JonJay
Well Known Member
I thought I would post notes from my "10 Hour Inspection" in case it is of any value to anyone. Not sure there is such a thing as a 10 hour inspection, but considering it was the break in period for the engine and first oil change, it made sense to do a thourough inspection of the airframe and engine.
Engine - oil usage stabilized after just a few hours. I ran the engine hard, 25/25 during the first 10 hours per Aerosport Power instructions. Oil level wants to live at around 6 1/2 to 7 quarts. Anything more and it tends to just throw out the breather. I understand this is very typical for an IO360.
Running at 25sq, it is important not to have wheel pants and fairings installed. At this setting, my airpseed was 180mph, right at the bottom of the yellow arc. If the fairings and wheel pants where on, it would have been difficult to run at this power setting with the bumps I encountered on many of my flights.
Plugs - Somewhere along the process I neglected to torque my plugs. I never did on my old Aeronca, just did it by feel, 11 years no issues. Perhaps my mind wandered or I thought I had done it. One plug had some blow by. I removed it, cleaned it, and torqued it per the lycoming manual. Per Bart at Aerosport, I torqued the other plugs per spec, no need to remove and clean. I learned that the torque is not just for blow by, but also for heat transfer. Plugs will run hot if not properly torqued.
Oil leaks - It is amazing how far a little oil will go. I chased down some very minor leaks, but still have a little coming from somewhere, perhaps the crank seal, residual oil, or ? Not enough to show up on the belly or windscreen, but enough to put a light mist or film on pretty much everything under the cowling after 10 hours. My thoughts of having a brand new FWF that would remain perfectly clean are pretty much over. Talking with others I have found this to be pretty typical.
Baffling - It is performing pretty well temperature wise. However, it is easy to see where the rubber chafes on the cowling, forming a good seal, and where it does not. It is also amazing how much dirt "clean" air has in it. It makes a nice indicator showing on the inside of the cowling where the air is getting out of the plenum. Tying down the back corners with rib stiching and a little more RTV seems to have sealed up some of the leaks.
Oil Cooler - Of all the posts "dis'ing" Van's cheap cooler, mine actually runs too cool. 155-175. OT have been in the 60's and 70's, so not concerned. However, CHT on #4 is hotter I suspect partly due to the scavenged air for the cooler. My thought is to change out the cooler to a more efficient quality model so I can block off some of that airflow and use it to cool the cylinder, instead of over cooling the oil. Not a high priority as things are well within limits.
Exhaust - Vetterman makes a great product and Larry is the best. I am having a problem with one side not staying put. He wants the hangars to be on the back of the sump. It was too messy to put them there, so I moved up to the side making the length of the rubber hose longer than it should be introducing some unwanted flexing. According to Larry, the fix is to support that rubber hose by taking up the space inside with a smaller hose, or using a larger hose over the top and a couple more clamps. I am confident that this will fix this small issue.
Cowling Bottom Hinge - I expected to see the common problem with the inside hinge loops breaking off in time. I did not expect to see the rivets start to pull through the fiberglas after only 10 hours, but they did. I had epoxied the hinge in place, but evidently not done a great job of it as it was starting to separate from the cowling allowing the rivets to pull out. I affixed a piece of angle with an .063 extension on the firewall, drilled out the two inboard, right and left, offending rivets for a #8 screw, reinstalled the cowling and drilled through for a nutplate. These two screws support the inside edge of the cowling near the exhaust exit very well and subsequent flights show it is working. I would recommend that if you do use the hinge method on the bottom cowling and firewall that you install these screws. Vans does on their demo machines. Very easy fix and only two screws to remove.
Brakes - Sometimes the left brake does not "unload". I am going to try the AN3-60 single bolt through the brake pedal as that seems to work well for people. If it does not, I will install a spring over the push rod on the cylinder and give it a little more boost. Great posts on this topic when I searched the board. I did have a couple issues with directional control on take off that I wrote off as "pilot error" that I now attribute to this issue. I woud recommend that you abondon the plans here and try the long bolt or spring method from the start. My brake drag was not significant enough to cause an issue, but I could see how it could be.
Fuel Filter - A few small specs that looked like proseal and a very small amount of gray matter that looked like dust. Very minor and very clean. I have the Aiflow Performance system for an RV7 modified for my 6. A bit of a rats nest, but works well. I closed off the fuel selector on my last flight and ran the system dry. I was surprised that it took about a minute at 1200rpm for the fuel to get out of the system where the engine shut down. Anyway, very little fuel came out of the filter when I removed it and it was a much easier and cleaner job than I anticipated.
Airframe and Controls - I pulled the right side seat panel, top baggage rear bulkhead, aileron bellcrank inspection covers, and elevator rear fuselage cover. A lot of screws and work to find everything exactly as it should be. Still worth the effort to know that it is all good.
