The International Comanche Society

Transcription

FEBRUARY 2014
The Official Membership Publication of
The International
Comanche Society
VOLUME 41, NO. 2
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The Comanche Flyer
is the official monthly member
publication of the
International Comanche Society
P.O. Box 1810
Traverse City, MI 49685-1810
U.S.: (888) 300-0082 Other: (231) 946-3712
Fax: (231) 946-6180 E-mail: [email protected]
www.comancheflyer.com
Volume 41, No. 2 • February 2014
Published By the International Comanche Society, Inc.
ICS President
Bob Cretney
Cell: (214) 725-6584
Email: [email protected]
Managing Editor
Melissa Frisbie
E-mail: [email protected]
Senior Advertising Director
John Shoemaker
(800) 773-7798 Fax: (231) 946-9588
Advertising Executive Assistant –
Trading Post & Classified Advertising
CONTENTS
2 Letter from the President
Comanche Spirit
4 Planning for a Global Circumnavigation
7 ICS Name Badge Order Form
10 ICS Board of Directors, Tribe Chiefs,
Nancy A. Whitten
Ph: (800) 773-7798, Fax: (231) 946-9588
& Tribe Representatives
ICS Standing Committees
Graphic Design
11 Maintenance Resource Advisors
Brandon Hoffman
Printer
Village Press
2779 Aero Park Drive
www.villagepress.com
Maintenance Resource Advisors
Pat Barry
Ph: (949) 362-1600 on Pacific Time
Dave Clark
Ph: (817) 860-4393
Zack Grant
Cell: (317) 201-4293
(Email preferred contact)
Karl Hipp
Ph: (970) 963-3755
Lucky Lougue
Ph: (903) 345-9198
Cliff Wilewski
Ph: (815) 395-0500, Cell: (815) 979-7785
ICS Tool Loan Program
Matt Kurke
8192 Sanctuary Drive, Unit 1
Naples, FL 34104
Ph: (239) 593-6944
[email protected]
The Comanche Flyer (ISSN 08994223, USPS 2-324)
is available to members; the $25 annual subscription
rate is included in the Society’s Annual Membership
dues in US funds below. Comanche Flyer is published
monthly by Village Press
U.S., Canada, Mexico
One year $72, Two years $136
UK, Europe, Asia & Africa
All Other Countries
Spousal Members
Cover Photo
Chris Elgar’s Comanche 180, which will be used on a
Round the World trip, with the help of Dave McElroy.
Copyright Notice
The act of making a submission for publication is an
express warranty that such contribution does not infringe
on the rights or copyright of others. Nothing appearing
in the Comanche Flyer shall be reproduced or distributed
without the express permission of the publisher.
Postmaster
Send address changes to the above address.
Periodical postage paid at Traverse City, MI 49686
FEBRUARY 2014
Bob Cretney
Dave McElroy
ICS Tool Loan Program
CFF-Trained CFIs
Technical Q & A
12 Pressure Required for Oleo Struts
Dave Clark
ICS News
14 ICS Officer Nominations
15 Comanche Flyer Foundation News
Online Intelligence
16 Restart Time after Running Tank Dry
Convention News
20 2014 Convention – AirVenture Update
Feature
28 Query ATC – Part 1
32 ICS Items for Sale
34 From the Tribe Chiefs
Pat Donovan
Matthew McDaniel
Feature
36 Comanche Flyer Needs your Stories, Tips and Tricks!
Best of the Flyer
38 Dual Exhaust System Conversion for the Comanche 250
42 ICS Membership Renewal Form
Feature
43 For the Record
46 Comanche Classifieds
47 Advertisers’ Index
Mike Dolin
Dick Koehler
INTERNATIONAL
COMANCHE
SOCIETY, INC.
Comanche Flyer •
1
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
K
im Blonigen has edited the
Comanche Flyer for the last
eight years. In that time, she
has worked with many ICS presidents,
holding their hand getting them started, patiently guiding them around the
minefields associated with difficult
situations and pulling the rabbit out
of the hat with last minute additions
or corrections. She has always been
professional and easy to work with. One
of her many accomplishments was getting the authors of the Cirrus Owners
and Pilots Association (COPA) magazine, in which she also is editor, to allow
selected articles of theirs to be published
in the Flyer. Kim also manages and edits King Air magazine, which is also
produced by Village Press, the publisher of the Comanche Flyer. That magazine started out as a quarterly magazine
and has gradually increased issues to
become a monthly publication starting
in 2014. Due to the workload, Kim is
unable to continue as editor for the
Flyer. We understand the process, but
none-the-less are disappointed to see
her go. We will all miss you Kim and
wish you the best in the future.
Taking over as editor is Melissa Frisbie, who Kim personally recommended,
as they have worked together before
at Beech Aircraft. Melissa’s email is
[email protected] and all future articles
and information for the Flyer should
be sent to her. Kim and Melissa will be
working together to transition editorial
duties, which should be seamless to
ICS members.
Other Items
Winter is upon us and cold weather
precautions must be taken. The December issue of EAA’s Sport Aviation
has a very good article on cold weather
flying. It’s a great review of what you
need to know before you go.
The CPPP program will resume
March 7 at Laughlin, Nev. This promises to be a great value as the initial
programs have very low introductory
rates. Check with Mike Foster for future
dates, locations and details at ditch
[email protected].
The CPTP program also provides
great Comanche training. Future events
will be conducted February 9 at Boca
Raton, Fla.; March 14 at Hinesville, Ga.;
April 11 at Muskogee, Okla.; and May 4
at Fulton, N.Y. Check with Dennis Carew
or George Richmond for details to enroll
at www.comanchetraining.com.
Comanche Flyer Submission Guidelines
All members are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
the Comanche Flyer. If you have an article about a maintenance event,
trip, piloting technique, or anything else pertinent to Comanche
ownership, please share it with your fellow members.
For those with access to the Internet, please submit the article
via e-mail, preferably in Microsoft Word. You may also include the
article in the body of your e-mail message. Include your full name,
as you would like it published, and your ICS number.
Please attach digital pictures, if applicable, in jpeg format.
For best results, use the highest resolution setting your camera
will allow. Photo files under 500 kb in size typically do not
reproduce well.
Although submissions are reviewed for technical accuracy, the
information in this magazine is meant for reference only. Any
modifications, alterations, or major repairs to U.S. aircraft require
FAA-approved data as a basis for beginning work, and as such should
not be based solely on information contained in this magazine. The
International Comanche Society does not endorse any piloting
adverse to published FAA regulations.
Submissions are subject to editing and revision unless specifically requested to be published as submitted. The right is reserved
to publish or not, any submission.
Deadline for all submissions is the 20th of the month, approximately 40 days prior to month of publication.
Send to: Melissa Frisbie, Managing Editor at [email protected]
Articles and photos may also be sent via U.S. Mail to:
Melissa Frisbie • 125 N. Turnberry St., Wichita, KS 67230
2 • Comanche Flyer
FEBRUARY 2014
An illustrated series called “Comanche Joe,” published in the Flyer years
ago will begin being republished soon.
It is an illustrated story of a Comanche
Indian who grew up wanting to fly and
eventually having his own Comanche.
We hope it will entertain you.
Comanche Pilot
Training Program
CPTP
Comanche Specific
Training Clinics
Several Tribes have a good start
putting this year’s fly-ins together. Be
sure to check the “From the Chiefs”
column for the fly-ins in your area and
set aside the time to attend. For those
who have not had the experience, you
will find a friendly group of men and
women who have a common interest in
the Comanche and travel experiences.
It will be a fun, informative time with
new friendships and memories.
Last, but not least, the stab horn replacement is experiencing some issues.
Owners and/or owner’s mechanics who
have little maintenance proficiency
or experience with Comanches, are
creating a lot of damage and additional
expense during the replacement procedure. I encourage you to use an experienced Comanche maintenance facility
for this work. It requires a lot more
expertise and is much more complicated than it initially appears. In the
end, the time or expense of using a
good Comanche shop who knows what
they are doing, won’t exceed the cost
incurred by a shop not used to working
on Comanches. (This includes redoing
the work, purchasing additional parts
due to damage during the second disassembly/reassembly, and in some cases,
replacing the horn or torque tube due to
the same issues.) And the best part – no
anxiety. You know when you are flying
your plane that the procedure was done
correctly and your aircraft is safe.
Boca Raton, FL (BCT)
Flight Clinic
February 7– 9th, 2014
•••••
Hinesville, GA (LHW)
IFR Clinic
March 14 – 16th, 2014
•••••
Muskogee, OK (MK0)
IFR Clinic
April 11 – 13th, 2014
•••••
Fulton, NY (FZY)
Flight Clinic
May 2 – 4th, 2014
www.comanchetraining.com
Contact Dennis Carew
[email protected]
(920) 749-9558
ICS Past Presidents
2011-2012 Zach Grant
1990 George Burson
2009-2010 Bernie Mazurek
1989 William Creech
2007-2008 Dave Fitzgerald
1988 Jim Fox
2006 Lawrence Paratz
1987 Pat Rowe
2005 Karl Hipp
1986 Ted Peifer
2004 Skip Dykema
1985 Bill Shank
2003 John Van Bladeren
1984 Jerry Irvin
2002 Larry Rackley
1983 Bill Stanyer
2001 Robert Noble
1982 Norn Berneche
2000 David Buttle
1981 Ben Kitchens
Tales from the Wide Side
1999 Roy Roberts
1980 Jack Holaway
A retired airline captain, who has
been flying for more than 64 years, was
discussing high powered GA engines. He
said, “Engines should never be over 300
horsepower, unless they are round!”
1998 Harley McGatha
1979 Larry Larkin
1997 Charles Wiseman
1978 Clifford Younger
1996 Bryce Campbell
1977 Art Shriver
1995 Jess Bootman
1976 Mike Keedy
1994 Chuck Medicus
1975 George Smith
1993 Dale Vandever
1974 Paul Rechnitzer
1992 Bill Jackson
1973 Andy Speer
‘Til next month …
1991 Martin Busch
Bob Cretney
FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
3
C O M A N C H E
Planning for
a Global
Circumnavigation
by Dave McElroy, ICS #8720
COVER STORY
Chris Elgar (left) and Dave
McElroy with C-FYHU, Chris’
Comanche 180, which they will
fly on their RTW adventure,
while also raising money for
two charities.
FEBRUARY 2014
38,000 nautical miles … six continents …
three Atlantic crossings … and stopping
at the ICS Annual Meeting at Oshkosh.
T
he start of this project goes back
more than a year to Scotland,
where I have lived with my
partner, Debbie, for the past 14
years since moving there from Toronto.
My (other) partner, Chris Elgar, and
I had owned a Comanche 250 together
since 1990. Based at Burlington Airpark
near Toronto, C-FDCM was pictured in
flight over Toronto’s iconic CN Tower
on the cover of the Comanche Flyer in
the mid-90s. We sold the 250 in 2012, as
Chris had purchased a derelict 180 and
spent four years refurbishing it. When he
completed that project, the aircraft had
been restored to “creampuff” condition
and incorporated a number of improvements including a factory new Lycoming
0-360 engine, a new 3-axis autopilot and
an Aspen 1000 Pro glass panel. Chris
had no need for two Comanches, and I
certainly couldn’t justify owning one from
Scotland, where I have owned and operated a beautiful Vans RV6A since 2006.
FEBRUARY 2014
Back in late 2012, Chris had just sold
his business and I was approaching partial
retirement. I always had an ambition to
fly across the North Atlantic, but never
had the time to actually do it. I had made
a lot of great flying trips all around the
Americas and Western Europe, but had
never crossed an ocean. The thought
occurred that perhaps I could go all the
way around in my RV6A.
In the past, I have actively supported various charitable organizations,
and wondered whether I could combine
working for charity and flying around
the world. As soon as I mentioned this to
Chris, he suggested we fly his Comanche
rather than the RV.
At Perth Airport, I serve as Chairman
of the Scottish Aero Club which, with 270
members, is the oldest and largest aviation
entity in Scotland. I was approached to
consider supporting a new charitable enterprise which was in the planning stages
at that time – Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), to be based at Perth Airport.
So it was a natural fit for my idea.
In the meantime, since C-FYHU is
based in Canada, we started to look for
a worthwhile cause there. I was led to
Sick Kids Hospital, a world renowned
Children’s Treatment and Research Centre. The Sick Kids Research Organization
includes a world-class Autism/Asperger’s
program. Since my two grandsons are
Asperger’s kids, this was again an obvious
choice in which to support.
Since Chris and the airplane are in
Canada, and I am in Scotland, it seemed
logical to fly two overlapping Round the
World (RTW) trips: Toronto to Toronto
and Perth to Perth. We have named it FlyRTW80, as we plan to do each in 80 days.
Getting Corporate
Sponsors On Board
Corporate sponsors usually elect to
treat their support as a business promotion expense. (We have launched substantial PR campaigns in both North America
and the UK to promote this project, its
charities and its sponsors.)
Comanche Flyer •
5
Corporations and their owners are
interested in sponsorship of FlyRTW80
for any or all of these reasons:
Dave with C-FYHU, showing the SickKids logo.
