Lightplane Maintenance AIRCRAFT ENGINE OPERATING GUIDE Belvoir Publications/Kas ThomasALSO BY KAS THOMAS: Personal Arca Mantonarce (McGraw Hl, 198%) Tho Complete Book of Homebult Ratorra, wt lack Lambie TAB) owt Fy Helcoptes, wth Lary Coli (TAB) Tis 1988 edtion approved by he TAB aviation extra staf, FIRST EDTON SIXTH PRINTING © 1985 by Betvole Publications, In. Published by TAB Books TTAB Books a dvion of MoGraw il, Inc. Pied inthe Unted Sites o America. Al rights reserved. The publsner ‘hes no responsi er he uae! ayo he mars or cod \descr020 ints Door, Pr the produets eect Library of Congress Cataloging i-Publestion Data ‘Tomas, Kas, Ughtolane martenanca : ars engine operating guide! by ‘ak Pubiestonskas Thomas Bon Irs index ISBN 08908-24917 (p04) 5. Rrplanes PraleMolors. 2. Prata yng. |, Beheir Pubieatons i, TI Two: Ligh plane masionaree Tuyo T54 1988 628, 194'352—acr9 8.27561 oP. Book Design by Caryn A, MagruderContents Preface Chapter 1: Engine Design Basics ........ 8 Chapter 2: Cockpit Controls . ... Chapter 3: Engine Instruments . . Al Chapter 4: Starting ...... 7 Chapter 5: Runup . 81 Chapter 6: Takeoff and Climb . Chapter 7: Cruise Operation .... 113 Chapter 8: Mixture Management .. ee ioe. Chapter 9: Descent, Approach, & Shutdown .... 151 Chapter 10: Emergencies ........+ oe ie Glossary 185 ‘Appendix A: Engine Nomenclature .. 197 Appendix B: Standard Atmosphere Chart . .. 201 Index - 203Preface Piston aircraft engines are a special breed. Most pilots are prone to regard today’s Lycoming and Continental designs as quaint “period pieces,” technological fossilsin-the-making. And it is undeniably true that piston aircraft engine manufacturing is a seasoned tech- nology. (Lycoming and Continental have each been making reciprocating airplane engines for more than half a century—a remarkable fact, given that aviation itself is not even 90 years old.) Its also true, however, that FAA-certificated piston e uncannily reliable by comparison with a variety of more “modern” types of machinery, such as motorcycle engines, lawnmowers, chain- saws, and ulealght powerplants, t say nothing of cersin otherwise trustworthy automobile engines which, when they’ ve been tried in aireraft, have (how shall we say?) failed to instil confidence. It is probably no accident that most pilots would rather drive behind a Toyota engine, and fly behind a Lycoming, than vice versa, But paradoxically, the very reliability of “recip” av-engines hasled many pilots to become ax with regard to basic power management. Half the plots you meet at the local airport can’t tll you how to find an engine's leanest ‘linder by reference toa multi-channel EGT gauge. (The other halfcan’ttell you how tostar afuel-injected engine without flooding it.) A great many private pilots—even some flight instructors—don’tknow how amagneto "works, or what the components ofa shower of sparks” ignition system are; anda lot of old-timers who should know better can’ttellyou why arunup is ddoneat 1,800 rpm instead of idle or full throttle. Ithas only been inthe last few years, really —with the recent surge in fuel prices and the exorbitant rise in ‘overhaul costs—that the average pilot has begun to take more than casual in- terest in how his or her engine works, and how it should be flown. ‘To some extent, the appalling FWF ignorance shown by today’s, pilots is the result of Federal Aviation Regulations which have not kept pace with the increasing sophistication of small planes over the last 20 years, Under Part 61 of the FARs, as currently worded, itis perfectly legal (and quite common, of course) for a person to take the private- pilot check ride after having had no exposure whatsoever to: a manifold- pressure gauge; EGT instrumentation; constant-speed propeller operation; fuel injection; “alternate air”; auxiliary electric fuel pumps (high-wing Cessna trainers don’t have such a thing); uel-flow gauges; turbocharging; or cowl flaps. Some private pilots have not even seen @Preface CHT gauge by the time they’ve gotten their licenses. (Many training, aircraft lack a cylinder-head-temp gauge.) And yet, over the last 20 years, the proportion of fuel-injected, cow!-flapped, constant-speed- propeller, andlor turbocharged aircraft in the civil fleet has grown enormously. Also, of course, the cost of those aircraft has grows enor- ‘mously—which means that pilots literally can no longer afford to be ig- norant on the subject of powerplant operation. Unfortunately, while there are many books on how to fly in. ‘weather, how to fly safely,” how to fly at night, etc., there are virtual- ly none on basic engine operation. The manufacturer's handbooks are ‘admirably concise and to-the-point on this subject, but by the same token they rarely go into the kind of detail necessary to impart a gen- tuine understanding of why an engine is leaned a certain way, or ‘operated at a certain rpm, of started in a certain manner, etc. The mmianufacturer’s manuals tell you what to do, but not why to do i This book is an attempt to tell both how and why aircraft engines are operated the way they are. Its aimed at all pilots, ofall experience Tevels, who are interested in getting optimum performance and longevity from their engines. Since the text deals less with ‘maintenance (per se) than with operational procedures, discussions of engineering matters are limited to just the amount of detail needed for fan adequate understanding of the technique(s) in question. Readers ‘who desire an expanded discussion of technical matters are encourag- ed to consult the excellent 554-page Fourth Edition of Aircraft Powerplants by Ralph D. Bent and James L. McKinley (1978, McGraw- Hill, or the FAA’s equally compendious (if less up-to-date) Airframe & Powerplant Mechanics’ Powerplant Handbook (AC 65-12; Govt. Printing Office, 1976). In addition, the “Engine Clinic” department of LIGHT PLANE MAINTENANCE explores technical matters on a regular basis. In writing a book ofthis kind, itis hard to decide on an appropriate level of “conversation” with regard to the (admittedly somewhat esoteric) subject matter. Pilots are a diverse group, afterall. Some are technically trained, while others are not accustomed to talking in terms (of "brake mean effective pressure” or BTUs. Some pilots, likewise, ‘spend the majority of their flying hours in Cessna Skyhawks or other carbureted, normally aspirated airplanes with fixed-pitch propellers; ‘others fly fucl-injected twins or high-performance singles. The tempta- tion ina situation like this is for an author to find the lowest common denominator in his audience, and write for that group, keeping every discussion kindergarten-simple, At the risk of losing a few readers, 1 have decided not to reduce everything to monosyllables. Rather than start at “ground zero,’ Iwill assume that the reader already has somePreface familiarity (perhaps through the automotive world) with piston ‘engines, and that such terms as “‘camshaft” and “float carburetor” already have some meaning, (Ifnot, there's a Glossary atthe tail end of this book.) Students—and readers with very little technical background—may thus find some sections puzzling or fuzzy, for which I apologize, When complex matters are oversimplified rather than merely simplified, the truth often suffers (and the technically adept reader is snubbed). I wished to torture neither the truth nor the adept reader, My first flying lesson was in 1962, and in a sense it could be said that this book was 20-plus years in the making. Over the years, [have had a chance to fly engines from just about all of the major “flat four’” and “flat six”” families, and I have had many excellent instructors. But ‘most of what I know about aircraft engines has come from conversa- tions over the years with just a few people—people such as Charles Melot of Mattituck (now Van Dusen); Roger Wulf, James L. Tubbs, and Gary Greenwood of Engine Components, Inc.; Joe Diblin of Avo Lycoming; Carl Goulet of Teledyne Continental; Charles E. Shader of Bendix; Al Hundere of Alcor; Paul Morton (retired Braniff captain and founder of the Cessna Owner Organizations); and the late Hugh Maclnnes of Roto-Master. I am also deeply indebted to my father, Robert E. Thomas, whose advice on engine matters (as with so much else) has proven invaluable, and the many AéPs—in California, North Carolina, Connecticut, and elsewhere—who have guided my ‘maintenance forays in the past. Special thanks are also due Carolyn A. Magruder (for her tireless willingness to follow through countless changes in typesetting and layout) and Rosemary Royer (for expert assistance with typesetting, and proofreading). Barbara Hackett also provided critical typesetting ‘services at a time when they were desperately needed. Dave Noland provided comic relief, thoughtful exchanges of ideas, and, frequently, Geli runs, The writing of the book commenced in August 1984 and ‘eventually consumed some 472K of disk space on an Apple Macintosh ‘before being modem-dumped to a CompuGraphic 7500. I this book, by heightening your awareness of what goes on ahead of the firewall, conteibutes to your enjoyment of flying, it will have served its purpose. If it helps your engine make TBO, so much the better. Kas Thomas Stamford, Connecticut February'12, 1985Engine Design Basics Until World War Two, most of the popular aircraft engines in the U.S. were of the radial ‘configuration—ie., arranged with cylinders pointing away from the crankshaft like spokes around a hub (a Configuration that owed its popularity partly to the fact that such engines are easy to air-cool, and partly to the fact that radials allowed compact, lightweight, easy-to-fabricate crankshaft and crankcase designs). In the course of World War Two, however, Lycoming and Continental—each of which had produced radial engines by the thousands—began mass-producing smaller aircraft engines in the now-familiar “opposed” layout, with cylinders parallel to each other ‘and opposing each other, on opposite sides of a long (and somewhat flexible) crankshaft. For reasons having to do with vibrational characteristics, aerodynamics (cowl design), and aesthetics, opposed fengines quickly became favored for applications under 300 horsepower, finding their way into a wide variety of postwar light planes, while radials were relegated to transport aircraft (only to Gisappear a few years later with the arrival of jets). ‘Today's Lycomings and Continentals actualiy differ very