It's about having fun and living life! Fun is defined by primarily flying my Lancair 360 personal aircraft. Whenever possible, I take the opportunity to jump into a friend's airplane and play passenger: it doesn't matter as long as I am in the air! Fun also includes airshows, aircraft maintenance (a definite part of homebuilt/amateur-built airplane ownership for me), and just plane (no pun intended) messing around. I spend most of my days kidding around so don't be surprised if I have a little humor in what I do. About me: I have been in and out of aviation for many years and have been building airplanes for the last 25 years. I am a professional actor, former comedian ..... not true .. lol. I am an analytics professional :-) The plane: Lancair 360. It took 6.5 yrs to build. She is FAST! I have gone up over 200 knots and still learning. Join me and subscribe. If you are ever in town, look me up so we can have a fun flying adventure together!
I'm not going to make it this year. Probably an every other year thing for me. I'm going to have to start flying more though, only have 6 flights this year for less than 5 hours. Have a great trip Tony, I should plan to drop on you in August sometime The other Claude.
Thanks @DIYflyer! Only thing that keeps worrying me about the vinyl is the little kids at the breakfasts I attend: they think they have the right to try and pull it off! Where are the parents!! lol
Congratulations Tony! If you are hdg to Osh this year, feel free to come by Winnipeg/Lyncrest ( grass) or St. Andrew's and we I cam show you our Emeraude project.
That’s sounds like an awesome idea. I am possibly going straight south into the states from Calgary this year (great falls) but would be cool either way! May have to land at a different airport though. I don’t do grass strips with the plane… actually a clause in my insurance that I will only do hard surface in order to keep costs down (unless emergency).
Hi @gestionaerofax. Interesting. Do tell more please. Timing was set when the engine was rebuilt. How can you tell the timing is too high and there is coupling rust? Thanks for the input.
Tony you use regular gas in that flying machine? If so even of its premium it apparently contains ethanol. Does the ethanol cause any issues with the gaskets, o rings and other parts? Ot damages small engines hence my question.
Hi Rino. Nah. Always use aviation fuel 100 low lead. Unsure on the ethanol question. Uncertainty on the effects causes me to not to venture into that unknown.
Hi. Sorry, I could not answer this one with certainty. You would have to look for individual rules for FAA/JAA/DOT. From what I recall reading many years back for Canada, only 10 hours could be applied against PPL for ultralight hours but WE have to take training to fly in ultralight. I believe it is the case for JAA as well. Sorry, you would have to check as mentioned above and not rely on what I have just written. Thanks.
beautiful plane. Do you know if the 210s of that era has some troubles with the landing gear doors and you recommend removing it? or if there are a bulletin, STCs or ADs? thanks
oil separators are a bad idea. They re introduce into a brand new engine really nasty byproduct of combustion. I can show you what I have in my IO360 if interest you. Good luck. can you share your brake in process? the first 2hs of brake in will dictate the longevity of the engine.
And THAT is why I went from cert to amateur. I had a similar thing happen on my Cessna about 14 years ago. It cost me about 15k back then. So yup. You are right!!
Wow Tony you got the engine running for under 7k, that’s really impressive! I may dm you in summer for some advice. I have the Lancair 235 with the MT electric CS prop. Looking to possibly convert the 235 to 290.
Yeah. I added a note below the video. I missed a $300 receipt so just over 7k CAD… so about 50 dollars USD lol. Sure thing. Reach out when ready but note that I can only speak from my experience and what I have done.
It is!! No, not at all. Parts are all superior parts which are a legit replacement in even certified engines. The big savings came from doing most of the prep work myself. This includes painting everything. Basically, only labor I paid for was the guy assembling the engine which is about a day’s work. Of course, that same person was the one to tell me.. this is crap work. Do it again lol.
Not an engine guy but 6000 doesn’t sound too bad compared to buying a new one. Congrats on a job well done, looking forward to seeing you in the air again
I know right? It didn't feel like it was a deal as i was spending money... but spacing it out really helped. Get a few bucks and spend a few bucks. The key was I did a lot of the work.
