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When an assembly is engineered, loads to be encountered by thebolted joint are calculated and a safety factor is applied toallow for unexpected loads. The engineer then sizes a fastenerto maintain the proper pre-load which will withstand the tensile,bending and shear loads imposed upon the assembly. Developing Pre-Loads When a fastener (bolt) is tightened, both […]

Notlong ago, a writer for a major aviation publication called to askmy opinion(s) on the subject of shock cooling. It turns out thecaller had already written his article, but he wanted to run someideas by me to make sure he wasn’t missing something. Since I geta lot of calls on this subject, I had some […]

In the glory days of general aviation, Piper, Beech and Cessnatook the advice of the guy in The Graduate who whispered one wordof advice — “plastics” — into Dustin Hoffman’s ear. The OEMs became big consumers of polyester resins. Sometimes itwent by the trade name Royalite, sometimes ABS, but it was allmade up of pellets […]

When I learned to fly on the East Coast thirty-something yearsago, turbocharging was a dirty word. Everybody said turbos wereexpensive, inefficient, maintenance-intensive, problem-prone,shortens TBO drastically, and makes sense only for folks basedin the Colorado Rockies. As a young, impressionable airman, Ibought it…lock, stock and intercooler. I bought my first airplane in 1968, a nice conservative […]

With a new, remanufactured, major overhauled or top overhauledengine utilizing proper break-in procedures is critical to avoidinghigh oil consumption and its related problems. The main purposeof break-in is to seat the compression rings to the cylinder walls.Let me explain what ring seating is all about. While a new steel cylinder may look like a smooth […]

Some overhaul shops claim beneficial cooling effects of blackpaint on their engine. The theory is that black is a betteremitter of infrared (heat) energy. A hot engine in a cold surrounding,radiates energy from the hot object to the cold. The amount ofradiant cooling (thermal emissions) is generally dependent uponthe temperature of the emitter (engine) and […]

Preflight: Start: Idle: Takeoff: Cruise: Shutdown:

Proper leaning during idle and taxi operations is much more important thanmost pilots understand. It can solve spark plug fouling problems, reducevalve guide wear and valve sticking problems, and prolong engine life.Here’s why. Mixture distribution is poor at idle. At a rich idle mixture, some fueldoesn’t vaporize and enters the cylinder as a liquid where […]

Identifying the problem Alternator induced radio noise is a high pitched whine whose pitchand intensity increases and decreases with changes in engine speed.Turning the alternator master switch off also turns off the radionoise. Solid state regulators that use a pulse-width-modulated fieldcontrol system can also create a whine in the radios. Regulator-causedwhine can be distinguished from […]

Each cylinder of your piston aircraft enginehas two valves—intake and exhaust—that open and close by slidingin and out through a close-tolerance valve guide. A stuck valveis one that no longer slides readily in its guide. A stuck valvemay refuse to open, or once open it may refuse to close. Eithersituation is quite serious. Stuck valves […]