• Topromotetheirbrandworldwide.We
will have extensive press/film coverage.
• To provide life-saving funds to very
worthy charities. Target: $500,000 net.
• Toshareinthisgreatadventure.
The third point, above, will be of particular interest to adventurers who have
the desire, but often not the time nor
facility, to organize such a major undertaking on their own. This opportunity
arose because Chris is not in a position
to participate in the whole flight – he
will fly around Oz with me, but the right
seat is being made available to others
as another fundraising stream (full details of segments available are at www.
FlyRTW80.com).
We have posted substantial information about our flight on the website under
a number of main categories, some of
which are briefly summarized below.
The Route
Since we will cross the Atlantic three
times, we hope to fly all three of the North
Atlantic routes for light aircraft: the far
north (Iqaliut - central Greenland - Iceland), the more usual route via Narsaq
to Iceland, and the southern route via
the Azores.
We plan to nearly circumnavigate
Australia: Darwin to Brisbane, around
the coast, counter-clockwise. This will
be my first time in Oz.
Avoiding the GA-unfriendly regions
including Middle Eastern hotspots plus
China, Japan and Russia, makes for long
non-stop flights across the Pacific. The
mother of them all is, of course, the 2,070
nm leg from Hawaii to the West Coast of
the United States, which is 15 - 17 hours
depending on a number of factors. Did
you know that the Pacific Ocean covers
more of the world’s surface than all the
other oceans combined? And more area
than all the continents combined, even if
you include Australia twice? Now, that’s
a lot of water.
One of the hurdles we need to overcome is erratic 100LL availability across
the Pacific, and now at several Indian
airports … it’s a work in progress. We plan
“Did you know that the Pacific Ocean covers
more of the world’s surface than all the other oceans
combined? And more area than all the continents
combined, even if you include Australia twice?
Now, that’s a lot of water.”
to fly south through Central America in
order to hit the sixth continent, South
America, before we turn north and head
for Oshkosh.
Our current route shows 38,000 miles,
however this represents great circle distances between the 57 airports in this
version. The actual mileages flown will
be 10 - 15% higher – more than 42,000
nm, which calculates as more than 300
hours at 135 knots. We are planning 100hour checks at two points en route, and
would be keen to hear from ICS members
in terms of spots to aim for – or to avoid
– for this purpose. Brisbane and Toronto
(Toronto the first time back, that is…)
are currently favoured as service stops.
As we have adopted an 80-day theme
for the project, we will do our utmost
to arrive back in Toronto 80 days after
departure. Likewise for our arrival back
into Perth, Scotland.
Flight Planning
We spoke to five different flight planning organisations to get familiarized with
international requirements and obtain
pricing quotes for services rendered.
These included companies in the United
States, Canada, Germany and the UK. The
quotes varied from $100,000 to £1400. I
hasten to add that this is not an applesto-apples comparison, but the learning
here for us was that most companies
are not interested in avgas flights (they
know nothing about availabilities), and
are really geared to service jet traffic and
to provide a plethora of high-priced services that are not necessarily required by
a private flight such as ours. Needless to
say we are going with the UK quote. The
(continued on page 8)
FEBRUARY 2014
Help Us Get to Know You!
Order an ICS Name Badge Today
Wear an ICS name badge at fly-ins, air shows and all aviation events. Actual size is 2 X 3 inches.
Blue on white plastic with 3-color ICS logo. $10 includes shipping in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Overseas, add $1 per order.
For additional badges, use this format on plain paper.
Enclosed is $_______________ for _____ badges
Type or print CLEARLY (What we see is what you’ll get.)
1. Nickname ____________________________________________________________________
2. Name _______________________________________________________________________
3. City & State __________________________________________________________________
4. Plane # _________________ Tribe ______________________ ICS # ____________________
Nonmembers should leave ICS # blank or show crew title.
Choice for above badge (circle one)
SAFETY PIN
ALLIGATOR CLIP
Please make checks payable to Doris Click and send to: 228 Doolittle St., Orlando, FL 32839-1474
FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
7
Oakland crossing. That leg will be solo
due to weight and CG considerations. All
other legs on the route are less than 10
hours – usually much less.
We will have an HF radio system on
board and will also carry a satellite phone.
Primary navigation will be by panel mounted, IFR certified Garmin 430 which is
backed up by a yoke-mounted Garmin
496 with weather monitoring capability
(where weather information is available, of
course). The two Garmins can be operated
either together, or separately, and both are
coupled to the S-Tec autopilot.
The planned route for the RTW80 flight.
service being provided is for all country
clearances and for hooking us up with
handling agents only where required: the
Middle East, Asia, Atlantic and Pacific
Ocean stops and Central America.
We will do our own flight planning
rather than pay a service to do that.
The Aircraft and Equipment
C-FYHU was built in 1961 and rebuilt by Chris and his engineer between
2008 and 2012. The rear seat has been
removed to accommodate a Turtle-Pac
expandable fuel bladder which will give
us the capability to make the Hawaii to
Our website will broadcast our progress by means of a DeLorme InReach
satellite tracker, which will flash up our
position, altitude and groundspeed every
10 minutes. Email messaging is also available through that clever device. Please
stay in touch with us – watch the website
and send us messages.
C-FYHU showing the SCAA and some
early sponsor logos, as well as the
RTW80 decal on its tail.
FEBRUARY 2014
The Pilots
Chris and I have both accumulated
extensive experience, particularly with
the Comanche. Chris has been flying
since the mid-80s, is IFR certified, and
has flown some 2,200 hours, over 1,700
of which was in the PA-24. I learned to fly
in the late-60s in Cranbrook BC located
in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, and
have accumulated 2,800 hours on some
28 aircraft types, both singles and twins.
I am IFR-certified with more than 1,200
hours in the PA-24. We plan to fly most
of the trip under IFR.
Summary
There are three clear objectives for
this trip:
1. To experience and share this flight of
a lifetime
2. To promote and raise serious monies
for our two charities: SickKids Hospital
and Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance
3. To promote our Corporate Sponsors
FlyRTW80 is raising money for our
charities through three avenues: (1)
private donations; (2) corporate sponsorships; and (3) flying sponsorships of
route segments.
As mentioned earlier, Chris will accompany me on the flight around Australia. The rest of the world has been
divided into 14 flight segments for which
the right seat is being made available to
adventurers – pilots or otherwise – who
want to participate by flying along with
me in exchange for a donation of $25,000
to SickKids. Several of these segments
have already been committed. Please see
the details under the Route tab at www.
FlyRTW80.com. Corporate sponsorship
levels are also fully described there.
Flat Rate Annuals - Structural Repairs - Modifications
Expert Glass Replacement - Engine Overhauls
We appreciate ICS members passing
on news of this venture to their many
contacts, and seeing many of you at
Oshkosh. And we will report back here
after completion.
• Offering Pre-purchase Evaluations in our shop or at aircraft location •
• Contact us for AD Note 2012-17-06 Stabilator Horn Assembly Inspection •
• STC’D Australian Horn Installation • Pick Up & Delivery Service Available •
All of the money required to fund this
ambitious project is in place, so every
penny raised goes directly to our registered charities.
In service since 1983
To reach Dave McElroy for more information about the trip, or to find out
how to track the trip, email him at dave@
flyrtw80.com, go to the flight web site at
www.FlyRTW80.com, or follow on Twitter at @FlyRTW80.
FEBRUARY 2014
Our experienced Licensed Staff takes pride in assuring customer
safety and customer satisfaction, with special attention to detail.
CLIFTON AERO
Clifton Airport P.O. Box 249 Clifton, TX 76634 Tim Talley ICS #8375
30 minute flight SW of Dallas/Ft. Worth
254-675-3771
www.cliftonaero.com • e-mail: [email protected]
Comanche Flyer •
9
2013-2014
President:
Bob Cretney, ICS #2269, SC Tribe
428 McDaniel Rd
Ferris, TX 75125
Cell: (214) 725-6584
Vice President
Berl Grant, ICS #10704, NC Tribe
426 Mutton Creek Drive
Seymour, IN 47274
Ph: (812) 522-2587
ICS Board Of Directors
Secretary:
Ron Keil, ICS #7001
1135 Christine Dr.
Lapeer, MI 48446
Ph: (810) 406-2065
Cell: (810) 834-0168
Treasurer:
Pat Donovan, ICS #12246, MS Tribe
421 Piper Ct.
Troy, MO 63379
Phone: (636) 462-8370
Past President:
Zach Grant, ICS #15515, NC Tribe
6736 Chapel Hill Rd.
Indianapolis, IN 46214
Cell: (317) 201-4293
CFF President: (non-voting)
Mike Foster, ICS #14077, SC Tribe
970 Flightline Dr.
Spring Branch, Texas 78070
Cell: (210) 701-6795
Tribe Representatives and Chiefs
Southeast:
Tribe Chief/Tribe Rep Phillip Hobbs, ICS #10509
Ph: (704) 651-9417
Northeast Tribe
Tribe Chief/Tribe Rep Av Shiloh
Huntington Valley, PA
Ph: (215) 740-5558
North Central:
Tribe Chief Bob Williams, ICS #13853
647 Robins Gate
Akron, OH 44319
Ph: (330) 867-6711
Cell: (330) 592-3111
Tribe Rep Cliff Wilewski
1651 Grumman Drive
Rockford IL 61109
Ph: (815) 395-0500
Cell: (815) 979-7785
Mid States:
Tribe Chief/Tribe Rep Carl M Talkington, ICS #3208
180 Peregrine Circle
Broomfield CO 80020-1275
Ph: (303) 460-8127
Cell: (720) 560-4862
Southwest:
Tribe Chief Ed Moore, ICS # 12926
456 S Sierra Way
San Bernardino CA 92408-1425
Ph: (909) 888-9859
Tribe Rep Scott Myers, ICS #16819
1041 Jasmine Ct.
Vista, CA 92081
Ph: (760)727-7444 (w)
Cell: (760)-519-8604
Northwest:
Tribe Chief Dennis Springer, ICS #10237
4796 Drew St. N.E.
Salem, OR 97305
Ph: (503) 390-9444
Tribe Rep Bill Case, ICS # 16889
P.O. Box 549
Lebanon OR 97355
Ph: (541) 259-5557
Cell: (503) 260-2473
South Central:
Tribe Chief Bob Cretney, ICS #2269
428 McDaniel Rd
Ferris, TX 75125
Ph: (214) 725-6584
Cell: (214) 725-6584
Tribe Rep Bob Fox, ICS #13650
1630 W 35th North St.
Muskogee OK 74401
Cell: (918) 607-6880
W. Canada:
Tribe Chief/Tribe Rep Ken Mori, ICS #3894
1433 Copper Mountain Court
Vernon BC V1B 3Y7 Canada
Ph: 250-545-2491 (home)
E. Canada:
Europe:
Tribe Chief/Tribe Rep Kate Burrows, ICS #17285
Ramsey Road, Rockwood
Laxey, Isle of Mann IM4-7PY United Kingdom
Ph: 44 1624 861957 (h)
S. Africa:
Tribe Chief/Tribe Rep Russell Knowles, ICS #16469
Box 1114, Halfway House
1685 South Africa
Ph/Fax: +27 11 8052902
Cell: +27827809228
Australia:
Tribe Chief/Tribe Rep George Mills
Panshanger P.O. Box 269
Longford, TAS 7301 Australia
Ph: +03-6397-6500
Tribe Chief/Tribe Rep Stewart Campbell, ICS #16294
229 Yellow Birch Drive
Kitchner ON N2N 2P4 Canada
Ph: (519) 568-7491
2013-14 ICS Standing Committees & Chairpersons:
Historical – Chair: Bruce Thumann, SC
Information Technology – Chair:
Dave Fitzgerald, NC
Technical Resources – Chair:
Zach Grant, NC
Finance & Budget – Chair:
Pat Donovan, MS
Bylaws, Standing & Special Rules – Chair:
Hank Spellman, NC
Nominating – Chair: Dave Fitzgerald, NC
Nominating Committee:
Bernie Mazurek, SE
Bruce Thumann, SC
Flagship – Chair:
Cliff Wilewski, NC
Elections – Chair: Sally Williams, SE
Editorial Review – Chair:
Bob Cretney, SC
Editorial Committee:
Pat Donovan, MS
Dave Fitzgerald, NC
Zach Grant, NC
Bernie Mazurek, SE
Hank Spellman, NC
Fleet Airworthiness – Chair:
Dave Fitzgerald, NC
Annual Convention – Chair:
Shirley Nelson, NW
FEBRUARY 2014
MAINTENANCE
RESOURCE ADVISORS
Pat Barry
Ph: (949) 362-1600 on Pacific Time
Lucky Louque
Ph: (903) 345-9198
Cliff Wilewski
Ph: (815) 395-0500, Cell: (815) 979-7785
Certified flight instructors who have
completed a CFF training program
ICS TOOL LOAN
PROGRAM
The International Comanche Society, Inc. (ICS) publishes this
list in the spirit of open discussion. The opinions, statements
and claims made by the instructors are their own and not those
of the International Comanche Society (ICS) or the Comanche
Flyer Foundation, Inc. (CFF). The listed CFIs have undergone an
extensive training program specializing in the Comanches. ICS
and CFF assume no responsibility for any actions between its
members and the listed CFIs.
