Caveman
Well Known Member
I considered putting a smoke system in my airplane several times, but decided against it in the interest of adhering to my ?keep it simple, keep it light, & ?JUST GET ?ER DONE? philosophy. However, every time I see pictures and videos of smoking airplanes, or see one in the real life, I wish I had a smoke system. Recent posts on VAF resurrected the desire and I?ve wasted, hours and hours researching different systems and components. I was pulled over the edge a few nights ago when my spouse caught me browsing through a ?Jegs? catalog thinking about ordering some hoses.
The conversation went something like:
Her: It?s close to Christmas, you better not be ordering yourself anything, what are you looking for anyway?
Him: Hot rod parts!
Her: You don?t have a hotrod anymore? oh you mean the one in the hangar.
Him: Big smile? yep! I?m thinking about putting a smoke system on it. Cringing and waiting to get slapped upside the head and a butt chewing.
Her: Now that would be COOL!
Him thinking to himself: Man I love that woman!
Anyway, I have just about decided to bite the bullet and retrofit a system into my RV-7, but have a few questions for those that have gone before me:
1. Has the smoke oil permanently discolored the paint on your airplane? My airplane is painted white on bottom and I?d like to keep it looking nice. A friend who assisted Ag pilots as a flag man many years ago says it discolored their airplanes.
2. Do you have to clean the belly after every use? Or in a properly jetted system does all the oil burn and leave the airplane with a clean belly?
3. Are some of the different smoke oils worse than others for clean up? I?ve researched the recommended oils but never saw this addressed. I live way out in the boonies and getting Corvis or Canopus may be next to impossible. There is a Conoco Phillips oil distributor but I doubt they have much call f0r concrete form oil in a small town.
4. Are you still glad you installed your system and do you still use it often or did you use it a few times and now it is just in the way and another thing to remove during inspections?
5. To do this right I?d have to submit a new weight and balance and notify the FSDO and go back in to phase one for 5 hours. Correct?
6. Does the airplane need to be re-inspected or do I just make a notation in the airplane logs after the 5 hours of testing?
7. Is there a particular form or forms to submit to the FSDO?
Thank you who have posted links to how you devised your installations!
The conversation went something like:
Her: It?s close to Christmas, you better not be ordering yourself anything, what are you looking for anyway?
Him: Hot rod parts!
Her: You don?t have a hotrod anymore? oh you mean the one in the hangar.
Him: Big smile? yep! I?m thinking about putting a smoke system on it. Cringing and waiting to get slapped upside the head and a butt chewing.
Her: Now that would be COOL!
Him thinking to himself: Man I love that woman!
Anyway, I have just about decided to bite the bullet and retrofit a system into my RV-7, but have a few questions for those that have gone before me:
1. Has the smoke oil permanently discolored the paint on your airplane? My airplane is painted white on bottom and I?d like to keep it looking nice. A friend who assisted Ag pilots as a flag man many years ago says it discolored their airplanes.
2. Do you have to clean the belly after every use? Or in a properly jetted system does all the oil burn and leave the airplane with a clean belly?
3. Are some of the different smoke oils worse than others for clean up? I?ve researched the recommended oils but never saw this addressed. I live way out in the boonies and getting Corvis or Canopus may be next to impossible. There is a Conoco Phillips oil distributor but I doubt they have much call f0r concrete form oil in a small town.
4. Are you still glad you installed your system and do you still use it often or did you use it a few times and now it is just in the way and another thing to remove during inspections?
5. To do this right I?d have to submit a new weight and balance and notify the FSDO and go back in to phase one for 5 hours. Correct?
6. Does the airplane need to be re-inspected or do I just make a notation in the airplane logs after the 5 hours of testing?
7. Is there a particular form or forms to submit to the FSDO?
Thank you who have posted links to how you devised your installations!