Airplane Owner Maintenance

A Maintenance Oriented Podcast For Airplane Owners, Pilots, and Mechanics

Category: Podcast Episodes (Page 2 of 24)

229 – Cessna 206 Alternator Not Working

July 8, 2023 /

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The charging system was not working, but why?

There was normal voltage at the alternator field terminal.

The field circuit resistance seemed normal as well.

But the alternator was not producing the normal 28 volts during operation.

Occasionally, it would produce a small amount of output voltage, like 25 or 26 volts, and then drop back down to battery voltage.

Clearly there was a problem.

After troubleshooting and seeking advice from a Cessna service center, we replaced the battery contactor and the alternator contactor in the MCU (master control unit) on the firewall. (The MCU is the electrical control box for the airplane. It’s located on the forward left side of the firewall.)

Replacing the contactors did not fix the problem.

After more troubleshooting and some calls to Hartzell Engine Technologies to speak with two different people, and after talking things over with the owner, we decided to order an overhauled alternator and a new ACU (alternator control unit.)

They arrived the next day, I installed them, and the system worked perfectly.

The alternator was back to producing its normal 28 volts. (I just wish I had taken the old alternator apart to see if I could determine the problem… I’m guessing one or both of the brushes were severely worn.)

The following photo shows what’s inside the MCU. The alternator contactor is the one in the top of the photo, slightly left of center. And the alternator control unit the the device to the left of the contactor that says “Lamar” on the side.

When replacing anything in this box, it’s very helpful to take photos first in order to put everything back in its place during reassembly!

Listen to the audio podcast for this episode to get the full story.

This episode also includes some of the email responses I received after asking if listeners wanted to continue receiving stories about exhaust valves.

Thank you to all who responded!

In a nutshell, everyone wanted to continue hearing about exhaust valves and the stories about lapping them and saving them, especially the stories that are instructive and educational.

Have a great week everyone!

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228 – Saving a Cylinder on Dan & Jeanne’s Bonanza

July 1, 2023 /

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Dan and Jeanne are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, so it’s always a privilege to work on their airplane.

It was annual inspection time, and the compression test on cylinder #1 was 25/80. The borescope showed a corresponding reason for the low compression… the exhaust valve had an uneven appearance, indicating it was not sealing well against the valve seat, and there was air leakage around the edge, causing that edge to get extra hot and burn… this is the reason for the uneven color pattern at 10 to 11 o’clock in the photo:

I discussed the situation with Dan, and we decided it was worth a try to lap the valve in place without removing the cylinder, in hopes we could save the cylinder from premature removal.

I lapped the valve and installed a new rotocoil to help ensure the valve was rotating properly during operation.

After reassembling everything and running the engine, we got a fantastic result… the compression was now 75/80!

When the annual inspection was completed, I sent the airplane out the door with great confidence the engine would perform well… and it did.

Not long after that, Dan and Jeanne flew the Bonanza to Montana to visit family and then later made the journey back home.

At the time of the annul inspection, Dan had agreed it would be a good idea to inspect the #1 exhaust valve at the next oil change to make sure all was well.

After having flown about 37 hours since the annual and since lapping the #1 exhaust valve, Dan returned to have things checked out.

The oil and filter change were completely normal; the compression in cylinder #1 was 77/80; and the borescope revealed the #1 exhaust valve had returned to normal!

Check it out: the circular patterns on the valve are now nice and concentric.

I’m hopeful Dan will get many more hours of reliable service out of this cylinder since we stopped the harmful trajectory of a burning exhaust valve.

On another note, I discussed a couple things in this episode that I noticed this past week while flying.

  • One was related to NOTAMs and the importance of being aware of them (along with something I discovered about NOTAMS, approach plates, and ForeFlight.)
  • The other one was a tip about starting PT-6 engines when they are still hot after a quick stop to drop off passengers and refuel.

