Lake Wales X07

 Sally is healthy. I was ready for a xcountry flight. Somewhere I've never been, a runway I've never seen. A search on SkyVector led me to Lake Wales. It would be about an hour flight.

The city of Lake Wales was established near the lake in 1911–12, planned by the Lake Wales Land Company.[7] The spelling Wales was used for the city, although the lake is still generally spelled Lake Wailes. Allen Carleton Nydegger, a Civil Engineer, was contracted by the Lake Wales Land Company to plot out the community of Lake Wales. He and his crew camped on the shores of Crystal Lake and spent months plotting out the new community. In 1925 the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad built a new line from Haines City joining lines to Everglades City. A depot was opened on this line at Lake Wales. The City of Lake Wales was officially incorporated in April 1917.[8]. Wikipedia

Beautiful winter weather. Forecast was for CAVU although METARS showed some early morning fog/mist at some of the low lying airports. No interesting NOTAMS but the airport is a Skydiving center and hosts Ultralight events. 

Normal preflight and runup. This is always a good thing following some maintenance. So nice to arrive at the hangar and not find any leaks or flats. And the CHT stayed in the green for all ground operations. Nice.

Just a few students in the pattern. I guess this is the new normal for a weekday. No wait at the hold short line. 5050RPM on the takeoff roll, CHT climbed and stabilized at 238°F during the climb out. Good stuff.  Thanks CERTUS. We leveled at 2700' to stay clear of KLAL airspace and then I pushed the button to let Sally fly. Winds were about 20kts right on the nose, but it was smooth air. Headwinds aren't a problem when you're not in a hurry. I started my descent passing KBOW. 

Winds favored RW06. There were reported skydiver operations but the jump plane was just taking off as I entered on the 45. Lots of large birds in the area. I made a very nice full stop landing and got off on the first taxiway. As I taxied back one of the large birds flew over head with a rodent in its mouth. The jump plane announced skydivers in the air. I completed my checks, made my call and took off. The beautiful Bok tower was immediately in front about 2 miles away.

Bok Tower Gardens (also known as Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower) is a contemplative garden, and bird sanctuary located north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It consists of a 250-acre (100 ha) garden, the 205-foot (62 m) tall Singing Tower with its carillon bells, Pine Ridge Trail, Pinewood Estate, and a visitor center. The tower is built upon Iron Mountain, one of the highest points of peninsular Florida, estimated to be 295 feet (90 m) above sea level. Wikipedia

On the departure leg (not upwind leg) I saw the skydivers, about a half dozen of them.. I made my call and turned to the west to avoid them, then circled back to fly by the tower. That's definitely on our Bucket List for Florida. Time to go home.

We flew past a quiet KGIF and F57 (Jack Browns) looked like they were using one of their Cubs to go fishing. 18Kts on the tail got us home quickly. Sally performed very well for the entire flight

It's nice to have an adventure now and then.

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The day CERTUS came to town

After a "project meeting" at the local Waffle House we drove over to the hangar and got organized. Tools were laid out on the table. Parts were unpacked and inspected. The cowling was removed and a close look at the engine was performed.

1. 
   Oil Cooler: Even with cooler weather Sally had been reporting CHT One High on several occasions. I purchased a new cooler and we removed and replaced the old one. This (of course) included an oil change.
2. Air Filter: Some might consider this a minor change but what a difference it can make. We changed the standard to a High Flow Air K&N performance filter.
   
3. Spark Plugs: About 100 hours on the old plugs. The burn looked good on all of them but it was time. Added new boots as well. Good compression checks.
4. 
   Ducati Rectifier: While there are better choices for E-LSAs, the Ducati is the only one I can use. I'm convinced that heat is the primary cause of failure and Florida is hot. Coupled with the CHT problem, I was getting Voltage Low alerts. Removed and replaced the old rectifier.
5. Fuel Sump Valve: I noticed some fuel stain on the pilot side fuel sump. On close inspection I could see a "dribble". I repeatedly tried to reset the valve but failed. We removed and replaced it.
   
6. Maintenance Check Flight: I knew it was better even before we got to the run up area. The CHT was rising but stabilized at about 200°F. When the oil temperature reached 122°F I powered up to 4000RPM and immediately the oil temperature dropped back down. A short wait at the hold short line was not a problem. The final test was passed during a Vy climb with no CHT alerts. 

Not a bad day's work. She's fixed.

Low Approach

Another beautiful Saturday to fly. This time
I didn't feel quite so alone. As I taxied from the hangar an executive was on final to land and as I approached the run up area a trike was landing on RWY05. (Caution Wake Turbulence!) 

We departed the pattern and headed south keeping east of I75 to stay clear of the Tampa Class B. It was a little choppy at 1000' but  Sally and I enjoyed the view. I dialed in 48x and made our initial call. The weather advisory called winds out of the east at 10G16. We were the only ones in the pattern.

Instead of passenger jets and miles of tarmac, Airport Manatee has a turf runway and an assortment of taildragger aircraft.

It's home to an eclectic mix of antique, modern and experimental aircraft, where flight instruction, fuel sales, airplane repairs and restoration, and hangar rentals are available.

Airport manager Tom Reeder calls its a grassroots, blue-collar airport. Information here

It was a fun flight.

An Autumn Flight

 A cold front moved through last night. Crisp cool air and low humidity is perfect for flying and Sally and I were long over due for some exercise. I got a late start. I haven't been sleeping well lately and after the alarm went off I lingered in bed for awhile. That gave the sun a chance to rise and allowed me to get a good weather check. It would be breezy later in the day but we definitely had "Go" conditions.

