Won't be doing any flying this weekend. Two reasons, first the propeller is in a different city and my PFD (Primary flight display) is in another state. A few months back the PFD company announced a new version of the display. Current owners could upgrade at a good price and extend the warranty 2 years. I signed up and then patiently waited for my turn.
My number came up so off it went. You can see the hole above. The nice thing about the newer avionics is that they pop in and out easily. The unit has a ground wire, two pitot Static quick disconnects and big D connector. This means that it comes out or back in in about 5 minutes.
Now technically I can fly with it broken. I would have to placard it and I am then limited to day VFR. I could fly with it out by making a logbook entry, updating the weight and balance and again limiting to day VFR but you would need to carefully secure all the loose lines. When I say you, I mean a mechanic, this is not a do it yourself thing.
Even so I won't be doing any flying. Right about the time my number came up, I saw some grease on a prop blade. Investigating, I found one blade was seeping grease from the root seal. This is not uncommon as props age but since mine was serviced recently I was less happy. As a precaution, I took this opportunity to send the prop in for a reseal. They will take it all apart, check all the parts, repaint the blades and re-assemble it with new seals.
So for now I am grounded as there is no way around having the prop off. If all goes well, both parts will come back about the same time and I will be back in business.
My number came up so off it went. You can see the hole above. The nice thing about the newer avionics is that they pop in and out easily. The unit has a ground wire, two pitot Static quick disconnects and big D connector. This means that it comes out or back in in about 5 minutes.
Now technically I can fly with it broken. I would have to placard it and I am then limited to day VFR. I could fly with it out by making a logbook entry, updating the weight and balance and again limiting to day VFR but you would need to carefully secure all the loose lines. When I say you, I mean a mechanic, this is not a do it yourself thing.
Even so I won't be doing any flying. Right about the time my number came up, I saw some grease on a prop blade. Investigating, I found one blade was seeping grease from the root seal. This is not uncommon as props age but since mine was serviced recently I was less happy. As a precaution, I took this opportunity to send the prop in for a reseal. They will take it all apart, check all the parts, repaint the blades and re-assemble it with new seals.
So for now I am grounded as there is no way around having the prop off. If all goes well, both parts will come back about the same time and I will be back in business.
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