This year's annual

It's been a solid week, and I am still not flying in my Sundowner.....

Problems encountered.

Oil analysis came back with high count of copper
#3 cylinder low on compressions
Corrosion on a side panel of the fuselage
Small pipe (Exhaust outake?) had small crack in it
Air in the brake lines (took ten minutes to bleed)

Things to be replaced (500 hours time since major, hard to believe I have
flown that much in three years!)

Points and condensors
Mags

Things to be fixed

Windshield leakage

All has been done except for the corrosion problem. He scraped off the
paint and most of the corrosion color, but there is a pin hole size pit
(very, very tiny, but still perceptible) in the bare skin. It doesn't go
entirely through the skin, but it's there needless to say. Why in the
area is beyond comprehension since it's on a vertical surface to the
right of the door. Not exactly an area where water collects. Got a pic
if anybody's interested.

Soo, for the #3 cylinder, A&P was able to field service it and get the
compressions up to 65. Remaining three cylinders are in the 70's.

Changed the oil from 15W50 weight to 20W50 weight. Added an engine
additive too. Expensive stuff at $24 a pint!

Small pipe replaced. Brake lines bled. Windshield was sealed.

Only problem remaining to be fixed is the corrosion and repainting the
area. Hoping that what he has done will be good enough. I'd hate to see
what the cost of Beechcraft skin will do to my wallet if it can't be
fixed!

Definately won't rank in the least costly annuals for me.

Allen

"A Lieberma" wrote in message
. 18...

Only problem remaining to be fixed is the corrosion and repainting the
area. Hoping that what he has done will be good enough. I'd hate to see
what the cost of Beechcraft skin will do to my wallet if it can't be
fixed!

Worst case ... is there some reason why a patch could not be used?

Vaughn

"Vaughn Simon" wrote in
:

Worst case ... is there some reason why a patch could not be used?

I don't know. I will email you a pic and you tell me?

Can you point me to a website that has such a solution?

I would have thought some type of "filler / primer" would do it, but it's
in the middle of the sheet metel, not along an edge or anything like that.

Allen

Are you ****ed that you are only getting 65 PSI compression out of a 500
SMOH hour cylinder? I think that the high copper count doesn't
necesarily mean anything drastic... Our first annual in the Mooney was
almost 10 AMU's. Our second was 5 AMU's... Following this logic maybe
this year's will be 2.5 AMU's.... Yea right!! :-)

A Lieberma wrote:
It's been a solid week, and I am still not flying in my Sundowner.....

Problems encountered.

Oil analysis came back with high count of copper
#3 cylinder low on compressions
Corrosion on a side panel of the fuselage
Small pipe (Exhaust outake?) had small crack in it
Air in the brake lines (took ten minutes to bleed)

Things to be replaced (500 hours time since major, hard to believe I have
flown that much in three years!)

Points and condensors
Mags

Things to be fixed

Windshield leakage

All has been done except for the corrosion problem. He scraped off the
paint and most of the corrosion color, but there is a pin hole size pit
(very, very tiny, but still perceptible) in the bare skin. It doesn't go
entirely through the skin, but it's there needless to say. Why in the
area is beyond comprehension since it's on a vertical surface to the
right of the door. Not exactly an area where water collects. Got a pic
if anybody's interested.

Soo, for the #3 cylinder, A&P was able to field service it and get the
compressions up to 65. Remaining three cylinders are in the 70's.

Changed the oil from 15W50 weight to 20W50 weight. Added an engine
additive too. Expensive stuff at $24 a pint!

Small pipe replaced. Brake lines bled. Windshield was sealed.

Only problem remaining to be fixed is the corrosion and repainting the
area. Hoping that what he has done will be good enough. I'd hate to see
what the cost of Beechcraft skin will do to my wallet if it can't be
fixed!

Definately won't rank in the least costly annuals for me.

Allen

Jon Kraus wrote in
:

Are you ****ed that you are only getting 65 PSI compression out of a
500 SMOH hour cylinder?

As long as I know it's not a harbinger of things to come, not at all. I
get 110 knots IAS, and that 5 PSI probably won't get me any more knots (I
don't think anyway!)

The engine has been running as smooth as it gets, though now maybe I will
get a little better performance, but I won't really know since it's
getting cooler, and I don't have anything to compare to.

What concerns me though is that I am even talking about it!

I think that the high copper count doesn't
necesarily mean anything drastic...

It was the "significant change" from prior analyse that is causing
concern. The company faxed over the report and suggested to contact
Lycoming. The A&P feels the way you do, except to keep an eye on it and
get the oil analyzed again on the next change.