little, in overall layout, from the 0-290s and E-185s of the Truman years. The “pottom end” of a modern reciprocating aircraft engine—ivhich is to say, the crankshaft, erankcase, camshaft, and gearing (everything except the cylinder assemblies)—consists of a four- or six-throw (oF even an eight-throw) steel-alloy crank, along with a steclalloy cam, in a cast-aluminum crankcase with accessory gearing (oil-pump gears, magneto gears, vacuum pump pads, etc.) on the back. The Ftop end’? components consist of steel cylinder barrels screwed or interference-fitted into cast aluminum cylinder heads, with valves fiding in aluminum-bronze or cast-iron guides, The valves (which may be parallel or angled slightly, depending on the exact engine model) are pushrod-actuated. Ignition is provided, of course, by high-tension magnetos with mechanical breaker points. Most pilots’ understanding of how aircraft engines are designed ends here. Unfortunately, that’s not good enough. Anyone who has any intention of getting maximum performance, reliability, and ongevity from an aircraft engine (a high-performance engine, par- 3Chapter One Continental 10-520 (injected, opposed, 520 cubic inches’ displacement) has 4.S-to-] compression ratio, develops 285 horsepower, max-continuous (Continental photo) ticularly) owes it to himself or herself to know more than just the bare ‘minimum about how the engine in question is put together. I would urge every pilot to make ita point, someday, to sit down with the ap propriate engine manufacturer's overhaul or shop manual and study it awhile, In the meantime, you should at least familiarize yourself ‘with the following anatomical details (which will be important in discussions throughout this book) Crankcase. Probably one of the least understood (and most villainized) components of the modern air-cooled aircraft engine is the crankcase. All Lycoming and Continental cases are cast aluminum, and as one sage was heard to comment, “anything made ‘of cast aluminum will, sooner or later, crack.’” (Why cases crack is a discussion unto itself. Suffice i to say, if weight weren’t a considera tion in aircraft-engine design, aircraft crankcases would be made of ‘cast iron and be twice as thick as they are now, and cracking would not be a problem, But that’s not the way it is.) Aircraft crankcases may be sandcast—ive,, cast in sand molds—or cast in a permanent mold. Permanent-meld castings are typically used when it's necessary to obtain higher mechanical properties, better surfaces, and/or more accurate dimensions than are possible with sandcasting,Engine Design Basics In theory, petmanent-mold cases are stiffer, Jess porous, and generally more reproducible than sandcast cases, and thus afford the engine designer a chance to save weight, without compromising strength, through close-tolerance design. On a large, complex, potentially very flexible structure (such as a Continental GTSIO-520 crankcase), these considerations are of paramount importance—which is why Con- tinental indeed uses the Permold process on most of its largest engines. Most other General Aviation engines, however, have sand- cast cases, cast not by Lycoming and Continental themselves but by outside vendors. Lycoming and Continental take the “green” castings through complex final machining operations (now mostly computer-controlled), installing studs and Helicoils, etc., before sen ding the finished case to the assembly line. Among other finishing, steps, the case halves are individually drilled to provide lubrication {galleries for the flow of oil to moving parts (which we'll talk about ‘more when we get to the discussion on “lubrication”. The crankcase also is ported to provide external ventilation via a long tube (called the breather). In addition, bosses are provided for special alloy-lined crankshaft bearings (or “main bearings"), which come in the form of separate, removable semicircular inserts. The inserts are replaced at ‘each major overhaul, Crankshaft, Aircraft-engine crankshafts are forged steel alloy (as ‘opposed to many automotive cranks, which are cast-iron), If you ever ‘see one by itself, you can’t fail to be impressed with its beefiness Still, an av-crank will break if abused. The sheer length of an ‘opposed-engine crankshaft makes it unavoidably limber (particularly six and eight-throw crankshafts, which, accordingly, often incor- porate special pendulum-type dampers to dampen out harmful tor- sional—or twisting—vibrations). The main bearing journals, as well as the crankpins (i.e., the portions of the crankshaft that join to the con- necting rods), are machined to ultra-close tolerances and nitrided (specially hardened) for long wear. In a four-cylinder Lycoming or Continental, the crankpins are oriented 180 degrees apart; in a six, the throws are 120 degrees apart. What’s more, one bank (or row) of cylinders is always displaced just slightly ahead of the opposite bank, 80 that each piston has its own “fully dedicated” crankpin. (Again, in the automotive world, things are often done differently.) In a Lycom- ing engine, the cylinder numbering system is related in a straightfor~ ‘ward way to the crankshaft layout: The number-one cylinder is defined as the one served by the forwardmost crankpin (ie., the crank throw nearest the propeller). That can be either the front left or the front right cylinder, depending on the exact engine model. Continental, by 5Chapter One This orged-tet 10530 ay her andi, Beds torsinalyy isn fd wd igh —in ‘normal operation, ging re to rations which rst be darpene by dynamic eunteoeights (nok shown. The weights ide on ps of roles on cronk chek eters ncn hanger blade. "This rank hes hanger lads between throws 1 and 2 and throws 3 and 4° Saring fom te to, shave main jours fe ma jours thew 8 main : and too rod journals ee) contrast, defines the number-one cylinder as the cylinder served by the rearmost crankpin, which just happens to always be the right rear cylinder, Crankshaft dampers. Many aircraft engine crankshafts, par- ticularly on six and eight-cylinder engines, incorporate bifilar (dual- roller) pendulum-type counterweights for vibration damping, (Smaller engines, with short, stiff cranks, don’t need dampers.) The counterweights consist of semicircular hunks of metal with two holes drilled out. They ride on individual crank cheek extensions known as hanger blades (also with two holes drilled out). A pair of roller pins, smaller in diameter than the holes they fit in, serve to connect the 6Engine Design Basics counterweights with the crankshaft hangers. The natural frequency of the pendulum weights is determined either by the mass of the ‘counterweight, or (more often) by the size of the rollers (or in some instances by the size of the bushings that are used to contain the rollers). The need for crankshaft dampers becomes apparent when you consider that in normal operation, the limber crank twists and ‘untwists (or winds up, and unwinds) very slightly in the direction of rotation, kind of ike a rubber band (a very stiff one, admittedly). The torsional pulsation is a normal consequence of the intermittent com- bustion going on in the cylinders. As the power pulses are transmit- ted from piston to connecting rod to crankpin, the crankshaft itself responds by twisting and turning. In a six-cylinder, four-stroke-cycle engine, there are, of course, three power pulses per revolution of the ‘crank, Accordingly, the principal modes of crank vibration in such an engine are multiples of three: third-order, sixth-order, etc. (The term “third order” refers to any vibration that peaks three times per revolution. When your car’s front tires are out of balance, you ex perience two first-order vibrations—one from each side of the car.) If the engine designer puts counterweights on the crankshaft and “yunes” the counterweights just right, much of this type of vibration can be cancelled out, allowing smoother operation and longer engine life. (Conversely, if sludge builds up in the counterweight rollers, or the rollers are damaged in the course of a prop strike, or the wrong rollers are used during an overhaul, the counterweights will be detuned and the engine will run rough in certain rpm ranges.) The purpose of this discussion is not to make you an expert on engine vibrations (although you now know more about the subject than most A&P mechanics), but to familiarize you with the concept of dynamic counterweights, so that the idea of counterweight tuning and detun- ing doesn’t remain a total mystery. (For more information on the sub- ject, I recommend you refer to Lycoming Service Bulletin No. 245B.) Connecting Rods. Aircraft engines employ automotive-type forg- ed steel connecting rods with bronze piston-pin bushings at the piston end, and semicircular precision bearing inserts (the same type as make up the crankshaft main bearings) at the crankpin end, Lycoming and Continental do not make their own rod forgings, but obtain rod blanks from a forging vendor (such as Fiat), then subject them to shotpeening (to remove forging scale), machining, various quality inspections, and—finally—weighing, before assembling them to an engine. (Rods are weighed and separated into groups at the fac tory, to keep the weights within a half ounce in opposite bays. Later, the fully assembled crankshaft—complete with rods and dynamic 7Chapter One counterweights—is dynamically balanced before engine final assembly takes place.) Pistons. Pistons may be either cast aluminum or (in high-output engine models) forged aluminum, or in some cases forged aluminum with a steel insert inthe head portion to accept the top compression ring (e.g., Continental TSIO-520-AE and O-470-U, Spec. 18). Most Lycoming and Continental engines employ fourting pistons. Le, pistons are grooved to accept (from top down) two compression Fings, an oil control ring, and—below the piston pin—a wiper ring. Many engines, however (including various Lycomings and older 0-470 Continentals) use three-ring pistons, in which case the wiper ring is nonexistent. There are even a few engines with five-ring pistons, but these have mostly been updated to the four-ring con- figuration. Piston pins are full-floating steel tubes, usually’ with aluminum end plugs. Lycoming matches pistons by weight (plus or ‘minus a quarter-ounce in opposite bays), but Continental stopped ‘matching pistons years ago, after it was found that a weight dif- ference of as much as half a pound in