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  1. M

    VOR Radials

    It's not about "away" or "toward". It's not about "left" or "right". It's about fly a heading on the side the needle swings toward. Think of it as, the needle is pointing toward a heading you need to fly to intercept whatever is at the top of the dial.
  2. M

    VOR Radials

    It is correct. It doesn't matter which radial you put on top. For example, 45 or 225. One way, the needle swings left, the other way, it swings right, but in both cases, the headings you need to turn to are on the same side the needle swings. This method eliminates the bugaboo of "reverse...
  3. M

    High Altitude Flight test

    I get the same symptom during ultra endurance sports events as I approach my limits. First, I start to lose peripheral vision. If I don't slow down or stop, it gradually tunnels in and then colors fade to grey. When pushing the limits I keep aware of this so I can avoid pushing too hard, passing...
  4. M

    VOR Radials

    Regarding reverse sensing, here's a way to think about it differently. If the needle is not centered, then it's swinging left or right. If you look at the radial numbers around the dial, following any of them on the same side as the needle, will take you to radial that is dialed in at the top...
  5. M

    High Altitude Flight test

    If "Sats to 84" means your blood O2 saturation level was 84%, that is too low and unsafe for flying, at risk of impaired judgement and cognitive function.
  6. M

    High Altitude Flight test

    If you have an O2 sensor, just go ahead while monitoring. Start descending if the O2 drops to the low 90s. One thing that is helpful at high altitude is called pressure breathing. Exhale more completely than you do with normal breathing, and same with inhaling. Not quickly, it's not...
  7. M

    Citing Valve Damage, UND Drops Unleaded Fuel And Returns To 100LL

    Indeed. If adding as little as 0.05% of TEL makes a significant difference in performance, then removing it obviously does too. Yet the original question was whether removing it significantly changes the ratios of the remaining ingredients, specifically octane boosters like Xylene and Toluene...
  8. M

    Citing Valve Damage, UND Drops Unleaded Fuel And Returns To 100LL

    How much the ratios of remaining ingredients changes, depends on the volume of TEL that was removed. We can quantify this. The data sheet for 100LL says it has 0.53 mL / L of TEL. By my calculations that's 0.053%. If you remove it, the total volume drops by that fraction, to 99.947% of what it...
  9. M

    Citing Valve Damage, UND Drops Unleaded Fuel And Returns To 100LL

    The ideal experiment is a random controlled trial over a large number of airplanes, better yet blind so the people fueling, flying, and measuring valve clearances don't even know which fuel was used. The UND study got one part right: a large number of airplanes. But they didn't randomize or...
  10. M

    Citing Valve Damage, UND Drops Unleaded Fuel And Returns To 100LL

    Correct. What is your point?
  11. M

    Citing Valve Damage, UND Drops Unleaded Fuel And Returns To 100LL

    True, and this is even more so for carburetors having a full throttle enrichment circuit (sometimes called the "economizer") which distorts the mixture distribution even more. Put differently, at WOT it enriches all cylinders, but some more than others.
  12. M

    Citing Valve Damage, UND Drops Unleaded Fuel And Returns To 100LL

    When running 100LL in an O-360 or O-320, you can and should lean it any time you are less than 70% power. That's actually good for the engine, keeps the plugs and valves clean. Just make sure you have sufficient airflow for cooling. But if you don't and the engine temps start to rise, usually...
  13. M

    Citing Valve Damage, UND Drops Unleaded Fuel And Returns To 100LL

    These O-360 engines have STCs for 91 octane mogas in some configurations. For example, the O-360-A4M in the Cessna 172. If that caused valve recession one would expect to know this already since it's been out there for years. Is there something different about 94 UL versus 91 auto gas?
  14. M

    Best overall month to do a long trip by 140 knot piston single?

    Out here in the NW, we must consider forest fire season, typically June-Sep. The smoke causes poor visibility, forest fighting TFRs, and sometimes closes airports. So Apr-May or Sep-Oct would be best for cross-state flights.
  15. M

    Icon Spirals In

    Sadly, it did make a couple of splashes, one of which was fatal (though not the fault of the aircraft).
  16. M

    What attributes do you think new MOSAIC compliant LSA aircraft should have to return General Aviation to 10,000 aircraft sales per year?

    I'm not going to join that argument, but will quibble with your terminology. Capitalism is a general term meaning only that the means of production and other property are largely owned and operated by private individuals or groups. It has many variations, some of which tend to concentrate wealth...
  17. M

    Paint Restoration and Preservation Tips

    Sunquest at KPAE repainted my airplane in 2013 (plus new windshield, fairings, wingtips, etc.). Just last year, 10 years later, there were a few isolated spots showing signs of corrosion just beginning to develop, and other areas where the paint was peeing or faded. I'm happy with that, since my...
  18. M

    Lycoming Engine replacement

    36 years ago is about when Lycoming started using hardened valve seats. Coincidence? Even if not, that would only affect the heads.
  19. M

    Propellers driving me True-ly nuts, any help?

    Another aspect of constant speed props is power output. Power moves the airplane, and power is torque * RPM. And power is also thrust * speed. Consider a typical engine with fixed pitch prop that has relatively flat torque vs. RPM and redlines at 2700 PRM. Static RPM full throttle sea level will...
  20. M

    Propellers driving me True-ly nuts, any help?

    Most fixed pitch props are pitched to optimize cruise rather than climb. That means relatively more (coarser) blade pitch. You sacrifice takeoff roll and climb performance for cruise speed & efficiency. But you can get a "climb prop" having less (finer, flatter) blade pitch optimized for takeoff...
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