Oil Change

Overdue. She really should have had the oil changed BEFORE Oshkosh, but life sometimes gets in the way. No excuses are good ones so it was really important not to delay any longer and give Sally some attention.

I'm always tentative about letting a different A&P look at my engine. I've had mostly good luck, but every so often you get started on a repair and realize that the mechanic is way in over his head. An oil change is a good way for me to get Sally introduced.  Dave Patrick had been recommended by a member of the SCFlier forum. He is a good guy and I will be returning to him for all of my maintenance.

A good morning

We left KVDF just before 8:00am for a 60nm flight up to Marion County (X35). The weather was forecast to be mostly scattered, possibly some fog and mist. I was sure that as the sun warmed the air the dew point would lag behind the temperature and the atmosphere would clear throughout the day. 1500' was a good initial altitude, but after some thought I decided to climb to 1600' just in case someone else was out there dodging clouds. It was a beautiful morning.

Video Notes: Oil Change

Dave welcomed me to the field and acted as a "Follow Me" to guide me back to his hangar. On my list:

• Oil Change



Dave waits for me to shutdown

• Install capacitor
• Low oil pressure sending unit
• Adjust Prop pitch
• BRS Repack
• General engine inspection

CorrosionX. Dave a huge proponent of this product. He demonstrated by spraying some on the electric fuel pump and brushing it in. Within a few seconds it looked like new. Recommended for all parts, I'm particularly interested to see how it will work on the 1/4 turn fasteners for the wing lockers.

When we removed the lower cowl the landing light dropped to the length of the electrical wires. The stainless steel attachment bracket had broken close to the light mounting hole. Fortunately, a welder is located on the field and was able to fix the bracket before I left. (Great job BTW)

He worked steadily with no breaks, educating me with tips from his experiences dealing with light sport airplanes. I got much more than I paid for. I commented to him later that one of the seldom mentioned aspects of General Aviation is the fantastic people involved in this activity.  I had a very good day.
* Camtasia 9.0, Virb Edit 4.2.1