opposing pistons produced no abnormal performance in the course of a test-cell vibration survey. Once again, it should be noted that pistons—like most other engine components—are not actually manufactured by Lycoming or Con- tinental, but come from outside vendors (such as Metal Leve, 5.A., of Brazil). The Lycoming and Continental factories merely machine and inspect the vendor-supplied castings or forgings before putting their imprimatur on them. Piston rings. Piston rings for Continental and Lycoming engines, are made by Perfect Circle, Koppers Company, and/or other vendors Duetile cast-iron is now the preferred ring material (for compression rings), although plain castion and other steels are also used. Depen- ding on the application, the outer edge (or face) of the ring may be chromed, plasma-coated with molybdenum, or treated in other ways. ‘Also, depending on piston-groove design, the ring cross-section may either be rectangular (e.g., Continental O-470-R), half-wedge (Lycom- ing TIO-540-), or full-wedge (Lycoming 0-235-C). Oil control rings are generally slotted, machined around the circumference to provide oil drain-back holes, and supported on the underside with a spring to provide constant tension. Wiper rings have an obvious bevel at the ‘outer edge, but otherwise look and perform much the same as a com- pression ring Cylinders. in Lycoming as well as Continental engines, an exter- nally finned, aluminumvalloy head casting, is heated to about 600 degrees Fahrenheit (316 Celsius)—and valve inserts cold-pressed intoCylinder and Piston Assembly 1. Screw, Filter Head Shalt, Valve Rocker 8. Srew, Drive 10, Bushing, Vaive Rocker IL Rocker 12, Washer, Thrust 13 Pash Rod 14 Housing, Posh Rod 1B. Spring: Fush Rod Housing Pane, Posh Roe Hose 17. Packing, Posh Rod Housing 18, Net Bed 18. Nut, Flanged 20 Cylinder Assembly 21. OFRing, Cylinder Bose 22 Key, Retainer Bi. Roto Coil Assembly, Exhaust Valve EBRESSB4 RaeeReeuRNERE & Engine Design Basics Retainer, Intake Valve Spring, Outer Spring, Inner Retainer, Lower Valve, Intake Valve, Exhaust Insert, Intake Valve Insert, Exhaust Valve Guide, Valve Insert Spark Plug Insert, Intake ange Stud Gatket Assembly, Exhaust Flange Nut Hex Head Pin and Plug Assembly Piston Ring, Compression Ring, Compression Ring Assembly, Oi Control cr So tine Assen Valve ings Retaining HydraulicChapter One Air-coled cylinders consist of a ast-aluntnunn (AMS 4225) head shrunk ‘onto a ste! tarel. On the lf, « small-finned,parallel-xale jug from a Continental TS10.520-AE; at righ, a standard 10-520 cylinder. (Continental photo) place—before the head is screwed, butted, and shrunk onto an exter: nally finned steel alloy barrel to create what you and I call a cylinder assembly (or jug). Actually, the complete cylinder assembly also in: corporates valves, valve springs (and rotators), rocker arms, rocker shaft(s), rocker cover (aluminum casting), pushrod housings, and pushrods, plus various studs and helical-coil thread inserts. Because the head end of the cylinder barrel is hotter than the crankcase end, it tends to expand or mushroom out in normal operation; for this reason, aircraft cylinder barrels are choked, or ground to a tapered bore (smaller at the top). The amount of taper is not much—pethaps seven or eight thousandths of an inch, on a diameter (or bore) of five inches—but it is important, nonetheless, in the context of oil con sumption and ring wear. After grinding for choke and dimension, cylinders are honed to a specific crosshatch pattern and scratch depth before being put in service, (In addition, the harrel may or may nat be nitride-hardened. If it's a remanufactured barrel, it may be chrome- plated on the inside to restore dimensions to new or service limits Look for a band of red or red-orange paint at the base of the cylinder.) 10Engine Design Basics ‘Camshaft. Lycoming and Continental cams are forged steel alloy billets which are machined on journal surfaces, cam lobes, and the ‘gear mounting flange at the rear end. (On Lycomings, one end may also be machined to form a fuel-pump-actuating cam.) In Permold- case Continentals, the hollow camshatt serves as the engine's main oil gallery. Generally, each exhaust lobe operates one exhaust valve, whereas intake lobes (which have a larger ramp area) operate two op- posing intake valves. Thus, a four-cylinder engine will have a six-lobe Camshaft (four exhaust, two intake lobes) and a sicylinder engine ‘will have a nine-lobe cam. One important difference between Lycom- ing and Continental engines is that Lycoming always locates the cam- shaft above the crankshaft along the spine of the engine, whereas in Continental engines, the cam sits flow the crank. Some people feel the “high and dry” location of the cam in Lycoming engines con- tributes to a greater incidence of cam distress (caused by oil runoff?) in Aveo products, but such a contention is difficult to prove conclusively ‘appets. Except for certain Lycoming 0-235 and 0-290 series engines, all cursent designs use hydraulic tappets (or lifters) for valve actuation. (The 0-235 and 0-290 use solid tappets.) Continental's tappets are of the familiar (automotive) barrel type, and may be removed and replaced without complete disassembly of the engine. (The tappets ride in special crankcase bosses, easily accessible from ‘outside the engine.) Lycoming tappets, on the other hand, are mostly of the mushroom type large end against the cam lobe) and cannot be completely removed from the engine without splitting the crankcase. ‘An exception is made in the case of O-320-H and O-360-E Lycoming engines, which use barreltype (ie., easily removable) liters Regardless of configuration, all hydraulic lifters are designed to do the same thing: namely, provide for zero lash in the valve train. You can think of hydraulic lifters as small, spring-loaded oleo struts that cushion and take up slack in the mechanical circuit from cam lobe to pushrod to rocker to valve stem. (In a pushrod-type engine without hydraulic tappets, the differential expansion rates of the various engine components as the engine changes operating temperatures facts to create gaps between moving parts. Valve-train components then slap or hammer each other mercilessly during the reciprocating action of the valve. When a hydraulic tappet gets contaminated with dirt or deposits and sticks in the collapsed position, it acts like a solid tappet, and the result is usually ‘heard as valve hammering.) Hydraulic tappets for aireraft use are made by the same vendors c.3 Faton Corporation) that make tappets for the automobile industry nChapter One ‘An intake valve and an fextaust cae from a Lycoming 10-360 engine ‘The intake vale (eft) has a large face fo allow q etsy inflow of air and fuel the exhaust valve nent Be as large, since highspressurecomtustion ges ten fo flow out iuiely. The exhaust tle shown hee ts soiled model listing for well over $200, They come as complete assemblies, with acustom fit that is quite critical; it’s important never to mix tappet plungers and bodies, as the bleed down rate may be altered to the extent that valve hammering occurs, Valves. Intake valves, because they are fuel-cooled, operate at a fairly low temperature and are thus usually made of low-temperature austenitic steel alloy (e.g., "KB" steel), forged in one piece. Exhaust valves are a little different story: The flow of super-hot exhaust gases past the (open) exhauist valve has a blowtorch effect, which allows ex Faust valves to reach temperatures of 1,600 degrees F or more, Special materials are clearly called for. Here once again, Lycoming, and Continental part ways somewhat. Where Continental engines use solid-stemmed exhatist valves exclusively, Lycoming, specifies sodium-cooled exhaust valves for all its current-production engines, Lycoming valves (actually made by Eaton Corporation) are hollow- stemmed and partially filled with elemental sodium. In normal opera tion, the sodium melts and sloshes back and forth, carrying heat from the head (hot part) of the valve to the stem (which has a large contact, area with the guide and cylinder head). Sodium-filed valves dissipate heat better than their solid-stemmed counterparts, and nor: mally operate about 200 degrees (F) cooler as a result. Nevertheless, special high-temperature alloys, such as Nimonic 80A or Inconel, 2Engine Design Basics must often be used in their construction; and for proper cooling to occur, good contact must be maintained between the exhaust valve stem and the valve guide throughout the service life of the engine. (The stem and guide, for all practical purposes, operate dry. If clearances open to the point where oil enters the guide, problems begin.) Continental has chosen to avoid sodium-cooled valves, for reasons having to do with cost (some Lycoming valves ist at over $350 each, whereas Continental valves seldom cost half that much), simplicity’ (guide clearances are not as critical, and safety (hollow stemmed valves are not as damage-resistant as. solid-stemmed valves). Continental exhaust valves—manufactured by a subsidiary of TRW-are now almost exclusively made of Nimonic 804 high-temp nickel alloy, hard-chromed on the stem, nitrided at the tip, and Stellite-faced at the head (For good corrosion resistance). Valve guides. Not very many years ago, all aircraft engine valve guides were babbitt-bronze or aluminum-bronze (many still are). With the recent trend towards chrome-plating of valve stems, a harder wear surface was needed on the guide I.D. (inside diameter), and castiron or Ni-Resist guides came into fashion. Around 1982, Continental began phasing in production of Nitralloy guides (nitride. hardened steel alloy) on its biggest engines, and now the Nitralloy guides are being recommended for all high-output Continentals down to the 0-470s (provided the best, latest-P/N’ hard-chromed Nimonic exhaust valves are used). Old-style bronze guides can be used with chrome-stemmed, high-temp exhaust valves (and in fac, that’s what you'll get in a cheap field overhaul), but it’s not recom- mended, since rapid guide wear often occurs. To some extent, the type of exhaust valve and guide your engine has determines the ag- sressiveness with which you can operate the engine and still expect to reach TBO, so it’s worth knowing what kinds of components You have. (Crosscheck your engine log oF overhaul work order against the Intest revision of Lycoming Service Instruction "No. 1037 