In my research, I discovered an online course about NOTAMs, and I wanted to pass this link along for anyone who might be interested:

notamsmadeeasy.com

This is a course by Sarah Fritts. I do not know Sarah, and I do not receive any compensation from this course, but it seems like a good training resource, and I like to help promote those when I see them.

You can also learn more about Sarah over at her website:

ThinkAviation.net

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227 – Electrical Chaos When the Landing Light was Turned On

June 24, 2023 /

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This Bonanza had a problem in the landing light wiring circuit. All kinds of weird things were happening when the light was turned on in flight. You can listen to the podcast audio for more details on this squawk.

I removed the induction filter cover and the landing light assembly and inspected the wiring.

It turned out the landing light power and ground wires were chafing against each other… probably over a very long period of time. Take a look at the area of concern in the red circle on the following photo:

At first glance, it wasn’t visually obvious there was a problem.

But after separating the power and ground wires, it became very clear what was happening. As the internal strands of the power and ground wires began to just barely make contact with each other, the short-to-ground situation started wreaking havoc in the electrical system. The following photo shows the areas where the insulation was worn all the way through to the internal wire:

Sometimes there was static over the comm radio, sometimes the TCAS and intercom would cycle power off and back on, and sometimes the landing light circuit breaker switch would flip off.

I repaired the wiring and secured it really well with ty-wraps and silicone to prevent further chafing. Now Brad will be able to use his landing light any time he wants and be confident it will perform normally.

Vibration from piston engines can create some bad situations! It’s always a good idea to take an extra minute or two to look around the engine compartment whenever you’re in there, like at the oil change, or some other maintenance event, like cleaning spark plugs.

Another interesting squawk on this same Bonanza was a burning exhaust valve and corresponding low compression. The borescope revealed the classic appearance when the valve is not sealing well against the valve seat. Take a look:

I had lapped this valve at the last annual inspection and installed a new rotocoil to help ensure it would rotate properly, so when it still showed an appearance of a burning valve a year later, I figured we would likely need to remove the cylinder and send it for repair.

However, the Bonanza owner uses Savvy Aviation to manage his maintenance on the airplane, and the borescoping experts at Savvy thought it would be worth lapping the valve again to see if it could be saved.

I was happy to give it a second try. I lapped the valve heavily this time and finally, I was satisfied. I installed a new rotocoil again, and after running the engine, I rechecked the compression, and was super happy to see that it was 74/80!

I feel 90% confident that when the next annual inspection rolls around, this valve will have returned to a normal appearance. I’ll be curious to see how it turns out.

All in all, it was a good annual inspection, and Brad should be good to go for another year of flying!

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226 – Piper Lance Lands at SHD After In-Flight Electrical Failure

June 17, 2023 /

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It was a beautiful Tuesday morning at KSHD, and we had the maintenance hangar door open with a good view of the runway. A nice, red and white Piper Lance made a perfect landing on runway 5. As the airplane taxied up to the ramp, I thought, “It would be nice to meet that guy, whoever he is.”

Momentarily, he was standing in our shop, asking if we could help with an electrical issue. It turned out Merle was a super nice gentleman, and he had flown in with his brother, Dave, and their colleague Ron. They were on their way to Pennsylvania that morning, but made a precautionary landing at Shenandoah Valley because of the electrical failure.

I was eager to help. I grabbed my multimeter and hopped in the airplane. When I tried to start the engine, all I got was a small and very feeble attempt to turn the engine and prop. The battery was too weak to run the engine.

I remove the cowling and got access to the alternator. After removing the field wire from the field terminal on the alternator, I turned the master and alternator switches on and verified there was battery voltage at the field wire. I was then satisfied the voltage regulator was working fine, and the problem was likely in the alternator or the wiring circuit.

I then measured the resistance between the alternator field terminal and ground, and at first I got a resistance reading, but when I moved the prop a bit, I had no continuity. There should be a resistance reading, maybe around 6 ohms, give or take a little, for a 12 volt alternator. At this point, I was 90% sure the alternator was bad.

We started searching, and found a local parts supplier had an overhauled alternator, and also one that was “as removed.” Merle opted for the overhauled one, and one of our guys made the short drive to pick it up.

