Returning home from Gaston's thread.

Re: Returnign home from Gaston's thread.

Be interesting to hear the final analysis.

My mechanic suggested a broken guide, rocker arm, spring, or cam failure.

lancefisher said:
If the guide came loose the pushrod wouldn't have to bend. A piston problem still seems more likely though. Either way I can't see how you'd have good compression on all four cyls.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Returnign home from Gaston's thread.

Steve said:
Be interesting to hear the final analysis.

My mechanic suggested a broken guide, rocker arm, spring, or cam failure.
Click to expand...
well it's none of the above, although we can't come up with an explanation for it

there is a piece of steel or iron debris in the cylinder, a rough ball a little less than 1/4" in diameter

it looks about the size of a valve keeper but all the keepers are still there

the ball beat the spark plugs in, hence the dead jug, but the valves stayed intact and were still functioning

we can't find anything upstream in the carb, carb heat butterfly & linkage, etc that is missing. I was expecting to find a missing screw or bolt but everything looks good.

I dropped off a replacement cylinder & piston today and hopefully it'll be back in my hangar by the weekend.
 
Re: Returnign home from Gaston's thread.

JHW said:
there is a piece of steel or iron debris in the cylinder, a rough ball a little less than 1/4" in diameter
the ball beat the spark plugs in.
Click to expand...

a pal had that happen on one of those fancy overhauls within a few hours of running the engine; it was determined to be simple fod from an untidy reassembly - a nut I believe.
How many hours since install of this cylinder or engine? Has the intake been cracked open for any reason lately?
 
Dr. Bill said:
I guessed a 5 kt tailwind, based on the flag by the pool. The windsock rarely ever moved.
Click to expand...
I don't think I took a breath for at least 30 seconds when you turned right after the big guard tree.....
 
I am HOME!. Thank God for that!

And now for the rest of the story.....
The voltage reg is in, and seems to be fine, but I have the sinking feeling that my battery is toast. I ran it at bpk on the ground trying to charge up a badly depleted battery (needed a jump), and the ameterwould not read a charging current at 2000 rpm. I suspect that the battery was too weak to produce enough field current to run the alternator at the higher rpms. I consulted with Les at BPK, and he suspected the same, but he thought that running the engine for about an hour would refresh the battery some. So off I went to M48 running of my handheld and 496 (thankd God I brough those with me. When I got to M48 I idled for some time at 1100 rpm with the ammeter showing positive rate again hoping to get enough juice into the battery to restart (at cruise the meter dropped to Zero, I thought it was charging some but apparently not) Got gas, and got her started again. I continued on to msn, but noticed that even with every single electrical device I could shut off I wasn't charging, So I decided to save what little battery power I had left for my arrival in MSN, and turned off the master. Again thank goodness for the Icom/Garmin.

Now I arrive in MSN and try to turn on the Xponder only. Call Madison, no dice, so I tell them my situation, and ask if it were possible to go to MSN. They say no problem.At this point I am advised if my radio fails to proceed to Morey, which is out of the class charlie, and I get cleared to RWY 18. At the time I didn't think about this, but as I roll out on the RWY after a not so grand arrival I notice the fire truck rolling:eek:. At this point I realize though not having declared any emergency, the mention of an electrical issue got me priority handling.

Thanks again to all who helped and now it is time for a shower and CLEAN clothes.....
 
Pete,
Next year plan a downwind dash to Gaston's in your Ka-6. That beauty won't suffer from any electrical gremlins:D:D
 
Re: Returnign home from Gaston's thread.

Let'sgoflying! said:
a pal had that happen on one of those fancy overhauls within a few hours of running the engine; it was determined to be simple fod from an untidy reassembly - a nut I believe.
How many hours since install of this cylinder or engine? Has the intake been cracked open for any reason lately?
Click to expand...
cylinder has been on the 1100 hrs / 12 years

but the intake was opened up for the annual last month to change the air filter and clean the inside of the air box. I'm wondering if one of the nuts that holds the boot to the airbox might have dropped in there. And if it was that, then I'm probably the one who did it:(
 
HPNFlyGirl said:
Yeah then his 150 (152) took off way too close behind him.
Click to expand...
IMO--that was fine. It's not like the 150 can catch the Cherokee and its not like the Cherokee would have any chance in hell of turning back to the runway. I don't think he started rolling until the Cherokee was in the air.
 
