Annual 2012

MONDAY - ANNUAL DAY 1

Vince and his photo skill magic

My day started early to get Maggie breakfast and let her out.  I took it one more step and raced back upstairs while she lallygagged.  I hid behind the bedroom door and as the queen bee walked into the dark room I reached out and touched her back along with a loud Boo!  Poor girl just about jumped out of her fur.  I turned the light on and she was standing there looking at me with that boy what a jerk he is face. Mary gave me hell, I laughed and Maggie went over to her bed and with a big sigh settled in and gave me the stink eye while I got dressed.

Mary drove me to the airport and with some back and forth texting last night we met up with Vince.  Since Vince had the day off from school I asked if he wanted to help with the annual, he was excited.  We sat on the ramp from 7am to 9:30 waiting on the fog to lift at our destination.  The wx at Summit, KEVY was reporting 200 overcast and 1/4 visibility.  We checked every half hour and listened as the temp/dew point climbed in unison until about 9:15.  We climbed aboard and got the fan turning  to let the oil warm up.  Vince took the radios and I did the flying, we were off for 58M!

I was high on final as I maneuvered around the "few at 500" that were really sitting at 1000'.  The last jet into Wilmington was reporting a 27 knot headwind at 3000 as he was making the RNAV approach to runway one niner. I was high and fast so I went around and re-entered the left down wind and made a nice landing into 58M.

Baring her soul...

We positioned 08Romeo in the hangar and got the annual started. Vince opened up the inspection panels under each wing, main spar and gascolater cover.  I removed the tail cone and ELT access panels on each side. The Cecil Aero crew removed the cowling and got started on the power plant checks.  I have 30 hours left on my oil changed so it was just a filter removal for inspection.  After the oil the plugs were removed and I got to clean them up in the bead blaster.  Vince took a break from the screw gun and gave the bead blaster a go, he did very well.   Plugs were clean and ready for the anti-seize to be administered.  The compression checks were done and they were 77-78-78-77, total engine time was 375 hours.

Plugs looked really good, not much carbon build up



Vince and the bead blaster experience

cleaned and ready for installation with fresh anti-seize

 Tool used to grease bearings, we used to do this by hand!

 Wheel bearings, dust covers and retaining clips

Replacing the baggage door seal

Stan and Frank completed most of the power plant checks and we should be really close to getting the engine part of the inspection completed tomorrow.  Next Stan and Keith got the plane in the air and Vince helped.  Once 08Romeo was off the ground Stan walked us through the main gear removal and got us started on the bearing removal and installation process.

We did find some play in the left main gear during the reinstall (circled), more investigation to follow. It was time to call an end to day one as we all cleaned up and planned for tomorrows fun, er....I mean work.

TUESDAY - ANNUAL DAY 2

Maggie has me up early as she paces the house so I figure I'll get up and work on yesterdays blog and pictures that Vince provided.  Mary joins me here in the office with a hot cup of English breakfast tea, my Bride is the best!

cutting open the oil filter for inspection

The plan is to make a stop and pick up Vince, yes, he is bagging a day of school with his Mom's permission to get some extra shop time.  Vince is taking courses at the local tech school on aircraft repair so this is sort of a hands on field trip providing a chance to dig in and get his hands dirty with work he hasn't done at school.

main gear knee pin inspection

After a mandatory stop at dunkin for donuts and hot beverages we headed to the airport. The crew was on a hold with finishing up the gear until we find the status of the knee pin and bushings on each  gear.  The knee pins revealed little to no deviation but the bushings were obviously shot.  Roger made a call for new bushings and they quoted him $600 for each bushing, that's right, EACH bushing.  Lets do the simple math, three gear, two bushings each makes it six bushings at six Franklin's each is (body shake) thirty six AMU's. Ok, what was the plan 'B'??

milling the bushing flange

milling the outside diameter (OD)

milling the inside diameter (ID)

Plan B was sounding good. The shop decided to mill stock bushings on a T&M basis.  I got in the way and asked many questions while the metal lathe machine was set up. I haven't run this type of stuff since working at a shop in my very early twenties. Yikes! that would be thirty years ago! Each bushing needed to have the outside diameter completed first followed by the inside diameter in order to keep the center line where the knee pin would ride true.  The final step would be milling the bushing flange. 