Unfortunately, that alternator had a crack in the bolt hole for attaching the alternator belt tension arm.

We ended up overnighting another overhauled alternator in, and got them going the next day.

It was great meeting these guys! Merle, Ron, and Dave… if you’re ever passing through again, stop in and say hi, and maybe we can go grab a burger at the Old School Burger bus down at the Valley Pike Farm Market.

On a totally different subject, I also talked in this podcast episode about an Aerostar trip we made to Wisconsin this week… not much of an FBO at this little airport near Lake Geneva, WI.

Be sure to listen to the episode to find out about an interesting phenomenon I learned about on the return trip… a momentary harmonic vibration in the clouds.

That’s all for this episode!

The post “226 – Piper Lance Lands at SHD After In-Flight Electrical Failure” appeared first at AirplaneOwnerMaintenance.com

225 – Obscure ATC Intersection Mystery Solved (It’s UDIYU!)

June 9, 2023 /

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And the winner is… Ben Moroze!

Recently, in podcast episode #223, I asked for help in identifying an ATC intersection we flew over on our way into Dulles Airport, (KIAD) awhile back.

I remembered it sounded something like “you-dee-ah” or something similar. Maybe something like “UDIYA” except that’s not it.

Well, Ben emailed me after listening to episode 223, and he correctly identified the intersection as “UDIYU” and told me it’s on the DOCCS THREE arrival and also on the GIBBZ FOUR arrival.

Thank you Ben! You’re the first one to respond after listening to episode 223.

Then, I sent an email out yesterday morning and received a good handful more responses about the intersection, UDIYU.

A big thank you to all of you who responded to this email!

You can listen to the audio podcast for this episode to hear about all those responses.

I also received a couple photos from my good friend Clark, showing the position of the UDIYU intersection… here’s one of those:

Thanks Clark, for the photos!

And here are a couple of my screen shots to get more context for the arrivals with the UDIYU intersection:

And thank you to ALL OF YOU GUYS who responded to my question… it’s really fun to learn about these obscure situations with you.

Now… I’m off to the shop to work on a Bonanza… and be sure to tune in again in a future episode to hear what I found in this Bonanza’s landing light wiring circuit that was causing all kinds of strange and weird effects in other systems as well.

Have a fantastic weekend!

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224 – Jim’s Exhaust Valve Rescue on his Cessna 182 Engine

June 2, 2023 /

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Recently, I received an email from Jim Janaitus, owner of a Cessna 182. He told me the story of lapping an exhaust valve on his engine because the valve showed signs of burning even though the compression was still in the high 60’s. Take a look at the appearance of the valve before lapping:

The area from about 12:00 to about 3:00 is the bad area, indicating the valve is not seating well in that area.

Jim lapped the valve and installed a new rotator. I was super happy when he said, “It went better than I imagined.”

Here’s a follow up photo of the same valve about 12 flight hours later:

Isn’t the improvement remarkable?!

It’s not perfect, but it’s MUCH BETTER than before, and Jim has an excellent plan to monitor the condition of this valve every 20 hours or so.

Well done Jim!

Be sure to listen to the audio for this week’s podcast to hear this story, along with some other weird electrical issues I’ve been sorting out on a Bonanza and on a Cessna 210.

Have a great week!

The post “224 – Jim’s Exhaust Valve Rescue on his Cessna 182 Engine” appeared first at AirplaneOwnerMaintenance.com

223 – Piper Cherokee Annual and Other Maintenance Adventures

May 26, 2023 /

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In the beginning of this week’s podcast episode, I want to give a big congratulations to my friend, Chris Wieczorek, who recently got his A&P certificate!

Listen to the audio to find out how Chris pursued getting his A&P in the midst of being a full time attorney and engineer with a wife and 4 kids!

Chris, you are an inspiration! Well done!