Pete take that battery out, inspect the fluid levels (dH2O only) and charge it on the bench. Test electrolyte sg and see if it holds a charge. Say age
 
Levels looked ok, but the Mechanic at BPK said it was looking tired. Don't know about the age, but those were pretty much my thoughts exactly, Dave.

thanks
 
Re: Returnign home from Gaston's thread.

not an engine mechanic, how would that cause oil out the exhaust?

loose wiper ring from no combustion pressure?

Let'sgoflying! said:
a pal had that happen on one of those fancy overhauls within a few hours of running the engine; it was determined to be simple fod from an untidy reassembly - a nut I believe.
How many hours since install of this cylinder or engine? Has the intake been cracked open for any reason lately?
Click to expand...
 
Steve said:
not an engine mechanic, how would that cause oil out the exhaust?

loose wiper ring from no combustion pressure?
Click to expand...

not sure, i looked at the piston this morning and the rings look really good for their age

only thing i can think is the intake valve wasn't seating and the vacuum was drawing a little oil past the guide. guide was worn a little.

i lost about half a qt in half an hour, maybe 15 mins of which was turning with this problem. *might* be possible to get it past the guide

as you can see we're grasping at straws here. Can't find anything in the engine that looks wrong except that errant chunk of steel.
 
JHW said:
not sure, i looked at the piston this morning and the rings look really good for their age

only thing i can think is the intake valve wasn't seating and the vacuum was drawing a little oil past the guide. guide was worn a little.

i lost about half a qt in half an hour, maybe 15 mins of which was turning with this problem. *might* be possible to get it past the guide

as you can see we're grasping at straws here. Can't find anything in the engine that looks wrong except that errant chunk of steel.
Click to expand...
Hmmm... Did Scotty beam it in?

Just glad you got down safe!
 
Thanks, Dr. Bruce, for caring - Diana certainly doesn't have a monopoly on the worrying. And so there isn't too much stress for anyone else, from the planes point of view, there was 'never any doubt about the successful outcome of the manuever'!

I had told Jeremy to follow us out as I lifted off, knowing that the 150 STOL would be off the ground well before us, and that he couldn't come close to catching us on groundspeed in the climb. Also, as Jesse said, there was no way that I'd be able to return to the runway, anyway! It was a "follow the river" kind of day with that DA - and that worked just as planned. Still, all in all, an interesting "keep the nose down" kind of take-off; and those are always more fun, anyway. "YeeeeeHaawwwww!!!"
 
yeee haw is right. bruce just kept counting and counting and getting louder and louder. about the time he got to 20 he nearly fainted. that mustve been when he started holding his breath. certainly an exciting departure from our end.

i bet you go to mountain home empty next year :)
 
Re: Returnign home from Gaston's thread.

Dr. Bill said:
I thought my departure would've gotten some honorable mention, if there were awards for such an experience (other than the 'Darwin Awards')! I had done the numbers, and had 10% cushion. When, as Dave noted above, the ASI just kind of "stuck" at 60 - and the runway was running out - Well, everyone in the plane just kinda closed their eyes... Sure glad I wasn't full on the fuel!
Click to expand...

I was debating having Spike ferry Brent and Tommy to BPK for me, and seeing your departure sealed the deal. Glad I went light. Your departure looked a bit thin to me...:hairraise:
 
Ya know, I like being an example, but not a BAD one...

My apologies for the strain, and a "you're welcome" for the demonstration! And yep, I was real glad I wasn't full of fuel, but I sure was thinkin' I'd have been better off with even less!
 
Take the battery out and put it on a good charger overnight then test it for capacity. The alternator won't require more than a few volts and a fraction of an amp to energize and the requirements are actually less at higher RPM not more. How certain was the diagnosis of a bad regulator in the first place?