I skipped my normal breakfast and chose to stop at the local Wawa on my way to the airport. Gas was $2.05/gal, the Colombian coffee is pretty good as is the sausage/egg & cheese bagel. Very little traffic on the roads for a Saturday morning, but the normal amount of bikes, joggers and walkers were out. Biden and Trump signs were displayed along the route. I wonder how some of the neighbors get along with each other.

Now its been awhile since I visited KVDF and it occurred to me that I didn't remember the security code for the gate. I know I had a math formula to memorize it but couldn't quite remember how it went. When I pulled up to the keypad I let muscle memory do it's thing and presto, the gate opened! As I pulled up to my hangar my neighbors across the way were working on a C182. I waved but they were too busy to notice. Good social distancing I suppose. I opened my hangar and found spider webs across the doors. It had been awhile.

"Hello Sally." I good walk around revealed no issues. It's a great feeling to see good tires and no leaks. It did take a lot of pulls to get the burp. I pulled her out of the hangar, did the last few checks and buckled in. She started easily. AWOS said we should use RWY05. I was surprised by the quiet radio as we taxied over. No chatter? When I turned the corner on the taxiway the ramp looked empty. I got that "Twilight Zone" kind of feeling like I was the last guy on Earth. 

Runup was smooth. 3950rpm/3960rpm for a mag drop from 4000rpm. CHT was 220 and climbing on a cool day. That still needs attention. As I completed my checks a Cessna called on a 5 mile straight-in (finally another voice) and I replied I would get out in front of him. Sally gave me 5050rpm for takeoff and climb rate was over 1200fpm at Vy. We love the cooler air.

After 3 T&Gs we departed to the north for some avionics checks. Level at 1500' I engaged the autopilot in HDG/ALT mode. Next I put X35 in the GPS and pushed the NAV button. It was hazy with no clear horizon so I decided to use 1600'. A few minutes later we passed n Archer, opposite direction at about 1500', no factor. 

All systems checked, I put in PCM and let Sally take me there. Winds were gusting and it got a little bumpy. The wind vector showed 26 out of the northeast. Such beautiful Florida fall colors! Lush greens and...more lush greens. It's Florida! 

KPCM was reporting 8 out of the east so I set up for a T&G for RWY10. A SkyCatcher reported taxiing there as well. It was a normal approach with a slight left to right xwind and I was happy with the landing. Time to go home.

School Closed

2020 has been a difficult year and I'm forced to make a difficult decision. While the variable costs have been reduced, the fixed costs of running my flight school have gone up dramatically.  Notably, Insurance costs:

From: Aviation Insurance Resources (Orlando FL) 

Global Aerospace:  Pleasure Use:  $1801
Acceleration Aviation:  Rental & Instruction:  $5625 

I got numerous quotes from a variety of brokers but all show substantial increases over previous years.

With COVID still running strong in Florida I can't afford to take the risk of starting new students. There are certain jurisdictions that may fine the flight school for not enforcing masks. I can't afford someone launching a lawsuit stating that the flight school was negligent in their protocols and procedures.

Today I notified my students that the school will not reopen.

We had a good run.

Maybe a Solution

Video Link: CHT Diagnostics

I'm frustrated with the COVID resurgence. Tampa seems to be in full bloom and I can only hope that it will die out once this latest resurgence is over. Sally and I have been doing some maintenance so we can be ready for students if/when the pandemic subsides.

CHT 1 Hot: I rechecked all of the obvious and still found nothing amiss. Certus volunteered a used radiator (fluid cooler) to try. I removed the old, then gave the system a bath. I used a water hose on inlets and outlets and let it flush the system completely. I lightly washed the whole engine removing any grime and ran water through the used radiator for a few minutes. The shock mounts would not come off the old radiator so I ordered some new from Amazon (here). I did a taxi test and saw some improvement. With Florida temperatures reaching triple digits I called it a day.

Early the next morning I rechecked all of my previous work, added about a cup of coolant and took her for a test flight. It turned into another record breaking hot Florida day but my results still showed a major improvement over previous attempts.

Rule: No training flights if OAT exceeds 90° F.

Next: Investigate the Oil Cooler.

Note: Maybe Sally would look good with a P51 scoop.

CHT 1 High

Video: CHT 1 Test

Cylinder Head Temperature. The Rotax engine uses a fluid to cool the four cylinder heads.

I'm still struggling with this. A suggestion from Ronin5573: "The awos said 26deg cel or about 76 deg f. Not a hot day. I would have to agree that the problem is still there. Your CHT are coming up much faster then your oil.  I don't think you plane has the coolant thermostat but that would be my first guess. Considering you just changed the coolant I would suspect maybe replacing the radiator cap on the tank.  Make sure its the 1.2 bar or 17.4 psi. Also when you remove the cap look into the tank and that first  inner lip, make sure its clean.  Sometimes you will see some black residue from the seal from the cap. If you do get some light sandpaper and remove that.  Could also be a bad spring on the cap.  I have herd that if there is a small leak,  or better way of putting it is if the cap allows air to pass then it messes up the flow of the coolant and almost stops the flow. Kind of like having air in the system.  they are about 80-to 90 bucks to replace.  Just a suggestion" ~http://www.scflier.com/topic/1362-cht-high/

All good suggestions but unfortunately all tried. Perhaps its time to replace the oil cooler or water cooler?

It really gets hot in Florida. I need to find a solution.