Dave Clark
Ph: (817) 860-4393
Zach Grant
Cell: (317) 201-4293
(Email preferred contact)
Karl Hipp
Ph: (970) 963-3755
CFF-Trained CFIs
Matt Kurke
8192 Sanctuary Drive, Unit 1
Naples, FL 34104
Ph: (239) 593-6944
[email protected]
Todd Underwood - AZ (Phoenix/Prescott)
Single/Twin, (623) 202-6910
[email protected]
Bill Archer - AZ (Phoenix/Mesa)
Single/Twin, (480) 203-3043
[email protected]
Kristin Winter - CA (Northern)
Single & Twin, (707) 477-4727
[email protected]
Larry Whitbeck - IL
Single only
Cell: (217) 737-6074
Office: (217) 732-9704
[email protected]
Zach Grant - IN (Indianapolis)
Single/Twin, (317) 201-4293
[email protected]
Steve Smith - MT
Single/Twin, (406) 425-0754
[email protected]
These merchandise purchases and/or your donations can be
made through CFF on the ICS website with either a credit
card or our newly availabe PayPal option. Please visit:
TO ORDER BY MAIL PLEASE FILL OUT
Mail to: CFF c/o Shirley Nelson,
925 Ludwick Avenue, Blaine, WA 98230-5109
Telephone: 360-671-7388, Fax: 360-671-7388
Enclose check or money order made payable to CFF.
FEBRUARY 2014
George Richmond - NE (Omaha)
Single and Twin, (402) 350-1915
[email protected]
William Harris – VA
Single & Twin, (540) 731-4772
[email protected]
Steve Zaboji – VA
Single & Twin, (571) 228-3420
[email protected]
Dennis R. Carew – WI
Twin & Single, (920) 749-9558
[email protected]
Comanche Flyer •
11
TECHNICAL Q&A
c iPressure
itpldfsqwerty
a Required
n d e r l i g for
entowc
h Oleo
u b r eStruts
disemanim
Edited by Dave Clark
Q:
What is the pressure required to pump up the oleo
struts on a PA24? I have a
nitrogen cylinder with a 150 PSI regulator, but it will barely make the strut
inflate at all.
A:
It would take a lot of highpressure nitrogen, not air
pressure from an air compressor. And you don’t adjust the outcome
based on pressure, but on strut height –
raised about two-and-a-half inches.
I assume that you are servicing
your oleos. If you are, then you should
replace the O-rings internally and the
hydraulic fluid. After re-assembly,
fill the chamber with hydraulic fluid
through the Schrader valve (with the
core removed) – Bogert Aviation has
a simple tool for helping with refilling the fluid. When you have loaded
as much fluid as you can, get in with
the strut extended, compress the strut
fully expelling the excess fluid, reinstall the Schrader valve core and
start adding nitrogen until the strut is
about two-and-a-half inches up.
Pat Barry
A:
There are two ways to get
the pressure that you need…
actually three. Either you
have a nitrogen cylinder and regulator
that goes up to 1800 PSI, or you can
use a strut pump. You can buy one
from Aircraft Spruce, Bogert Aviation,
Aircraft Tool Supply, or perhaps find
one used on eBay. What this tool does
is multiply gas pressure (you can use
it with either air or nitrogen). If you
put 150 PSI of nitrogen into the pump,
it will increase the input pressure by
15 times up to as much as 2250 PSI
(depending on the model) on the output side. I acquired one of these pumps
second-hand and rebuilt it by putting
in new O-rings and replacing a fitting.
Pat is correct. To inflate a strut with
the weight on the wheels will take a
LOT of pressure. However, an alternate
method is to take the weight off the
gear by placing the plane on jacks and
inflating the strut using a much smaller
amount of pressure, such as the 150
PSI cylinder/regulator that you already
have. Once you have extended the strut
in this manner, you can let the plane
down and check the amount of extension. If the strut is over-extended, let
out tiny amounts of nitrogen until you
get the correct amount of extension.
without an A&P. However, it’s very
important that you know what you’re
doing. To properly “service” the oleos,
you should refer to Section II in the
Piper Service Manual, paragraphs 2.33
through 2.36. Once you have the proper amount of hydraulic fluid in the
strut, turn your attention to putting
in sufficient pressure to achieve the
extension you desire.
My old mentor told me that oleo
struts should be “serviced,” at a minimum of every other year. Simply adding air or nitrogen to a strut that is
down slightly is okay perhaps once,
but a second time and you really don’t
know whether it’s air you need or hydraulic fluid. Servicing the strut is the
only way to determine and re-establish
the proper ratio of air to fluid. One
parting thought — nitrogen, while preferred in a strut, is not mandatory.
Compressed (and dry) “shop air” is a
suitable alternative.
Dave Clark
Servicing oleo struts is considered
preventative maintenance and can
be performed by the plane owner
FEBRUARY 2014
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FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
13
Volunteer Pilots N
Volunteers flying for the environ
ICS Officer Nominations
Nominating Committee
Chair: Dave Fitzgerald –
[email protected],
(330) 936-7979
5393 Hillsboro Ave SE
Canton, Ohio 4470
Member: Bernie Mazurek –
[email protected],
(734) 717-4946
Member: Bruce Thumann –
[email protected],
(713) 875-3056
N
ominations for ICS officers are now open to all
members in good standing. Take this opportunity
to become involved in your organization. You will
find it rewarding and not as demanding as you might think.
Please contact any of the Nominating Committee members
listed above to be considered by the Committee for recommendation to an ICS officer’s position. Nominations will
close at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23, 2014.
Positions Available:
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
In addition to candidates proposed by the Nominating
Committee, any member in good standing of the Society
shall be a candidate if he or she submits to the Chairperson
of the Nominating Committee a letter agreeing to serve, if
elected, and providing letters from three (3) other members
in good standing, not more than one of whom is from the
same tribe as the potential candidate, nominating the potential candidate and attesting to the potential candidate’s
suitability for the position sought. The Chairperson shall
Phone: 307-332-3242 • www
immediately acknowledge each communication received
6th Horizontal
from a member wishing to be a candidate or nominating and
attesting to another member’s ability to serve.
Nominations Chair
Dave Fitzgerald
Volunteer Pilots
Needed
Volunteers flying for the environment
since 1979.
Phone: 307-332-3242
www.lighthawk.org
FEBRUARY 2014
Quarter
Comanche Flyer Foundation News
C
FF is pleased to announce that
it will be conducting its first
CPPP clinic of 2014 in Laughlin, Nev. on March 7 and 8. The class
is almost full, but if you are interested
in attending, contact Mike Foster at
[email protected].
If you are too far away from this
location, but wish to attend a seminar,
please contact Mike and he will do what
he can to set one up in your area. A
reminder that the first three seminars
done in 2014 will be conducted at a rate
of $499, per each participant. That is a
$150 savings off the new price of $650
and $350 off the old price of $850. The
Comanche Flyer Foundation Board of
Directors voted to reduce the price for
the CPPP program in hopes of being
able to reach more Comanche pilots.
The quality of the course is the same.
CFF is also proud to announce that
it has awarded six $1,500 scholarships
to young deserving mechanics who are
attending an A & P school. Of course
it is the hope of CFF and the pilots of
our aging aircraft that some of these
young mechanics may someday end
up working on our Comanches.
As the Comanche Flyer Foundation
is a 501(c)3 charity, our only means of
income is from contributions from our
fellow pilots. With a decision by our
Board of Directors to reduce the price
considerably for our CPPP program, it
is more important than ever that we receive contributions from the Comanche
folks in order to keep CFF financially
viable. And remember, your contribution is tax-deductible. Contributions
can be made by payment directly to our
treasurer, Shirley Nelson, or through
PayPal. Please click on the CFF tab on
the ICS web site for more information
on how you can donate.
Mike Foster, President
Comanche Flyer Foundation
ICS – please support
our advertisers!
FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
15
ONLINE INTELLIGENCE
From the Comanche Website Maintenance Forum
RESTART TIME
AFTER RUNNING
TANK DRY
I
would appreciate having your
opinions on the time it takes for
the engine to restart after running
a tank dry, switching tanks and turning the electrical pump on.
On my Caribbean trip next December, I want to maximize the useable
fuel in the aux tanks, but as I will be
flying over water most of the time, I
don’t want either my wife or myself to
faint during the procedure!
I must confess that I am not convinced that I will have the guts to do it!
___________________________________
After you switch tanks, it takes
about three seconds. Pull the throttle
back, and then switch tanks, so you
do not over rev.
___________________________________
I have run tanks dry, deliberately,
many dozen (maybe over 100) of times
in 35 years. With a single engine, fuel
injected airplane, it takes five to 10
seconds. However, I advise against it
with your wife, unless she is utterly
unflappable. This is especially true if
it is your first time running the tanks
dry. You will be nervous and she will
read that. It is not worth the risk of
turning her off from flying with you.
If you have a fuel totalizer, like a
Shadin or a JPI, you can get very close
to the bottom by noting the fuel left
each time you switch tanks. You can
almost get as close with timing.
If you are going to go to the ends of
endurance, then I recommend that you
find out exactly how much fuel each tank
holds by running it dry and then filling
it up. You may be surprised at how much
the tank holds, or not. Don’t trust the
book numbers. Remember, the mains
need to be filled all the way to the very
top of the collar or they are not full.
___________________________________
Thank you very much for your excellent advice.
I do have a fuel totalizer and I keep
close tabs of my consumption at every
tank switch. I even made a little form,
for this purpose, that gives me the
exact amount left in each tank. Also,
at the recent annual, I had the fuel
level sensors overhauled and the gauge
is working accurately.
My wife flies with me because she
likes the idea of traveling together,
she does NOT enjoy flying in small
aircraft, so you are right that I should
not try anything “strange” with her
on board. When I had the T210, we
had vapor lock issues a couple of
times, which made the engine cough
for a few seconds, and she REALLY
noticed it.
FEBRUARY 2014
Moreover, I got a perfectly calibrated measuring stick with the aircraft
that I use in every preflight.
The mains are always filled to the
collar.
I will follow your advice and measure the real capacity of each tank.
___________________________________
In my experience, it usually only
takes a few seconds to get a restart,
but I have waited as long as 30-plus
seconds. When the engine is quiet that
is a very long time. As previously suggested, do a few trial runs with the aux
tanks and get a feel for how close you
can go to dry with the fuel totalizer.
___________________________________
On the Twin, the Shadin fuel flow
shows rapid and dramatic variability in
fuel flow before any engine sound of fuel
starvation is heard or felt. So, I enlist
whoever is flying right seat to monitor
during the last two gallons by keeping
their finger on the edge of the gauge. I
have also run the tanks dry hundreds of
times – catching the fuel flow variability has allowed many no-engine-sound
tank changes while running tanks dry
and it takes away the scary surprise of
engine noise change.
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That being said, I would go to perhaps 0.5 gallons and change so your
wife can ride in comfort. Perhaps she
would monitor the totalizer for you –
just a thought.
___________________________________
I would caution that the above trick
might not work in a single because the
transducer is closer to the engine in a
single than in the twin. In my airplane,
I can’t reliably catch it with Shadin
fluctuation, so I would test that out
alone before relying on it.
___________________________________
An additional tip: when filling the
tanks, first pull the nose down to collapse the nose strut as much as possible. The more level attitude allows
more fuel in the tank because it makes
the air bubble at the top of the tank
smaller. The late Bill Creech, a past
president of ICS, even made a device
to jack up the tail when refueling to
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achieve the same result. His experience was that the additional capacity
was as much as a gallon per tank. My
experience matches his.
On the aircraft with carburetors,
the very first indication of a dry tank
is the fuel pressure gauge going nuts.
It gives at least 15 seconds warning of
the coming silence. I don’t know if this
applies to fuel injected engines.
Contact us at 800-942-7767
___________________________________
I remember reading where someone installed a warning light to indicate the fuel pressure dropped
downstream of the engine fuel pump.
This would allow you to change tanks
before the fuel bowl runs dry. Perhaps
they will chime in.
___________________________________
Comanche Flyer •
17
Fuel injected engines do not have
the carburetor bowl to give you a cushion of time like a carburetor does. With
a carbureted engine, it is easy to look
for the drop in pressure and then
switch tanks and you are likely to have
no hiccup at all. The fuel injection
system will quit very shortly after you
see a change in flow or pressure.
___________________________________
I agree regarding twins: I realize
that she has had a lot of experience
interpreting the drop on her JPI, and
switching before loss of power. I’ve
tried it about six times ... each time
knowing that it was going to happen.
I think I am two for six for not having
it go “silent.”
After about a four-hour leg on an
eight-hour day in the single, we lost
power due to fuel starvation. After
the “what the heck?” moment, I
quickly switched and it was back on
line within less than 10 seconds. My
wife still claims it was closer to 30
minutes, but the truth is probably
somewhere in between.
I think that there is a spec for a
certificated airplane that it must start
within “X” seconds after losing power
due to fuel starvation and when a tank
has been switched. Perhaps someone
knows that number.