Nice B model..bigger cabin which became the 205/206 fixed gear model....still the 470 engine but very respectful performance...he has taken very good care of it. Nice panel..you didnt mention it but i noticed the main gear door mod...someone got a very nice aircraft for 110k
Well done, Tony. Looking very sharp. What a way to turn a bad luck to something positive, congrats! If you've got time next summer and your sexy plane gets its engine back, come and visit us in Pitt Meadows (YPK). We've got a team working on a few interesting Lancair 360 projects you might find interesting, Keep those videos coming, they're awesome!
Tony. Would be helpful to everyone to add some context and facts. Pitting on the cam? Why? 300 smoh? Yeah but where’d you get the lyc? When was the OH? 1995? Oil leak started it right? What’d you find out about that? You want to save $$ but careful doing this work yourself, or even with a field A&P. An engine not fixed properly will fail you at the worst time. Good luck.
Hi @4429dano. The whys and where’s are too long to answer here. I’ll include the back story in the next video: thanks for suggestion. But for quick highlight, engine was in Miami. Plane was being parted due spar corrosion. Had 138 hrs smoh when I bought it. Got bad advice from local AME in Miami which I trusted.OH late 90’s. Once I was ready to install on project at time. AME pulled a jug and saw pitted cam. Sent it to a shop. Lifters and cam were SUPPOSED to be swapped. Seems it may not have been as I only ever got lifters back. Leaks were due to incorrectly installed cylinder rings (they were twisted and kinked on three cylinders). I’m not doing any assembly. Person who does that for a living (and is an AME) is doing is assembling. I am just sourcing parts only and that’s where I am saving. Thanks for the comments. Great advice.
And I set my engine to Penn and arrow up in New York and they did a beautiful job and I had a Cherokee 1:40 that was for 21 years and I sold it and I didn't get the money I wanted out of it but it was a beautiful plane so I just let you know I know what it's like
@vitoscafido9047. Sorry to hear about that. It’s never easy. Folks that don’t fly don’t understand the mental peace and sense of wellness that aviation brings. When you lose the ability to fly or something gets in the way of that possibility, it can be very painful.
Been there done that, on a 500 hour engine. Did an overhaul and then flew the plane another 400 hours. Sold it recently and now debating about diving back into aircraft ownership. We shall see. Enjoy your videos , thanks!
@petermelillo6524 glad you enjoy the vids. Since posting this video and reading these comments and the ones on Facebook I ask a much bigger question to all. How is it ok that we spend sooooo much money on engines and are all so matter of fact about it. I don’t expect an answer from everyone but just wonder how we are all ok with this. I understand these are not fresh out of factory but a lot of this (camshaft pitting for instance) is a “never can tell if the new cam is going to make it to TBO or not.”, and we are all “ok” with it. My engine was born in 1968 and somehow lycoming hasn’t figured out how to make a better camshaft or part in all those years? This is a shrug and hands in the air moment lol.
Hi Tony, Very sorry to hear about your engine.. Thank you for taking the time and patience to share the journey with the rest of us. You are enabling the rest of us to deal with the situation -when it hits us, a little better prepared.. Wishing you the best through the process, and a strong healthy engine when you are all done!
Hi Tony! Oh no, I’m starting to speak to myself.. never a good sign. lol. Thanks for the kind words of support. Hopefully the process won’t take too long, but I am ready for at least a few months of misery. “Luckily” the -33 degrees Celsius weather is “helping”…. Wouldn’t be flying either way right now (it sells itself better in my mind. lol!
Ha ha ha, you definitely have a (+) way of looking at things!! We have an engine shop at my airport.. they say availability of parts and services are definitely getting better! Best wishes Tony!
You may want to consider yourself lucky it happened at this time because there is another predicted parts shortage in the pipeline coming that is going to effect everything.
I’m having issues locating an idler gear at the moment. A used one in good condition would suffice. No new ones available. Distributors want my money but won’t commit to a time so can’t go that route. Gonna try Colorado air parts by phone today: they don’t seem to answer to email.
Sorry to hear about the cam... It's a fear I have in my low time io320 as well. You mention rpm degradation in the summer of 2023. How much rpm degradation were you noticing and was it in all stages of flight or just in climb or static rpm check?
