Annual Inspection results

Guest Discussion
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Just got my plane back from Cirrus, who did the annual. They were interested in seeing the plane, which now has over 300 hours on it, and I was interested in having them look at it. It was mutually beneficial.

I had a long list of things that I wanted them to address from screws that had fallen out (minor things) to wear marks on the flaps. I took the plane to DLH on Monday, June 26, and in three and a half days the plane was ready. Frankly, I was worried based on past experience that annuals never go as quickly as planned leaving me without wings, etc. That was not the case. Although the customer service department has just a few people, they are good. They have the carts (custom made for Cirrus) for each plane in for work. The people are decked out in color coordinated shirts based on the area where they work. They have thought this thing through. The carts are designed to hold the engine cowl so it doesn't lay on the floor to get nicked and chipped. Owner things on board (and I have a bunch) is stored on the cart (most of the time unless you brought all the stuff I did Â…. golf clubs, etc.). I am impressed with the organization and dedication of their staff.

As the to the plane, they found that I had very dirty injectors (hadn't been cleaned since I picked up the plane. I'm told they should be cleaned or at least inspected every 100 hours) and the timing was off a bit. The fuel regulator was also running a little leaner than it should. They tweaked and replaced all associated parts including replacing the tach, which is now very accurate (most are not) and verified by the an independent tach (I don't know what it is called, but I think it used strobe technology or the like).

As I think I have mentioned in the past, my plane always ran fine. I was pleased with the fuel burn (maybe more than I should have been), but was concerned about the plane's difficulty in cooling Â… both oil and cht. Well I am now in Grand Junction Colorado. I pushed the plane hard flying the Rockies. Route took me to Cheyenne WY and then I took Rabbit Ears pass flew over Steamboat Springs, Meeker and on into Grand Junction, CO. The trip required that I climb in relatively hot weather up to 12,500. I climbed steadily out of Cheyenne to 12,500. I was pretty loaded with two big sets of clubs, baggage, full tanks, and me. I doubt we were over gross, but we weren't far from it. The plane climbed smoothly Â… mixture full rich. The fuel flow was higher than I what I had seen when Kevin Moore and I flew to Kansas. The CHT, which used to routinely find its way to 400, never crossed 375! The oil temp, which would go above 225 if I weren't looking, barely crossed 200. I am pleased that the plane seems not to get as hot as it had in the past. I'll have to keep checking.

Tomorrow, I am off to Monterey. If I can do it I am going to Mono Lake and cross the Sierras. The if depends on the MOAs and permission to go through. I'll just have to see.

There were some other minor things that were fixed or tweaked, but I won't lengthen this posting by going through all that. I will, however, pass on a couple of things that I learned.

First, there are "footman loops" that are used to secure the load. I always wanted the anchor to be located so as to allow you to "tie down" the load from side to side not front to back. Now I understand why they do that way, but as practical matter people would likely use them more often (I would) if they tied from side to side. Well there are two loops that go side to side on the vertical panel in the back of the baggage compartment Â… egg on my face.

Second, I always found it dumb that the rear seat belts did not release. When you put the seats down the seat belts at attached to the back of the baggage compartment and therefore in the way when you loaded baggage. Well guess what, they do release. You can take the seat loops out of the buckle and there is no problem. Leaned something.

Sorry it is so long, but I am in a hotel room and am bored. Hope I didn't keep you up too long. Aloha.
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I climbed steadily out of Cheyenne to 12,500. I was pretty loaded with two big sets of clubs, baggage, full tanks, and me. I doubt we were over gross, but we weren’t far from it. The plane climbed smoothly Â… mixture full rich. The fuel flow was higher than I what I had seen when Kevin Moore and I flew to Kansas. The CHT, which used to routinely find its way to 400, never crossed 375! The oil temp, which would go above 225 if I weren’t looking, barely crossed 200.

Very interesting post, Walt. Since Rob Leach and I wondered if the automatic leaning on N142CD was working properly, did you notice any fuel flow reduction during your full rich climb? It must have leaned on its own, since if it did not, you would have been so rich at that altitude the engine would hardly have run. Just wondered if you noticed the fuel flow numbers. BTW, our CHT never exceeded 350 (but the gauge was intermittent so we don’t know if it was correct) and OT never got above 180.

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A couple of other thoughts, Walt:

Just got my plane back from Cirrus, who did the annual. They were interested in seeing the plane, which now has over 300 hours on it,

I’ll bet they were interested, and for good reason. You and I have both owned airplanes for a long time and one thing always holds true. Regardless of design, materials, advanced concepts, PR hype, etc., it is only when hundreds of a given type are flown by real people on real missions in real weather and with real maintenance that one gets an accurate indication of how the design will hold up. Your results at 300 hours are very encouraging. BTW, the most I have ever flown in a year is 250 or so. Is 300 a normal figure fo you?

I had a long list of things that I wanted them to address from screws that had fallen out (minor things) to wear marks on the flaps.