This week I also had the opportunity to take care of a couple issues on my friend, Dave Ovad’s Bonanza… you can hear more about these items as well in the podcast:

  1. We turned up his full power fuel flow a bit to bring the CHT’s down.
  2. We installed a couple very specific washers in his nose gear retraction linkage at the idler arm connection. The washer part number is 100951CR016YF.

It’s always good to see Dave!

Now for the Piper Cherokee… this is the one I’m completing an annual inspection on, along with some squawk repairs.

Here’s a list of some items on the Cherokee we discuss in this podcast episode:

  1. Resealing and lubing the fuel selector valve.
  2. Installing a new flash tube in the tail strobe light.
  3. Replacing the old style throttle and mixture control rod ends with the new rod end bearing style rod ends.
  4. Replacing one cowling pin bushing (part number 69790-000.)
  5. Installing a new 28L battery in the ELT remote switch in the instrument panel.

The final two items we talk about in this episode are two different electrical issues on two different airplanes.

The first one is an A36 Bonanza, and the new alternator has been dropping off line. (The alternator was replaced again and then the voltage regulator, at another airport, and that did not fix the problem.)

Through Beechtalk, we discovered a fix for this issue has been developed, where you install a special part number capacitor between the F1 and F2 terminals on the alternator, thus dampening out the voltage spikes that sometimes happen during the break-in phase of a new alternator.

Hopefully this will solve the problem!

The second electrical problem is on a Cessna 210, and it’s one of those weird and frustrating situations that’s hard to figure out. It does fine on the ground, and then in the air, the alternator output circuit breaker is popping intermittently. (Although I need to verify this directly with the owner.)

Hopefully we can solve this one soon as well.

The final phase of this podcast episode is about a couple recent flights in a King Air 200. One of these was to Dulles (KIAD) and how we were routed onto the approach. We usually fly KSHD direct to CSN (Cassanova VOR) and then direct to IAD.

This time, we would be landing on 19C, and we were cleared “After CSN, turn left direct to” (and here’s where I can’t remember the name of the intersection, and it’s driving me crazy!) It was something that sounded like “you-dee-ah” or something like that. Maybe something like “UDIYA” except that’s not it.

If you know what this fix or intersection is called, please let me know… thanks!

Thanks for listening to the podcast, and have a great week!

The post “223 – Piper Cherokee Annual and Other Maintenance Adventures” appeared first at AirplaneOwnerMaintenance.com

222 – How an Engine Cylinder Went From 25/80 to 75/80!

May 13, 2023 /

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I inspected another A36 Bonanza recently, and one of the cylinder compressions was too low… lower than the minimum prescribed by Continental using the master orifice tool.

I had two options:

Option One: Remove the cylinder for repair or replacement.

Option Two: Make the exhaust valve seal better and improve the compression result in hopes of saving the cylinder from premature amputation.

I chose Option Two.

It was at least worth a try…

… and the result was stunning!

After lapping the valve in place and installing a new rotocoil, I ran the engine again and rechecked the compression.

It was 75/80!

The lowest cylinder on the engine was now the highest cylinder.

I also lapped the exhaust valve in cylinder #2, and that one improved from 49/80 to 63/80.

If you’d like more info about valve lapping, click here for episode 109.

Another surprise during the inspection was a cracked / leaking exhaust riser.

Here’s a close-up view of the bad area:

Also in this episode, I talked about some other squawks that were repaired during the inspection. Be sure to listen to the audio for all the details.

In Part Two of this episode, I talked about our most recent trip in the King Air. It was quite an adventure navigating some weather situations!

The post “222 – How an Engine Cylinder Went From 25/80 to 75/80!” appeared first at AirplaneOwnerMaintenance.com

221 – Maui Adventures in the Air and on the Ground!

April 21, 2023 /

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Maui is simply amazing!

Maria and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and here are some highlights. (And for the aviation maintenance portion of the trip, see the last episode, 220.)

So many indescribably beautiful beaches to see:

Maria and her new friend, Firmiana, at the Upcountry Farmers Market… the most amazing farmer’s market I’ve ever seen!

