alaskaflyer
Final Approach
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2006
- Messages
- 7,544
- Location
- Smith Valley, Nevada
- Display Name
Display name:
Alaskaflyer
My pilot log reflects that the last time I flew 77C was May 31, 2007, when I dropped it off at the shop at AK28 for what I thought would be a relatively normal annual.
Until today
Having tired of flying rental 172s (no offense to anyone) and a rental Champ I never really fell in love with, I decided I would have my plane repaired in time for summer
Actually it has been a long process, from finding metal in the engine, researching what to do about it, pulling it and shipping it down to Tom Downey, getting the parts he needed for a field overhaul from a couple of different places, shipping it back up, trouble shooting some corrosion and other airframe issues, overhauling the landing gear, finding and fixing some other problems with the accessories, some delays caused by my personal life (I got married last fall), taking the opportunity for some upgrades during the downtime...
Now, in addition to an overhauled bottom, I have a new ignition wiring harness, brand new exhausts (custom), brand new airbox (custom), overhauled carb, overhauled starter, overhauled magnetos, overhauled oil cooler, a lot of new baffling, BAS inertia reel shoulder harnesses, new double-puck Cleveland brakes and wheels (on a field approval), new Halon fire extinguisher, repaired door handle spring, "overhauled" spring gear legs, new brake lines, new battery, some airframe re-rigging, overhauled tailwheel assembly, some new switches and wiring repairs to the lights...lessee...probably something I'm leaving out without the airframe and engine logs in front of me
As they were wrapping up last week my altimeter failed the pitot-static test putting us another week behind 
The quote to overhaul it was only marginally cheaper than a new one, so I added another 0.8 AMU to the bill to avoid any more delays. Still have to replace the door seals which I will do myself, and touch up some paint here and there. And still waiting for the ACK 406mhz slide-in replacement for my current 121.5 ELT to be approved by the FAA.
Finally, FINALLY today the stars aligned and I drove to Fairbanks to do the test flight and start the break - in period. I imagine that anyone taking the first flight after major maintenance has butterflies in their stomach, and I was no exception. Plus, I really hadn't had any taildragger time lately and was afraid I would be a little rusty. After talking to Mark and Nathan at Chena Marina Air Service (getting to be best buddies with them by now) I loaded my stuff and started a long, detailed preflight to check everything out. Found a missing bolt access plug button, otherwise everything looked good. Fueled her up to about 35 gallons and was ready to go.
AK28 is a ridiculously long gravel strip, rather narrow but 4700 feet running the length of the adjacent float pond. It's a private strip located within the FAI class D surface area and TRSA. I called tower with the ATIS and requested a climb in a "hold" over the nearby off-field VOR then an orbit at 5500 MSL (about 5000 agl) directly over FAI. They were very accommodating once I told them it was for an engine break-in flight. Nice to be over a big honkin' field of asphalt and concrete for these times
Back taxied, did a moving runup on the way because of the gravel, played with my new brakes a bit to get used to them, then stopped at the end and ran through the rest of my checklist. I couldn't put it off any longer so put in 20 degrees of flaps and lined up for the go.
A smooth acceleration and a tail-low attitude saw me clear the ground in less than 250 feet, though I held it in ground effect for a while. Like riding a bicycle it all came back to me (quick feet quick feet) and the takeoff was fine. At 75mph I let her climb. Yeehaw! (And you don't hear that much from Cessna cockpits
) 1200+ fpm climb at 2550rpm at 75mph. That'll do 
Of course my prop pitch is 51 instead of the standard 53...but still. Stronger than I remember it. Much stronger.
Turned right, did one and a half circuits at the VOR then I was at my assigned altitude and cruised the four miles to FAI to start my orbit. The plane had maintained a 1000fpm climb even at 90mph IAS the whole time. Crossed mid field and did a lazy pattern for about 25 minutes watching the arrivals and departures below. FAI has an interesting combination of traffic - helicopters, DC-3 and DC-4 (and a lot of other interesting models of) freight dogs, part 135 jets and turboprops heading out to the bush and the north slope, military traffic, and lots of little guys like me of course.
Then...rut ro...a fine mist of oil on the windscreen! I was within easy gliding distance of Chena Marina and of course right over FAI so I watched it a minute. Oil temps and pressure were right where they needed to be and no abnormal noises or power problems...is it really oil? Could it be moisture? Well, not that many clouds. Cr*p! I requested a spiral down back into the class D then direct to AK28 only two miles away. OK, here comes the first tailwheel landing in a while...nailed the airspeed (65 IAS over "the numbers" - or in this case the cones) and other than a slight bounce did OK.
We found the problem to be a leaky crankshaft oil seal behind the prop flange. This is a split seal so it was relatively easy to remove without having to decowl the airplane or remove the prop. Guys removed it and the retaining spring, cleaned it up, then reinstalled it with new sealing compound. Cleaned up the windshield and went through a ten-minute runup on the ground with no more leaks. Theorized that the oil seal retaining spring had partially slipped off at some point during engine reassembly though we'll never be sure since removing the seal usually flips off the spring before you can visualize it.
