No flying today

[Admin]

I haven't flown for nearly 2 months - been a bit busy - so this morning I thought I would go and take the Gazelle up. The Gazelle was flown to Riddells about 2 months ago by the school that had it on line and it hasn't been touched since then. When I checked the oil I found there wasn't any on the stick so I turned the prop but no burp was forth coming.

 

I pushed her back into the hangar and thought to myself, well I could go and get some oil and then take her up. I decided that as she hadn't been flown for a couple of months I will get the Lame at Riddells to completely go over her and check everything out next week even though her 100 hourly isn't due.

 

I am saying this as in the past I have always gone up each week or two even in winter on a good day. So I think we need to pay very special attention to our aircraft if they haven't been flown for a while especially that first time we go up after winter - it may well cost a couple hundred dollars to get a Lame to check them out first after winter etc as it is always best to play safe then be sorry

 

 

[mlpinaus]

Yes, pulling the prop through, and feeling each compression stroke is a

 

good guide to the health of the motor. You can feel all 6 cylinders on the Jab

 

and I think that it distributes the oil that remains around again too :)

 

regards

 

Marcus

 

 

[Yenn]

Sounds like good airmanship to me. Hope it is nothing serious, is it a 912 or a 2 stroke engine?

 

 

[Guest brentc]

In the 912 you are actually supposed to turn the prop over a reasonable number of times before checking the oil as it has a dry sump, quite differently to the Jabiru engine. Many a people have checked the dipstick, topped up the oil, then started their 912 only to find excess oil in the tank. So you've done the right thing Ian, as if nothing is on there after turning the prop then either a lot has drained out somewhere or it's burnt a lot. Time for a rebuild perhaps, assuming they had oil in it when it left where it was last.

 

 

[storchy neil]

overnight i never start storch with out burping oil siuation sounds a bit sus ian brentc is on the money no oil in as her belly would be covered neil