St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 24 September 2013

From The President - By Pic

From the President

Dear Members,

TJ Smyka has officially joined our club, has checked out in the 172 and is actively working on his Arrow checkout. TJ has offered to organize a social event (BBQ) at the hangar - look for an e-mail from him soon. TJ, Phil and I flew to Mt Vernon, IL to check out the Midwest Light Sport Expo in early September. We had a great time checking out the various LSAs up close and also tried some of them on for size. We also got up close to a B-25 and P-51 and enjoyed watching and hearing them fly.

I reinvigorated our membership waiting list with the addition of Michael Stempf. Michael's plan is to be financially able to join after January 2014 whenever an opening comes available.

At some point this fall the Spirit Airport maintenance crew is going to redo the 172 hangar floor. We will reposition the 172 to the shadeports during this work. Thanks to Charley for getting this setup and look forward to an email with more info.

Thanks to John H. and everyone who came out to help with the 172 annual and Arrow troubleshooting (starter and higher oil usage). John's new tool (a dental camera that does a great imitation of a borescope) has provided insight into the inside of the cylinders. John provides some additional detail in the maintenance section.

Happy Landings,

Pic

Treasurer's Report - by PIC

The average fuel price decreased by 2 cents to $6.39, resulting in the C-172 rate reducing to $78/hr and the Arrow staying the same at $103/hr. No change in the monthly dues. Share value increased, by about $90, to $10,482.30 (combination of 172 annual expenses less than escrowed and low maintenance costs this month).

Fly Safely!

PIC

   Maintenance - by John

N20843

  • Annual Inspection - the annual inspection was completed on 1 Sep. Thanks to Kip, Bob Z, Pic, Jeff, Mike Landgraf, and Steve Heidenreich for helping out with the annual this year. In addition to the normal annual inspection, we also did the following maintenance actions:
    1. Performed 500 hour magneto inspection on Left and right magnetos
    2. Removed cracked nose wheel pant and ordered new wheel pant for future installation
    3. Replaced LH brake pads with new RA66-109 brake pads
    4. Replaced nose wheel tire inner tube with new tube and greased nose wheel bearings.
    5. Replaced air filter with BA-6108 Filter
    6. Replaced cigarette outlet fuse
    7. Installed #1 CDI from Arrow into Cessna

N2242N

  • Oil Change - The oil and filter were changed on September 3rd and the oil analysis report is shown below. There was an increase in the iron readings this time but it is still within the normal range for this engine. The oil filter was cut open and the filter element was sent in for analysis. All other readings are showing good trends.

  • Starter - We had intermittent reports of the starter not engaging on the first try but we could not duplicate the problem during troubleshooting. On Aug 31, the starter would spin but the starter gear would not move forward enough to turn the engine. Multiple attempts were made but the starter would just spin. We cleaned all the ground and power connections in the starter circuit and then tried starting the engine. It started right up and we have not had any starting problems since. Thanks to Kip for helping with this effort.

  • No 1 CDI - The CDI in the Arrow was replaced with GI-106A S/N H23108 to eliminate the erroneous BC indication.

  • Spinner Cuff - On 7 Sep, a crack in the spinner cuff was reported. A new cuff was ordered and installed on 12 Sept.

  • LC-2 Chronometer Battery - On 14 Sep, the AAA battery in the LC-2 Chronometer (Clock/timer) was replaced. Thanks to Dale Hofstetter for helping with the clock removal and reinstallation.

  • Cylinder Borescope - The arrow cylinders were borescoped to see how the exhaust valves are doing. The photos below were taken on 19 September and show the valves condition at 1224.32 hours since overhaul. The cylindrical heat patterns on the exhaust valves indicate that they are cooling normally and doing fine. Cylinders 2, 3 & 4 are shown in the closed position and cylinder #1 is shown in an open position.


    Copyright © 2012, St. Louis Flying Club, All rights reserved. Last updated September 2013.
...