What to do on first flight in a LONG time?

[jrh]

I am in the process of buying a 1946 Cessna 140 and I need some advice on how to properly care for the engine. Here is the situation...

The plane has not been flown much in the past several years. I have complete maintenance logs and this is what they show:

Plane flew regularly (3-5 hours/month) through the end of 2002. It flew a few times (less than 10 hours) in 2003.

The engine (Continental C85) had a major overhaul dated Nov. 14, 2003. Tach time at that point is listed as 1,227. An annual was also performed at this time.

On Sept. 15, 2004, with tach time at 1,253.3 (25 hours SMOH), an A&P changed the oil and replaced the mineral oil with 100WT Aeroshell oil, cleaned the lower plugs, test ran, and found satisfactory.

On Dec. 27, 2004, at tach time 1,267.5 (40 hours SMOH) an A&P performed an annual and did everything except change the oil.

On Mar. 27, 2006, at tach time 1,268 (41 hours SMOH) an A&P performed an annual and put in Philips 20W50 oil.

I looked at the plane yesterday and the tach currently reads 1,268.24 hours.

So, basically what I'm seeing is, this plane hasn't been flown since early 2005.

It looks great and has been in a hangar all that time, but still...2+ years without turning the engine over is something I wonder about.

Could somebody tell me what I should do in order to bring this engine back to life in the gentlest way possible? I will be test flying/ferrying the plane to my mechanic this Sunday in order to have a prebuy inspection/annual performed.

Thanks in advance!

[Cessnaflyer]

That would worry me a bit also. The only thing I could think of is taking the prop and rotating it a few times to see what the engine feels like. Then follow roads all the way to the mechanic.

[jrh]

Originally Posted by Cessnaflyer

The only thing I could think of is taking the prop and rotating it a few times to see what the engine feels like.

That's the thing, I've heard pulling the prop through by hand, then starting the engine can be harder on the engine than just cranking straight off the bat. I'm not sure what difference it makes, but I'm a pilot, not a mechanic, that's why I'm asking here

[Stoneage]

First step charge the battery! it is likely dead unless it has been regularly charged. Preferably you would look over the innards of the engine with a bore-scope before rotating it, but usually not is not convenient. Definitely pull through by hand, mainly to make sure that it will turn over easily (in case the cylinders had oil squirted into them, usually not a problem on an opposed engine as it will drain out the exhaust on at least one cylinder and thus be obvious). If the plane has been sitting with mogas in the tanks drain it all and refill with avgas. Use the usual caution with respect to animal nests in the engine and contamination in the fuel.

If you choose to fly it, do a circling climb over the field after take-off to remain within gliding distance while you get some altitude. Be prepared for full or partial power loss at any time.

Just my 2cents --Stoneage

[PoeMan]

DO NOT PULL THE PROP THROUGH.
All you'll do is wipe off (read = SCRAP) any oil that is left in the engine.

If you have a mechanic handy, have him pull the plugs and see what has settled to the bottom of each cylinder. Put the bottoms back in and spray the cylinder walls with a light mist of a heavy weight oil (like it was to be put in long term storage.) Give it a bit to "soak" then crank it up. It might start rough and WILL blow smoke for a few seconds. (Have an extinguisher handy just in case you sprayed too much oil.)

LONG WARM UP. Slow acceleration on Takeoff and be ready for anything.

It doesn't sound like too bad a plane/engine. Do make sure you carry a handheld as I did this same thing (with a worse plane) from GA last august. Lost ALL electrical about 20 minutes into the flight. It was fun but tiring.


just my 2 cents

Actually, if the oil is clean on the dipstick; you'd probably be fine with just starting it and letting it run for at least 10-15 minutes then taxi around and do some high speed taxis to see that the engine is producing the rated HP/rpm. Fly 'er to your mechanic and watch him smile. (Sounds like a great plane.)

[PoeMan]

Originally Posted by Stoneage

First step charge the battery! it is likely dead unless it has been regularly charged.

If you choose to fly it, do a circling climb over the field after take-off to remain within gliding distance while you get some altitude. Be prepared for full or partial power loss at any time.

Amen to the battery and the climbing circle is a great idea. But you might ask a few more people sense we now have a "do not" and a "do" for pulling it through...


now its my 4 cents...
- Poe

[Stoneage]

Whether you pull the prop through by hand or turn with the starter the effect is the same. It is important to Avoid turning the prop backward as this will not allow the oil pump to push oil through the engine. Turn the prop forward and the oil pump will start pushing oil to where it is needed most - the crank and cam bearings. While pulling the prop through listen for any scraping sounds, usually all you hear is air moving, the gears in the accessory case meshing and the magnetos clicking. If you do hear scraping see if you can isolate its source - magnetos somtimes make a lot of noise after sitting for a long time.

I am not an A&P but have worked on a couple of C-85s which are good, reliable engines.

--StoneAge

[Polarbear]

My advise: Don't fly it to your mechanic, bring your mechanic to the plane. It will cost extra, but will be well worth your safety.

[jrh]

Originally Posted by Polarbear

My advise: Don't fly it to your mechanic, bring your mechanic to the plane. It will cost extra, but will be well worth your safety.

Oops...too late

An experienced instructor and I flew it over to my mechanic yesterday morning. Aside from the battery not holding a full charge and us needing to jumpstart the plane, everything went fine. The engine fired on the first crank and ran perfectly.

Now I'm hoping the annual turns out ok!

[Stoneage]

Definitely best to get the plane checked out before flying it.

I mentioned charging the battery because if you were to have a fire while starting the engine and not enough battery power to continue cranking the engine you could loose the airplane to the fire. External power would also cover this possibility. Not a bad idea to have someone stand by with a fire extinguisher either, it would suck to have a fire and not even know which way to run to get a fire extinguisher.

-- Stone Age