Vince giving the metal lathe a go

While the milling work was slowly moving forward Vince and Stan went through items remaining on the check list. The gascolater was checked and screen cleaned then reassembled. The electrical system was checked along with all flight controls, no problems here.  I am having the baffle system replaced with a stronger stiffer material to better help temperature control in the engine room. Not much planned for tomorrow until the remaining four bushings come in so I will head into work to catch up on my projects. I'll return to the airplane Thursday to help finish things up.

THURSDAY - ANNUAL DAY 3

I am headed south with the hope that we can finish up 08Romeo.  Still on the list of things to do is engine baffle, front nose gear bushings, close up all the inspection plates, install the baggage door seal and finally clean up and wax.

I make my typical stop for a medium hot tea, black, extra sugar, then get back on the road. Everyone is getting started as I roll in and I jump right into the new seal install.  I had previously cleaned the door and all that remained today was coating the door surface with a 3M product specifically called out on the instructions and then add the same product to the seal itself right before I press it into place.

after the glue set on the door I glued the seal about 8 inches at a time

 

working my way around the door, making sure the placement was perfect

finished product!



Stan was working on the engine baffles and I am thinking that it will be completed tomorrow.  It's a long process removing the original rivets and staples, drilling then replacing with new rivets.

 I did manage to get most of the plane waxed today and my arms and shoulders are really letting me know.  Frank concentrated on the right main gear and nose gear before he got pulled away to work on a straight tail Cessna with some engine issues.

tucked under a wing with my trusty screw gun....

wing spar inspection panel

I got the ok to proceed with installing all the inspection plates that Vince had removed on day one.  Everything went back together smoothly except for the wing spar panel. I installed 46 of 48 screws only to find out that the last two, go figure, were missing clip lock nuts.



 Yes, I had to remove the screws I put in so I could attach the clip nuts on the metal bracket type brace in order to secure the panel.  My arms hate me for doing the screw gun deal twice. With the belly now clean after the install I will get some paint on the trailing edges of the spar panel.

 

That's about it for day 3. A short list of things to do include a little bit of engine baffle then finish up the nose wheel knee pin and bushing install. Tomorrow will be the run up and leak test then the log book updates.

 

FRIDAY - ANNUAL DAY 4

 

Friday starts just like the rest, up early with Maggie then off to Cecil Aero with a dunkin stop for my tea. I thought we would finish up today but Roger decided that he did not like the look of the baffle having to "wrinkle" around the rounded portion of the engine baffle backplate.

left side rounded baffle backplate

new baffle right side

new baffle left side

The shop is doing a really nice job, all new rivets, no more of the staples to be found. I hope this helps my climb out temps that were running a little warmer than I like during the summer. Everything else is complete and 08Romeo will be off the jackstands today ready for her run up. 

I left the shop early today since Mary was sick and I wanted to be with her this afternoon.  I'll pick up the plane tuesday night or wednesday of next week.

American Heroes

Thank-you to those who have served and to those who stand watch today. Thank-You for the very freedoms you provide my family every day.

Sky Manor Lunch Run

Mary and I traded AOPA form posts and phone calls with Ted and Susan trying to decided on a date and time to meet for lunch.  It's been a while since we last got together and we always look forwarding to spending time together when we can.  The plan was hatched to meet at N40, Sky Manor for lunch around noon today.  That worked out great, we got a few things done around the house and headed to the airport around 10:30.

I had ordered fuel this morning so I was ready with 30 gallons on board for the 35 minute trip north and 40-45 home in the 10-15 knot headwinds.  I filed today just to get some practice in the system. Contrary to my thought process of keeping it simple I ended up getting routed to Allentown (FJC)then direct N40.  What the heck, I had a tail wind the whole way looking at 128-132 knots.

As I approached Allentown Philly handed me off. Allentown advised they would turn me direct in a few miles which ended up working out ok. I turned direct just south of the Allentown class C airspace and descended at my discretion for the field.  I reported the field in sight about 8 miles out and cancelled my IFR plan.  I was directed to keep my squawk code until on the ground and acknowledged the instruction.

I switched over to CTAF and made the 8 mile call followed by a 5 mile call, I didn't hear a thing.  Hmmm.....I checked my knee board notes 126.975 and pulled up the airport info  to confirm.  Well duh........I had dialed in 126.475.  I made the correction and followed with an immediate call now three miles out on final for runway 7.  I made a nice landing and rolled out for the ramp located adjacent to the restaurant.