___________________________________
On the fuel flow variation, we use
the Shadin fuel computer – perhaps
the processor is faster or because it is
dedicated to fuel management ... I
don’t know. Perhaps it is where the
transducers are located ... not bragging, but factually stating we rarely
get silence, surging sometimes, but
not silence on the twin. Even when
the tip and aux were mis-wired and
the dry tank was a 100% surprise, we
got surge and yaw, but not silence.
___________________________________
My airplane has a Shadin too. And
to be clear, I have never gotten silence
either. But the surging of the engine
for 20-30 seconds doesn’t make the
non-aviation passenger very happy.
For whatever reason, your Shadin
is a bit more stable than mine, which
constantly hunts a bit.
___________________________________
My first post was incorrect, I too
watch the Shadin and we have both
in our airplane. I agree the Shadin is
more nervous. It was helped a bit when
I had Cliff and the guys install straight
in connectors rather than “Ls” on the
input and output lines of the transducers. But still there is definitely more
nervousness in the Shadin readout
than the JPI’s. The Shadin fluctuates
about +/- 0.2 gph, while the JPI circuitry wired “piggyback” is more
stable. I know that my transducers are
probably more than10 years old, so
that could be part of it.
FEBRUARY 2014
Volunteer Pilots
Needed
Volunteer Pilots
Needed
Volunteers flying for the
environment since 1979.
Phone: 307-332-3242
www.lighthawk.org
Phone: 307-332-3242
www.lighthawk.org
6th Vertical
___________________________________
A new transducer on the right side
would help as I replaced the left side
a couple of years ago and it hunts less.
The transducers had straight runs in,
and elbow at the outlet. I changed that
Hunting decreased with the followout on the right side, but it made no
ing changes:
difference. The Comanche’s gas caps
– new transducers
and gaskets are all good and the
grounds are all good. The fuel tank
– new fuel caps
access panels have new gaskets as
– new fuel door gaskets
well. I guess that there is probably no
– new fuel inspection area gaskets
way to keep it from hunting unless it
(maybe not the right term) – the
is some circuit in the indicator unit
Volunteers
flying for
environment
since
1979.
big opening
where bladders
arethe that
is getting tired.
It is good
to know
changed out.
that my airplane’s Shadin isn’t the
one that hunts.
– new wiring and grounding when
Phone: 307-332-3242only
• www.lighthawk.org
___________________________________
panel was upgraded ... so less electrical garbage – this gauge has alWith my single 180 carburetor,
ways been the faster instrument to
there are only three or four seconds
indicate any electrical problem.
before engine restart. On the JPI fuel
6th Horizontal
Mind you not all of this was done
flow indicator, the FF becomes crazy
at once.
just before the engine shuts down,
___________________________________
meaning an empty tank. I experienced
Our Shadin can hunt a bit as well.
I know when it hunts down to four
gph, it is time to change tanks.
Volunteer Pilots Needed
FEBRUARY 2014
it by emptying a tip-tank and restarting on a main.
Let me strongly disagree with such
experience over water...
___________________________________
These postings are provided for
informational purposes only. The
views expressed in these postings represent the opinions of individual Comanche owners and have not been
vetted by the ICS technical committee.
As a responsible pilot and aircraft
owner, you should always seek advice
from an experienced, trusted source,
such as your A&P or CFF-trained CFI,
before applying any of the techniques
or recommendations presented in
these postings.
The postings are printed as they
appeared. Due to space considerations, sometimes only selected posts
have been published.
Comanche Flyer •
19
CONVENTION NEWS
International
Comanche
Society Convention
2014 ICS Convention
at EAA’s AIRVENTURE
in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
July 25-27, 2014
by Pat Donovan
L
ast month’s article was all
about the various accommodation options available for
selection. I’d like to remind
you that if you decided to rent an inplace RV and you have not already done
so, your time is running out; the RVs
will probably be all gone by April 1.
Accommodations at the Retlaw Hotel
can wait another month or so, but remember that we only placed a hold on
50 rooms and some of those have already been reserved. Air conditioned
dormitory rooms at the University of
Oshkosh are already gone, but you
might be able to get on the waiting list.
Un-air conditioned dorm rooms were
still available as of this writing. If you
are camping, don’t worry as there is
always space for one more.
I’d like to remind everyone why
the Mid-States Tribe chose to have the
convention adjacent to AirVenture. To
quote EAA:
“For one week each summer, EAA
members and aviation enthusiasts
totaling more than 500,000 from
more than 60 countries attend EAA
AirVenture at Wittman Regional
Airport in Oshkosh, Wis., where they
rekindle friendships and celebrate the
past, present and future in the world
of flight… ‘The World’s Greatest
Aviation Celebration’ has it all when
it comes to aircraft. Warbirds. Vintage. Homebuilts. Ultralights. Some
you would normally find in a hangar
at your local airport, others so
unique they are the only one of its
kind. You name it, there’s likely an
example of it at Oshkosh. For many
[pilots], arriving at Oshkosh is a
rite of passage that can only be satisfied by being one of the more than
10,000 aircraft flying in, landing
at what becomes the busiest airport
in the world.”
This is your chance to combine your
love of Comanches with your love of
aviation, in general.
(continued on next page)
The Oshkosh Public Museum is
one of the places to visit during
the convention day trips.
(Courtesy of the Oshkosh
Public Museum, Oshkosh, Wis.)
FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
21
You will arrive on Friday when the
incoming traffic, both on the ground
and in the air, is very low. This means
you don’t have to worry about high traffic levels that can be common starting
Saturday afternoon and continuing for
the next several days. If you are flying,
you absolutely MUST get a copy of the
arrival NOTAM, pick out the parts that
apply to you, and strictly follow them.
In addition, become very current with
operating your Comanche at the approach speeds called for in the NOTAM
and with slow flight in general. Lastly,
DO NOT arrive with a minimum fuel
situation; the last thing you should be
thinking about during your approach
is if you have enough fuel to make the
airport – delays can, and do, happen.
Saturday you can either take a day
trip to explore the local area or join the
ICS leadership in the Old Board Meeting as we work through the business of
our organization. Saturday night will be
a delicious dinner at the Retlaw Plaza
Hotel in Fond du Lac followed by the
ICS Annual General Meeting. Amongst
other things, the ICS officer election
results will be announced and the new
officers installed.
Sunday, you will have the option of
another day trip to continue exploring
the local area. Alternately, you can join
the folks judging the Flagship competitors at Oshkosh in the morning as part
of the traditional “Airport Day.” The
judging will be followed by lunch at the
ICS hospitality tent and an afternoon of
judging the landings of arriving aircraft.
The vendors will be completing their
set-up preparations and are generally
not available for business, but the “Fly
Market,” which has a variety of aviation
and non-aviation items for sale, will be
open. You can also finalize your list of
all the seminars, vendors, and places
you want to go to during your stay.
Sunday night will be dinner at the EAA
museum. A short program will include
announcement of the Flagship award
winners and a speaker to be announced
at a later time.
Monday is the opening day of AirVenture with events starting at 8:00
a.m. and continuing until 10:00 p.m.
ICS will begin its series of Comanchespecific maintenance and operations
seminars in the hospitality tent. These
seminars are very interactive and a
great opportunity for pilots, owners,
and mechanics to exchange information. Are you planning an equipment
upgrade? What are you considering
with regards to ADS-B? Where should
you take your engine for overhaul?
What is the latest information on the
stabilator horn? You name it, this is a
place to answer the question.
Seminars taking place in the ICS
hospitality tent at AirVenture 2012.
FEBRUARY 2014
2014 Convention Registration Form
ICS 41st Anniversary Annual Meeting & Convention • July 25-28, 2014 • Host Airport: Wittman Regional, Oshkosh, WI (KOSH)
P  JIM KOEPNICK
Fireworks are part of the entertainment throughout the week at AirVenture.
Saturday Day Trip
• Union Star Cheese Factory
www.unionstarcheese.com
• Paper Baron Mansions
www.bergstrom-mahlermuseum.com
• Lunch on the Fox River
• Paper Discovery Center
www.paperdiscoverycenter.org
An overhead view of Wittman Regional
Airport, during EAA’s AirVenture.
• History Museum at the Castle
www.myhistorymuseum.org
The banquet dinner at the annual ICS
Convention last year in Renton, Wash.
Sunday Day Trip
• Paine Art Center & Gardens
www.thepaine.org
• Lunch on the Fox River
• Oshkosh Public Museum
www.oshkoshmuseum.org
FEBRUARY 2014
Some evenings there are major
events above and beyond the normal
“Theater in the Woods” programs. Although it has not been announced as of
this writing, there has typically been a
large outdoor concert by a well-known
group on Monday evening after the airshow. Spectacular night airshows and
fireworks have occurred on Wednesday and Saturday nights for the past
few years. Every evening there is a
large outdoor screen showing aviationthemed movies – just bring your own
chair and enjoy the free popcorn.
Would you like to help make this
convention one of the best ever? We
need folks to “meet and greet” at both
KOSH and KFDL; people to staff the
FEBRUARY 2014
hospitality room and registration tables; some to set up the centerpieces
for the Saturday and Sunday night banquets; and others to judge the Flagship
competition. Finally, we could use some
help gathering door prizes. Contact
Carl Talkington at (303) 460-8127 or
[email protected], if you want to
volunteer.
• July2013–Conventionannouncement and general information
For reference, the below topics
were covered in previous issues of the
Flyer. You can look them up by going
back through your own archives or by
looking online at the archives at www.
comancheflyer.com. After logging in,
look under the left-hand “members”
menu where you will find issues going
back to January 2004.
• January 2014 – Registrationand
general update
• August2013–Accommodations
• September2013–AirVenture
• October2013–KidVenture
• November2013–Education
• December2013–DayTrips
• February2014–Whygoandschedule of events
Evening programs include nightly
aviation-themed movies and usually
a large outdoor concert on Monday
night by a well-known band.
Comanche Flyer •
25
PILOT’S OPERATING HANDBOOK
AND FAA APPROVED
AIRPLANE FLIGHT MANUAL
“Formerly Published And Produced by the late Douglas L. Killough”
Piper Aircraft ceased production of the Comanche and Twin Comanche in 1972,
several years before the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA)
established specifications for the contemporary Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH).
As a result, the Owner’s Handbook published by Piper is incomplete by modern
standards. Now available EXCLUSIVELY from the INTERNATIONAL COMANCHE
SOCIETY, INC., through it’s licensed agents, is the upgraded Pilot’s Operating
Handbook and FAA approved GAMA format Airplane Flight Manual.
Discounted to current ICS members at $75.00 each, plus shipping (must
ask for ICS member discount and provide ICS membership number when
placing order). Available only through Webco Aircraft at 316-283-7929 or
www.webcoaircraft.com. Available Bound or Unbound/Un-punched.
There are SIXTEEN different GAMA format manuals
available for the Piper Single and Twin Comanche.
Please order your manual by “Manual Number 1-16”
from the chart below.
TO ORDER CALL WEBCO AIRCRAFT AT 316-283-7929 OR
WWW.WEBCOAIRCRAFT.COM. Specify “Bound” or “Unbound/Un-punched.”
Order
Qty
Manual
Number
Model
Gross
Weight
Year(s)
Mfg
Flight Manual
Report Number
SN
Begin
SN
End
01.)
180
2550
1957-64
1047
24-1
3687
02.)
250
2800
1958-60
997
103
2298
03.)
250
2900
1961
1127
2299
2843
04.)
250
2900
1962-64
1179
2844
3687
05.)
250
2900
1962-64
1220 (FI)
2844
3687
06.)
260
2900
1965
1334
4000
4299
07.)
260
2900
1965
1333 (Carb)
4000
4299
Singles:
Not Avail
08.)
260B
3100
1966-68
1359
4300
4803
09.)
260B
3100
1966-68
1358 (Carb)
4300
4803
10.)
260C
3200
1969-72
1545
4804
5028
11.)
260T
3200
1970-72
1640 (Turbo)
4901
5028
12.)
400
3600
1964-65
1295
26-3
148
13.)
PA30
3600
1963-68
1269
30-2
1744
1969
1515
1745
2000
Twins:
14.)
PA30T
3725
1964-68
1269 (Turbo)
143
1744
1969
1515 (Turbo)
1745
2000
15.)
PA39
3600
1970-72
1605
39-1
155
16.)
PA39T
3725
1970-72
1605 (Turbo)
1
155
FEBRUARY 2014
PA-24-180/250/260/400, PA-30
Complete Kits
PA-24-180/250/260/400
PA-30
Webco Aircraft is thankful for the
support the ICS and Comanche
owners have shown us over the years.
FAA/STC, PMA Approved
$839 Fixed Strap Kit
$1039 Inertial Reel Kit
We look forward to 2014 offering the same
great quality parts, service and helpful
information we have become known for.
Rear lap belts available.
Best wishes for you and yours in 2014,
Bob Weber and your Comanche family
at Webco Aircraft
* Slide Under Fit
* Rugged Construction
* #6000 Capacity Ram
* Range 24" – 41"
* Locking Safety Collar
* Three Leg Design
MODEL 324
WEBCO AIRCRAFT LLC
1134 North Oliver Road, Hangar G
Newton, Kansas 67114
316-283-7929 • www.webcoaircraft.com
[email protected]
$249.00 EA.
