Page 30 - Volume 14 Number 4

TECHTALK
Rush to Judgment
Before doing something expensive or invasive, slow down
“My Cirrus SR22’s oil pressure has been slowly decreasing,” reported Oliver, one of my com- pany’s managed maintenance clients. “At full power the pressure used to be 41-43 PSI, but over the past three months it has dropped to 36-39, and half the time I get a low oil pressure warning at idle. Should I get this checked now, or wait until the annual?”
Oliver’s account manager Eric – a very experienced A&P/ IA and one of the savviest engine guys in our company – advised that this should be checked sooner rather than later. “Oil pressure in the 30s is too low,” Eric told Oliver. “I would actually prefer to see it around 50 PSI. It’s easy to adjust oil pressure. Let’s have that done no later than the next oil change.”
Oliver normally has his airplane maintained at the small shop on his home field, but the shop was booked solid and
told Oliver that they couldn’t
put his airplane on the shop schedule for at least three or four weeks. Oliver checked with several other small shops, who all told him the same story.
The shop told the owner that adjusting the oil pressure would be “like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.”
by MIKE BUSCH, A&P/IA
Now quite concerned about his de-
creasing oil pressure and wanting
to avoid any harm to his expensive
engine, Oliver wasn’t willing to wait. He decided to fly his plane to a big well-known shop that was the official Cirrus-approved service center for the region.
After Oliver described his decreasing oil pressure symptom to one of the A&P mechanics (I’ll call him Mack) at the service center and asked him to adjust the oil pressure up to 50 PSI, Mack became suspicious that what Oliver
WHAT IS YOUR ENGINE DATA TELLING YOU?
Accurate interpretation of your engine data is crucial to achieving optimum performance and safety. Common indications identified by periodic engine data analysis:
◆ Imminent component failure
◆ Fuel system maladjustment
◆ Turbo system health
◆ Pilot operational errors
Beneficial for early detection as well as troubleshooting specific problems. Call or email to have your engine data professionally analyzed.
Jim Barker, Owner, A&P/IA
www.aviationvibes.com
jim@aviationvibes.com
AVIATION RESOURCES
101 Airport Avenue Cumberland, WI 54829 715/822-5787 hangar 715/491-1303 cell
Specializing in the Cirrus aircraft –
98% of our customers wear the initials “SR.”
28 ■ COPA Pilot
MAY 2019