One of those days...

[Esser]

Well Today would have been much more productive if I didn’t go in the garage. The first thing that happened was the power supply I bought a month ago would not work. I wrote an email asking for a replacement so hopefully that gets sorted.

I then mistakenly threaded an NPT fitting into my oil cooler only to realize after it wouldn’t get very tight until all the threads were engaged that it was in fact M22 threads and I ruined the threads on the oil cooler... hopefully I can weld a new boss on.

After being mad at myself for that, I assembled my injector fittings. I was having clearance problems so I tried some new fittings. Once I was happy that it was going to work I went to take off the fitting so I could apply thread sealant. I didn’t realize the threads were galled until I put a little too much arm behind the wrench and twisted the injector boss. The top is destroyed and the threads may need to be drilled and upsized. If that doesn’t work, I need to weld a new boss on the intake manifold.

After being mad at myself for that, I thought I needed to do something productive. My new oil thermostat came in the mail so I thought I would install that. It was advertised as having brass barbed fittings but when I opened the box they were aluminum. I wasn’t super happy about that but I thought I would use them. I applied thread sealant to the first one and threaded it onto the thermostat. I realized as it started to tighten up that I did not put the sealant far enough down on the threads. As I went to reverse the fitting off the thermostat I realized it would not turn. More muscle and it just budged a little. The aluminum fitting in the aluminum thermostat galled. By the time I got the fitting out, it took half the threads out of the thermostat. Hopefully I can pick up a 3/8” NPT tap and fix it.

As you can see, threads didn’t like me today. I feel like I created a couple days work instead of getting a days work done. I guess it comes with the territory but man can building a plane be frustrating some days...

Hope everyone else has better luck than me this weekend!

[David47]

:eek: :mad:

Yep, we've all been there at some stage. Sorry to see that two years worth happened in one day.

Tomorrow will be better.

[rainbird]

I have a rule in my shop. If 2 things go wrong I set down my tools and walk out. No matter how much work time is left. The lost work time is less than what it takes to fix the boo boo. I then do some physical work like chopping wood or clearing land. After an hour or so of that I’m ready to work on the plane again.

[aviator79]

That is a crummy day Josh. I have no doubt you'll get it all back on the rails though. In the States, we must build our planes solely for education or recreation. Some days it's more the former than the latter.

[Paul Z]

Some days I'll be working on my project and I'll tell myself it is time to do something else, before I screw something up, and I get up and head to the house.

[Russell320]

I can’t resist.............this “thread” sympathizes with you.:)

[Esser]

I can’t resist.............this “thread” symbolizes with you.:)

I see what you did there;)

Thanks everyone. Not the first thing I’ve broke and won’t be the last. Everyone is correct though, after item number two I should have stopped.

[HighWing]

I think there is a message here. Resilience is a virtue. Being able to talk about it says that. My mentor in this is my college instructor Dr. Nguyen. I can still hear him in my mind as he says in his Vietnamese accent, "Dooit oower".

[kmach]

"Nothing that money and time won't fix". I've said this a few times.

[colospace]

"I thought of my friends
And the troubles they've had
To keep me from thinking of mine."
- Warren Zevon

[PapuaPilot]

Sorry to hear about your bad day Josh. We all have had days like that.

I just spent the last week trying to figure a serious problem out. I had an issue with my plane right before the condition inspection caused by a severe kickback on a start. I needed to change my starter and the cluster gear (in the accessory section). I also upgraded my remote oil filter with an adapter so it will filter my oil immediately after the oil pump. Due to the previous location of the oil filter I had metal in my oil filter and the oil pressure relief valve, which caused low oil pressure. Anyways, after opening the engine accessory section and making the repairs I did the first startup and only had 12-14 PSI oil pressure. I suspected the oil system wasn't primed and did the easier, #2 method in the Continental maintenance manual. I also tested the accuracy of the oil pressure sensor. I was 100% sure this would solve the problem because it had 16 psi just cranking the engine. When I started the engine it still had 12 psi. :confused: So I did the preferred method of oil priming according to the manual (using a pressure pot and purging the engine at the oil pressure port till oil flowed out at the rocker box covers). Again I got 17 psi cranking the engine and I was 99.9% certain "this has fixed it". I started the engine a 3rd time and only had 8-10 PSI ??? :mad: This thing was kicking my butt. Finally I considered there might be blockage of the oil system, not lack of priming. One thing that came to mind was the new plumbing to my remote oil filter. I checked the two hoses and found I had REVERSED them. The oil was trying to flow backwards through the oil filter and was totally or severely restricted. :eek: I just fixed the problem yesterday, including installing a new oil filter. I plan to do the run-up today and am optimistically 99.8% certain this will solve the problem. ;)

I like the comment about calling it quits after 2 mistakes. One of the evenings last week I just needed to stay home and do something else.

I have applied that principle to flying too . . . have you ever had a day when you aren't even in the air yet and and you missed a couple of big things? It might be good to just taxi back to the hanger.

[jrevens]

...
I just spent the last week trying to figure a serious problem out. I had an issue with my plane right before the condition inspection caused by a severe kickback on a start. ...

I’m curious if you know what caused the kickback, Phil. I’m very aware of an issue with conventional Bendix-style combination key switches, used with Lycoming & Continental engines that can cause a severe kickback like you described. I watched a friend attempt to start his RV-4 once when such a kickback broke the starter right off the engine and really messed up the ring gear at the same time. It’s happened to many others, and is one of the reasons so many builders have gone to a separate switch for the start function.

[PapuaPilot]

That's exactly what happened John. When I released my ignition switch I got the kickback from my right mag, which has no starting means and is at 26 degrees BTDC. I have a lightweight prop, so there isn't any flywheel affect. During the inspection I installed another switch to manually kill that mag during the start.