or Continental Service Bulletin No. M82-6, as appropriate.) Turbochargers. Al of General Aviation’s highest-output engines are equipped with turbochargers (made either by. Rajay or AiResearch). A turbocharger, of course, is nothing more than two air pumps on a common shaft. One pump is made of high-temperature nickel alloy and sits inside a snailshaped housing (made of ductile NiResist or stainless steel), where it is tured at fantastic speeds—often over 100,000 rpm—by engine exhaust gases. This ex- hhaust pump (or turbine) in turn spins the common shaft (which rides in a journal lubricated by engine oil pressure) and drives an impeller BChapter One which compresses outside air before passing it to the cylinders. The remarkable thing about modern turbochargers is how compact they are: the smallest Rajays weigh in at about 13 pounds, while the heiiest AiResearch blower tips the scales at a mere 33 pounds or so. ‘The other remarkable thing is how hot they get. In normal operation, with the wastegate even’ partway closed, a turbocharger glows cherry-red. Despite the use of special alloys, the exhaust portion of the turbocharger is limited to 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit, so the turbo itself is often the limiting factor in how hard you can push" an engine (or hard severely you can lean i) Starter adapter. Here is still another department in which Lycom ing and Continental design philosophies differ sharply. Lycoming, engines, without apparent exception, transmit starler-motor torque to the crankshaft for starting via a Bendix drive unit, which couples to a large, flangelike ring gear atthe front of the engine. The Bendix unit consists of a centrifugally activated, spring-loaded pinion gear which (through a clever spiral-splined-shaft arrangement) simply fies out to meet the crankshaft ring gear a split-second after the starter motor starts whitring. After the engine picks up speed—and begins to drive the starter—the Bendix pinion pops back out of place, and the pilot is fon his or her merry way. (Many people have forgotten, or never knew in the first place, that this type of starter adapter—or one very similar—was what originally got the financial wheel of fortune started for Vincent T. Bendix back in the 1920s.) The Bendix drive is an im- pressively simple and lightweight affair, its chief drawback being that it sits more or less out in the open—exposed to dit, rain, ice, ete.—at the front of the engine compartment, where it's likey to get crudded Bendix starter adapter ‘used om Lycoming tnegines i ight eight, Simple, ond reliable excep wen dirty oF fced-oor. Lower eft portion couples to slater tipper right portion fies ‘ut to meet the prop ring ‘ger automatically thon Barter res, thanks to internal spra-grooced shaft (not visible here) “Engine Design Basics up in a hurry. And Bendixes definitely do not work well when they've been crudded up. Dirt (or frozen grease, etc.) on the spiral- splined shaft can cause the sliding pinion not to slide, in which case the starter motor never couples to the engine (very bad for the starter ‘motor’s bearings, since the motor inevitably overrevs), or—as the case may be—it never wcouples. Suifice it to say, Bendix drives need frequent (once every 50 hours, ideally) cleaning, lubrication, and in: spection, for optimum (make that acceptable) performance. ‘The alternative to the Bendix drive is the Teledyne Continental starter adapter (invariably located at the rear of the engine and fully sealed—hence not easily contaminated with crud), Actually, there are two types of Continental starter adapter: that used on the 0-200 (Cessna 150), and the clutch-drum type used, in one variation or another, on all Continentals other than the 0-200. (In truth, there's also the manual-pinion-engagement “pull starter” used on very early Cessna 150, 172, and 175 models, but production of that model starter lutch ended around 1965, and most owners have long since had theit planes converted over to more modern starter types for which parts are widely available.) The O-200 starter clutch deserves brief mention, both because it’s a fine design and because it fails often, The O-200 starter adapter consists of what appears to be a short shaft with unequal-sized gears on either end. In reality, there isa shaft attached to one gear, and a concentric housing attached to the other, with a sprague clutch inside the housing, so that with the large gear held stationary the small one can be turned easily in one direction, but “ grabs" tight in the other direction. Unfortunately, the tiny sprague blocks inside the housing can easily wear andlor fret the housing race or drive shaft to the point where all the “grab” is gone, and the clutch treewheels in both directions—in which case your starter won’t turn the engine. The sprague housing receives oil lubrication from the engine oil system, and it would appear (from the many user reports filed over the years) that extra-careful attention to oil cleanliness, and choice of correct viscosity, are important for long starter-clutch life in this type of engine. ‘The standard Continental starter clutch, used on everything from the 10-360 up, has a Prestolite starter motor turning a worm gear which drives a ring gear on a rotating clutch drum. The drum abuts a shaftgear (which transmits torque to the engine) which has its own drum. Both drums are externally grooved and share a common spring (a heavy helical spring) which, when the starter is energized, tends to want to wind up on both drums and lock the two together. Torque is thus transmitted to the crankshaft until the engine fires. After the 6Chapter One engine fires—and starts turning the shaftgear drum—the drums tend. to unwind the spring, and the spring relaxes, allowing the two drums to demate. It sounds more complicated than it is (trust me). As it turns out, this type of starter adapter has proven remarkably reliable over the years, and Continental has stuck with it for all high- performance TCM engines. Miscellaneous. Oil pans, accessory case covers, and rocker covers are aluminum castings. Oil pump gears may be steel alloy, sintered iron, or aluminum. (Lycoming had poor luck with sintered iron impellers; most have now been replaced under Airworthiness Directive 81-18-04.) Engine mounts are made of welded steel tubing and rarely crack or give problems, except when some misguided soul ‘wraps asbestos cloth or tape around sections of tubing, trapping ‘moisture underneath and causing rust-through. Corrosion is a prob- Jem in steel engine mounts, and it’s important to keep the tubing painted and shielded from heat in hot spots. Engines may be held in their mounts in one of two ways depending on the exact model. Many smaller engines are cantilevered, with mounting lugs at the rear of the crankcase only; others are cradle-mounted (with lugs fore and aft, underneath the cylinders). Large rubber shock biscuits, specially designed, are placed at the attach points to absorb vibration, (The rubber shock mounts are mostly made by Lord Corporation, and are fairly expensive to replace—$300 or $400 a set, usually). When the mounts have been designed in such a fashion that imaginary lines, extended through the center of each shock biscuit, intersect at the center of gravity of the engine, the setup is known as a Dynafocal-type mounting, Exhaust pipes and mufflers for General Aviation aircraft are usually (though not always) designed and supplied by the airframe manufacturer, rather than the engine manufacturer; technically, they are part of the airframe, not the engine (as far as the FAA is con- cerned, at least). We'll merely note here that most exhaust com- ponents, on most aircraft, are made of carbon steel. Some systems are fabricated from 321-type stainless; and a precious few employ Inconel parts (which are expensive, but extremely durable). Some after- ‘market suppliers, such as Wall Colmonoy Corporation of Oklahoma City, offer replacement exhaust parts made of more durable materials than are found in many original components. (Colmonoy is famous, for example, for its Nicrocoat components, which receive a plasma spray-coating of high-nickel, corrosion-resistant superalloy.) The im- portant point to remember is that heat and moisture are just as cor- rosive to aircraft exhaust pipes as they are to automobile mufflers, 16Engine Design Basics Se =: Sv [ess (CESSNA 1210 TURBO SYSTEM only more so, because where cars operate at 20 or 30 percent power ‘most of the time, aircraft engines generally operate throttl-to-the- wall. (Also remember that single-engine planes get cabin heat from air ducted around the outside of the muffler or exhaust pipe, so that the slightest eshaust pinhole can let noxious fumes into the cockpit) ‘The type of exhaust system you have will have (or should have) some bearing on how aggressively you lean your engine. The best exhaust components are Inconel (good for temperatures to 1,700 degrees); next-best, plasma-coated (Nicrocoat) steel; then stainless; then or- inary carbon steel. Of course, if you have a normaly aspirated, low- output (under 200 horsepower) engine, your exhaust may never get hotter than 1,400 degrees in cruise—even if you lean to peak EGT—in which case a mild-steel exhaust system is just fine. If on the other hhand you have a high-output engine with a plain-steel exhaust system, you'd be smart to keep a close eye on EGT in climb and a 4) sanyo muon spniny pu 227-005 zd HB F =aam nsCruise Operation the ratio of the actual volume of air pumped by an engine on one piston stroke, to piston displacement; it's essentially a measure of the air-breathing efficiency of an engine, Since piston engines burn most- ly air (15 or 16 parts of air to one part fuel), volumetric efficiency is critical to a reciprocating engine’s performance. (Volumetric efficien- cy can be artificially increased—by supercharging—to well over 100 percent, but for a normally aspirated engine a V.E. of 75 or 80 percent is typical.) The decrease in volumetric efficiency with increasing rpm is simply a reflection of the fact that at higher rpm, the velocity of the air into the engine increases, with attendant gains in air friction, ait- filter “delta-p” (pressure drop), and gas-inertia effects at the intake ports. To a great extent, these factors apply to all other piston aircraft engines; however, valve timing and induction system design vary significantly from model to model, and it is