Went back up and spent another hour or so orbiting International, then did a couple of touch and goes on the gravel ski strip there before returning to Chena Marina. No more problems, everything was running great. Will be back on Friday to put another hour or so on it above the airport again and then - if everything works out - I will be bringing her home in time for summer :smile:
Until today
Having tired of flying rental 172s (no offense to anyone) and a rental Champ I never really fell in love with, I decided I would have my plane repaired in time for summer
Actually it has been a long process, from finding metal in the engine, researching what to do about it, pulling it and shipping it down to Tom Downey, getting the parts he needed for a field overhaul from a couple of different places, shipping it back up, trouble shooting some corrosion and other airframe issues, overhauling the landing gear, finding and fixing some other problems with the accessories, some delays caused by my personal life (I got married last fall), taking the opportunity for some upgrades during the downtime...Now, in addition to an overhauled bottom, I have a new ignition wiring harness, brand new exhausts (custom), brand new airbox (custom), overhauled carb, overhauled starter, overhauled magnetos, overhauled oil cooler, a lot of new baffling, BAS inertia reel shoulder harnesses, new double-puck Cleveland brakes and wheels (on a field approval), new Halon fire extinguisher, repaired door handle spring, "overhauled" spring gear legs, new brake lines, new battery, some airframe re-rigging, overhauled tailwheel assembly, some new switches and wiring repairs to the lights...lessee...probably something I'm leaving out without the airframe and engine logs in front of me
As they were wrapping up last week my altimeter failed the pitot-static test putting us another week behind The quote to overhaul it was only marginally cheaper than a new one, so I added another 0.8 AMU to the bill to avoid any more delays. Still have to replace the door seals which I will do myself, and touch up some paint here and there. And still waiting for the ACK 406mhz slide-in replacement for my current 121.5 ELT to be approved by the FAA.Finally, FINALLY today the stars aligned and I drove to Fairbanks to do the test flight and start the break - in period. I imagine that anyone taking the first flight after major maintenance has butterflies in their stomach, and I was no exception. Plus, I really hadn't had any taildragger time lately and was afraid I would be a little rusty. After talking to Mark and Nathan at Chena Marina Air Service (getting to be best buddies with them by now) I loaded my stuff and started a long, detailed preflight to check everything out. Found a missing bolt access plug button, otherwise everything looked good. Fueled her up to about 35 gallons and was ready to go.
AK28 is a ridiculously long gravel strip, rather narrow but 4700 feet running the length of the adjacent float pond. It's a private strip located within the FAI class D surface area and TRSA. I called tower with the ATIS and requested a climb in a "hold" over the nearby off-field VOR then an orbit at 5500 MSL (about 5000 agl) directly over FAI. They were very accommodating once I told them it was for an engine break-in flight. Nice to be over a big honkin' field of asphalt and concrete for these times
Back taxied, did a moving runup on the way because of the gravel, played with my new brakes a bit to get used to them, then stopped at the end and ran through the rest of my checklist. I couldn't put it off any longer so put in 20 degrees of flaps and lined up for the go.A smooth acceleration and a tail-low attitude saw me clear the ground in less than 250 feet, though I held it in ground effect for a while. Like riding a bicycle it all came back to me (quick feet quick feet) and the takeoff was fine. At 75mph I let her climb. Yeehaw! (And you don't hear that much from Cessna cockpits
) 1200+ fpm climb at 2550rpm at 75mph. That'll do Of course my prop pitch is 51 instead of the standard 53...but still. Stronger than I remember it. Much stronger.Turned right, did one and a half circuits at the VOR then I was at my assigned altitude and cruised the four miles to FAI to start my orbit. The plane had maintained a 1000fpm climb even at 90mph IAS the whole time. Crossed mid field and did a lazy pattern for about 25 minutes watching the arrivals and departures below. FAI has an interesting combination of traffic - helicopters, DC-3 and DC-4 (and a lot of other interesting models of) freight dogs, part 135 jets and turboprops heading out to the bush and the north slope, military traffic, and lots of little guys like me of course.
Then...rut ro...a fine mist of oil on the windscreen! I was within easy gliding distance of Chena Marina and of course right over FAI so I watched it a minute. Oil temps and pressure were right where they needed to be and no abnormal noises or power problems...is it really oil? Could it be moisture? Well, not that many clouds. Cr*p! I requested a spiral down back into the class D then direct to AK28 only two miles away. OK, here comes the first tailwheel landing in a while...nailed the airspeed (65 IAS over "the numbers" - or in this case the cones) and other than a slight bounce did OK.
We found the problem to be a leaky crankshaft oil seal behind the prop flange. This is a split seal so it was relatively easy to remove without having to decowl the airplane or remove the prop. Guys removed it and the retaining spring, cleaned it up, then reinstalled it with new sealing compound. Cleaned up the windshield and went through a ten-minute runup on the ground with no more leaks. Theorized that the oil seal retaining spring had partially slipped off at some point during engine reassembly though we'll never be sure since removing the seal usually flips off the spring before you can visualize it.
Went back up and spent another hour or so orbiting International, then did a couple of touch and goes on the gravel ski strip there before returning to Chena Marina. No more problems, everything was running great. Will be back on Friday to put another hour or so on it above the airport again and then - if everything works out - I will be bringing her home in time for summer :smile:
Last edited:
Want to meet him again - which I'm sure I will.