Back in the air... After almost 2 months, with repairs, upgrades and fire suppression

[barnstorm2]

About Mid-April I was flying the pattern in my gyro when I noticed my engine did not sound and feel quite the way it should. I had plenty of power and it did not seem like it was missing on any cylinders.

I made it my last round in the pattern and taxied back to the hangar to check it out.

She idled fine but when I held the brakes full on and ran the RPM up to about 1700 I could detect an odd vibration. Something was off.

Thinking I had fouled a plug I proceeded to do a mag check but everything was the same on either mag.

I pulled her into the hangar and started to do some basic diagnostics...

Gas.. no water, clean, filter fine.
Carb, cables, airfilter, carb heat all fine.
No leaks or marks.
Oil fine.

I took an oil sample while the engine was still warm and sent it off.

A few days later the oil sample came back. Aluminum and Copper levels were elevated and higher then any of my previous samples in the past 2 years. However, they were not critical levels.

My next free day I went to the hangar removed the engine cooling cowling and got to work.

I removed the plugs. No lead deposits, several looked on the lean side.

I did a leak-down compression test and ... ah ha.

2 cylinders were low. One dramatically so. down 15 psi since last years' annual.

They read 79/80 77/80 61/80 72/80

The FAA minimum is 60/80

The escaping pressurized air was leaking out of my exhaust port on cylinder 4 (61/80) and out the rings and exhaust port on cylinder 3 (72/80).

I ordered two new Lycoming Nickel cylinder kits from AERO along with piston pins and mineral oil.

Technically, I only needed to replace one cylinder but I did not want to have to go though this again next year so I decided to replace both.

I called my friend Rick who is an AI / A&P and he told me he could come up memorial day weekend to put on the cylinders for me when he did my 08 Annual.

While waiting for this weekend to come around I also installed my new (new to me I bought it used) Garmin GPS 396 with WX weather and 2 fire extinguishers.

Because there where several gyro and light sport aircraft deaths in the last 12 months from fire rather then impact injuries I had decided to get some fire extinguishers for the gyro (see other threads for discussion).

From Aircraft Spruce I got a small Halon model and from Go-To-Marine I purchased a Halon-equivalent automatic extinguisher.

I mounted the halon on the tower next to the front seat (accessible, hopefully, from both seats) and I mounted the automatic extinguisher between the rear seat and the engine just a few inches from the fuel pumps (under the rear seat is the gas tank). I mounted the nozzle on the side of the gas cap and to the side of the seat so some foam will spray into the rear compartment along the side of the gas tank.

I added a zip-tie to each extinguisher mount to act as a backup in-case the mount opened or failed in flight.

I had been wanting a Garmin 396/496 for some time. These models have two key features I wanted very badly: Terrain Avoidance Warnings and Live Warnings.

An added bonus was such things as on -screen TFRs, airspace warnings, VSI, fuel timer and weight and balance tools.

Last year I got caught in a fast-forming weather cell (quite a wake-up call) and also had a hillside antenna surprise me (I swear it was hiding :suspicious: )

My previous gyro had a nice VSI and I really missed that functionality.

Well, memorial day weekend finally came around and Rick spent 3 days with me replacing 2 cylinders, replacing a leaky crank seal and doing a detailed annual inspection.

It was during he removal of the cylinders that we found the cause of the exhaust valve issues.

The intake manifolds for the two deteriating cylinders were loose and allowing air to leak in, leaning the mixture.

I really respect the resiliency of the Lycoming engines to take such abuse and keep running and producing good power.

After the work was done I took a short 30 min. test flight and everything seemed great.

Today, I spent an hour flying close to the airport to break in the new cylinders and learn to use the new GPS.

It felt a little odd to be rusty and test flying my gyro but things quickly came back and I feel much better to be flying again!!!


Here are the photos....