Good food and service sums it up and great company!  It was fun to catch up with Ted and Susan yet painful to hear what they went through after Hurricane Sandy. I'm glad they have power back and are getting things squared away.  We wrapped up lunch and talked about a tentative plan to get-away for a weekend before the holidays.  We had planned on Cape Cod but it took minimal effort to convince us to fly south.  More on the get-away south plan to follow.

Marshall and Treasure Island on the Delaware

Just to the north of Treasure Island lies Marshall Island (also known as Eagle Island). Marshall Island is connected to Treasure Island only by a small footbridge. Treasure Island is in New Jersey, whereas Marshall Island is in Pennsylvania. Treasure Island is a Boy Scout property located between Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania and Frenchtown, New Jersey, United States. The property is situated on two islands in the middle of the Delaware River and owned by the Cradle of Liberty Council. Treasure Island was the oldest continually operated Boy Scout Camp in the country and had been continuously associated with Scouting since 1913.

We said our goodbyes and saddled up for home.  I flew direct Modena (MXE) then KILG. I had 10-15 knot headwinds the whole way , I didn't bother with flight following or filing an instrument plan.  I just wanted to enjoy the air time and work on knocking off the rust.

We made the call to  to Wilmington tower just 8 miles to the north just as the TFR lifted, perfect timing!  I greased a landing and had to add power to make the first runway distance sign which was at the 6 thousand mark, I had planted 08Romeo on the numbers. We taxied in and shut down, it was  a fun day with friends.

08Romeo heads into annual tomorrow morning.  Tonight I will get my tools and log books ready. I'll be reporting on this years experience just like every year to date.  Oh how I will hate the sore body....

Much Needed Flight Time

With hurricane Sandy in the record books and 08Romeo returned to her normal tie down it's time for us to get some flight time.

Yesterday I got most of the motor home ready for her winter slumber. Mary and I took a last run and filled the propane tanks then cleaned up the inside.  This morning I emptied out some clothes I had left in the closets and stored the items we left sitting on the bed when we traveled north from the beach.

The view across the field this morning with the sunlight beaming through

Today is airplane day! I was thinking about getting night current this evening but even with the time switch I'm not sure if I feel like heading back to the airport and uncovering.....that hangar sure was nice.  I headed to the airport early with the hope of catching up with the breakfast bunch out of Woodbine or Quakertown.   First on my list was some wash/wax all to take care of a few bird deposits and to clean the windows, I was lazy and put 08Romeo away without cleaning them. I at least did all the leading edges, including the main and nose gear after the the BAC Fest trip the end of September.  September, wow, it's been a month since I last flew!

I swapped Facebook posts with Jeff from Woodbine and he confirmed that the group was heading to the Georgetown Airport, KGED for the Sunday buffet.  I grabbed my flight bag and headed to the plane. It was good to see 08Romeo and spend some time cleaning up and doing a very comprehensive pre-flight.  Everything looked great and I climbed aboard for an 8:30 start up time. 08Roameo came to life, she had to be needing the flying fix as bad as I was.  I taxi out to the Red Eagle ramp and sat so my oil temps could come up. I plugged in my flight plan and tuned the vor for some tracking today.  I did notice that I lost the number display in the collins vor, the last digit to the right. I did order a spare when I replaced the nav radio display that went dark not long after purchase.

Another new voice in the tower today and the broken english is pretty bad but I can understand her.  I am directed to taxi all the way across the field for the runway heading into the wind, runway three two.  Please, the cross wind for two seven is six knots, I can handle that and save fuel. As I reach to key the mic the tower comes right back and gives me two seven at Mike via Kilo, that's more like it.

08Romeo climbs out at 1200 feet/minute, she's feeling frisky in the cool air. I play along and we enjoy the climb to our cruise altitude of three thousand today. The sky didn't look to good but the forecast was telling me it was going to clear, I road along south.  The tops were sitting at three thousand eight and I had some bumps along the way.  I decided to pick up flight following with Dover approach since they seemed busy launching heavies this morning.  I didn't want to be a bug splat on a C-5.

I dropped flight following about ten north of Georgetown and switched to CTAF.  I made my position calls and crossed midfield for the left down wind entry for runway two two.  I was looking at a good crosswind componet but I needed the practice.  I'm sure anyone watching would have compared this landing to a kid dipping one toe in the water at a time as I felt for the runway with my right main.  I ballooned a bit and dipped the toe in again, up a tad then slowly sinking with touchdown.  I made for a short roll followed by the left main and nose immediatly following.  I was down and making the turn off to the ramp relieved to get the first one in the book after a month off.