BTW as tempting as it is to jump start a dead battery airplane, this is never a good idea baring an emergency. At the very least it's extremely stressful on the battery as this normally results in a very high charge rate for a lengthy time. And the chances are high that you'll end up with no electrical power in the air.

-lance

vontresc said:
I am HOME!. Thank God for that!

And now for the rest of the story.....
The voltage reg is in, and seems to be fine, but I have the sinking feeling that my battery is toast. I ran it at bpk on the ground trying to charge up a badly depleted battery (needed a jump), and the ameterwould not read a charging current at 2000 rpm. I suspect that the battery was too weak to produce enough field current to run the alternator at the higher rpms. I consulted with Les at BPK, and he suspected the same, but he thought that running the engine for about an hour would refresh the battery some. So off I went to M48 running of my handheld and 496 (thankd God I brough those with me. When I got to M48 I idled for some time at 1100 rpm with the ammeter showing positive rate again hoping to get enough juice into the battery to restart (at cruise the meter dropped to Zero, I thought it was charging some but apparently not) Got gas, and got her started again. I continued on to msn, but noticed that even with every single electrical device I could shut off I wasn't charging, So I decided to save what little battery power I had left for my arrival in MSN, and turned off the master. Again thank goodness for the Icom/Garmin.

Now I arrive in MSN and try to turn on the Xponder only. Call Madison, no dice, so I tell them my situation, and ask if it were possible to go to MSN. They say no problem.At this point I am advised if my radio fails to proceed to Morey, which is out of the class charlie, and I get cleared to RWY 18. At the time I didn't think about this, but as I roll out on the RWY after a not so grand arrival I notice the fire truck rolling:eek:. At this point I realize though not having declared any emergency, the mention of an electrical issue got me priority handling.

Thanks again to all who helped and now it is time for a shower and CLEAN clothes.....
Click to expand...
 
Re: Returnign home from Gaston's thread.

lancefisher said:
Hey Dave, I hope you didn't mind that I borrowed your spot to cool the plane off. I had expected to be on my way and out of your's before you were done flying, but it took a bit longer to catch a ride with Felix than I planned, sorry! OTOH, I prevented any non-POA folks from grabbing your tiedowns:D.
Click to expand...

not a problem but I might use it as leverage to get a ride next year!
 
Dr. Bill said:
Thanks, Dr. Bruce, for caring - Diana certainly doesn't have a monopoly on the worrying. And so there isn't too much stress for anyone else, from the planes point of view, there was 'never any doubt about the successful outcome of the manuever'!
Click to expand...

They just didn't see your shirt! :rofl:

web.jpg
 
I did. I walked up to him and said, "Who are you? And why are you taking all of these pictures??" Very nice man! I told him Diana and I have strict rules about posting unflattering photos without permission.....B) ;)
 
4763e said:
I did. I walked up to him and said, "Who are you? And why are you taking all of these pictures??" Very nice man! I told him Diana and I have strict rules about posting unflattering photos without permission.....B) ;)
Click to expand...

Should do like any random Barney Fife security guard and tell him you can't take pictures.
 
4763e said:
I did. I walked up to him and said, "Who are you? And why are you taking all of these pictures??" Very nice man! I told him Diana and I have strict rules about posting unflattering photos without permission.....B) ;)
Click to expand...

Well, at least he wanted a pic of you; in my case, he just wanted pics of my plane :(. Tom Cruise, I'm not!

Best,

Dave
 
Dave Siciliano said:
Well, at least he wanted a pic of you; in my case, he just wanted pics of my plane :(. Tom Cruise, I'm not!

Best,

Dave
Click to expand...

Dave, you may well be taller than Cruise. Really!
 
Diana said:
I think that he is too, Kim. And the fact that he is humble boosts his attractive factor up by 200%. To top that off, he is a gentleman. :)
Click to expand...

And he has a "go-fast" airplane! B)

What's not to love about that guy?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top