Our first annual in the Mooney was
almost 10 AMU's. Our second was 5 AMU's... Following this logic maybe
this year's will be 2.5 AMU's.... Yea right!! :-)

Ahh, yes the pride of ownership. We definately earn the right to cry in
our own beer :-)

But the tears do really go away when the wheels leave terra firma!

Allen

A Lieberma wrote:



As long as I know it's not a harbinger of things to come, not at all. I
get 110 knots IAS, and that 5 PSI probably won't get me any more knots (I
don't think anyway!)



Where is the air escaping during the compression test?

On Sat, 04 Nov 2006 23:28:52 +0000, A Lieberma wrote:

I think that the high copper count doesn't necesarily mean anything
drastic...

It was the "significant change" from prior analyse that is causing
concern. The company faxed over the report and suggested to contact
Lycoming. The A&P feels the way you do, except to keep an eye on it and
get the oil analyzed again on the next change.

We just had a copper issue in an engine (O-360) about 200 hours past TBO.
Mattituck said "fly 15 hours and then retest". The A&P that contacted
Mattituck converted this to "don't fly the airplane until the engine is
overhauled".

Unfortunately, at least enough of my partners took the A&P at his word
regardless of the evidence I found to the contrary (none of which was
conclusive, I admit). They were all concerned that the bearings were about
to seize.

I'm certain that, had this engine been younger, the reactions would have
been more reasoned. But there's this incredibly strong belief,
apparently, that at TBO an engine should be taken out and shot. Even if
they do "know better" than this, the slightest problem is an excuse to
pull the overhaul trigger.

I'd be very interested to learn what the source of copper is in your
airplane's oil.

- Andrew

Jon Kraus wrote:
Are you ****ed that you are only getting 65 PSI compression out of a 500
SMOH hour cylinder? I think that the high copper count doesn't
necesarily mean anything drastic... Our first annual in the Mooney was
almost 10 AMU's. Our second was 5 AMU's... Following this logic maybe
this year's will be 2.5 AMU's.... Yea right!! :-)

Heck, keep going Jon and your annuals will be essentially free! :-)


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane

"To become a Jedi knight, you must master a single force. To become
a private pilot you must strive to master four of them"
- Rod Machado

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

The sad thing is Jack, I'd be happy as hell if the annual were only 2.5
AMU's!! :-)

Jack Allison wrote:
Jon Kraus wrote:

Are you ****ed that you are only getting 65 PSI compression out of a
500 SMOH hour cylinder? I think that the high copper count doesn't
necesarily mean anything drastic... Our first annual in the Mooney was
almost 10 AMU's. Our second was 5 AMU's... Following this logic maybe
this year's will be 2.5 AMU's.... Yea right!! :-)

Heck, keep going Jon and your annuals will be essentially free! :-)

Wow. That's a costly ($10,000) first annual. Or maybe I'm using too
many zeros? Was any of that a surprise? Did you do a pre-buy? What
was it that cost that much? Or did you upgrade/update things while you
had it apart?

Greg

Jon Kraus wrote:
Are you ****ed that you are only getting 65 PSI compression out of a 500
SMOH hour cylinder? I think that the high copper count doesn't
necesarily mean anything drastic... Our first annual in the Mooney was
almost 10 AMU's. Our second was 5 AMU's... Following this logic maybe
this year's will be 2.5 AMU's.... Yea right!! :-)

A Lieberma wrote:
It's been a solid week, and I am still not flying in my Sundowner.....

Problems encountered.

Oil analysis came back with high count of copper
#3 cylinder low on compressions
Corrosion on a side panel of the fuselage
Small pipe (Exhaust outake?) had small crack in it
Air in the brake lines (took ten minutes to bleed)

Things to be replaced (500 hours time since major, hard to believe I have
flown that much in three years!)

Points and condensors
Mags

Things to be fixed

Windshield leakage

All has been done except for the corrosion problem. He scraped off the
paint and most of the corrosion color, but there is a pin hole size pit
(very, very tiny, but still perceptible) in the bare skin. It doesn't go
entirely through the skin, but it's there needless to say. Why in the
area is beyond comprehension since it's on a vertical surface to the
right of the door. Not exactly an area where water collects. Got a pic
if anybody's interested.

Soo, for the #3 cylinder, A&P was able to field service it and get the
compressions up to 65. Remaining three cylinders are in the 70's.

Changed the oil from 15W50 weight to 20W50 weight. Added an engine
additive too. Expensive stuff at $24 a pint!

Small pipe replaced. Brake lines bled. Windshield was sealed.

Only problem remaining to be fixed is the corrosion and repainting the
area. Hoping that what he has done will be good enough. I'd hate to see
what the cost of Beechcraft skin will do to my wallet if it can't be
fixed!

Definately won't rank in the least costly annuals for me.

Allen