49R Goes For Annual

It's April, which means that spring is here the flowers are blooming and it's time for 49R's annual inspection.

Every aircraft, regardless of how many hours it flew must have an annual inspection completed at least once a year. An annual generally takes about 20-30 hours to complete (depending on the type of aircraft) and generally costs between $2K-$5k or more depending on the type of aircraft. In addition to the inspection, there are some items that are just replaced every year (regardless of their wear) some things that are checked and replaced based on their condition, and some things that are replaced based on the number of hours they flew.

Our mechanic is a really good guy and allows (even prefers) the owners of the aircraft he works on to assist in the annual. His reasoning is that it makes for better customers as far as taking better care of the plane. If I help with the annual, I get to know the airplane better and pay closer attention to what's going on with the airplane. When something isn't quite right, I'll recognize it more sooner than someone who doesn't participate in the care and maintenance of their aircraft.

My partner and I don't have the time away from work to completely assist for an entire annual and there is a limit to what we can do partially based on skill level and partially based on what we are allowed to assist with. So, we generally start the annual on a Saturday morning and work on the plane all day Saturday and all day Sunday before handing off to the mechanic to complete on his own.

Generally in the annual we complete opening the inspection panels, removing the seats and carpeting in the plane, pulling the cowling and spinner, changing the oil and oil filter, cleaning the secondary oil screen, cleaning the fuel strainer filter, servicing the brake shoes, testing the compression of the cylinders, lubricating the hinges, pulleys and flap rollers for all the control surfaces, cleaning, gapping, testing the spark plugs, inspecting the propellor and removing any nicks and repainting the propellor leading edge, inspecting and changing the airfilter, removing the tires and cleaning and repacking the bearings

The work can be difficult to complete and frustrating when you're trying to disassemble and reassemble parts, but it's extremely satisfying to see the job completed and to learn about how these things work and to know that we've saved a little money by doing it ourselves.

Overall, it looks to be an uneventful annual, but we did find one issue. Part of our exhaust system needs to be replaced due to wear on a couple of sections of exhaust pipe that connect using a slip joint. The two pieces of pipe have worn down over time to half of their thickness and that wear has caused a exhaust to leak at that spot. Each piece needs to be fabricated on order and are about $500 each. Other than that, everything looks pretty good and we shouldn't see any big surprises in the final bill. We're also replacing the cam-locks that secure the two halves of cowling with stainless steel ones that will cost us about $300, but that was a planned expense.

The Vertical S Maneuver

I wish I had a diagram to show, but I cannot find one and the maneuver is really difficult to draw (and I cannot draw). In any case, the vertical S is a maneuver that is used frequently in IFR training.

The Vertical S is not a maneuver required in the practical exam for an Instrument Rating, but it is a great way to practice the skills that you will have to demonstrate during the practical exam (check ride).

The pilot starts a standard rate turn (a turn in which it takes exactly 2 minutes to complete 360°) to the left or right, while at the same time starting a 500 foot per minute climb.  At the end of 1 minute, the pilot will have (if done correctly) turned 180° and climbed 500 feet. After 1 minute, the pilot turns the other direction and begins a 500 foot per minute descent. At the end of that minute the pilot should be back a the original altitude and original heading.

This maneuver allows the pilot to practice several things. First, the instrument scan, when you're straight and level, you glance at the Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI) and the Turn Coordinator, but just to make sure everything is level. During the Vertical S, you have to maintain a standard rate bank angle while at the same time establishing a climb (or descent) using the VSI for guidance. There is also the added element of a timer, which is also important in IFR flight. More on timers at a later date, but the short of it is, if your electrical goes out on your panel you have to get the plane on the ground in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), sometimes the only way to do that is to use a timer on your approach.

Starting (or Rather) Re-Starting IFR Training

I think I'm sort of a restless person. I'm never seem to be content with where I am. I always want to work toward something. Awhile back, I started thinking about a master's degree. Then the opportunity presented itself with the company at which I was working at the time. Basically, they offered a master's degree through a partnership with Texas Tech University.  Not the best engineering school in the world and not necessarily my first choice, but a respected school nonetheless, and it was free.  After 13 months of coursework and another 4 of writing a master's report, I finished my goal. After that, I needed a break from learning... from school... from everything.

A couple years later, I was getting restless again. And the possibility of flight, which had always fascinated me, presented itself.  I took it, and through months of training and preparing, I earned my Private Pilot Certificate.  Once again, I was content and wanted to relax and enjoy my hard work.

Now it's another year or two later and I was getting restless. There was no questioning what I would do.  I decided to start working toward my IFR rating.  I've been told it's the most difficult to obtain and I was up for the challenge. Unfortunately, my pocketbook was not. I was between jobs and trying to survive and had to sacrifice the training. To be honest, my head wasn't in it anyway. So now, a year later, I've got a great job and things are stable, and my latest desire has me wanting to build an airplane. As much as I want to dive in head first on the airplane, I know it's going to take a greater commitment than I've ever undertaken on a project or goal before, so before I try to do that, I need to put first things first.  I'm going to get that IFR rating.

A couple of things are helping. There's a company available that has one of the first full-motion simulators available for single-engine piston aircraft that would charge only $75/hour for time (I could bring in my own instructor) and could log up to 20 hours of time toward my instrument rating in the simulator. I may take advantage of that 20 hours, along with taking advantage of practicing with safety pilots.

With that, I thought I would talk a little bit about some of the initial things one works on when starting training for an IFR rating. Keep in mind that anyone training for an IFR rating is already a private pilot. In any event, the pilot in training dons a view limiting device to obscure the view outside to cockpit and you spend a much time as it takes to hold an altitude and hold and heading.  It sounds easier than it is.  The Instrument PTS specifies that the pilot will maintain altitude ±100 feet during level flight, maintain heading ±10 degrees, airspeed ±10 knots, and ±5 degrees of bank angle. So essentially, every lesson will be an exercise in maintaining those standards, but for the first lesson, it's best to concentrate on maintaining heading, altitude and bank angle with standard rate turns.

Welcome to Hangar 237

This is a blog where I can post my aviation related musings. Being a pilot is all about learning and growing. In this space I will talk about my experiences, what I have learned from them, and where I plan to go on my adventure in aviation.