Recent content by spinfire

There will be some parts on the aircraft that will need replacement probably once in the craft's useful life. Two examples that immediately come to mind from recent annuals include an aileron bearing and the Dukes electric fuel pump for my fuel injected 177RG built in 1977. These parts failed...

What's bootsrapping? Or maybe you means bootstrapping? Still, I know what bootstrapping is, but not in reference to engine management...

If it takes you 6 months to fly 25 hours then you should probably be changing the oil at 25 hour intervals Lycoming or Continental. On the other hand, if you're only flying 50 hours a year you're probably not the ideal candidate for a turbine either.

Before I got my instrument rating I experienced this hard in a rental 172 while on a solo night currency flight. It was a very real experience. I was departing KPSM and with a left turn out you are pointed over Great Bay with the nose up high climbing out and no lights or moon that night. I...

I try to fly every week. That's much better for the engine too, and since this annual I had the classic Lycoming camshaft problems that likely started with corrosion from before I bought the plane I'm acutely aware of exactly how expensive NOT flying can be when you're an owner pilot. I also...

When I want to do something like this I'll file KASH to KASH, with the route via the airports (ie, specify KLEB KCON KMHT as the routing if you wanted to do approaches at Lebanon, Concord, and Manchester). Then in the remarks put something like "multiple appchs KLEB KCON". If I'm planning to...

Meanwhile in Massachusetts/Southern NH, not much moisture at all: As we come up on my second season with my instrument rating I'm wondering once again how much I will be left frustrated by lack of deice capability in my Cardinal.

When they open back up again they say, "Any traffic in the pattern please advise."

Yes, of course. This is more something I've picked up on with 200+ hours of owning a plane, flying it frequently and in lots of different loading configurations, and always flying the same plane every time vs. when I was renting.

If a 177RG doesn't fly 140 knots at 7-8k feet in a WOT cruise (prop around 2400 RPM) then there is something wrong with the rigging or the engine is tired. I VERY highly recommend joining the Cardinal Flyers Online type club for the benefit of much information, a database of Cardinal owners...

The only way a Cardinal RG is going 160 knots is with a tornado alley turbo STC or maybe the LoPresti cowl STC. 140 is book standard cruise and planes that are rigged properly will attain it. I flight plan at 10GPH but it's really more like 9.5 in a typical cruise at altitude. One look at the...

On my Cardinal RG I cruise at 140 knots at altitude (7-8k feet). This is an IO-360, the 200HP version. This is about 20 knots slower than the M20J gets with the same engine which is probably the best comparison. I think much of this can be explained by parasitic drag issues such as better...

Assuming you are talking about two nights parking it looks like IAD is actually the cheapest when you add up all of the costs you mentioned at $106 (vs $118 for JYO and $122 for HEF). Personally between the cost and time savings I think it's a no-brainer and I would fly into IAD. Flying IFR...

You might be correct when considering interpretations and intent, but purely reading 61.113 shows that it is a limitation on "Private Pilots" and never mentions anything about people who hold a commercial certificate. My understanding is that unlike ratings a "private certificate" is distinct...

I have a question about some scenarios with a CPL but without a 135 operation. Assume you have a commercial certificate, you're flying your own plane and all of the other people are non-pilots. 1) You did not "hold out" by posting anything online but your friends know you are a pilot with a...