[barnstorm2]

Cylinders off of engine

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2060/2526099122_37bde49577_b.jpg

Loose Intake Manifold coming out of oil sump.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2133/2526098754_fbf23e8d16_b.jpg

New cylinder being installed

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/2526099778_55ef3a6b3b_b.jpg

Prop off for crank seal replacement

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2378/2526100008_2f9377733d_b.jpg

Engine back together and ready for test start...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2319/2526100370_13b2fc53dd_b.jpg

[barnstorm2]

Frank Black machined an improved rudder bearing for me

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/2525278997_cd89d0cdc1_b.jpg

Here are the fire extinguishers just out of the box.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2261/2526098582_5d7056aa2e_b.jpg

Automatic-Extinguisher mounting

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2194/2526099462_8fdde06c6d_b.jpg

View with rear seat in place.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2170/2525279811_a024c17e9e_b.jpg

Halon extinguisher mounted

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2407/2525280459_19317b513c_b.jpg

[barnstorm2]

Twinstarr ready for pre-flight

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/2525280207_2316363845_b.jpg

New GPS installed:

WX live weather radar:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2218/2526101040_9548d39e0d_b.jpg

Data fields

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2202/2526101340_3b7415f058_b.jpg

Vertical Speed Indicator

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2327/2526101148_30962c1530_b.jpg

Terrain Warning system. Note the yellow antenna/obstruction icon. If you are at the same altitude it turns red and if you get close a warning pops up on the screen.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2408/2526101718_50ef09d027_b.jpg

Here is the out-of-the-gyro view of the antenna(s). I found that a number of cell towers are not yet in the database.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2267/2526102036_ce4606a921_b.jpg

[gyroplanes]

Tim, Stupid GPS thinks you are an airplane!
Tower pix don't show up, only the red X box

I had an ATC instructor in OKC tell me he woke up cold one morning. He opened his attaic hatch to check the furnace and found considerable fire damage in and around the furnace. He had installed an automatic Halon (that looked like yours) when the fire got hot enough it activated the extinguisher, put out the fire, and never woke him up.

I had a Halon demo, at my service station ,that I couldn't believe. They lit a fire on a table. The guy stood 8-10 feet away and shot the Halon in the opposite direction. It appears that a fire sets up an inflow that draws the Halon to the flame. I went out dramatically. I wish you the same good service, should you ever need it.

[barnstorm2]

Wheel on final. This road runs just before the runway.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2526105412_2168a6bd81_b.jpg

This car must have just come from a parade

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3138/2526104958_5e15504a51_b.jpg

I was amazed to find R/C flyers out on such a gusty day!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/2525284259_786ea7c3e1_b.jpg

I think these docks are used by rowing teams..

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2526104238_d20b075b38_b.jpg

Pump Station

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2202/2525283543_9c8c2a1487_b.jpg

Speed Boat

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2244/2525283247_343ac20933_b.jpg

Skier

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2144/2525283141_694c5bc55b_b.jpg

Little Miami River

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/2526103150_aeca0dfcf5_b.jpg

East Fork (Hershel) Lake

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2410/2526103410_cb4fa4d437_b.jpg

Another shot of the Little Miami River

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2183/2526102780_87b1924350_b.jpg

[barnstorm2]

Big house..

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/2525281939_18ac67df17_b.jpg

In the pattern with a motor-glider..

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2237/2525282463_8e8f8e7236_o.jpg

[barnstorm2]

That is the last of the flying photos and service photos.

However, I have one more photo to post....

When I was a wee tot I had an ant farm... I loved it.

Now it would seem I have another!

Some ants have taken up residence in my battery charger with their nursery in the meter window!

I have used the charger several times now but still they have not moved out.

Thanks for viewing my photos!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2126/2525285445_d50a6ff810_b.jpg

[barnstorm2]

Tim, Stupid GPS thinks you are an airplane!
Tower pix don't show up, only the red X box

I had an ATC instructor in OKC tell me he woke up cold one morning. He opened his attaic hatch to check the furnace and found considerable fire damage in and around the furnace. He had installed an automatic Halon (that looked like yours) when the fire got hot enough it activated the extinguisher, put out the fire, and never woke him up.

I had a Halon demo, at my service station ,that I couldn't believe. They lit a fire on a table. The guy stood 8-10 feet away and shot the Halon in the opposite direction. It appears that a fire sets up an inflow that draws the Halon to the flame. I went out dramatically. I wish you the same good service, should you ever need it.


Thanks Tom! I think I have the links repaired now. You might have to refresh your browser.

That is great news to hear about the extinguisher!

I fretted for sometime over the placement.

If something goes wrong with it and it fires I guess I will just claim I have a smoke kit! ;)

.

.

[barnstorm2]

Tim, Stupid GPS thinks you are an airplane!
.

oh, it does have a heli icon but it looks daffy.

.

