Busting the needle
Today I took a break from programming ForeFlight Desktop 2.0 to get some time aloft. I went out with no plan (after checking for TFRs, of course). I preflighted and hopped in.
I flooded the engine at start, but once she belched out the excess gas she ran just fine. I had to clear the right mag again, but that was easy enough.
I practiced a new taxi leaning technique I read in a magazine recently: lean at 1500 RPM until the engine starts to sputter, then richen it just enough to smooth it out. That's it. It has two benefits - 1) you save gas/plugs 2) if you forget to go full rich on takeoff the engine will tell you immediately as you throttle up by threatening to cut off.
I took off and did a few figure 8s over my house and office - simple goofing off. I put some positive Gs in and a few negatives. I kept hearing this sound like the stall horn coming on momentarily. Eventually I realized it was the tachometer freaking out and making the high pitch grinding sound we noticed a few weeks ago. The needle was going nuts, but the engine was rock steady. I made a mental note to get it replaced and then swiftly proceeded to ignore it.
A few minutes later I looked over to see how it was doing. The needle had broken completely off, due to being forced way past the red line, and was bouncing around in the bottom of the instrument just behind the glass - dancing to the grinding noises. I involuntarily started laughing, for some reason I found it hilarious.
After getting my composure back, and assuring the airplane that I wasn't laughing at HER, I decided to head back. I made the approach too high, not because of the missing tach info but because my pattern was too tight. 40 degrees of flaps fixed that up in time for me to plunk it in 1/3 of the way down the runway. At least I made the turnoff I wanted.
Only 30 minutes of flight, but it was really, really fun to go up with no set plan.
I flooded the engine at start, but once she belched out the excess gas she ran just fine. I had to clear the right mag again, but that was easy enough.
I practiced a new taxi leaning technique I read in a magazine recently: lean at 1500 RPM until the engine starts to sputter, then richen it just enough to smooth it out. That's it. It has two benefits - 1) you save gas/plugs 2) if you forget to go full rich on takeoff the engine will tell you immediately as you throttle up by threatening to cut off.
I took off and did a few figure 8s over my house and office - simple goofing off. I put some positive Gs in and a few negatives. I kept hearing this sound like the stall horn coming on momentarily. Eventually I realized it was the tachometer freaking out and making the high pitch grinding sound we noticed a few weeks ago. The needle was going nuts, but the engine was rock steady. I made a mental note to get it replaced and then swiftly proceeded to ignore it.
A few minutes later I looked over to see how it was doing. The needle had broken completely off, due to being forced way past the red line, and was bouncing around in the bottom of the instrument just behind the glass - dancing to the grinding noises. I involuntarily started laughing, for some reason I found it hilarious.
After getting my composure back, and assuring the airplane that I wasn't laughing at HER, I decided to head back. I made the approach too high, not because of the missing tach info but because my pattern was too tight. 40 degrees of flaps fixed that up in time for me to plunk it in 1/3 of the way down the runway. At least I made the turnoff I wanted.
Only 30 minutes of flight, but it was really, really fun to go up with no set plan.
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