Tail Stand / Weight Available
Online
- alphaaviation.com
1-800-653-5112 Fax 1-952-856-5158
FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
27
FEATURE
Query ATC
PART 1
An ATC Specialist
Answers Your Questions
by Matthew McDaniel
Author’s Note: The following discussion
contains questions submitted by pilots, under
the solicitation, “If you could sit down with
a professional air traffic controller and ask
them any question, what would you ask?”
No limitations were imposed and scenariobased questions from actual experiences were
encouraged. Identifying information has been
removed to protect the submitter’s privacy.
FEBRUARY 2014
O
ur Controller, Jesse Belleau,
is an FAA Air Traffic Control
Specialist at Boston Consolidated TRACON. He has a Bachelor’s
Degree in Aviation/Air Traffic Management from Daniel Webster College. His
primary location is Logan Airport, with
services provided to numerous other
smaller fields in the greater Boston
area, including Bedford-Hanscom Field,
the area’s primary GA reliever airport.
This consolidated facility also includes
what used to be Manchester approach
control, servicing Manchester, N.H. and
many general aviation fields in southern New Hampshire. Mr. Belleau has
been an active instrument-rated private
pilot for over eight years.
Mathew McDaniel (MM): Thank
you, Mr. Belleau, for agreeing to sit down
with me for this informal question/answer session. It is not my intention to
rewrite any training or operations manuals with this discussion. Rather, I hope to
address some specific reader questions
that I think are representative of questions many pilots probably have, but
were either too afraid or never had the
opportunity to ask. Even career professional pilots can never “see it all” and a
willingness and desire to learn from the
questions, experiences, triumphs, and
mistakes of others is a character trait
of a good pilot, in my opinion.
Jesse Belleau (JB): I completely agree
that an open discussion between pilots
and controllers is a very important conversation that allows the opportunity to
clear up any misconceptions from either
side of the spectrum. I think one of the
biggest shortcomings in the National
Airspace System (NAS) is the fact that
pilots don’t get many opportunities to
see the “big picture.” Flight plans and procedures are implemented so that if communication is lost, every person along
the entire flight will know what the aircraft should be doing after their last
clearance limit. That being said, there
are many opportunities for amendments
to the flight plan, once airborne, that
work for both pilot and controller. From
my experience, it never hurts to ask for
FEBRUARY 2014
a “shortcut” to a fix further along your
flight plan, because most of the time it
can be accommodated. Even if the current controller is not able to approve
the amendment, they at least know what
you are requesting and can pass the
information along to the next controller.
are also taught to never turn onto a
runway without specific permission
to do so. If upon landing, the nearest
suitable turnoff just happens to be an
intersecting runway, should we exit
there, or continue the landing rollout
to a subsequent taxiway turnoff?
“…it never hurts to ask for a ‘shortcut’ to a fix
further along your flight plan, because most of the
time it can be accommodated…these open conversations help us (ATC) understand what is happening in the cockpit at certain phases of flight.”
In addition, these open conversations help us (ATC) understand what
is happening in the cockpit at certain
phases of flight. For instance, many
controllers don’t understand quite
how intense the workload is on final
approach, nor do they understand at
which point(s) the aircraft needs to
slow down in order to fly a stable approach. These discussions help bring
these issues to our attention so we can
better accommodate the aircraft and
maintain smooth sequencing. As long
as there is always a willingness to try
and understand the view from the other
side, operations can run much more
smoothly and efficiently.
MM: Pilots are taught that after
landing, they should exit the active
runway as soon as practical, at the
nearest suitable exit point. Yet, we
JB: This is an excellent question.
There are no specific references to this
exact scenario in our procedures manual, but I would advise any aircraft to only
use a taxiway, unless specifically told by
the controller to turn onto a different
runway. A proactive controller should
give specific turnoff instructions to each
aircraft in a timely manner. but if for some
reason they do not, the taxiway is the
safest choice, even if the next available
is beyond an intersecting runway. There
may be operations on the secondary runway that aren’t broadcast on the ATIS or
easily known to other pilots, such as
vehicle movement or a partial closure
that may make it impassable. To sum it
up, a pilot should avoid this action if
feasible and exit the runway only onto
a taxiway. If there is any doubt, it is
always okay to query the controller.
Comanche Flyer •
29
MM: We are now living in a world
of very advanced navigation tools,
even in otherwise basic aircraft. As a
result, direct-to clearances have become relatively common. IFR pilots are
taught about lost-COMM procedures
and memorize canned answers for oral
and written exams. Let’s assume an
IFR pilot is given a direct clearance
to the destination airport (a common
situation, to be sure). After accepting
this clearance and proceeding direct
destination, the pilot experiences a
COMM failure. This direct clearance,
of course, does not terminate at a published Initial Approach Fix (IAF). In
the real and fluid world of ATC, what
do controllers really expect of pilots
under this scenario?
JB: This is another good question
where I can’t give a specific answer
from our operating manual. As in
normal route clearances that terminate at an IAF, we expect the aircraft
to execute the full approach at their
ETA when communications are lost.
In the real and fluid world of ATC, we
would see the direct-to clearance and
recognize that it does not end at an
IAF. Since we do not know which approach the pilot will execute, we will
protect the airspace surrounding the
entire area and any airspace for all of
the published missed approaches to
that field. At this point, the airspace
is being protected just as we would
when an aircraft flies IFR into an uncontrolled field, one aircraft in or out
until we receive the call of IFR cancellation. Upon landing, we would expect
the NORDO aircraft to promptly call
Flight Service to relay that they have
landed safely, not only so we know that
the aircraft is okay, but also so we can
resume normal operations.
MM: Related to the previous question, another reader asks, “Why does
ATC often give a clearance direct to
the destination when the destination
is in a busy terminal area, and as a
result, a reroute will almost always be
needed? For example, I often get direct
to my home airport (near Chicago
Class B), but when I enter Chicago
Center airspace, I’ll be given a route
that corresponds to the usual preferred
route structure.
JB: This is a situation where controllers can’t and don’t see the whole
picture. There is usually less air traffic in most en route phases of flight,
making a direct-to-destination clearance feasible. However, the airspace
surrounding a busy Class B airport is
highly structured and all IFR aircraft
enter this airspace on a specific route,
altitude, and airspeed. Operations
simply cannot run efficiently if this
structure is not maintained because the
airspace is usually just too saturated.
There isn’t much of a way around the
preferred route, so I would expect that
to occur every time you approach Chicago Center’s airspace. However, the
direct-to clearances work once outside
the high volume airspace, so whenever
departing Chicago Center (or other
busy terminal airspace) on an outbound
flight, you can always ask for a directto-destination clearance on your way
out as well. They are excellent amendments to any flight plan during the en
route phase of flight, but always expect
a route amendment to the preferred
arrival route around any busy airport.
Even though you might not be landing
at the primary airport that Class Bravo
services, every airport in the area has
a specific departure and arrival route
to help blend all of the traffic together.
MM: Once I was doing pattern work
at a Class D (towered) airport. After
several option landings, I reported again
on downwind. As with all previous landings, I was cleared for the option and
told to remain in left traffic and report
my next downwind. After touchdown,
I slowed and reported to tower that I
would be a full-stop. I was told that my
landing clearance had been cancelled
on final and that I should have gone
around! I was shocked, as I’d not heard
the controller’s transmission of such,
nor had I responded to any transmission from him since being cleared for
the option. My question is, in such
a situation, is it acceptable for the
controller to simply assume a pilot
heard their transmission without a
confirming read-back? What, if any,
policy changes have been made in this
regard in recent years?
JB: It sounds like it was a mistake
on the controller’s part. The controller is responsible for the hear-back or
lack of response to every transmission.
We are never to assume a pilot has acknowledged the transmission unless we
specifically get the acknowledgement
with the call sign or tail number. If there
is no response to our transmission, the
pilot did not receive it. A controller
initiating a go-around is doing so usually for a very specific reason needing a
time-critical response and they should
have called you numerous times until
they received your response if they
really did request you go-around. It
sounds like it was a communication
error from the controller’s part, and if
it was a very necessary maneuver, they
would have called you numerous times
or flashed the light gun.
MM: I once landed without a landing clearance! It was a LIFR day and
the airport was at absolute minimums
in fog and rain. I checked on with tower over the Final Approach Fix (FAF).
I was told to continue and report twomile final. As you might imagine, at
two-mile final, I was very busy flying
the ILS (no autopilot), focusing on
my minimums, while looking for any
visual cues that would allow me to
continue below Decision Height (DH)
and land. In the high-workload of it all,
I forgot to make the call and landed.
Enveloped in the fog, I reported clear
of the runway and the controller responded, “Roger, cleared to land, taxi
to the FBO, stay with me.” Talk about a
sinking feeling in my gut! I have always
wondered why I’d ever been asked to
report two miles out in the first place,
especially given the conditions. Under
what scenarios would such a report
really be necessary?
JB: Usually, a report like that is requested when the controller has some
other ground movement operations
occurring that might involve the active
runway. Once the clearance to land is
FEBRUARY 2014
given, certain activities are no longer
allowed until the arriving aircraft has
cleared the active runway. A diligent
controller should have remembered
that you were on final and would have
issued the landing clearance before
touchdown, regardless if you forgot to
report a two-mile final or not.
It is hard to tell exactly why the
controller did not issue the landing
clearance on initial contact but it seems
like a better operating practice for controllers is to issue clearances in a more
timely fashion, especially in low IFR
conditions. This is a very good example
of the necessity for open communication between pilots and controllers
because many controllers do not realize
how busy a pilot is during that stage of
flight and how asking for a two-mile report can add to an already high cockpit
workload. This exact scenario brought
to any controller’s attention will most
likely make them think twice about
what they may ask of a pilot during
this phase of flight.
MM: [Author’s follow-up to previous
question] Under today’s
Controller rules and responsibilities, would ATC
be required to report this
to the FAA? In the past,
such “no-harm, no-foul”
events were often resolved
via a phone call to the ATC
facility, some hand-slapping, and a healthy dose of
humble pie. What latitude
does ATC currently have
in dealing with pilots involved in such situations?
where you were on final approach, regardless of reporting a two-mile final.
Since safety wasn’t an issue because
the controller knew exactly what you
were doing, I would like to assume a
report wouldn’t be necessary. Given
that the controller also allowed you
to land without a clearance and didn’t
catch it before touchdown, that person may also have received their dose
of humble pie and retained that for
future operations.
Controllers have a safety reporting
system called Air Traffic Safety Action
Program (ATSAP), similar to pilot NASA
reports, which can be filed anonymously and confidentially. This situation
seems like a good ATSAP filing because
it documents an area where safety can
be improved, yet it also doesn’t directly
affect either party involved. This also
may be a good report for a pilot to file
under NASA, describing how heavy
pilot workload is during that phase of
flight and how requesting a two-mile
final call may not necessarily be the
best choice for a controller to make.
In the next issue of the Comanche
Flyer, we will continue our question
and answer session with ATC Specialist Belleau. Our sincere thanks to Mr.
Belleau for taking the time to answer
our questions, expanding both our
knowledge levels and safety margins.
About the Author: Matthew McDaniel is a Master & Gold Seal CFII,
ATP, MEI, AGI, & IGI and Platinum
CSIP. In 24 years of flying, he has
logged over 13,000 hours total, 5,000
hours of instruction-given, and over
4,000 hours in all models of the Cirrus. As owner of Progressive Aviation Services, LLC (www.progaviation.
com), he has specialized in Technically Advanced Aircraft and Glass Cockpit instruction since 2001. Currently,
he also flies the Airbus A-320 series
for an international airline and holds
six turbine aircraft type ratings. Matt
is one of only 26 instructors in the
world to have earned the Master CFI
designation five consecutive times. He
can be reached at matt@progaviation.
com or (414) 339-4990.
JB: ATC does have
some discretion over
what reports they file and
how to do so. Under our
current regulations, it is
stated that the reporting
of such “deviations” is
left to controller prerogative based on how safety
may have been affected.
In this case, the landing
sequence was already set
and the controller knew
FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
31
Tips Manual
Ball Cap
Creech Manual
Landing
Gear DVD
Visor
LY
P
P
U
S
D
E
LIMIT
Knit Polo
(light blue, mens with pocket, ladies no pocket, 65% poly, 35% cotton)
Coffee Mugs
Polo Shirts (with pocket)
3 Button Placket Shirt
Decal, Patch
Stone Washed Denim Shirt
Lapel Pins
Mens Ultramarine Knit Polo Shirt
FEBRUARY 2014
Code Item
ICS11 Tips Manual
Price Qty
$65.00
Easy to use, fold flat spiral bound, 365 pages.
Updated version due soon.
ICS23
Care and Maintenance of the Piper
Comanche Single (Creech Manual)
$25.00
Landing Gear DVD
$25.00
Donated by Maintenance Director and life-long member,
Bill Creech. Tips on care and maintenance of your Single
Comanche. 2013 edition revised by Cliff Wilewski
ICS35
Watch complete gear removal from the airplane and
1000 hour gear AD performed and hosted by Hans
Neubert and George Mahurin. 2 hours.