interesting to note that the full-throttle MP “spread” (relative to spm) for many small Lycom- ing engines is only half an inch or so, whereas for most Continentals, it Is more than an inch. In Fig. 7-2, the manufacturer has chosen to state unambiguously. exactly where the bounds of “recommended cruise’ power settings are. For the O-470-R, recommended max cruise comes at approx imately 22.75 inches of manifold pressure and anywhere from 2,200 to 2,450 rpm, with downward adjustments to MP called for as rpms less than 2,200 are selected. Does this mean that other combinations ‘of MP and rpm can’t be used? No. Not unless the cockpit gauges have red or yellow arcs in the non-preferred zones (which they don't, in the Cessna 182), The manufacturer's recommended cruise settings, in this case at least, are just that: recommendations. ‘So much for sea-level power output. To determine power output at altitude, a second graph is needed—in this instance, the right-hand portion of Fig. 7-2, The 0.470 “altitude performance” graph contains lines of constant rpm (sloping off to the right), plotted against pressure altitude, again with horsepower on the vertical scale. Lines of constant manifold pressure are drawn more-or-less vertically. They represent, in effect, the maximum attainable manifold pressure for the given altitudes, and not surprisingly (since manifold pressure is, limited by ambient atmospheric pressure), they get smaller and ‘smaller as the graph is read further and further to the right, until at 16,000 feet you're lucky to get 16 inches of manifold pressure. Notice that the manifold pressure lines do not go exactly straight up and down, but shift slightly as they cross the various rpm lines. This is in keeping with our observation earlier that volumetric efficiency is bet- ter at lower rpms. Indeed, you can see that for any given altitude, a 9Chapter Seven higher manifold pressure is available at a low rpm than at a high rpm. (More rea power is available at high rpm, however.) ‘The right-hand portion of Fig. 7-2 essentially allows you to deter: mine exactly what percentage of power you're developing at any altitude (at full rich mixture). All you have to do is locate your ‘manifold pressure and rpm on the left-hand (sea level) graph, draw a horizontal line to the “horsepower” (vertical) scale, locate your MP and rpm on the right-hand graph, and draw a line connecting that point to the horsepower number you just found; then read straight Up from the proper altitude (along the bottom of the right-hand graph) until you encounter the angled line you just drew. That will give you your actual horsepower (according to the vertical axis) at altitude—for standard-day OAT. If outside air temp is not standard, add one percent to actual power for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit (6 Celsius) Below the standard-day OAT indicated on the temperature scale underneath the altitude-performance graph, or subtract one percent power for every 10 degrees above normal. (This is an approx imation. The actual correction factor by which to multiply standard- day horsepower is the square root of the standard-day OAT divided by the square root of the actual OAT; but both temperatures must be in degrees Rankine—i.e., Fahrenheit degrees above absolute zero. ‘Add 460 to Fahrenheit to get degrees Rankine.) The answer you get, jn horsepower, can of course be converted to percent power by dividing by your engine's rated power. Why the manufacturers don’t simply plot the vertical scale(s) in percentage power is unknown. For most engines, a given combination of MP and rpm results in slightly more horsepower at altitude than at sea level, for reasons having to do with charge density and exhaust back-pressure (prop ef- ficiency can enter in, too). The effect is seldom’ large, however—usually around five percent for normally aspirated engines tunder typical conditions—and can actually be nonexistent for some turbocharged engines. Notice that the altitude performance charts do not correct for ram air pressure (if any) against the intake scoop. Depending on airframe design, this can be a substantial effect (as in the Cessna 310) or a negligible one (Piper Seneca). Some idea of the magnitude of ram effect can be obtained by switching to alternate air—if your plane is so ‘equipped—in cruise flight, while watching manifold pressure. Usual- ly the drop on alternate air is less than an inch. For low-horsepower, low-speed aircraft, it can be considered so slight as to be negligible. Note that higher OATS tend to reduce power, while lower OATS increase it, 10 the extent of one percent per 6-degree (F) change. 120Cruise Operation Choice of RPM Pilots often ask whether itis best (for the engine; for fuel efficiency) to cruise at a high rpm and a low manifold pressure, or a low rpm and a high manifold pressure. (Both can result in the same power output.) ‘The arguments typically offered for low rpmihigh MP are that it reduces friction and wear (extending TBO) while favoring, fuel effi- iency (due partially to better prop efficiency); also, noise is usually reduced. The arguments against low rpmihigh MP usually center around “lugging” the engine, adverse vibrations (some engines do not run smoothly at rpms below 2,400), possible problems with detonation on leaning, and the age-old “oversquare’” taboo. Pilots for ‘many years have been taught a rule of thumb which says that in order to avoid damaging the engine, one should avoid manifold pressures which are greater than the crankshaft rpm in hundreds, That is to say, a "square" condition—e.g., 24-square (24 inches and 2,400 pm)-is acceptable, whereas an “oversquare” condition, such as 24 inches and 2,100 rpm, should be avoided, Exactly when and where this myth got its start is anybody’s guess. The fact of the matters that almost every turbocharged aircraft in the world operates “over- square’ 90 percent of the time, and no one would dare suggest that any supercharged engine be operated differently. Indeed, most nor- mally aspirated engines are flown “‘oversquare”” on takeoff (if not also cruise), routinely. No one is suggesting, surely, that any other kind of takeoff is safer or better? There is nothing magical about operating in a “square” fashion—in fact, there is no intrinsic relation between rpm and ‘manifold pressure that favors any particular correlation of numbers, If prop speed were measured in revolutions per second or per fort night), there would be no “‘squaring’” of crank speeds with manifold ppressures—just as there could be no squaring-up of MP and rpm if the former were measured in kilopascals or psi. Your propeller has no idea what the pressure is inside your intake manifold. (Colonel Lind- bbergh demonstrated this to good effect in World War Il with the P-38, By ‘demonstrating that the P-38’s engines would not destroy themselves on long-range flights at ultra-low rpms, Lindbergh spawned a change in standard operating procedures that saved U.S, forces many thousands of gallons of gasoline.) Ultra-low-rpm operation sometimes—but not always—results in better fuel specifics (see below). But it should be pointed out that while friction is somewhat less at lower rpms, combustion pressures, are higher (all else being equal) and piston ring wear can thus be con- sidered roughly the same at low-rpm cruise as at high-rpm cruise (at a waChapter Seven given percentage of power). Likewise, valve temperatures go up at Tow rpm (again, at @ constant power), accelerating erosion and mitigating any supposed TBO-extending effect. Also, some engines vibrate alarmingly at low rpms, almost certainly to the detriment of ‘TBO. In short, the maintenance benefits of low-rpm operation are largely, if not totally, illusory. ‘The limiting factor in using low rpm in conjunction with high manifold pressure is apt to be cylinder ovetheating andlor detona-~ tion, from an operational standpoint; from an engineering stand- ppoint, the limits are best described in terms of bmep (brake mean ef- fective pressure). Bmep can be thought of as the average pressure developed inside the combustion chamber. It is directly proportional to horsepower output (bhp) and inversely proportional to rpm. (It is also inversely proportional to displacement—which is just another ‘way of saying that ata given level of horsepower production, bmep is higher in a low-displacement engine than in a large engine, all other things being equal.) Generally speaking, as bmep goes up, the octane requirement of the engine increases. In automotive parlance: the ‘more you lug the engine, the likelier itis you'll begin to knock, If you want to calculate bmep for a given engine, or a given operating condition, you can do so quite easily with your pocket calculator, Bmep, in psi (pounds per square inch), is equal to brake horsepower times 792,000, divided by the product of rpm and displacement. 792,000 X bhp bmep = rpm X cu.in. Aircraft engines with takeoff bmeps of under 140 psi (which in- cludes, for example, the Lycoming 0-320-E series and low- compression 0-540 models) are capable of running on 80/87 avgas. Engines certified for 91/96 avgas generally have bmeps in the 140 to 150 psi range; the requirement for 100octane gasoline comes at around 160 psi bmep. These “break points” are only approximate; there are exceptions to them. (Cylinder head design has a profound influence on knock tendency. Angle-valve cylinders, for instance, tend to run knock-free to higher bmeps than parallel-valve heads, leven at the same displacement, same compression ratio, etc.) But the point is, bmep is what you're affecting when you alter the relation- ‘hip between MP and rpm at a given power setting. You're less likely to knock—and therefore can lean more aggressively —with a high-rpm power setting than with @ high-MP, low-rpm setting, m(Cruise Operation : :. Lo retro | = iv He | i fe ae L ” eal ail ——|— Se 2 | = [~ } * i” |. 