Thanks @pablosanchez000. Static. Home airport 3360’. Static was always about 25rpm over minimum (before leaning) and it went to about 35 below minimum static rpm. I had to lean to get it at slightly over required. Turned out I had a bad plug. Swapped it. Still shy of minimum static by about 10 rpm before leaning so not where it originally used to be. In flight I level off to check max rpm. Normally it is a quick thing to check. Recently, it took much longer and had me questioning whether I would make it to max rpm. Normal fall day weather. Not much humidity in Calgary so not DA related.
That same thing happened to me in early 2023. O470 complete zero-time rebuild. It was different in that my engine was timed out and i expected it at some point. I was getting tons of metal in the oil filter. It's a heavy feeling.
That sucks. Had a similar thing happen on a 150 I used to own. Bought it with engine on condition and after 10 hours it was “dead”. Sent it out to get rebuilt and 60 hours later, cylinder split at fin 7 on number 1…. My daughter was taking her flying lessons with her instructor and they had to take it down in a field. Daughter never flew again :-(
@flyingadventuresab I am sure hoping!! I tell ya one thing. If I was retired right now, I would have been selling the plane and what was left of the engine as it will be difficult to spend big chunks of money when retired (in my case).
Actually, was just camshaft. Lifters were pretty much brand new but all AMEs including the engine guys says always better to swap them out. Other things: piston rings (worn "quite a bit") and it was suggested that I replace one of the crank gears as it was pitted (SL75072). I'll be going into a bit of detail on the next vid. Other things like bearings is more of a suggestion that I swap them out but they were not worn much.
Thanks for your video and sorry to hear about your problem. Hope you get your engine back to flying condition soon again. I do not like Lycoming engines-! In order to replace the alternator drive belt, the prop has to be removed. If you tie a spare belt back to a case flange bolt, the belt ages and hardens and will fail prematurely. The starter ring gear, alternator and starter make the engine nose heavy on a Lyc. Most Continental engines have their starters and alternators mounted on the accessory case on the back of their engines and the alternator is driven by an internal gear while the starter drives an internal gear. This is a superior design with regards to placement of these two components. High mounted, (above the crankshaft) Lyc. camshaft lobe(s) are renowned to rust faster than low mounted ones, (under the crankshaft). Why, - because there is no oil drip effect from the crankshaft and the cranks associated cheekfaces to the hi mounted cramshaft. With the camshaft on a Continental engine mounted under the crankshaft, there is that oil drip effect which helps to prevent cam lobe & lifter face rust for a while. In both of these engine types, I wish that the engines had been designed in such a way that all case half studs which clamp both halves together went thru both case halves and were nutted outside the cases. There is nothing worse than having a steel stud pull its way out of its threaded bore during assembly of both cases and then having to take them apart again and then having to helicoil the pulled threads in the stud bore. Steel studs threaded into aluminum is a bad idea. I would like for someone to write about inferior designs of Continental engines when compared to Lycomings.
Thanks for writing John and for the well wishes. Great write up! The extra weight on the front for me was a good thing for weight and balance so can’t complain there :-). I was thinking of adding a pre-oiler on the rebuild but given I am counting dollars on this one and not really sure it would ever stop this from happening again, I am figuring that I stick to the essentials.
Hi Tony, sorry to hear about this issue with your engine. It becomes a crazy expensive hobby when such happens :( Hopefully we will see you back in the skies soon. Where did you send your parts for inspection ? I soon will be in need of sending 540 engine parts for same type of measuring. Vlad.
Can you share images of the cam and why you think it was worn as it is after such little running time?Do you think your initial hot issues had an impact on the cam. What did the oil leak you had have to do with what you found? Best wishes. ( I have our engine case out to r splitting and awaiting report on crank and cam .)
Hi! I don’t think the oil leaking had anything to do with what we found. Simply AME said it was no good and pitted. I’ll talk about the back story in the next video. Basically, bought engine in Miami while I was building plane with about 100 smoh. An AME friend in Montreal pulled a jug and had a look. Pitted cam. So had it torn apart and replaced cam and lifters. Lifters are still like new. Cam looks like it did: think it was never replaced. Not sure. AME was concerned with cam lobe on cylinder 3. So I did what he told me to do. If there is pitting in one place, possibly the same everywhere else… and here we are :-) Not sure if original overheating caused this. Hit me up on hudpilot1@gmail.com and I can send you pics of cam if you need to see it before next release.