Total
Heritage Aero, Inc.
REVISED
ICS09 Mens White Polo Shirt with pocket
Circle selection: Single S M L XL XXL
Twin S M L XL XXL
Both S M L XL XXL
$35.00
ICS14 Ladies Light Blue Knit Polo Shirt
Circle selection: S M L XL XXL
Circle selection: Twin Both Single
$35.00
ICS24 Mens Light Blue Knit Polo Shirt with pocket
Circle selection:
Twin: S M L XL
Single: S XL
$35.00
ICS27 Mens Ultramarine Polo Shirt with Pocket
Circle selection: Single: S M L XL XXL
$35.00
ICS28 Stone Washed Denim Shirt
Circle selection:
S M L XL XXL
Circle selection:
Single Twin
Circle selection:
Long Sleeve Short Sleeve
$35.00
UPPLY
LIMITED S
Your Midwest
Comanche Specialists
www.heritageaero.com
ICS36 Men’s (New Style) Light Blue Polo Shirt
$38.00
Easy Care 60/40 cotton/poly blend, stain release, wrinkle
resistant, uv protection, curl free collar, 6.7 ounce, 3 button
placket, bone horn buttons, straight bottom, rib knit collar
& cuffs, reinforced side vents, taped neck & shoulders.
ICS32 Ball Cap
Circle selection: Tan Blue
Circle selection: Twin Single
$14.00
ICS34 Visor
Ultramarine (blue) Sun Visor with ICS logo.
Hook and loop type closure. 100% cotton.
$14.00
ICS26 Coffee Mug
Circle selection: Single Twin
$7.50
ICS10 Lapel Pin
Circle selection: Single Twin Logo
$5.00
ICS05 Decals (price for 2)
$5.00
ICS06 Cloth Patch
$6.00
Item
USA
Canada Foreign
Creech or Tips Manual
$4.00
$16.00
Decal or Patch
$1.00
$1.25
$1.25
Any Other Item
$5.50
$15.00
$26.00
$31.00
815-395-0500
815-395-9044 (fax)
1651 Grumman Drive
Rockford, IL 61109
SUB TOTAL
Michigan residents
please add 6% sales tax
Handling
Shipping
$6.00
TOTAL
Ship Order To:
Name:
ICS #:
Street Address:
City:
Payment:
State:
MC
Visa
Card #
Zip:
Exp. Date:
Order by mail, fax, phone or web:
International Comanche Society
P.O. Box 1810
US: (888) 300-0082
Other: (231) 946-3712
Fax: (231) 946-6180
http://www.comancheflyer.com/buy-merchandise.php
FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
33
FROM THE TRIBE CHIEFS
Editor’s Note: Tribe Chiefs and Fly-In Coordinators, remember to send
in your calendar of fly-ins and more detailed information, as it becomes
available, so it can be published in the Flyer.
DATE
Call Today for
Advertising
Opportunities
TRIBE EVENT/LOCATION
March 14-16
SC
April 18-20
July 25-27
SC
ICS
July 28-Aug 3 ICS
Aug 14-17
WC
INFO SOURCE/HOST
Fly-in & Aussie Horn Seminar/
Fredericksburg, Texas (T82)
Fly-in/Natchitoches, La. (IER)
2014 ICS Convention/
Oshkosh, Wis.
AirVenture/Oshkosh, Wis.
3-day fly-in/Drumheller,
Alberta, Canada
Rusty Hall at (512) 567-0103 or email
[email protected]
Hosts: The Huntons and Nicewarners
Mid-States Tribe
More information to come.
* The following Sunday is the raindate.
MID-STATES TRIBE
John Shoemaker,
Senior Advertising
Director
PHONE:
(231) 946-3712 or
1-800-773-7798,
FAX:
(231) 946-9588,
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
Saturday Lunch Fly-Ins
Saturday Lunch Fly-Ins will be
posted in our new Comanche Winds
newsletter which will come out every
other month.
SOUTH CENTRAL TRIBE
Fly-in & Aussie Horn Seminar
Fredericksburg, Texas (T82)
March 14-16, 2014
How do you spell relief for Comanche drivers? How about a fun and educational spring fly-in during a warmer
time and in a beautiful part of the “hill
country of Texas”?
The South Central Tribe is hosting
a maintenance seminar and an opportunity for attendees to enjoy antiquing,
shopping in the quaint little gift shops
on Main street, wine tasting at the numerous wineries in the surrounding
countryside, or fun along with the world
famous Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas on March 14-16.
Details will be forthcoming, so mark
your calendars. For more information
about the activities available in Fred-
ericksburg for the weekend, go to the
Visitor’s Bureau web site at www.
fredericksburg-texas.com/ConventionVisitors-Bureau/FredericksburgConvention-Visitor-Bureau-1625.
We’ll all stay at the Hangar Hotel
(www.hangarhotel.com) on the field
for $109 per night compared to regular
rates of $179. Make your reservations
now at (830) 997-9990, and mention
ICS to get the discount for our event.
Please note the hotel guidelines regarding children and pets.
We’re working on entertainment for
the evening of March 15 and other
logistics. The seminar will cover the
Comanche stabilator AD, the Aussie
Horn modification, and future AD compliance. Tim Talley of Clifton Aero, who
is highly respected in the Comanche
community, will cover the subject in an
audio-visual presentation. Lucky Louque,
manager of Air Salvage of Dallas, ICS
Technical Advisor, A and P,IA and DAR
will give a one hour talk on flight safey,
flight related accidents and their prevention, with a question and answer
period afterwards. Other presenters
are being contacted, as well, to cover
other subjects of interest to Comanche
flyers. Mark your calendars now, and
FEBRUARY 2014
more information will follow as we get
all the pieces put together.
This event is hosted by Rusty Hall,
ICS #2365 and Larry Hauptrief, ICS
#15599. For additional information,
please contact Rusty at (512) 5670103 (cell) or email Snj101xgumps@
yahoo.com.
Fly-in
Natchitoches, La. (IER)
April 18-20
We are in the process of planning a
Comanche fly-in at Natchitoches (pronounced Nack ah tish) on the weekend of April 18-20. We have 10 rooms
reserved at a downtown Inn, however,
the rates and reservation code has not
been established yet.
The Chamber of Commerce is arranging a touring schedule for Saturday, April 19. We have transportation
arranged and a hospitality room at the
airport. We will get the final word out
ASAP via newsletter/e-mail. Sponsors
are the Huntons and Nicewarners. Cost
per person is $30.00, not including
room and meals.
Saturday Lunch Fly-Ins
If it is difficult for you to make a
full weekend fly-in, you may find the
Saturday lunch gatherings with Comanche camaraderie, sharing of flying
stories, maintenance talk and lunch, to
your liking. You should be able to find
a schedule of the lunch fly-ins on the
South Central Tribe website at http://
groups.msn.com/SouthCentralTribe
ICS/welcome.msnw and in the South
Central Tribe newsletter Smoke Trails.
(If you wish to organize a lunch flyin, please contact Bruce Thumann at
[email protected] or
(713) 875-3056.)
Tribe E-mail Updates
If you are not receiving the South
Central Tribe’s Smoke Trails Newsletter and would like to, please e-mail
Bruce Thumann at bruce@contract
builderssupply.com, and he will make
sure to amend the list to include your
e-mail address.
FEBRUARY 2014
PA30/39
NACELLE
TANK KITS
aluminum
handmade
construction
stc/pma
40 us gallon
all usable
compatible with
miller/tip tanks
SHOULDER
HARNESS
KITS
PA24-180/
250/260/400
PA30/39
front and rear seats
stc/pma
PHILL-AIR
INC
4157 Seven
Hickories Road
Dover, DE 19904
302-678-9823
[email protected]
www. phill-air.com
Comanche Flyer •
35
FEATURE
Comanche Flyer
Needs your
Stories, Tips
and Tricks!
SEPTEMBER
2012
VOLUME 39,
NO. 9
ation of
ership Public
Memb
The Official
tional
The InternaSociety
Comanche
Share your Comanche Knowledge with your Fellow ICS Members
D
o you have a good technical tip or overhaul story you can share? What about a flying experience or recent
instructional experience where you’d learned a lesson from which all pilots could benefit? Maybe a trip you took
in your Comanche that you’d recommend to others. We also desperately need in-flight photos of your Comanche
to feature on the cover of the Flyer (needs to be at least 1 MB in size to print well). Anything you can share that
would be helpful to fellow ICS members, we need you to send in your information!
You don’t have to be a writer by trade, just put your thoughts down and tell your story – it will be edited, if needed. Below
is a list of regular columns in the Flyer, and a few new ones that have been suggested (the word count provided is only an
average to help guide you).
Cover photo/Comanche Spirit – Not
only do you get to have your Comanche
on the cover of the Flyer, but we like to
feature the owner so ICS members can
get to know you better. You can fill out
an owner questionnaire and the editor
will write a story about you, or you can
submit your own. Average length is
1,000 words.
Letters to the Editor – Send in your
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Technically Speaking – We like to
feature technical information you have
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they can send them in as well. This
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From the Logbook – If you have a
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Average length is 1,500 words.
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Average length is 250-750 words.
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FEBRUARY 2014
send it anyway. Most issues include
feature stories and we’d like to hear
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have something you can contribute?
We’d like to hear from you!
Update
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Comanche Flyer •
FEBRUARY 2014
6th Vertical
37
th Bes The
e t
Fly of
er
Dual Exhaust
System Conversion
for the Comanche 250
by Mike Dolin #698
Stage 1: Should I Buy It or Not?
Aircraft Performance Products (APP)
holds the STC for the dual exhaust system on the older Comanche 180 and
250. The original single exhaust system is
essentially a pretty good one, so let’s discuss some advantages for the conversion.
Without getting dazzled by something
new and improved, if enough parts go
bad on the old single exhaust system, it
makes no economic sense to keep throwing money at it. The new dual exhaust is
a no-brainer at that point.
Don Vreuls did the same mod on his
airplane first. At the bottom of page 41 is
a picture of the Dual Exhaust mod, almost
completed on his Comanche 250. For my
Comanche, I had already thrown good
money after bad. I bought a new muffler
and exhaust pipe, and had them both
ceramic coated. The ceramic coating is
a wonderful improvement, but these are
only two major parts of the entire system.
The critical part of the 250 single
exhaust system is the right-side manifold.
It has two small, but very definite, problems. One, the flexing. Thermal flexing
of the cylinders on the engine causes
stress points. Yes indeed, look at the air
baffles on your engine. It consists of
separate interlocking panels designed
to move against each other. Not very
much movement, but if that baffle were
one piece, it would crack. The old original manifold system is all one piece. It
cracks for the same reason that the baffle
would (flexing), and mostly, right at the
#5 cylinder joint, the hardest place to fix.
Secondly, the new dual exhaust manifold is made with flex joints, somewhat
akin to your engine baffles, to avoid
cracking. The other manifold stress
points are the welded-on attachments
for mounting the carburetor heat muff.
This area is prone to cracking, due to
temperature stress. You can easily see the
tell-tale signs of different temperatures.
The manifold pipes are darker due to
high temperatures, while the cooler heat
muff mount remains shiny silver colored.
Whether the manifold cracks and
leaks from either cause, it’s no longer
airworthy. A cracked exhaust system
causes major problems like severe carbon
monoxide poisoning or the risk of fire.
I had given my original cracked manifold to no less than four welders, each one
making it worse than the one before, but
having no qualms about charging me for
their time and effort. I ended up buying a
used right-hand manifold pipe assembly.
Then I learned about yet another
problem – there are two different manifold designs. The #5 exhaust pipe goes
straight down on one of them, and tapers rearward on the other. So where’s
the problem? The different manifolds
require different carburetor heat muffs.
The temporary manifold required me to
cobble up a new temporary carburetor
heat muff to go with it. It was something
I wouldn’t want to keep on my airplane,
but I knew it was going to be temporary.
If I sent the original manifold to a shop
up north that does it right (estimated at
$1,200, or so), then the original carburetor heat muff could go back on.
So in my case, I had to weigh the cost
of the expensive fix for the old original
exhaust system, against the price of the
brand-new system. For a more modern,
longer-lasting exhaust system, I chose
the new one.
Are there a few other convincing reasons to convert your exhaust to the new
system? It makes the old Comanche
sound more like a Harley Hog. Does that
do anything for ya? One advantage that
makes ears perk up is if there’s any speed
gain (my crazy ICS buddies!); sorry, no
speed claims here.
I suppose the dual system may
breathe easier, but I don’t know enough
about fluid dynamics to say so. The pipes
on the original single system are bigger,
but have three prominent bends. The
FEBRUARY 2014
Reprinted from the January 2009 Comanche Flyer
dual system pipes are smaller in diameter
and have fewer bends, but the exhaust
flow must still change direction inside
the heat muffs. And don’t forget, only
one cylinder exhales at a time on an
engine, pushing the exhaust along, first
from one side, then the other. It will take
some real savvy engineering plus some
long time measurement to see if any of
that really matters.
