March 2, 2023
There were many swear words falling from my mouth as I removed the cowl to begin my annual condition inspection and I saw a lot of oil on the bottom of the cowl (sorry I failed to take a picture) and on the top of the airbox. Not good. It looked like a classic crankshaft seal failure. First call was…
August 1, 2022
Admittedly I did not attend many forums this year. I only attended the show for three days and there is just so much to see… But I did have a few takeaways: Vic Syracuse (Base Leg Aviation) Change auto spark plugs every 100 hours or annually (I have been following P-Mag recommendation of 125 hours) Mouse milk lube exhaust at…
April 5, 2022
So during my condition inspection I made a bad decision. I used a block of wood in between my wing jack and my wing, and that block did not match the shape of the jack stand. Lowering the jack the block rotated and flipped out putting two small dents in the bottom of my wing. Fuck me. My fault, dumb…
March 11, 2022
I customized my Condition Inspection checklist based on Walt’s (EXP Aircraft Services LLC) checklist. I also added some frequently needed documents/information to the end of my document. Here is a link to my checklist As with building, there was a learning curve this year that added a good amount of extra time and effort. Next year I think the Condition…
February 14, 2021
I felt that the Van’s Construction manual left a lot to be desired on rigging the flaps and ailerons. The information was spread out over many sections and took multiple readings to understand the process. This post is meant to be a more straightforward guide. 1. When setting the flaps they need to be fully up against the rear spar…
December 21, 2019
After motoring to Paradise Village from Yelapa, we pulled into a nice slip with plenty of boat projects to get done as well as visiting with our friends who live in Vallarta. Of course trips to the pool and eating out every night soften the affects of daily boat work. Sadly, or maybe not given the work, it was quickly…
May 31, 2019
Work continued and the day before our haul out we moved to a motel for the last two nights. Ah showers and air conditioning. Funny story – Jack and I had checked out a couple places and actually had reserved one that looked okay. Later that day Jack found a better spot and canceled the first motel and while there…
May 29, 2019
The passage past smoothly and come daylight we could see the finish line, Puerto Penasco. We even managed some motorsailing with the engines pulled way back. An attempt was made at sailing but as per usual this only lasted a short time. All in all, a nice way to close out the season. Huge tidal swings occur in Penasco so…
May 8, 2019
Work before play – I had to replace the anchor light fixture. So first thing in the morning up Jack and Shalise hoisted me. One hell of an arm work out holding myself up with one arm while soldering the connectors with my other. Whew! But we now have a working anchor light again! Who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt?…
May 4, 2019
A super simple motor over to Isla Coronado gave Jack a taste of sailing Strikhedonia. We dropped the hook with six other boats and settled in for a bit of relaxation time. The bees arrived which meant a scramble to install all of the screens. As evening approached Shalise took the paddleboard which motivated me to begin another boat project……
May 3, 2019
Puerto Escondido, oh how I love to hate thee. I actually like PE (a lot), it is the expensive mooring ball and distance to Loreto that I hate. But a necessary stop. First up on our arrival was giving Strikhedonia a deep clean on the outside, after the crossing we rinsed off the salt but this was the first chance…
January 27, 2019
After drama the day before when the travellift operator accidentally scratched Strikhedonia I was ready to hit the seas and hopefully a chance to unwind. But not before a bit more work. To start the day, filling the jerry cans and waiting for Rick to come finish the non-skid installation on the swim step. The night before I had noticed…