PA-32 down in Salt Lake (7-25-2020)

[Jim K]

take a look at the fuel flow record as presented by that video. It's an angled (ergo 300hp turning) Lyco 540. That's waaaaay too rich folks, so much so the EGT swing at idle to WOT was almost nonexistent. He didn't lean for that DA. That's your cause right there.

I was going to argue with you and say that my fuel flow is 29-30 at takeoff power.....until I remembered that's at sea level and he was at 7000 DA. I think you hit the nail on the head there. I'm a bit shocked the video didn't focus more on that. I didn't read the NTSB report to see if they emphasized that more than ASI.

 

[Warmi]

GA aviation is truly a relic stuck in the past with their “leaning strategies” and other engine implementation details that are completely irrelevant to the actual flying and have been fully automated for decades now in all modern engines …

 

[hindsight2020]

For sure, the sclerosis of US fac-built aviation and the economies of scale [lack of] profit-motive ends up killing people. Carb icing is another one.

But NA people would do well in life by just learning to lean by fuel flow for DA, and just commit the stupid rate of decrease to memory. It's not difficult to come up with the factor (some POH and even stock fuel flow indicators provide the flow value). Takes 5 minutes of your time for the rest of your ownership life. Much better use of your time than this perennial fiddle-f---ng with EGT potato and trying to gnats-@ss injector spreads on your overpriced 69-probe monitor, LOP targets and other tinkerer's trap. All under the hobby-widespread dogmatic fear of "cooking cylinders" and equally dogmatic WOT-averse operations. Talk about worrying about the wrong end of the knife.

 

[Jamie Kirk]

I’m on the west coast surrounded by 9k’ peaks. When I was getting checked out in my first plane which was NA the CFI took me to Big Bear on a hot day and said take off like normal. I line up, hold brakes, full power, then release release brakes. Not halfway down the run the CFI cuts power and says taxi around again.

He taught me a valuable lesson about leaning. He then taught me how to do it and leaning for power and doing a full power run up.

That same summer I was leaving Prescott with the family and we were climbing out at 100FPM. Wife looks at me and says buy a bigger plane. We bought a Turbo Saratoga a few months later.