So if there is a performance improvement, it will be difficult to prove. I don’t
think back pressure applies to this installation like it does on an automobile.
I haven’t heard folks crow about performance increases in the past, so I don’t
look for speed or economy improvement
when I evaluate mine.
There are advantages of the dual
exhaust:
1. The dual exhaust should be less
prone to cracking, which translates
to a longer lasting system with less
maintenance.
2. The airplane will be cooler in summer,
which is probably a major consideration. In the summer, the Comanche
250 cabin is a hot box due to that
large muffler between the engine and
the firewall. You can feel it. On a long
trip, I always climb to high altitude
where it doesn’t matter as much, but
for local flights the cabin air wasn’t
cool.
I’m told that cabin heat is adequate
with the dual exhaust system. In the
winter, my single exhaust system was
always toasty warm, at 20 degrees
below zero. I haven’t had the chance
to test the heat in the worst possible
conditions yet.
3. It moves heat away from the firewall and from behind the engine.
The engine accessories run cooler,
especially the fuel pump, mags and
vacuum pump.
FEBRUARY 2014
I’ve heard complaints that when
the electric fuel pumps are initially
turned off, fuel pressure drops to zero
on the pressure gauge for a while.
This is because the electric pumps
block the mechanical pump fuel from
flowing, and during the summer, especially at high density altitudes, the
hot fuel in the engine-driven pump
is prone to vapor lock. This doesn’t
happen with the dual exhaust. With
no muffler behind the engine, the
mechanical pump doesn’t get hot
enough to cause a vapor lock.
4. The aircraft is four-and-a-half
pounds lighter.
5. Oil changes are easier. There is no
muffler interfering with oil filter
replacement. Just a simple maintenance issue.
6. AD note 68-05-01 does not apply to
the new dual exhaust system. Maybe
it does not apply to your old system
either, or maybe it does. But it does
not apply to this new one from APP.
7. Fresh air vents are cooler and just
a bit quieter, for the way I chose to
install mine. The floor fresh air now
comes off of the back of the engine
baffle. The fresh air scoops on the
bottom cowl are removed. Maybe it’s
not a measurable drag cleanup, but
it sure gives the cowl a cleaner look.
8. The small stuff is beginning to add up.
The nose wheel steering boot has a
short life expectancy when it gets hot.
The bellows last longer with the new
exhaust system because there’s no
close-by heat cooking them anymore.
I’d feel a little foolish saying the improved dual exhaust system is more
modern. The first time a dual exhaust
system appeared on a Comanche was
in 1965. Yep, taking off a 1962 system
and stepping up to a 1965 system is
going modern, you betcha! The dual
exhaust and 260 engine came out
one year before the six-seat B-model.
9. I must mention another area of concern on the single engine Comanche.
Maybe it will find its way up to #1.
I carry a CO detector in my airplane,
the one mentioned on the Comanche
website (http://www.comanchepilot.
com/Tech_Articles/Safety/Comanche
_Toy_Store/comanche_toy_store.
html). I could never keep all the
exhaust gas out of the cabin, and the
CO detector ALWAYS went off on
long trips. Now it doesn’t. After sealing the exhaust pipe connections on
my original system and the firewall
as best I could, I think the path for
exhaust gas went under the airplane
and up through the tailcone slot,
and possibly through the main gear
wheel wells.
Personally, I think that getting rid
of exhaust fumes is quite the most
important issue.
Stage 2: The Installation
I have to chuckle at the comment the
APP prime mechanic made at Sun 'n Fun,
“The exhaust conversion can be done
in six to eight hours.” Ha! Not the way I
work; it can’t. He doesn’t know how slow
I work. It took more than six hours just
cleaning up and chasing parts. I’m told
it took much more time for Don’s dual
exhaust installation as well.
About the APP Paperwork:
The instructions are all there. It
doesn’t spell out every step of the process as though a novice was building
a kit plane, but then it shouldn’t have
to either. Where there is a reference
to, “Make skin reinforcement doublers
for the cutouts” and “rework the vent
system,” a good mechanic knows that
AC43-13 gives examples of acceptable
mechanical practices. The wording leaves
room for innovation.
Comanche Flyer •
39
All Comanches are slightly different.
We must remember that Piper made rolling changes at whatever serial number
happened to be on the assembly line at
the time. One Comanche might have different weldments or placement of parts
located on the motor mount. So some
parts fit differently from one airplane to
another, as I found out when moving the
starter solenoid and fuel pumps.
About APP Quality:
The new pipes are exemplary in workmanship. I was pleasantly surprised when
I opened the shipping box. That’s pretty
important, when you install something
new on the airplane.
The Standard Work and Delays:
Working carefully and methodically,
I removed the top cowling in the first
hour. It took another hour to remove
the bottom cowl and hoses.
On the next visit to the hangar, I removed the nose wheel door and washed
the filthy bottom cowl. Two hours later,
it was still not perfectly clean. I must replace all that junky looking hardware too.
I took the bottom cowl to an RV kitplane builder’s home for sheet metal help.
He did the pipe outlet enlargements on
the cowl, which took about six hours for
the required skin doubler reinforcements
(not included in the kit) and another six
for closing off the air scoops. He is an
absolute artist with sheet metal; it made
me feel intimidated about the quality of
my own work.
Another kitplane builder painted the
cowling bottom half for me. Now I really
do feel inadequate. These men make
showpiece airplanes, one an RV-7 and
the other a LongEze. Their airplanes are
absolutely artistic in quality.
Back in the hangar, I tried to take off
the old muffler brace, but couldn’t get a
crow’s foot wrench in the area behind the
engine. The oil filter must come off first.
In removing the filter, the stamped steel
nut on the end of my very first Kelly oil
filter snapped off. It took two people to
muscle off the filter with strap wrenches.
I put it in a plastic bag and sent it back
to Kelly Aerospace with a nice note to
the folks. The problem? This one had
an early date code. The new Kelly filters
have a “-1” after the number and the nut
on the end is more robust.
The muffler brace came off easily,
once the filter was out of the way. The
pushrod bellows were hard and brittle. As
expected, they peeled off in pieces. Little
things like that and touching up paint
on the motor mount brought hour after
hour of unexpected delay. Another little
item was removing the generator and
sending it off for overhaul, just because
it was conveniently exposed.
I replaced fuel lines, moved the oil
lines, moved the starter solenoid and
replaced the junky looking wires. It was
also a good time to test the fuel pumps
and clean the screens. Avgas squirts out
of each pump at a pretty good clip.
Like any other job I do, this one
would drag on for weeks to come. For
quite some time, there was no light at
the end of the tunnel. I had missed some
good flying weather. But eventually, unlike Humpty Dumpty, it all went back
together again, logbook ceremony, 337
form and all.
By following the instructions in the
APP kit and directions in the maintenance manual, plus replacing hardware
and hoses, the overall job came out
looking pretty good. The finished job
resulted in a clean, well-organized engine
compartment. Personally, I like flying an
airplane that looks that way.
look, I could see daylight between the
mixture lever and the cutoff stop. Sure
enough, the mixture cable had moved
just a bit. New clamps and careful adjustment put it back to normal and it
works fine again.
Later, when I showed the job to
Don Vruels, he found loose clamps on
some orange hoses here and there, and
even saw where a nut was missing on
the engine.
All in all, it was a pretty normal shakedown period.
Stage 3: Performance
Let’s go fly. I’m looking for a difference
in any of the performance categories.
I’ll break them down into separate
issues. First, as always, is speed. Is
there a speed improvement? I pride
myself in knowing EXACTLY how to
measure true air speed (TAS), which
could be the topic of another article.
As for fuel consumption, I never
kept good records of how much gas
I purchased or the flow rate, so will
never know of any small improvement.
What makes me think I’ll recognize a
difference anyway? On a recent trip of
six hours, I didn’t notice any change,
so not much to say about this subject.
The next issue is environmental
stuff; most important, is there any
CO intrusion. Then cabin heat, cabin
cooling, engine sound. What are the
perceived differences?
Follow-Up:
Let’s start with environmental.
I can hardly remember a job without
adjustment after a test flight. There's a
cardinal rule that goes something like
this: If at all possible, never be the first
pilot to fly the plane after maintenance.
But no other pilot was around, so it had
to be me.
Carbon Monoxide (CO): The numberone premier attribute. There is not a hint
of exhaust gas coming in anymore. Halleluiah! I checked that issue on several
long six-hour flights already, and the air
smells good and fresh all the way. My CO
detector has not gone off at all since the
dual exhaust system went on.
After the first flight, the pipes had
to be adjusted because of rubbing on
the cowl. I expected that. Even YOU
expected that.
The engine wouldn’t shut off when I
pulled the mixture. It sure sounded like
carburetor trouble, but after a closer
I can now jump on the bandwagon
that blames a suffering woozy pilot for all
sorts of accidents, from gear-up landings
to running out of gas.
Noise: The engine seems just a little
bit louder than before, regardless that
FEBRUARY 2014
the environmental tests prove otherwise. There is a prominent low rumble
sound even with E.A.R. plugs or a noise
canceling headset (some folks may put
that on the plus side.). Upon landing at
low power, reducing the RPM to around
2100, the rumble noise completely goes
away. Then it’s nicely quiet inside, but
that RPM range is not for cruise.
Cabin heat and vents: Cabin heat
is good, but the real test will come in
the winter. The right side cabin heat
is a shadow of its former self. The hot
side is now the pilot side of the cabin.
The heater is very adequate so far, but
I haven’t tested it at 20 below, either.
The cabin vent fresh air is less of
a blast with the modified cooling air
divider. I like that, but this is no airplane for summer heat. I once rode in a
Cessna 310 on a cloudy day in Florida.
The OAT was around 60 degrees and
it was actually chilly inside the cabin
– sweater or jacket conditions, I’d say.
Don Vreul’s Comanche, left-side,
cowl removed.
Adding the reinforcements to the bottom cowl.
You never get that cool inside a single
engine Comanche. The engine affects
the cabin temperature in almost every
plane I have ever flown. Mostly, it’s the
sunshine that makes it too hot inside.
Score one for high wing airplanes.
So, do I recommend the dual exhaust
system? The folks at APP are good friends
of mine. You bet I do! Aside from the
friendship, the reasons for doing this
mod really speak for themselves.
Speed: I won’t even BEGIN to think
that I’m getting a speed increase with
the new exhaust. I checked the true air
speed a few times and it’s pretty much the
same. Just what Piper’s Pilot Operating
Handbook says it should be.
About the author: Mike Dolin has
owned and maintained his Comanche
250 for 36 years at the time of writing
this article. You can reach Mike at
[email protected]
Dual exhaust, right-side manifold installed.
FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
41
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FEBRUARY 2014
FEATURE
For the Record
by Dick Koehler
I
’ve received several questions
lately on what responsibilities an
owner has for taking care of maintenance records. For instance,
should logbooks be kept in the plane
and, if so, how long should you keep
maintenance receipts? Also, are the
maintenance records the same for a
homebuilt or Experimental Light Sport
Aircraft as a certificated plane?
This month for review are various
maintenance record keeping requirements. The definitive section of the
regulations is subpart E to FAR Part
91 (subpart E is the 400 section of
Part 91). FAR Part 91.403 says that
the owner or operator of an aircraft is
primarily responsible for maintaining
the aircraft in an airworthy condition.
This means the owner/operator must
take the aircraft to the properly rated
maintenance personnel for appropriate
maintenance. For instance, the plane
must be taken to an IA (or other approved person/place) for an annual
FEBRUARY 2014
inspection. Any in-between maintenance must be performed by an appropriately rated person or place as defined
in FAR Part 43. If an Airworthiness Directive (AD) has a time or hourly limit,
it’s the owner/operator’s responsibility to
see that it complies with the appropriately rated maintenance personnel. If it’s
an experimental aircraft, Part 43 does
not apply, and the Operating Limitations
begin. Anyone can do maintenance on
an experimental aircraft, and either an
A&P or the principal builder with a repairman certificate can do the annual
condition inspection (or a repair station). The requirement to perform the
maintenance is in FAR Part 91.405. The
inspection requirement is in FAR Part
91.409, and refers to Part 43. So, again,
experimental aircraft operators need to
refer to its Operating Limitations.
FAR Part 91.407 says that no person may operate an aircraft following
any form of maintenance, rebuilding,
alteration or inspection unless it has
been approved for return to service
by a person authorized in Part 43.
The phrase “…approved for return to
service…” means a logbook entry. The
operator is responsible for ensuring that
this logbook entry has been made. FAR
Part 91.409 invokes basically the same
requirement for logging inspections.
Again, experimentals must follow what
is in its Operating Limitations. At this
point, let me note that the cumulative
effect of 91.403 and 91.407 is if you
rent an aircraft from anyone, including a club, it’s your responsibility to
ensure that the maintenance and inspection records are up-to-date.
