Light aircraft knowledge blogs

If you rent aircraft or are undergoing training, you must've come across evidence of an oily surface, or belly of an aircraft or even as far back as oil on the tailskid or tie down point. There is an addage that says a leak as such is not a problem, it is the change in the leak that should be concerning. The sad truth is that many rental pilots just ignore this and move on.  Changing this attitude is a task and must become a culture for it to be self-sustaining.  Is also an excellent example of the level of airmanship, b ut it also reflects on general knowledge and exposure.  So, what must you do if you observe evidence of engine oil on an airframe. Identify sources of oil Clean the evidence Monitor the recurrence of the evidence The bottom line is, that if you don’t clean up any oil that you see on the airframe, how would you know if the leak is bad? Most evidence seen on airframes from my experience, is due to pilots spilling oil in the cowling when trying to top up eng...

Setting flap in turns:   Some info to chew on by C.Gray 2023 Essentially there is nothing wrong with setting flap in turns. But you need to understand what effect it has on your aircraft, and how it could end up covering up poor technique.  In the training environment, setting flap during a turn can hide accurate flying. I found that many pilots would initiate a turn, then reduce throttle and set a stage of flap. A typical example is the base turn. The loss of energy from reduced thrust (soon to cause sink) is then offset by the initial balloon effect of flap deployment. If the intention is for a descent from the turn exit (like on base turn) then the drag further reducing speed automatically enters the descent nicely for you. This sounds very efficient and for seasoned pilots is manageable.  For someone learning to fly however this is hiding their real energy management skill. Learning this technique means you inadvertently learn to use flap as a crutch. If I ask the sam...

Recognising engine issues in flight following a bird strike by C.Gray 2023 Damage to the propeller If there is a sudden imbalance/shaking from the engine, and any RPM adjustment has little effect on the vibration, the most likely reason is propeller damage. S olution: The engine may need to be stopped, to prevent further damage to the engine mounting integrity. You may be able to find an RPM where resonance is the least though, thereby retaining some power. Engine induction air intake blockage An engine sucks air in through a filtered inlet, called the induction intake. An engine induction intake blockage will probably cause an immediate step loss of power, and could lead to a gradual continuation of loss of power, until the engine is incapable of proper combustion. The resulting overly rich mixture in the cylinders may cause associated backfiring, and potentially a fuel smell in the cockpit at low speed as the unburnt fuel exits the exhaust pipe. Remedy: Provide another indu...