tongue..
Do you have the 10 number she asks... I rattle off the -29 one...
How many, she asks... Two, I admit...
Very good sir, those are the non impulse mags, they are in stock and we
can ship this afternoon... Do you need any impulse mags...
Jeez, this girl is giving me whiplash she's so quick... I rattle off
the -30 number and ask for two - holding my breath about the special
order schmozzle...
They are in stock and we can ship this afternoon... What else kin I hep
you with, sir...

At this point we had been engaged for roughly 90 seconds and I was
already thinking of asking her to marry me, but I suspected that my
wife would object... Instead we settled for my credit card number and
a promise that they would ship with the 6 o'clock untied parcel that
very day...
"Byeee, y'all have a good un.", she chirps and is gone...

The thing that annoys me about all this, $2,000 later, is that the
clapped out mags have been starting immediately and running like gang
busters... I can hardly wait to see how the new mags run...

denny

Uhh, seems like the number she quoted to me, was roughly $355 per mag
and $200 core deposit... I assume my cores will be accepted as they
were running on an engine when removed but you know what 'assume' can
do Even with the $800 back from cores, it's going to be $1600 or so
in the end with labor and shipping... Still, that's a 1200-1400 savings
over all new... Actually, I like Bendix mags.. Parts can be had
everywhere... And, I've been flying behind them for 60+ years...

Looks like there will be a delay in getting the ship back... I ordered
the mags at 4PM on Wednesday and they were in my hands at noon on
Friday... Not bad for UPS Brown from Ga to Mi...So, late Friday
afternoon I delivered them to Steve... While there Steve and I swung
the gear, and then I sat around and watched while he greased the wheel
bearings, reassembled the wheels and brakes, etc... Actually, he
dropped several hints that I could help if I wanted... Sittng there in
a white shirt and tie, I simply grinned and watched while he rolled his
260 pounds around on the floor like a beached whale... I did help get
it off the jacks...

Then he dropped the bomb... The FAA is going to be in the shop on
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for his new Part 135 certification of
the books, the shop, the Chief pilot, and the Aztec... I informed
Steve that my airplane was NOT going to be in the shop for three days,
with the logs laying on the wing, while the FAA was prowling around
desperately looking for someone or something to violate... So, he WOULD
work Saturday and Sunday installing the mags, buttoning up the
inspection plates, dye checking the rudder hinges, test run, etc.,
etc., etc. and give my plane back to me so I could get it locked away
in a private hangar...

He about cried... Said it was going to take him all weekend to finish
all the squawks on the Aztec that miraculously showed up on the final
test flight by his Chief Pilot... After a bit of shouting and swearing,
he allowed that he could get Fat Albert out of the shop and into the
box hangar next door, which is not subject to the 135 inspection... I
was still growling like a Grizzly with a bad tooth, but it is the best
I can negotiate...

denny and Fat Albert

"Denny" writes:

The plug wires are 4 years old and in fine shape... The cost of
Steve's time and parts to rebuild these mags was not economical... We
tossed around the idea of going to Slicks, but
that mean't buying new wires, which were not needed... In the end we
opted for a set of rebuilt mags from AVIAL by way of Aircraft Spruce...


These are the kind of GA stories that make me cry. Thirty five years
ago, I remember changing the points and rotor in a Beetle. That was
the last mechanical ignition I've seen.

I junked my 2nd Datsun 210 this year. From 1979 on, those two were
all I'd driven. And while I'd acquired and kept a spare ignition
module; I'd never used one. (Nor the spare starter....)

And while the Beetle was a PITA to start in cold damp weather with
a weak battery... my neighbor just donated away his +10yo Caddy
Coupe de Bismarck. After spending ~$10K on an engine rebuild a few
years ago {gag!} he finally gave up after the ?air? boost part of
the suspension failed & the dealer wanted $3K more to fix it. It
sat there for 2+ years because he really didn't want to let it go;
all the new ones (inc. his) were smaller and he kept hoping it could
be fixed...

Finally his spouse ordered it gone. The flatbed from the 501c3
couldn't hook it at the angle it was parked, so he and I used my
"battery boiler" charger and my welding cable jumpers. It fired up
on a squirt of ether; and as soon as the gas made it up front, kept
going. We managed to back it into the alley despite the fact he'd
left the parking brake on and the rear wheels were seized. (A little
dish soap & H2O helped...)

I keep hoping that someone somehow will figure out a way to move
some of the massive tecnology improvements we use (and ignore) daily
in our cars into the fleet; but I sure don't know what that route
is...


--
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

David Lesher wrote:

I keep hoping that someone somehow will figure out a way to move
some of the massive tecnology improvements we use (and ignore) daily
in our cars into the fleet; but I sure don't know what that route
is...

Yeah. I heard an ad on the radio about a shop that had the gear to read the
computer chips for diagnosis in cars. That set me thinking about the diagnosis
technique frequently used with aircraft; replace parts until something works. It
seems to me that it wouldn't be hard to get the FAA to sign off on at least a
diagnostic chip.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.

George Patterson" wrote in message
news:ZK0wf.23428$uy3.5082@trnddc08...
David Lesher wrote:

I keep hoping that someone somehow will figure out a way to move
some of the massive tecnology improvements we use (and ignore) daily
in our cars into the fleet; but I sure don't know what that route
is...

The technology got into cars because the government mandated fuel economy
and emission improvements. It shouldn't be hard to figure out what it will
take to get it into aircraft.
In any case, there are exactly two things "wrong" with aircraft engines. The
spark timing is fixed and the mixture control is in the hands of the pilot.
And you can't do anything about the first problem until you fix the second.


Yeah. I heard an ad on the radio about a shop that had the gear to read
the computer chips for diagnosis in cars. That set me thinking about the
diagnosis technique frequently used with aircraft; replace parts until
something works. It seems to me that it wouldn't be hard to get the FAA to
sign off on at least a diagnostic chip.

Right. Now a mechanic just replaces parts until the fault codes go away...

It's nearly impossible to narrow things down to just one part, so even with
diagnostic codes to point the way, mechanics still tend to replace the easy
stuff first.
For example if you get a "oxygen sensor not switching" code, 9 times out of
10, the mechanic will replace the sensor. Then, only when that doesn't solve
the problem, will they will actually start to look for the cause of the
mixture problem (vacuum leak, etc.). Of course, there are those who will
just replace the sensor again. And again. And again... After a few tries,
they then complain that there is something wrong with the diagnostic
software.

FWIW, I write algorithms that do air fuel control and diagnostics at one of
the larger automobile manufacturers.

--
Geoff
the sea hawk at wow way d0t com
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