FAR Part 91.417 covers maintenance records. It splits records into two
major sections, each of which have different retention times. The first section
includes normal maintenance, preventative maintenance (owner/operator),
alteration, and records of inspections
(i.e., 100-hour, annual, progressive,
and other approved inspections) for all
Comanche Flyer •
43
if the AD requires recurring action, the
time and date when the next action
is due; and (6) copies of each major
alteration (FAA Form 337) to the airframe, engine(s), propeller(s), rotor(s),
and appliances. These records must be
retained forever and transferred with
the aircraft when it is sold. The third
major paragraph in 91.417 says that
the owner/operator shall ensure all
required records be kept by this section available for inspection by the
FAA or NTSB. It doesn’t specify how
quickly you must respond nor does it
require that the records be kept in the
airplane. It also does not require you to
show the maintenance records to local
law enforcement officials.
To be complete, there is a fourth
paragraph in 91.417 covering fuel
tanks installed in the passenger compartment of the plane. If you have the
paperwork for the tanks (337), it must
be kept in the plane. FAA Part 91.417
applies to experimental aircraft just
as it does for certificated — those
records are required to be kept for experimental aircraft. Obviously, most
of us keep all our aircraft logbooks
forever. This is considered a positive
point if the aircraft is ever sold, but
the reality is that other than the time
in service, AD status, and 337s for
alterations, most anything over a year
old can be legally tossed. Also, you do
not need to keep the logbooks in the
plane. There is a theory, however, that
says if the plane crashes and burns,
the destroyed records will seriously
restrict the FAA from reviewing them
and potentially violating you for any
inconsistencies in them!
portions of the aircraft. These records
must include a description of the work
performed, the date of completion, and
the signature and certificate number
of the person signing the record. Note,
by signing the record, the person is
approving the aircraft for return to
service. These records only have to
be retained until the work is repeated
or superseded by other work, or for
one year after the work is completed.
The second section of 91.417 covers
records containing (1) the total time
in service of the airframe, engine(s),
propeller(s), and rotor(s); (2) the current status of life limited parts, if the
airplane has any; (3) the time since
overhaul of any items that are required
to be overhauled on a specified basis;
(4) the current inspection status,
including the time since the last inspection; (5) the current status of ADs and,
One last comment on aircraft records, there is no specified form of how
the records should be kept. They can
be stored in one or several logbooks,
loose leaf pages, or computerized. I hope
these hints on maintaining records
help you to keep flying safely with
your mind at ease that the paperwork
is all in order.
FEBRUARY 2014
FEBRUARY 2014
Comanche Flyer •
45
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The publisher makes no warranties as to the
veracity or accuracy of the information provided by
the advertiser. The publisher is under no obligation to
accept any or all advertisements.
International
Comanche Society
Trading Post & Classified
Advertising Contact:
Nancy A. Whitten
2779 Aero Park Drive
Traverse City, MI 49686
Phone: (800) 773-7798
Fax: (231) 946-9588
PA24-260
PA24-250
1962 Turbocharged PA-24-250; 6240TT;
1338SMOH, 270SPOH. Beautiful paint & Int. All
ADs complied. Redone panel with GX55 w/MFD
coupled to STEC auto. 120 gal. Too much to list.
Asking $69,900. Contact Tim Talley, Clifton, TX
(254)675-3771.
2/2
1965 Piper PA24-260 “Comanche 260” - 3680TTAF,
413SMOH. Avionics: Garmin 430 GPS/com, SL-30
Nav/ com, GTX-327 transponder, GMA-340 audio,
Century I A/P, King KR-87 ADF, JPI EDM-800 eng.
monitor w/FF, WX-500 Stormscope, electric trim.
Accessories: Front shoulder harnesses, stby.
vacuum, strobes, Hoerner wingtips, one-piece
windshield, 90 gal. fuel. Orig. P&I rated 6/10. Aug.
2013 annual. Sept. 2013 IFR cert. Complete logs.
Location: Santa Fe, NM. Only $67,900! Details:
www.skymachines.com/N8797P,
Marc@
SkyMachines.com, (575)741-1205.
1/2
PA30
Aircraft Wanted
No one has introduced a better model since the
original design. 1959 PA24-250. Email for details,
more (airplane) pics. Located Marion County,
Dunnellon Florida (X35). $50,000. Stevebrown@
embarqmail.com.
2/2
COMANCHES WANTED: ALL MODELS, runouts OK,
needing P&I/Radio upgrades OK, fast discriminate
transaction on your ramp 20 years experience/
references. Call Jim, (760) 803-3093. avloc@
yahoo.com.
2/2
1963 Turbo PA30 C/R, SN30-70, “C” model interior,
Turboed (upgraded), 2720TTAF, 210 both engines
SFOH, same owner 35yrs, 160 gal gives 2000mi
N/S; sound proofed, 1/4" glass, “Q” tips, Century
III auto pilot, Dual Coupled ILS, King Avionics:
KI-229 RMI; KCS-55A comp KMA-24 Audio; (2)
KY-197 Comms; KNS-80, KN 53,87,76; KMA-10
R.ALTMTA.; WX-10A Stormscope. Lt Wt Starters,
Alternators, dual tach & M/P, all gap seals, Shadin
fuel Comptr; Basic “T” Panel. Best Offer. Tom
(425)485-6226 (WA).
1/2
TRADING POST
Trading Post is a non-commercial, member to member service provided free of charge, one time per
member, per year. The sale of aircraft is not permitted
in the Trading Post.
• Adsmustbesubmittedinwriting
only (fax or E-mail OK).
• Freeadsmaynotbe placedbyphone.
• First25wordsarefree.
• Extrawordsare$0.40perword.
ICS – please support our advertisers!
Fax: (231) 946-9588
FEBRUARY 2014
PLACING AN AD?
ADVERTISING INDEX
Aerotech Publications ........................ 7
Use this list as a guideline for the information you may
want to provide and the order in which to do so.
Aerox ................................................ 19
• YEAR, Model Year of Aircraft
• MODEL, PA 24-180, 250, 260, 400
• SERIALNUMBER, Serial Number of Aircraft
• N-NUMBER, Registration Number of Aircraft
• TOTALAIRFRAMETIME, Total Hours On Airframe
• AIRFRAMEDAMAGEHISTORY, Any Damage
History e.g. Gear Up Landing
• TOTALENGINETIME, Total Hours On Engine Since
Factory New or Remanufactured
• ENGINETIMESINCETOPORMAJOROVERHAUL
• PROPELLERTIME, Total Time On Prop Since New
or Overhaul
• ANNUALINSPECTIONDATE
• FLIGHTINSTRUMENTS, Standard Gyro Panel,
Electronic Flight Instrument System
• RADIO/NAVIGATIONEQUIPMENTLISTING,
Communications & Navigation Equipment Listing
e.g. GPS, ILS, VORs
Aircraft Specialties Services............. 15
• WEATHERADVOIDANCEEQUIPMENT, Stormscope,
Radar,
• SPECIALEQUIPMENTLISTING, Engine Monitor
(EGT, CHT, Fuel Flow, etc.)
• AUTOPILOT, Type & Make of Autopilot
• INTERCOM
• INTERIORCONDITION&NUMBEROFSEATS
• EXTERIORMODIFICATIONS, Gap Seals, Wing
Tips, Speed Mods, Windshield
• PAINTCONDITION
• HANGEREDORTIEDDOWN
• ADNOTECOMPLIANCE
• GENERALCOMMENTS
• ASKINGPRICE
• CONTACTPHONENUMBER
• CONTACTE-MAIL
Air Parts of Lock Haven ................... 27
Aircraft Spruce and Specialty ............C2
Alpha Aviation .................................. 27
Aviation West Insurance Broker ...... 48
Clifton Aero ........................................ 9
Comanche Flyer Foundation ........... 11
Comanche Gear ................................. 3
Comanche Pilot Training Program ..... 3
Degroff Aviation Technologies.......... 37
Electronics International ................. 44
General Aviation Modifications ........ 19
Great Lakes Aero Products .............. 13
Ground Tech .................................... 24
Hartzell Propeller, Inc. ..................... 17
Heritage Aero, Inc .......................C2,33
Insight Instrument Corp ..................C3
ABBREVIATION KEY
A/C
AD’s
ADF
AH
A&P
AI
A/P
AP
CDI
CHT
COM
C/R
C/T
DF
DG
DME
EFIS
EGT
ELT
E/P
F/D
FGP
FWF
GPS
G/S
GSP
H/P
HP
HSI
IFR
IMC
Air Conditioning
Airworthiness Directives
Automatic Direction Finder
Artificial Horizon
Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic
Aircraft Inspector
Audio Panel
Autopilot
Course Deviation Indicator
Cylinder Head Temperature
Communication
Counter Rotating
Carburetor Temperature
Direction Finder
Directional Gyro
Distance Measuring Equipment
Electronic Flight Instrument System
Exhaust Gas Temperature
Emergency Locator Transmitter
External Power Plug
Flight Director
Full Gyro Panel
Firewall Forward
Global Positioning System
Glide Slope
Ground Service Plug
Heated Pitot
Horsepower
Horizontal Situation Indicator
Instrument Flight Rules
Instrument Meteorological Conditions
FEBRUARY 2014
Johnston Aircraft Services ...............C4
ILS
LE
LOC
LORAN
M/B
MDH
NDH
NM
NAV
OAT
OH
PET
RB
R/C
RE
RG
RNAV
SB’s
SCMOH
SFN
SFRM
SMOH
SOH
S/N
SPOH
STOH
TBO
TT
TTAE
TTSN
XPDR
Instrument Landing System
Left Engine
Localizer (Runway Centerline Guidance)
Long Range Navigation System
Marker Beacon
Major Damage History
No Damage History
Nautical Miles
Navigation Radio Receiver
Outside Air Temperature
Overhaul
Piper Electric Trim
Rotating Beacon
Rate of Climb
Right Engine
Retractable Landing Gear
Area Navigation
Service Bulletins
Since Chrome Major Overhaul
Since Factory New
Since Factory Remanufacture
Since Major Overhaul
Since Overhaul
Serial Number
Since Propeller Overhaul
Since Top Overhaul
Time Between Overhauls
Total Time
Total Time Airframe and Engine
Total Time Since New
Transponder
Knots 2U, Ltd. .................................. 45
Lighthawk ............................... 14,19,37
McCauley Propeller Systems ............C2
Met-Co-Aire ......................................C3
Mike’s Upholstery ............................. 48
Oilamatic, Inc..................................... 9
Paul Bowen ....................................... 45
Phill-Air Inc ...................................... 35
Plane Power ...................................... 48
Poplar Grove Airmotive ................... 13
Precision Propeller ........................... 33
Preferred Airparts............................. 35
Rocky Mountain Propellers, Inc. ...... 13
Ron & John’s Comanche Service ...... 37
Sky Manor’s Air Repair LLC ............ 45
Sky Tec Partners Ltd ....................... 48
Sound Ex Products ............................. 9
Warren Gregoire & Associates ......... 37
Webco ............................................... 27
Zephyr Aircraft Engines ................... 18
Comanche Flyer •
47
Aircraft
Interiors
Standard & Custom Designs
LEATHER
Naugahyde • Fabric
Seats • Headliners • Seat Belts
Carpet • Window Trims
• Sound Proof • Side Panels
Glare Shields • Windows
Headrests • Visors • Curtains
Call Mike Roney
402-572-8788
ICS #4102
MIKE’S UPHOLSTERY INC.
12303 N. 72nd, North Omaha Airport
Omaha, NE 68122
Aircraft Upholstery
At Same Location Since 1968
SCOTT MYERS &
DENISE PORTER
Specializing in
Aviation Insurance
Fixed and Rotor Wing Aircraft
Maintenance / Avionics Shops
Flight Schools
Worker’s Comp
Hangar / Premises
Contact us at 888-727-9655 or
[email protected] or
www.avwestinsurance.com
PROUD COMANCHE OWNER
AND ACTIVE ICS MEMBER
FEBRUARY 2014
Comm
•
The US patent office has allowed the
G Series patent.
•
It will be the most comprehensive
engine monitoring patent ever
granted.
•
All of the G Series unique and
revolutionary ideas are
protected for 20 years.
Instrument Corporation
Commanche Flyer.indd 1
13/12/2013 10:17:13 AM
Australian Comanche Stabilator Horn
STC’D AND PMA’D
THIS IS A PERMANENT FIX FOR FAA A.D. 2012-17-06
Recommended Installation Centers
CLIFTON AERO
Clifton, Texas
(254) 675-3771
[email protected]
WEBCO AIRCRAFT
Newton, Kansas
(816) 283-7929
[email protected]
HERITAGE AERO
Rockford, Illinois
(815) 395-0500
[email protected]
JOHNSTON AIRCRAFT SERVICE
Tulare, California
(559) 686-1794
[email protected]
[email protected]
All of these firms have years of experience with Comanches and can do an excellent job for you!
Johnston Aircraft Service
NORTH AMERICAN AGENT FOR AUSTRALIAN HORN
LyCOMING ENGINE O/H PROFESSIONALS
P.O. Box 1457 • Tulare, CA 93275 • Phone: (559) 686-1794 or 686-2161 • Fax: (559) 686-9360
e-mail: [email protected] • Web Site: www.johnstonaircraft.com

The International Comanche Society

Transcription

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