The Woodbine bunch made their way first Joe from Cape May then Jeff.  I did get a shot of Jeff banking to enter left base to downwind for two eight. About the time Jeff taxied in a Guard Blackhawk started up and taxied out, I was glad he was not going to taxi past my plane. With everyone here we grabbed a table and enjoyed a great breakfast in the terminal. Plenty of food on the buffet and the service was perfect as always.  I had taken on some fuel so I had 08Romeo filled back to the tabs, especially since you get a discount if you eat at the restaurant.

The sky had cleared but the layer had moved north.  This was what I was looking at heading home. Tops were reported at three thousand eight and I once again road along under the layer, not enjoying the bumps.  The good speeds enjoyed heading south were paid for with headwinds the whole way home. I was only making 106 to 110 knots ground speed with 120 indicated. As always I enjoy the time in the left seat and taking in all the sights below so time really didn't matter.

As you can see the winds were pretty strong as I passed by Salem nuke plant  approaching Wilmington. I made my position call with ATIS info and was directed to enter a left base for two seven. I acknowledged and made ready for landing. There was a blackhawk landing, an experimental heading in on the opposite down wind number two behind me and I was looking to grease this landing.  I needed to slip to get there and add a touch of power to hold off the sink rate but it ended with a smooth roll on to the runway, no squeak, no bounce just the hum of the wheels rolling.

I buttoned 08Romeo up and wiped down the leading edges. It felt GREAT to be back flying.  As I was locking up a Falcon jet landed, a Guard C130 took off and a CAP Cessna landed.  A busy airport this morning.

3rd Times the Charm

With Hurricane Sandy heading to the tri-state area there was a scramble for hangars and getting planes moved to a safe location.  I made calls Friday to Wilmington Airport since they had hangared me during the last bad storm. It was a simple process, provide proper insurance with the Authority named as insured, pick up a key and get your plane in.  It would prove to be a longer process the past two days to get 08Romeo sheltered.

I followed the new procedures in place for obtaining a hangar for the duration of the storm. I sent an email to the Airport Director and he in turn would now need to get approval from the COO.  While that process was moving forward I contacted my insurance company to provide a cover sheet with the policy info and name the operating authority on the policy.  I received the file from Aviation Insurance and quickly forwarded it to the airport.  Shortly after my email I received a call to tell me I could not lease a hangar for the storm duration, five to seven days, because they only do thirty day leases. For real? there were eleven open hangars and they were not going to be available for people that wanted to get their planes sheltered for the storm.  In fairness I should add that all but one of the hangars did not have electricity on, the hangar doors would need to be operated with a generator.

I quickly got on the phone to secure a new spot.  After a few calls I had two offers, one graciously provided by Red Eagle Avionics and the other by a airport tenant that had access to hangars on the field.  I thanked Dale at Red Eagle but did not want him to have to move planes for me so I went with the T-hangar.

Mary and I had started our Saturday bright and early.  We took care of her Mom's patio furniture then grabbed some dunkin donuts breakfast and headed to the airport.  As we were uncovering 08Romeo a fellow ramp neighbor and long time ham radio friend Bill walked over to say hello.  Bill was looking for hangar space too, I said I thought I could hook him up. I made a call to the man that was helping me and he said he may be able to get him in too.  Mary drove around to the west T's via the local roads while Bill and I taxied our planes across the field.

I was directed to a T-hangar and quickly got 08Romeo settled in.  Bill had to move to a secondary spot since the first had a wave runner that would not allow his Cherokee to fit. Bill was in and we were set, I felt the stress lift off my shoulders. We were invited to come back for the T-Hangar cook out and we agreed that if we got everything done we would return.  Meanwhile we were still hoping that our generator could be fixed that we had dropped off last night at the local shop.  We checked in on the generator and got the bad news, it needed a spring in the carbs fuel bowl, this was a show stopper.  No fear, we have the motor homes 5000 watt genset that we could use and a small 800 watt unit too.