5 ip OCS Figure 7-3: Serle! manifold pressure, horsepower, and specific fuel, consumption versus rpm (0-470-5). Al of this is not to suggest that operators should set rpm and MP randomly, or in contradiction to manufacturers’ recommendations (or in contradiction to common sense). It’s worth emphasizing, however, that (contrary to hangar mythology) if there are no yellow or red arcs on the tach or MP gauge in the operating region under consideration—and if the airplane is not placarded to the contrary—it is perfectly acceptable to operate continuously at any combination of pms and MP that will get the job done. 123Chapter Seven ‘The optimum-sfe rpm varies, naturally, from engine family to engine family. (It also varies with throttle position and altitude.) ‘Specific fuel consumption is affected by intake tuning and camshaft design (volumetric efficiency), compression ratio, and many other factors. Practical considerations—such as exhaust-temperature limita tions—often keep one from operating at theoretically attainable specific fuel consumptions, Nonetheless, it is helpful to know the best-sfe rpm(s) for a given engine: and this information is usually available in the engine manufacturer's operating handbook. (It is ot uustally contained in the airframe manufacturers’ operating manuals. Owner’s-manual power charts frequently insinuate that at a given power setting~65 percent, say—fuel flow will be the same at any com- bination of MP and rpm, which is seldom, if ever, true.) Unfortunately, the engine-maker’s handbooks don’t usually plot prop-load sfc for various cruise altitudes, so it’s impossible to know {or sure the ideal rpm and manifold pressure combination to use at altitude. (With an accurate fuel-flow computer on board, it’s a fairly straightforward—if tedious—task to determine optimum settings by flight testing, All you'll need are the sea-level and altitude power curves for your engine, so that you can set power accurately at altitude, and a note pad to record rpm, MP, altitude, TAS, and fuel flow. Later, you can make plots of miles per gallon versus rpm for various power settings—55, 65, and 75 percent, for example.) ‘Some engine manufacturers’ handbooks contain part-throttle fuel consumption graphs (Fig. 7-4) which show lines of constant-power and constant-rpm plotted against fuel consumption on the vertical scale, and manifold pressure along the bottom. On such graphs, look for the spot in the constant-power curve where the curve bottoms or achieves a minimum with regard to fuel consumption. Reading from that part of the curve, you'll get both a manifold pressure and an rpm for “best sfc.” Generally, the rpm is quite low. ‘The question is: What rpmiMP combination will “get the job done" most effectively? How does one determine the combination that gives the best fuel efficiency? The longest TBO? ‘The fuel-efficiency question is not terribly hard to answer. Most engine operating handbooks come with sea-level performance curves of the type shown in Fig. 7-3 (which is actually three graphs in one). At the top of this graph, we see how manifold pressure varies (along the vertical axis) with engine rpm (bottom axis). One line—labelled “Full Throttle"”—shows the relationship between MP and rpm as throttle setting is held constant, while the other curve—’Prop Load’—shows how MP varies with rpm as the throttle setting. is 4Cruise Operation Figure 7-4 Part-throttle fuel consumption for Lycoming 0-320-A and E- Lines of constant poiver connect the ‘aris rpm curves. The sfc of Parious choices of ‘rem and manifold pressure on ful Eonsumption can be determined quickly with thea ofthis kind of| PS ascie tants Satine ee erp varied while the prop control is held full-in, The middle part of the graph plots horsepower against rpm in the same constant-throttle- versus-varied-throttle fashion. The bottom set of curves are of the ‘most interest to us; they tell us how specific fuel consumption varies with rpm (again for throttle held full-in, or for throttle being varied ‘with prop pitch at highest-rpm), at sea level. Specific fuel consumption is a measure of how efficient an engine is in converting gasoline (or other fuel) to usable power. It is expressed, quite logically, in pounds of fuel per horsepower per hour (or pounds per hour, per horsepower, if you prefer), With the throttle wide-open, the 0-470 hhas a sfc of about 0.60 Ibs/hp/he, rising slightly as rpm is reduced and, falling slightly as pm is increased. The curve we're interested in (ince we're not operating at full throttle, normally, but partial throt- Ue) is the bottom one, shaped like a bathtub, This curve of sfe versus rpm with varying throttle shows a definite minimum at 2,400 rpm for the 0-470-R & $ (at which point the engine is developing a sea-level 5Chapter Seven manifold pressure of 23.2 inches, according to the topmost prop-load ‘curve of Fig. 7-3). What it means is that at any rpm much above or below 2,400, the fuel efficiency of the engine will be less than op- timum, at least at sea level Part-throttle power curves are also often useful for determining where the limits of “oversquare”” operation lie. Again, though, such limitations—when present—are always also given in the form of placards or instrument-dial indications in the cockpit. ‘Asa practical matter (without getting heavily into flight testing or power-curve analysis) it’s usually best, from a fuel-efficiency stand- point, to simply choose the lowest cruise rpm consistent with manufacturers’ MP/zpm limits, on the one hand, and engine vibra- tion, on the other. The author's Turbo 310 (Continental TS1O-520-B engines) operates smoothest at 27 inches MP and 2,200 to 2,250 rpm, which happens to be around 55 percent power—and that's where cruising is done. On the other hand, the author has flown some airplanes (with 470-series Continentals) whose engines were not smooth-running at rpms below 2,400. 1 recall a G-33 Bonanza, in par- ticular, that always seemed happiest at 2,450 rpm—no less. That, con- sequently, is where | cruised it, Remember one thing: Don’t place foo much emphasis on power charts and handbook numbers (not even this handbook!)—because ‘common sense dictates that an engine (any engine) is going to ex. perience the least stress, and give the longest TBO, at that rpm that ‘gives the feast vibration (all other things being equal). How much vibration is too much? This is admittedly a subjective matter. Go ahead and rely on your best judgment, but also bear in mind that long, thin, flexible crankshafts (such as found on 360-series Continen- tal sixes, and Lycoming 10-720 eight-cylinder models) are generally less tolerant of vibratory abuse than short, stiff crankshafts (as on four-cylinder 0-200 Continentals and 0-360 Lycomings). In twin- engined airplanes with four-cylinder Lycomings, engine mount cracking (caused by poorly dampened engine vibration) can be a significant concern. Modify your cruise rpms accordingly. Generally speaking, in normally aspirated airplanes, the best pro- cedure—once an efficient rpm has been selected on the basis of power charts or flight tests—is to fly at an altitude where wide-open throttle gives the desired percentage of power (85 percent, 65, or whatever). Why wide-open throttle? Because a wide-open butterfly valve presents the least restriction to incoming air and—all other things be- ing equal—nets a significant gain in volumetric efficiency In turbocharged airplanes with manual wastegates, the same ad- 126Cruise Operation vice holds true. Climb until the throttle is full-open before closing the ‘wastegate(s); then select a cruise rpm in the best-sfc range. If the turbocharger wastegate is controlled by an automatic controller (rather than manual verniers), full-throttle operation may not be prac ticable. In either case, however—manual wastegate or automatic—it is, generally true that the very best fuel specifics come when the wastegate has closed all the way. In an automatic-controller-equipped plane, this will be below critical altitude if less than full throttle is ap- plied, (Partial-throttle critical altitude and full-throttle critical altitude are two different things. The latter occurs at a higher altitude above sea level.) How do you know if you have reached the partial-throttle critical altitude (i.e., wastegate fully closed) in an automatic. controller-equipped plane? Momentarily retard the prop rpm and ‘watch what happens to manifold, If manifold pressure falls off im- mediately, your wastegate is already closed all the way. If it holds steady as you begin retarding prop rpm, the wategate hasn't yet closed 100 percent. Since a turbocharger uses, in effect, "“free’’ waste heat energy. (from the exhaust) to dramatically improve the engine's volumetric efficiency and power output, one might be tempted to think that a turbocharged engine would operate most efficiently with the wastegate always closed, no matter what the altitude or throttle set- ting. This is not the case, however. A closed wastegate represents a significant restriction in the exhaust—and the increase in back= pressure isnot compensated by the increase in “front pressure" from the compressor as long as the throttle is closed. If the throttle is, closed, even partway (and it will be, if you're below critical altitude), the compressor's output is simply being thwarted by the throttle butterfly. So you're actually making the engine work liarder by clos- ing the wastegate before opening the throttle. If you have the option, alteays open the throttle before beginning to clase the wastegate. Other you'll needlessly increase the thermal and mechanical loadings on your engine. Turbocharged Engines at High Altitude: Special Considerations When the wastegate is open, a turbocharged engine behaves much the same way as.a normally aspirated engine (not surprisingly, since the turbo engine is essentially normally aspirated under this con tion). But when the wastegate is closed, the T-engine behaves di ferently, in many respects, than the unblown engine. For the most part, we're talking here about flight at oxygen altitudes (over 14,000 wChapter Seven feet), although in many turbo installations, wastegate closure can ‘occur even below 10,000 feet, In an automatic-controller system, itis very often the case that when the pilot throttles back from climb power to cruise power manifold pressure, levelling off at an altitude below the airplane’s stated critical altitude, the turbo ‘wastegate(s)—having been partway open during the climb, to pre- vent overboosting—will close all the way as the throttle is reduced for cruise. The altitude at which the wastegate fully closes is thus depen- dent on throttle setting. AF full throttle, the point of wastegate closure defines the airplane’s “critical altitude.”’ Part-throttle critical altitude is a different matter. (If you're ever in doubt as to whether your wastegate has closed all the way, momentarily reduce prop rpm and observe what happens to manifold pressure. If manifold pressure tends to remain constant, the wastegate was not closed before; if in- stead it drops off with rpm, the wastegate was and is closed.) When the wastegate is closed and all exhaust must pass through the turbocharger on its way out the engine, a closed feedback loop is, formed, such that any increase in fuel or air flow through the engine tends to increase the turbocharger’s output, further increasing manifold pressure and flow, adding to turbine speed, etc. Converse- ly, a decrease in mass flow through the engine causes the turbine to slow down, with the result that turbocharger output falls off, further reducing flow through the engine. At low altitudes, these “bootstrap effects’ are not as apparent, because (with an open wastegate) much of the exhaust flow is diverted around the turbocharger, and in an automatic-controller system the controller itself (usually nothing ‘more than an aneroid bellows sensing upper deck pressure, and con= trolling oil flow to the wastegate by means of a poppet valve} func- tions like a household thermostat to maintain the manifold pressure where the pilot selects it, Above the critical altitude, the controller is effectively taken out of the loop. (It will open the wastegate if an over- boost condition develops, but otherwise its “thermostatic” feedback function is eliminated.) Hence considerable potential for manifold pressure fluctuations exists once the turbocharged aircraft has reached high-altitude cruise, ‘That's not all. In a turbocharged aircraft, the fuel pump output (and the injector system’s output) is regulated in part by turbocharger ‘output pressure (upper deck pressure). This is necessary, of course, to keep the turbocharged engine from leaning out as the turbo com- pressor comes on line. But the net effect is that the fuel pump is part of the turbo feedback loop, too—which means that the potential exists, 8Cruise Operation not only for wild manifold pressure fluctuations, but for large fuels flow excursions at altitude, as well What does all this mean in practice? First of al, it means that the MPizpm interaction the exists for normally aspirated planes (that is, the tendency for manifold pressure to increase as rpm is decreased, land MP to decrease as rpm is increased) will also exist for turbo- charged planes at low altitudes—but when the turbocharged plane has arrived at a high enough altitude to bring about wastegate closure, the MPirpm effect will reverse polarity. In other words, when the ‘wastegate is closed, a decrease in spm will result in a decrease (not an increase) in manifold pressure, while an increase in rpm will cause an. increase in MP—just the opposite of what normally occurs down low. The fact that fuel flow is part of the turbocharger feedback loop ‘means that changes in fuel flow caused by leaning (or even caused by turning boost pumps on or off) can have a noticeable effect on ‘manifold pressure, When the mixture is leaned, for instance, fuel flow decreases significantly (see next chapter). This in turn reduces the mass flow through the turbocharger, reducing turbine speed and diminishing compressor output, with a corresponding. loss. in manifold pressure. The magnitude of the MP change varies from in stallation to installation; however, it is often large enough to require resetting the throttle. ‘Ram effects are also important. Changes in airspeed can affect air presstire at the engine air-inlet scoop, causing manifold-pressure ex cursions downstream, Of course, ram air pressure at the air filter or air scoop is not usually very high; but at critical altitude, the utletiinlet pressure ratio developed by the turbo compressor may be as high as 3-to-1 (meaning that the turbocharger acts to multiply small, pressure changes), If the turbo is operating at a pressure ratio of 2.5-to-, say, then’a one-inch ram pressure change at the intake ait scoop is converted to a two-and-a-half-inch change in pressure inside the upper deck. (Ifthe throttle is open all the way, manifold pressure will increase 2.5 inches, accordingly.) A very small increase in airspeed can thus easily translate into a one- or two-inch manifold pressure change. This effect is very noticeable during the initial level- Off period, as airspeed builds (and also during the initial phase of let~ down). Obviously, it must be compensated for by the pilot. The net result of all this, as you can well imagine, is that setting a turbocharged engine up for high-altitude cruise can be a time- consuming process, involving as many as five or six iterations of the basic throttling-back process to get MP, rpm, and fuel flow to end up exactly where the pilot wants them. Moreover, once set up for cruise, 29Chapter Seven the pilot must monitor airspeed, fuel flow, throttle position, and rpm for any changes which might set off excursions in manifold pressure. (Once a change is noted, a small correction in manifold pressure can be made with the throttle. It is important, however, to wait a minute ‘or two between changes, to let the gauges settle down to their new values, before making additional corrections. Otherwise, you can easily spend the whole flight ‘chasing the gauges.”) Large spontaneous manifold-pressure excursions are possible in ‘some aircraft, under high-altitude cruise conditions. Such bootstrap- pping episodes can be alarming (and frustrating), since they come and 0 without warning and—more often than not~can’t be counteracted easily by the pilot. The secret is usually to increase rpm. The worst bootstrapping genealy happens a pms below 2400 (in direc drive engines); so the minute severe bootstrapping is encountered, higher rpm shoutd be selected, (Keep an eye on manifold pressure, however, and maintain it within the limits for the aircraft, which are often posted in placard form on the panel.) In some cases, service kits are available to relieve bootstrapping by means of larger-diameter wastegates, improved controllers, etc. (See your dealer or write to the airframe manutacturer for details.) Besides increasing the crankshaft rpm of the engine, or operating at a lower altitude to open the wastegate, not much can be done about bootstrapping, unfortunate- ly. For turbo operators, it comes with the territory 10Mixture Management Combustion is the heart and soul of transportation, indeed of twventieth-century civilization itself. All practical forms of locomotion depend on combustion. The combustion of wood drove the first ‘steam engines; coal propelled the railroads and built nations. Alcohol and kerosene (it is now widely forgotten) powered the first internal ‘combustion engines built by Otto and Langen. Gasoline, originally a waste product of Kerosene production which was customarily ‘dumped into waterways or burned in the open air, had not long been popular fuel when the Wright Brothers first flew with it. It is now, of course, more popular. ‘Combustion is basic to the operation of all heat engines; it is the sine qua non of turbojets, Wankels, diesels, and two- and four-stroke cycle engines alike. When it comes to getting the most out of an inter- nal combustion engine, understanding the combustion process is half the battle, Since the mixture control affects combustion directly (more directly, in fact, than any other cockpit control), an understanding of combustion is central to effective mixture management. If you remember nothing else from this chapter, remember this: Combustion is defined as the spontaneous rearrangement of a fuel (gasoline, for instance) and oxygen (e.g., from the atmosphere) to give carbon dioxide, water, and energy. The energy liberated in com- bustion, of course, is not “created” out of nothing; it was there to begin with in the chemical bonds in the fuel and oxygen. The re- arrangement of the fuel and oxygen atoms to form compounds with lower-energy chemical bonds (H2O and CO2) is what allows energy ‘to mysteriously appear in the form of heat, light, and gas expansion. ‘The more “oxidizable” the fuel, generally speaking, the more heat energy you get at the end of combustion. For instance, a hydrocarbon such as methane, CH, can rearrange with four oxygen atoms to give one CO2 and two water molecules—liberating about 12,500 calories of energy per gram of methane in the process. Carbon monoxide (CO, sometimes known as “producer gas”) will also burn, but since it is already in a partially oxidized state, not much energy will be released. In fact, one CO molecule can react only with one oxygen atom to give one CO, molecule—liberating 4,900 calories per gram of fuel. This is 133Chapter Eight the key to understanding why, for example, alcohols make for relatively poor fuels on an “energy per pound” (calories per gram; BTUs per pound) basis. Methanol’s chemical formula is CH3OH. (All alcohols, by definition, contain an “OH."’) The presence of an oxygen in the fuel molecule means less energy will be released on combustion, One thing you should bear in mind is that regardless of the fuel, combustion—when carried to completeness—always yields carbon dioxide and water (in the form of steam) as the end products. Even an engine that belches smoke and soot and runs so rich that gasoline can be smelled in the exhaust, is producing mostly water and COz (believe it or not), The same is true of living organisms, which in a crude sense are nothing but heat engines. Fuel (food—carbohydrates mostly) is recombined in the body with oxygen to give COz and water, and energy. Biochemists refer to the combustion process in li ing organisms as “respiration.” The end products, in any case, are the same. (Interestingly, the efficiency of biological systems in con- verting fuel energy to usable energy for growth and locomotion is only about 35 to 40 percent—that is to say, 60 percent or more of the energy released in digestion and respiration is liberated as waste heat. This is not far different from the best efficiencies attained by heat engines.) Gasoline is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, very difficult to characterize in a few sentences other than to say that the molecules are of a high-energy-density configuration (mostly long-chain, linear ‘molecules with an average carbon-chain length of eight), with few or ‘no naturally occurring alcohols, and a minority, at best, of un- saturated cyclic Cs compounds (generically known as aromatics”). What's important to remember is that the makeup of gasoline is such that a relatively large amount of