"St Louis Flying Club Newsletter"

St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 18 September 2004

From The President - By Mike Piccirilli

Dear Members,

It was nice seeing you all at the annual meeting. The main discussions dealt with the low compression and the options we had if the follow-up compression test didn't show any improvement.

Randy sent out a good article on compression testing. Though there are no absolutes, I learned that cylinder wear wasn't that critical. Exhaust valve wear was much more critical (in regards to catastrophic failure). Unfortunately, John and Randy learned that the air was leaking from the exhaust valve of the bad cylinder. After discussing the options at length with John, I gave John the OK to fly the plane to Curtis's new shop at Greenfield to have the bad cylinder pulled and have the valve seats reground and valve guides replaced. There were also concerns with the 2nd lowest cylinder (65#s). If that cylinder is also leaking from the exhaust valve, I authorized John to have that one worked on also while the baffling was removed.

John will include more details.

Happy Landings!

Pic

Treasurer's Report - by Marlin Sipe

With the relatively light flying recently, we are not gaining much in the Treasury. It improved from $213 to $270 this month, but is still behind the goal for this time of year.

The cylinder work will also impact the finances. It will have to be decided how to pay for the work. The options are:

Pay it from the Engine Overhaul Fund, meaning no special assessment now, but more out-of-pocket cost when we do the overhaul. (Pay it later.)
Special assessment for the full cost of the work. (Pay it now.)
Use the Treasury ($270) and have an assessment for the shortage, but that will guarantee a shortage at Annual. (Pay some now, and the rest next year.)

Maintenance - by John Heilmann & Randy Skyles

With the compression on the number 2 cylinder running under 60, we took the aircraft to C&D at Greenfield airport to remove the cylinder. The cylinder was removed and is being overhauled at the St Louis Engine shop at St Charles County Airport. Futher information will be provided by email as progress is made on the repair.

BFR/Medicals Due - by Todd Michal

Here is a list of the BFR and Medicals that expire this month:

John Heilmann - BFR is due in October.

FAA Private and Instrument Test Questions

See how much you remember from your FAA Private Pilot and Instrument Rating Written Test by taking a quick 10 question test. Submit your answers and you will receive the correct answers and your score. (Don't worry, only you see the test results and your score.) This is a quick and easy way to keep familiar with the FARs. Use the links below and try to get a 100%:

The links above take you to Kip's FAA written Test Preparation Site. This site can be found directly at: http://www.exams4pilots.org/

PAST NEWSLETTERS - Newsletter Archive

...