We finished up the few errands we needed to take care of, a stop at Walgreen's and a fuel top off for the SUV.  While Mary was getting her scripts filled I got two calls, one was my brother and sister-in-law in Florida letting me know they had a ride to the house tonight when they get into Philly airport. The second call was the man helping us find hangar space.  We had to head back to the airport to move our plane out of the hangar since the owner had already promised it to another pilot, a simple communications mix up.  We  got back to the airport and swapped hangars, easy peasy, we were covered.  We walked around to the cook out area and said our hello's and goodbyes so we could get home and get the genset hooked up.  As we were leaving I  was told the hangar I was in was an airport hangar not a leased hangar.  This is not good......I immediately made a u-turn and headed back to pull the plane out. Sorry 08Romeo but it's back to the ramp, I can't stay in a hangar that could cause me problems.

Once again we were headed home, this time with a sick feeling in my gut knowing 08Romeo would not be safe.  Back at our ramp there are multiple jets in the process of being made airworthy along with their parts on the ramp, nothing is secured.  Most of the jets are on blocks, no wheels, except for nose gear.  These aircraft are going to be projectiles, I can only hope our baby is far enough away.

We made a liquor store stop and then headed home to get the genset cabled for our sump pumps, refrigerator and entertainment, all the while thinking of our plane.  We ordered pizza and as much as I wanted a double captain and Pepsi I held off.  I still had hope that I would get a call and my contact at the airport would find me a hangar.  The cell phone rang around 5:45 and he found me a spot! I confirmed we were on our way back to the airport, I would meet him there.  This was the fifth trip today but this one was worth it.  Mary and I uncovered 08Romeo, I fired up and taxied back across the field, the tower folks must of thought I was nuts.  Mary hustled the SUV around the airport and met me at the west T's.  08Romeo was safe and secure, I felt like a weight was once again lifted off my shoulders.  On trip six we were finally headed home!  Mary did her little female plane voice and said how happy she was that she would be warm, dry and safe and that she knew we loved her.  Yes, we really do love our plane and I can sleep good tonight knowing she is safe.

Special thanks to the man that made this all happen, I owe you big time. Also a special thanks to the man who owns the hangar. This man moved his plane out of his hangar and secured his plane in a larger two plane hangar so that 08Romeo could have his for the storm.  Pilots helping pilots, the brotherhood in action. I'm a luck guy to have such friends! Time for that 'double'captain and Pepsi.....

Weekend Plans

Since the summer beach runs are done for the season we are gearing up for a few get-away weekends.  We started our list and have added two locations almost instantly. 

Mary and I want to visit our friends in Rome NY so that will be an easy sprint for 08Romeo. Approximately 240 miles and 2.5 hours airtime. 

Next on the list is Cape Cod and the Christmas Stroll.  There are two we would like to visit but will concentrate on the Hyannis Main Street Stroll first.  We already did the Nantucket Christmas Stroll Weekend and it was perfect. Accommodations are to expensive for my pocket so we'll stay on the Cape and fly over to spend the day, if we run out of things to see and do in Hyannis. The trip to the Cape is also approximately 245 miles and 2.5 hours airtime. 

Airplane Utility!

It's not only nice to own a plane for saving travel time to a specific destination but even sweeter when you need a lift to solve logistics. I offered free flight time in 08Romeo to and from Ocean City in order to get Mary and I there to bring home our beach buggy/airport car. Instead, Mike insisted on taking the Diamond DA40. Who am I to argue?

The DA 40 will shave some time off the normal 45-50 minute trip and he can shoot an approach or two while I safety pilot for him. We scheduled for an 8:30 departure this morning from Red Eagle.  Mike was gracious in meeting us there since I can not get back in the West T-hangar gates when we come home. Yes, I work at this airport but I do not have access to the west T's. 

We departed runway one four and climbed out to five thousand five hundred. We faced quartering headwinds of 35 knots through the climb, tapering off to just 12 knots or so at altitude. Mike shot the GPS 14 approach and we had a pretty good crab angle on our way in. A super sweet crosswind landing with the right main touching down followed by the left main and finally the nose gear, textbook stuff.

Mike took on some fuel since it is just $5.50 self serve at KOXB.  I helped out then drove the airport car, our Cabrio, over to the terminal to pick up Mary.  We were headed north. Mike was going to have some fun with the tailwinds, at least until he let down for Wilmington then it would low level shears.

We made a few stops along the way, Lombardi's for lunch then Lewes, DE for the Bake Shop and Loyd's Market for Milton sausage. We also made a quick stop to visit my Brother and his wife but we missed them. They answered our text but we were already back on the road heading north.  A fun day even if it was ground pounding for the ride home.

THANKS Mike B for the hop, you're the man!!