[GyroRon]

sounds like you just dropped about 5-6 grand into the gyro!

I just gotta ask, did you repaint the dipstick somewhere during that annual? ;)

[Timchick]

TimO, Great photos. FYI, Ants and electrical equipment don't mix. They conduct electricity and they'll short it out. Get them out of there.

[barnstorm2]

sounds like you just dropped about 5-6 grand into the gyro! ;)

Crap, I don't want to add it all up..

Cylinders 1k each.

GPS 1k (used)

Fire Extinguishers $240

However, what is really great is that my labor cost was almost zero.

My good friend Rick spent 2 and a half days of this holiday weekend installing the cylinders, doing a super-thorough annual and replacing the seal and would not even let me compensate him for gas money*.

I am greatly in his debt, for if I had to pay an hourly A&P's labor cost I would be out a few extra grand and either still saving for it or in debt to a credit card.

I did my best as an assistant and tried to keep him well fed. I am very much in his debt.

He will soon be selling plans for one of his recent projects, a solar pool heating system that actually works and works well. He is one of the most intelligent, unique and motivated people I have ever met. He used to own his own FBO in Texas but gave it up for his own private farm, land and airport in southern Kentucky.

*( actually, that would be vegetable oil, his 2008 Suburban runs on veggie oil that he gets used from restaurants which he processes himself using equipment of his own design..)



I just gotta ask, did you repaint the dipstick somewhere during that annual? ;)

Ha! It sure needs it yes?!

Fortunately, the engine cowling hides it from view pretty well.

[barnstorm2]

TimO, Great photos. FYI, Ants and electrical equipment don't mix. They conduct electricity and they'll short it out. Get them out of there.

Thanks Tim!

Yes, you are very right!

I only use the charger on my old lawn tractor and I monitor it with caution. I have shaken it and set it out in the yard but they just won't leave it.

I have other chargers I can use if I need to leave a charger unattended.

When they move I hope they stay near the workshop. Little black ants are mortal enemies of carpenter ants and termites.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend!!

.

[All_In]

Really enjoyed the show! Felt like I got to go along with you.

Good idea about the about the automatic fire extinguisher, Thanks!

[automan1223]

Tim,

I know you have this big attraction to "aircraft" engines. I have lost count about how many times I have heard about a "good" engine dropping a valve or losing a cylinder. Even with Low Lead and 100 octane fuel I do not understand why these powerplants have such a hard time turning a prop with such low compression. I know you are afraid of auto engine conversions but I am curious how much this R $ R cost you. Subaru engines run 165 to 190 compression and never miss a beat mechanically speaking.

Will you have a warm fuzzy knowing that there are 2 other cylinders with time on them ?

Jonathan

[Gyro_Kai]

Hi Tim,

that was quite an effort, but really worthwhile. I particularly liked the fire-extinguisher part, that really should be made compulsory. The photos are excellent as always.

Kai.

[fiveboy]

GREAT pix and narrative journey. Concise and instructive.

Thanks

Fiveboy

PS The shot of the ant eggs is beyond weird.

[barnstorm2]

Thank you Kai and Fiveboy!

Tim,

I know you have this big attraction to "aircraft" engines. I have lost count about how many times I have heard about a "good" engine dropping a valve or losing a cylinder. Even with Low Lead and 100 octane fuel I do not understand why these powerplants have such a hard time turning a prop with such low compression. I know you are afraid of auto engine conversions but I am curious how much this R $ R cost you. Subaru engines run 165 to 190 compression and never miss a beat mechanically speaking.

Will you have a warm fuzzy knowing that there are 2 other cylinders with time on them ?

Jonathan


Jonathan,

I don't know if you remember or not but when I was flying an EJ-22 I had a similar problem, the engine was running lean and an exhaust valve started warping. The difference is the problem on the EJ-22 took me out of the air and I had to make an emergency landing. With the Lycoming I could not even notice a power loss, just an odd sound and feel.

I would like to have EGT sensors on my Lycoming but I don't feel they are necessary. I would never again run a EJ-22 without an EGT. It is my opinion that Lycomings can suffer problems and get you back to the airport but the high-compression, high RPM, auto-conversions will pull you out of the air quickly.

