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White smoke puff from exhaust on takeoff

00Dan

Well Known Member
I’ve had two instances now that spectators have reported a single white (not blue) puff of smoke from my exhaust right at rotation. If not for being told about it after I’d have never known. In the cockpit I didn’t feel, hear, or smell anything amiss, and the engine monitor didn’t show anything strange.

Background: I have a high time O-320 narrow deck low compression engine. Oil consumption does not appear excessive, and the oil is staying clean (no signs of excessive blow by). I do have a separator installed, and my breather tube is not directly over an exhaust pipe.

I may have to rig a GoPro to try and get a visual on this for myself, but anyone have any ideas?
 
White smoke? Easy.. it’s a head gasket leaking coolant.. now the question is how did you find a water cooled O-320?

I wonder if it’s from a dragging wheel or brake? Perhaps just as the plane lifts off, the tire skids and causes the little puff of smoke?
 
White smoke? Your “College of Cylinders” has just elected a pope.....;)

Sorry, couldn’t resist. I was doing a photo shoot one time years ago, and the photographer in the camera ship mentioned that my RV-8 was putting out a puff of white smoke every once in awhile. I never came up with a cause, but have thought it had something to do with the power changes required to get and stay in formation. Still running fine hundreds of hours later, so I haven’t worried about it.

Paul
 
White smoke? Easy.. it’s a head gasket leaking coolant.. now the question is how did you find a water cooled O-320?

I wonder if it’s from a dragging wheel or brake? Perhaps just as the plane lifts off, the tire skids and causes the little puff of smoke?

I originally thought that but my pads and disks are both new and I detected no dragging when moving the plane on the ground.
 
Any time you operate at reduced manifold pressure a bit of oil will get sucked thru the intake guide, because of the pressure difference. It goes back in the cylinder at high power. Which generates a white puff of smoke.
 
Any time you operate at reduced manifold pressure a bit of oil will get sucked thru the intake guide, because of the pressure difference. It goes back in the cylinder at high power. Which generates a white puff of smoke.

Such as after ground idle coming to full power for takeoff. Should my takeaway be “it’s normal and don’t worry about it” (absent other evidence of problems, of course)?
 
Such as after ground idle coming to full power for takeoff. Should my takeaway be “it’s normal and don’t worry about it” (absent other evidence of problems, of course)?

Correct. Some do it worse than others.
 
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