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St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 31 March 2025

From The President - By Steve

Dear Members,

Thanks to all for the vote on the Bristow share transfer. The sale was approved and I hope to complete the transaction when I get back from vacation in Puerto Rico.

My wife and I flew to the island of Culebra in an 8 seat twin engine Britten-Norman Islander (I had to look it up) and I sure wish I had videoed the landing. We skimmed the ridge-line at 1000 msl and started down the other side, never more than 50 feet above the tree line. The 2600ft runway was aligned 20 degrees right of course and the young pilot made it look easy!

Brian Williams has a Facebook page with some great pics of our EAA chapter 1675 “fly-out” to Jeff City. He has another planned for April 13th to KMDH. If you are not a member consider joining, it’s a great organization. John or Pic can help you with the application.

The club officers are meeting on the 14th to set an agenda and date for our Spring meeting (May??) so let one of us know if you have something you would like on the agenda.

Steve

Treasurer's Report - by T.J

BILLING STATEMENT

Comments:

  • Thanks for the receipts. Another monthly reminder that as long as self-service is down, it is incredibly important to record you exact gallons in the plane logs; it is the primary driver of the reimbursements.
  • Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

BALANCE SHEET

  • All of the funds are tracking nicely and we have plenty of cash for the foreseeable future.
  • The next milestone will likely be the semi-annual re-evaluation of aircraft values at May 15, 2025
  • We filed our annual Form 990 with the IRS this year without incident.
  • Thanks

   Maintenance - by John

N202CR RV-7A

  • No maintenance actions on the RV this month

N20843 Cessna 172M

  • Stuck Valve - On February 31st, Cory called and said the Cessna engine was running very rough after start. We checked the engine monitor and it said cylinder No. 4 was not producing any power. Since the roughness didn't change on either mag, I suspected it was a stuck valve. The engine only had 384 hours on it but that is about the same number of hours after major overhaul that we had the stuck valve on the Arrow Engine and previous Cessna engine.

    After removing the rocker cover and removing the valve springs, the valve was stuck in the valve guide and you could only move it by tapping it with a rubber mallet. We tapped the valve into the cylinder and reamed the valve guide to remove all the material buildup. We dropped the valve stem down through the lower spark plug hole and cleaned the buildup from the valve stem (Photo below shows buildup on the valve stem.

    After getting the valve back into the valve guide, the valve easily moved back and forth in the guide. We put it back together and ran it up. All the cylinders were firing and the engine ran smoothly.

    A Lycoming publication says that a sticking valve can occur as early as 400 hours after overhaul. Sticking valves can occur due to lead in the oil building up deposits in the valve guide. Leaning on the ground and at cruise will help minimize lead buildup in the oil.

N2242N Piper Arrow IV

  • Nose Landing Gear Down Light - The replacement nose landing gear bulb holder arrived and was installed in the arrow. The new holder holds the bulb more firmly in the socket.


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