oxygen must be reacted with it to give sustainable combustion. In fact, the ideal chemical ratio of oxygen to gasoline—what chemists refer to as the ''stoichiometric”” ralio—is 3.37 mass-equivalents (grams or pounds) of oxygen for every fone mass-equivalent (gram or pound) of fuel. But air is not 100-percent oxygen; in fact, at sea level, itis only 22 percent oxygen. So the chemically correct ratio of air to fuel is 3.37 divided by 0.22, or 15,3 to one, In many books, this number is rounded off fo 16; an air/fuel ratio of 16:1 is often quoted as “‘stoichiometric.”” The true value varies somewhat depending on the chemical composition of the gasoline, Since it is often more convenient to speak in terms of fuel/air ratios, rather than air/fuel ratios, the above statements can be recast cryMixture Management to say that a fuel/air ratio of 0.067 is considered stoichiometric, or chemically ideal, while FIA values greater than 0.067 are “‘richer"” than stoichiometric, and (likewise) FIA ratios less than 0.067 are “leaner’* than stoichiometric As it tums out, of course, you can get combustion to take place at fueV/air ratios far from the optimum. With suitable encouragement (in terms of spark, temperature, and pressure) it’s possible to get com- ‘bustion to occur within an engine at FIA ratios of from 0.055 to 0.125 (that is, A/F ratios from 8:1 to as high as 18:1). But by far the greatest amount of heat energy is released when there is neither an excess of fuel, nor an excess of air. When every fuel molecule and every oxygen molecule are able to combine together, with “‘no one sitting out the dance,”’ the maximum heat energy is released; there is no waste of fuel (nor of air). This is the point, of course, at which exhaust gas temperature (EGT) is maximum-—the point of “‘peak EGT.” Airplanes, of course, have a manual mixture control on the panel, whereas cars do not. (In a car, the choke provides a rough equivalent of a mixture control, but even manual chokes have pretty much disappeared from automobile “cockpits.” The reason for this should be clear. Airplanes operate over a wide range of altitudes (whereas, cars, for the most part, do not); and air density varies rather drastical- ly with altitude. Yet, carburetors and fuel injectors cannot detect changes in air density. The result is that your carburetor (or injector) ttuns richer and richer the higher you go. If you were not able to lean your engine in some fashion at high altitudes, not only would you ‘waste fuel, but your engine might even run roughly or quit due to the oversich mixture, The effect of pilot-induced changes to F/A ratio on EGT indica- tions is shown in Fig. 81. Pulling back the mixture control causes fel flow to be reduced while airflow through the carburetor is held con- stant. (In a plane with a fixed-pitch prop, or a turbocharger for that ‘matter, there will in actuality be some changes in airflow as the mix- ture is retarded; but for purposes of Fig. 8-1 we'll assume that the air- craft has a constant-speed prop, and that intake airflow is indeed con- stant.) The leanest FIA ratios occur on the left-hand side of the graph, while the richest conditions occur on the right-hand side. Ex: haust temperature is plotted vertically. In this case, EGT is shown in terms of variation from peak-EGT; but you could just as easily plot “ absolute’ EGT values (1,200, 1,300, 1,400 degrees F, etc.) along the vertical scale at the top of the graph. The reason actual EGT values are not plotted is that they vary in magnitude from engine to engine, and from throttle setting to throttle setting, whereas variations from peak- 135,Chapter Eight EGT are always about of the same magnitude. As plotted, the graph can be considered representative of a wide range of engines, Notice that as the mixture is retarded, EGT rises in more-or-less straight-line fashion unt, at around -067 FIA ratio, the curve peaks and starts back down. The peak-EGT point occurs, as we said, where the fueliair rato is such that there is neither an excess of fuel nor of air—all of the reactants are present in the chemically ideal amounts for combustion. Since the throttle setting in this graph is constant, the peak-EGT point represents the F/A mixture at which maximum heat [s produced with respect to the amount of air being drawn into the tengine. This is no! the same FIA mixture, however, as that which gives the maximum power forthe thzotle setting selected. Maximum power occurs at about .076 FIA ratio—or 100 to 125 degrees F rich of peak, Why don’t peak-EGT and "best power” coincide? The answer has to do with gas-expansion effects. At a PIA ratio slightly richer than peak, an excess of combustion gases (from incomplete burning of the excess fuel) is produced. These gases, like carbon monoxide, ae capable of further oxidation (futher burning) to yield a relatively small amount of extra heat energy, but are less dense and therefore take up more space than either their completely burned byproducts or the original fuel vapor. The extra gases produced through in- complete burning thus actually contribute more to piston movement than they would if burned completely to yield a modicum of extra heat. Piston movement, not heat per se, is what results in power; hence "best powe:”” mixture occurs slightly rich of the peak-EGT fuelair ratio. (If you want, you can think of “best power” as the ‘maximumepressure mixture point, and “peak EGT” as the maximurn- heat mixture point.) The peak-EGT point on the curve, then, can be seen as the mix ture that gives the greatest amount of fotal combustion heat per unit of air (fomember, airflow through the engine at a given throttle set- ting is constant in this example); while on the other hand, “best power’ mixture is the FIA ratio giving the most useble heat (the most power) per unit of air. This is quite a different thing from getting the most power from a given unit of fuel, however. By definition, the best-power-per-unitfuel mixture would also be the “best sfc"” FIA ratio. (Specific fuel consumption, or sfc, is expressed in units of pounds of fuel per horsepower per hour.) The best-sfc point, also Known as "bestieconomy mixture,” occurs at or near 0,059 FIA ratio, or about 50 degrees F lean of peak-EGT. Why there? Because as you lean past peak, fuel consumption drops off faster than power produc- tion—up to a point. Eventually, as you continue leaning past “best 136Mixture Management Fig. 8-1 Exhaust gos leciperture versus fel air mto. Although the sctualfenperature Itained at pele EGT will fry sometat from one gine to the ext Ge ‘ee from one einer touhe ne the shape of the BGT enrce and ts relationship fo FIA ration Shays the same for ee itn Nat al “tet power” ard paeEGT do ot coined. (Se ext for ‘hecasson) economy” misture, power production will drop off precipitous Ge yor engine wil sgh rt ut eventhough ome ful st owing, "The eect of leaning on arspeed is worth considering. I should be obvious (even though it actually ont to quite a fer pilots) that maximum alrapeed comes at Hes-power mixture—about 125 degrees {ch of peak EGT. Any leaning beyond this point vl result in a reduction in airspeed. How much extra power does “best power" mixture produce over fllvich mixture? Generally speaking, about five to seven percent, Thus if your plane develops 180 hp in ruse, you can expet to pck up about 10 Horsepower by leaning from fall: ich to bes-power, How much sirspeed you pick up depends on the individual splane, but you en igre on again of oughly two anda half percent, bo for example, if your plane normaly ruses around 150 mph (ul ich, leaning to peak will alow you to pick up just tunder'4 mphna_ noticeable increase, ust within te lime. of Imeasusabilty: Some aplanes wil actually pick ap more than 90 tnd a half percent, eto ram effects (the higher the airspeed, the 137Chapter Eight more ram recovery and the better the volumetric efficiency of the engine). The point is, you can lean your engine to "best powver”” by reference to the airspeed indicator, if necessary (in calm ait). The airspeed gain is just large enough to be perceptible to the average pilot flying the average-equipped airplane. What happens to airspeed if you lean beyond best-power? Ac- cording to the Cessna 182L owner's manual, a Skylane leaned to 75 degrees F rich of peak, rather than 125 F rich, will lose 1 mph in cruise—but will gain a full 10 percent more range (compared to best- power mixture). At 25 F sich of peak, the airspeed loss is 3 mph, but—if Cessna’s handbook can be believed—the range increase visa vis best-power is a full 20 percent! (Cessna does not allow leaning beyond 35 F rich of peak, in its 182L owner’s manual, citing possible engine roughness due to premature onset of lean misfire in the leanest cylinders of the Continental O-470-R engine.) Leaning to besteeconomy provides even more starting gains in range (assuming your engine can be leaned beyond peak without running roughly; many can't). Specific fuel consumption is typically 50 percent higher—yes, 50 percent—at fullsich than at best-power mixture, The ratio of full-ich se to bes-economy sfcis often 1.7 or bet- fer—almost a 2-to-1 ratio. In other words, if your range at full-ich mixture were 600 miles, your range at best-power mixture might be 900 miles; and your range at best-economy mixture might be 1,000 miles or more. Fuel Schedules: Ideal vs. Real-World From what we've said thus far, it is easy to imagine an “Ideal fuel- ‘metering schedule” that would give maximum economy. Afterall, at takeoff—when maximum power is needed from the engine—there's a clear need for best-power mixture, while at very low power settings (approach, idle, taxi, etc.) the only real need is to keep the engine running, which means the ideal full-rch “idle” mixture would sim- ply be the leanest fuel/air ratio that would support combustion. In be- tween full power and idle, the carburetor could be designed so that with the mixture control “full rich,” fuel is delivered at the best- economy FIA ratio. (Manual leaning will still be needed at high altitude, of course, to maintain the FIA ratio.) In this fashion, one could perhaps enjoy the best of all possible worlds: best-power on takeoff, best-economy in cruise, with only a small amount of manual leaning called for at altitude, to compensate for density effects The idealized fuel schedule just described encompasses fuel/air mixtures ranging roughly from 0.050 to 0.076. In stark contrast, the 138