Last year my non-aircraft generator/alternator went out on a cross country trip. That was no big deal with my Lycoming as the worst thing that could happen would be a loss of my ability to use my radio. The lycoming duel mags keep spark going with no requirement for a battery, or alternator. In addition to that since there are 2 mags and plug sets I can suffer a loss of a battery, generator AND a mag and still stay in the air. Had I been flying an auto-engine I would have been in danger of loosing spark when the battery became weak and would have been forced to land and not complete my trip.

I do have a warm fuzzy feeling because of the 2 other cylinders 1 of them only has about 100 hours on it. In fact I ran it with low compression (in the 60's) for a whole flying season with out any problems or a significant loss of power before I replaced it. Only one cylinder on the engine currently has high time.

Keeping in mind that I don't have a super warm fuzzy feeling about ANY engine. All engines can fail. NO ENGINE DESERVES UNCONDITIONAL TRUST even turbines!

As far as being 'afraid' of auto conversions, I fly in them all the time. I have a fuel-injected, parnam-wired EJ-22 in my workshop right now destined to be the engine on the 2-place Air Command I am building.

Auto conversions (at least the soob ones) save you alot of money and once you get one properly converted and running good for 40 hours or so you can consider it highly dependable and nearly bullet proof. However, it is still not a purpose-built aircraft engine. It is a auto engine converted for aircraft use and while highly reliable is not as resilient and FAULT-TOLERANT as an aircraft engine by a long shot.

Auto conversions also typically require a reduction drive of some sort which adds an additional point of failure.

A bic lighter and a zippo are not the same thing even though they fulfil the same purpose. I could not have afforded a lycoming when I got my first 2-place. I was also very happy with my EJ-22's performance, smart design and ease of maintenance. However, once I was able to buy an aircraft engine I do feel much better about it's fault-tolerance.

For me the critical feature you get in an aircraft engine is the fault-tolerance. Many people don't realize the difference between reliability and fault-tolerance. Reliability is the chance of a component failure, fault-tolerance is the ability to suffer a failure and keep functioning.

Johnathan, you are a master mechanic and own your own shop and have thousands of hours of experience troubleshooting, repairing and rebuilding these engines and engine very similar. Your gyro engine is a master work. I would gamble your engine in most ways is more reliable then the average aircraft engine.

Many auto-conversions are un-rebuilt junkyard engines that have not been rebuilt and have not had oil samples analyzed for internal component health. You are the one who taught me the fallacy of trusting a 'junk' junkyard engine. I did not listen the first time but I sure as h@ll have since then!

Fault-Tolerance is where the aircraft engines shine. For example:

Redrives can fail, the redrive gears can fail (this happened to me once), and belt-drives can fail, and the drive cooling or lub systems can fail.
Lycomings have no redrive.

Coolant systems can fail, water pumps can fail, thermostats can fail, water jackets can leak and seals fail.
Lycomings have no water cooling system.

Generators, batteries and charging systems can fail. Auto engines must have these systems to make spark.
Lycomings have 2 redundant mags that generate their own power and do not require a battery or charging system to even be installed in the aircraft.

Ignition systems can fail.
The Lycoming has 2 independent ignitions systems both working all the time.

Lycomings have hundreds of thousands of hours of proven time in configuration.
Every auto-conversion is a unique implementation. Every auto conversion is it's own R&D.

Lycomings have beefy valves, low RPM and low compression and thus can suffer great abuse (like a lean mixture) and press on.
Auto engines have very high RPM (that's why they need the re-drive) and high compression. A small problem becomes a big one fast. Small thin valves don't take the heat as well.

I can not afford a second Lycoming or a 4-stroke Rotax for the CLT AirCommand I am building so I am using a soob EJ-22 and I am confident I will have good performance, high reliability and the major benefit 'bang for the buck'. However, if I had access to a Rotax or Lycoming for the same $$ I would swap it out in a heartbeat.

Auto conversions are great and popular because they are inexpensive not because they are more reliable than aircraft engines. Soobs in particular offer extraordinary reliability. However, when you pay a company to professionally rebuild one and fit it for aircraft use it is actually MORE expensive then a used low-time Lycoming.

http://www.eggenfellneraircraft.com/Products.htm

http://ramengines.com/_wsn/page2.html

There is a difference between high reliability and high reliability plus fault tolerance.

There is a place for both bic lighters and zippos. Bic's offer great bang-for-the-buck, but if you have the extra resources to operate a zippo they do provide benefits above and beyond.

.