Oil change day for my Aero Commander (video)

[Gluaisrothaí]

[cirrus365]

Excellent. Can I go for a ride now?

[DakarNick]

Originally Posted by cirrus365

excellent. can i go for a ride now?

+100

[Gluaisrothaí]

I'm in Alameda CA and the 'plane is tied down in Oakland. I fly somewhere random most weekends so you're welcome to come for a spin.

Couple of weeks ago we did a Baja camp/fly trip....fun stuff. Dirt roads are one thing, dirt runways something else!

[DakarNick]

Originally Posted by Gluaisrothaí

I'm in Alameda CA and the 'plane is tied down in Oakland. I fly somewhere random most weekends so you're welcome to come for a spin.

Couple of weeks ago we did a Baja camp/fly trip....fun stuff. Dirt roads are one thing, dirt runways something else!

Sweet, I'm envious! My Comm/Ins rated buddy and I go once in a while. He wants me to go halves on a plane with him.

[Ursa Major]

Great music!

[nofate]

Cheap on oil. My Continental 470R takes twice as much for an oil change. I use the same stuff so no 'what oil is best ' thread. Happy aviating.

[Gluaisrothaí]

Originally Posted by nofate

Cheap on oil. My Continental 470R takes twice as much for an oil change. I use the same stuff so no 'what oil is best ' thread. Happy aviating.

I have been contemplating a switch to 15/50 for the winter months. On frosty mornings the Aeroshell W100 turns into butter almost.

[Klay]

How often do oil filters work loose? It's never happened to me with any car engine, with no safety wire. Not that it wouldn't be a bad time if it happened in flight. Do the aviation engines vibrate more?

[nofate]

Originally Posted by Klay

How often do oil filters work loose? It's never happened to me with any car engine, with no safety wire. Not that it wouldn't be a bad time if it happened in flight. Do the aviation engines vibrate more?

Aircraft use a lot of safety wire. Engine failure in an aircraft is a serious problem compared to a vehicle. Better safe than sorry.

I safety wire the oil drain bolt on my bike because I had one back off almost all the way out once. If the filter had a safety wire hole I'd probably wire that too.

[nofate]

Originally Posted by Gluaisrothaí

I have been contemplating a switch to 15/50 for the winter months. On frosty mornings the Aeroshell W100 turns into butter almost.

Good idea. Preheating the engine in cold weather is common practice, but a multigrade oil will help. Do you install a winter kit on the cowling inlet when flying in the winter months? I used to, but I don't bother switching over to skis anymore so winter problems are no longer a concern. The ice will be gone from our lakes soon and it will be good to get back flying again. Its been an extra long winter this year.

[Gluaisrothaí]

Originally Posted by nofate

Good idea. Preheating the engine in cold weather is common practice, but a multigrade oil will help. Do you install a winter kit on the cowling inlet when flying in the winter months? I used to, but I don't bother switching over to skis anymore so winter problems are no longer a concern. The ice will be gone from our lakes soon and it will be good to get back flying again. Its been an extra long winter this year.

It doesn't get quite that cold in my locale- generally just below freezing, although I have overnighted at Tahoe when it got down to 15 F or so. The change in the oil is just to ease the load on the starter- or maybe it's all in my head!

[Gluaisrothaí]

Originally Posted by Klay

How often do oil filters work loose? It's never happened to me with any car engine, with no safety wire. Not that it wouldn't be a bad time if it happened in flight. Do the aviation engines vibrate more?

Aircraft engines do vibrate more, but it is not common for oil filters to vibrate loose. On my Lycoming engine the filter is torqued to 18 ft lbs which is pretty tight, especially considering that it uses a thick rubber gasket.

One important factor is that FAR 91.403 (c) states "No person may operate an aircraft for which a manufacturer's maintenance manual or instructions for continued airworthiness has been issued that contains an airworthiness limitations section unless the mandatory replacement times, inspection intervals, and related procedures specified in that section or alternative inspection intervals and related procedures set forth in an operations specification approved by the Administrator under part 121 or 135 of this chapter or in accordance with an inspection program approved under § 91.409(e) have been complied with."

As the maintenance manual for the AC11 calls for safety wire on the filter, the aircraft is not legally airworthy without it. If the filter was not wired and a crash occurred, insurance could be voided due to lack of airworthiness. Plus I wouldn't want to be "that guy" :)