I was done in a few hours and made a log entry as a 10 hour inspection. I intend to do my next major inspection and oil change at 50 hours.
I hope that someone may find some value in this post.
Engine - oil usage stabilized after just a few hours. I ran the engine hard, 25/25 during the first 10 hours per Aerosport Power instructions. Oil level wants to live at around 6 1/2 to 7 quarts. Anything more and it tends to just throw out the breather. I understand this is very typical for an IO360.
Running at 25sq, it is important not to have wheel pants and fairings installed. At this setting, my airpseed was 180mph, right at the bottom of the yellow arc. If the fairings and wheel pants where on, it would have been difficult to run at this power setting with the bumps I encountered on many of my flights.
Plugs - Somewhere along the process I neglected to torque my plugs. I never did on my old Aeronca, just did it by feel, 11 years no issues. Perhaps my mind wandered or I thought I had done it. One plug had some blow by. I removed it, cleaned it, and torqued it per the lycoming manual. Per Bart at Aerosport, I torqued the other plugs per spec, no need to remove and clean. I learned that the torque is not just for blow by, but also for heat transfer. Plugs will run hot if not properly torqued.
Oil leaks - It is amazing how far a little oil will go. I chased down some very minor leaks, but still have a little coming from somewhere, perhaps the crank seal, residual oil, or ? Not enough to show up on the belly or windscreen, but enough to put a light mist or film on pretty much everything under the cowling after 10 hours. My thoughts of having a brand new FWF that would remain perfectly clean are pretty much over. Talking with others I have found this to be pretty typical.
Baffling - It is performing pretty well temperature wise. However, it is easy to see where the rubber chafes on the cowling, forming a good seal, and where it does not. It is also amazing how much dirt "clean" air has in it. It makes a nice indicator showing on the inside of the cowling where the air is getting out of the plenum. Tying down the back corners with rib stiching and a little more RTV seems to have sealed up some of the leaks.
Oil Cooler - Of all the posts "dis'ing" Van's cheap cooler, mine actually runs too cool. 155-175. OT have been in the 60's and 70's, so not concerned. However, CHT on #4 is hotter I suspect partly due to the scavenged air for the cooler. My thought is to change out the cooler to a more efficient quality model so I can block off some of that airflow and use it to cool the cylinder, instead of over cooling the oil. Not a high priority as things are well within limits.
Exhaust - Vetterman makes a great product and Larry is the best. I am having a problem with one side not staying put. He wants the hangars to be on the back of the sump. It was too messy to put them there, so I moved up to the side making the length of the rubber hose longer than it should be introducing some unwanted flexing. According to Larry, the fix is to support that rubber hose by taking up the space inside with a smaller hose, or using a larger hose over the top and a couple more clamps. I am confident that this will fix this small issue.
Cowling Bottom Hinge - I expected to see the common problem with the inside hinge loops breaking off in time. I did not expect to see the rivets start to pull through the fiberglas after only 10 hours, but they did. I had epoxied the hinge in place, but evidently not done a great job of it as it was starting to separate from the cowling allowing the rivets to pull out. I affixed a piece of angle with an .063 extension on the firewall, drilled out the two inboard, right and left, offending rivets for a #8 screw, reinstalled the cowling and drilled through for a nutplate. These two screws support the inside edge of the cowling near the exhaust exit very well and subsequent flights show it is working. I would recommend that if you do use the hinge method on the bottom cowling and firewall that you install these screws. Vans does on their demo machines. Very easy fix and only two screws to remove.
Brakes - Sometimes the left brake does not "unload". I am going to try the AN3-60 single bolt through the brake pedal as that seems to work well for people. If it does not, I will install a spring over the push rod on the cylinder and give it a little more boost. Great posts on this topic when I searched the board. I did have a couple issues with directional control on take off that I wrote off as "pilot error" that I now attribute to this issue. I woud recommend that you abondon the plans here and try the long bolt or spring method from the start. My brake drag was not significant enough to cause an issue, but I could see how it could be.
Fuel Filter - A few small specs that looked like proseal and a very small amount of gray matter that looked like dust. Very minor and very clean. I have the Aiflow Performance system for an RV7 modified for my 6. A bit of a rats nest, but works well. I closed off the fuel selector on my last flight and ran the system dry. I was surprised that it took about a minute at 1200rpm for the fuel to get out of the system where the engine shut down. Anyway, very little fuel came out of the filter when I removed it and it was a much easier and cleaner job than I anticipated.
Airframe and Controls - I pulled the right side seat panel, top baggage rear bulkhead, aileron bellcrank inspection covers, and elevator rear fuselage cover. A lot of screws and work to find everything exactly as it should be. Still worth the effort to know that it is all good.
I was done in a few hours and made a log entry as a 10 hour inspection. I intend to do my next major inspection and oil change at 50 hours.
I hope that someone may find some value in this post.