Maria was right at home with all the fresh fruits and vegetables.

A ridiculously delicious dessert at Kimo’s in Lahaina… Hula Pie. Chocolate cookie thin crust, Macadamia nut ice cream, hot fudge, mac nut pieces, and whipped cream!

Gus’ Shave Ice! It’s the best shave ice on Maui… made with frozen fruit.

Our new friends, Melissa and JT, who we met in line at “The Cinnamon Roll Place” in Kihei.

A super amazing air tour with Leslie and Erica.

A favorite stop on The Road to Hana, Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread.

Waianapanapa State Park, home of the famous “Black Sand Beach.”

Crazy-good pizza and salad at Hana Farms.

Haleakala, the famous 10,000 foot volcano and crater.

Driving back down the mountain… watching for cows along the road and continuous switch-back turns.

After a most amazing two weeks, it was time to leave our little ohana, our home-away-from-home.

…and after all the wonderful-ness, it was time to say goodbye to John and Leslie and return to the mainland.

Thank you John and Leslie for such a super-awesome time on Maui!

If you ever make a trip to Maui, be sure to check out John and Leslie’s websites… the information they provide is a game-changer for planning a Maui adventure:

The Aloha 360 Podcast with John and Leslie Caubble. These episodes have tons of must-have information for a trip to Maui.

The Road to Hana Audio Guide. Learn about the best stops along the Road to Hana, some of which you would drive right past without a guide like this. (Be sure NOT to miss “Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread” on the Keanae peninsula!)

The Fly Maui Flight School at Kahalui Airport (OGG.) A scenic tour from the air is an absolutely incredible perspective!

The Ultimate Air Maui indoor trampoline park. This is a local favorite for kids’ birthday parties.

220 – An Epic Working Vacation to Maui!

April 16, 2023 /

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We arrived on Maui the evening of March 27 and were greeted by our friends, John and Leslie Caubble, with a “lei greeting” which is a warm welcome with a beautiful ring of fresh flowers around your neck.

We were there to do several things:

  • Connect with our friends, the Caubbles.
  • Work on the flight school airplanes.
  • Enjoy a wonderful vacation.
  • See amazing sights and taste amazing food!

The trip was truly epic.

In this episode, I focused mainly on the airplane side of things.

In the next episode, I’ll talk about the incredible airplane ride Leslie took us on, and also some of the other adventures we enjoyed.

So here we go… the morning after we arrived, Leslie gave me a tour of the airport and turned me loose to begin a 100 hour inspection on one of the flight school Cessna 172’s.

I unpacked my tools and supplies and “set up shop” in the T-hangar.

The first few days, I was overwhelmed and I was having a blast, all at the same time!

Getting used to a new situation, inspecting the airplane, and fixing the things that needed fixing were all worthwhile challenges, and I’m super thankful for the opportunity.

And, it turned out that all three of the school’s airplanes came due for 100 hour inspection within about the same week. I did one of the inspections, and helped with the other two.

What an adventure!

Occasionally, I’d take some time to go enjoy a local beach with my wife Maria before going to the airport… there are so many great beaches to choose from!

We packed so much into our short 2 weeks on Maui, and I’ll share some of those adventures in the next episode.

The day before we left was Easter Sunday, and we were so blessed by the 7 am service with John and Leslie at Hope Chapel in Kihei.

Mahalo Nui Loa (thank you very much) to John and Leslie for an absolutely amazing time on Maui!

… and more to come in the next episode!

P.S. If you ever get the opportunity to visit Maui, it’s totally worth it! I highly recommend the following resources that will make your trip so much better:

The Aloha 360 Podcast with John and Leslie Caubble. These episodes have tons of must-have information for a trip to Maui.

The Road to Hana Audio Guide. Learn about the best stops along the Road to Hana, some of which you would drive right past without a guide like this. (Be sure NOT to miss “Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread” on the Keanae peninsula!)

The Fly Maui Flight School at Kahalui Airport (OGG.) A scenic tour from the air is an absolutely incredible perspective!

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