Where were these, exactly and what appeared to cause them? Are you talking about grooves cut by a backed out screw or just abrasion caused by a rub strip or something?

The people are decked out in color coordinated shirts based on the area where they work. They have thought this thing through.

When Rob Leach and I toured the factory, I thought that was really a neat idea. Much like the deck guys on an aircraft carrier. Makes for instant identification and less time spent looking for “a guy who does engines.”

As the to the plane, they found that I had very dirty injectors (hadn’t been cleaned since I picked up the plane. I’m told they should be cleaned or at least inspected every 100 hours) and the timing was off a bit.

Is there a 100 hour checklist in the maintenance manual showing the injector cleaning? That is pretty common for fuel injected engines.

Was the timing advanced or retarded, and by how much, or do you know?

Were the inspectors regular factory people taken from some assembly task or do they have dedicated individuals who do annuals?

The fuel regulator was also running a little leaner than it should.

Since we still don’t know what happened to N142CD’s first engine, and probably never will, this is at least a little interesting insight. As I mentioned in a prior post, engine setup in the airframe sometimes requires quite different settings from those on the test stand for the exact same engine. After 142’s problem, I rather suspect the factory folks are paying very close attention to that on each and every plane that comes out the door.

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Thanks for all your excellent reports, you help fill in gaps re expectations vs reality.

If you’re comfortable providing cost data, I’d very much like to know your 1st year’s expense

record both fixed & variable, plus the first annual.

2nd I’d also be quite interested to know WHAT if anything you might have done differently in buying the SR20, selecting options, handling the early FAM training, etc.

3rd have you ADDED anything or modified anything since you took delivery?

Much obliged…

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Your results at 300 hours are very encouraging. BTW, the most I have ever flown in a year is 250 or so. Is 300 a normal figure fo you?

I was encouraged by the annual results too. While it has not been quite a year (from July 20, 1999) ol' N415WM now has about 350 hours including the trip back from MN. I have never flown that much in a year. The high number of hours is due to the newness of the plane and part is that I now have the time to fly. I look at it as any excuse to fly Â… I'm there!

Where were these, exactly and what appeared to cause them? Are you talking about grooves cut by a backed out screw or just abrasion caused by a rub strip or something?

There were three screws that came loose that were minor. For example, the "button" on/off switch in the headliner fell out. The button is round and is flush with the headliner, which makes it difficult to ensure that it is screwed in tightly even when replacing it. I would suspect it is assembled when Cirrus buys them, but the manufacturer may not have suspected the switch would be subject to the extensive vibration it receives. I say minor because you can still operate the light whether or not the button is in place. It is visually more appealing when it is there.

Is there a 100 hour checklist in the maintenance manual showing the injector cleaning? That is pretty common for fuel injected engines.

I am sure there is, but I am going to have to look it up and coordinate with my maintenance folks.

Was the timing advanced or retarded, and by how much, or do you know?

It was advanced by about 1 or 2 degrees.

Were the inspectors regular factory people taken from some assembly task or do they have dedicated individuals who do annuals?

The people that did the annual are full time customer service people. They specialize in problem resolution and inspections. Although I am not prone to be easily impressed, I had a very good sense these folks know what they are doing.

Since we still don’t know what happened to N142CD’s first engine, and probably never will, this is at least a little interesting insight. As I mentioned in a prior post, engine setup in the airframe sometimes requires quite different settings from those on the test stand for the exact same engine. After 142’s problem, I rather suspect the factory folks are paying very close attention to that on each and every plane that comes out the door.

Based on what was done to test my engine, I cannot imagine that Cirrus does not test each and every engine versus using some "factory standard setting" for the various components. On my engine they tested the fuel flow, timing, governor, and the various temps. They put about three hours (Hobbs time) of testing on it. The changes have been dramatic.

 I noticed that the fuel flow at max power was higher than what I had seen. Fuel flow in DLH (alt about 1,000 MSL) was around 17 gph. The flow is less at max power, full rich as the plane climbs and at higher density altitude airports Â… as you would expect it to be. When I leaned at altitude I pulled the mixture control about a third to half way back to set the EGT. Generally I saw EGT temps (which are simply relative numbers) of 1325 to 1340 depending on altitude.

On the trip back I flew at 10,500 or 12,500 and used 1325 for the EGT. In climb CHT rarely crossed 350 and the OT would be slightly over 200. In cruise (rich side of peak this time - headwinds are no fun) CHT was about 325 to 340 and OT was 160 to 180 Â… assuming the gauges are correct.
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If you’re comfortable providing cost data, I’d very much like to know your 1st year’s expense

record both fixed & variable, plus the first annual.

Costs are an interesting topic, but when the plane in under warranty they can be misleading. I can tell you, however, there are no unexpected costs … other fuel which has gone out of sight. While I have had some vacuum pump problems, I think that has finally been solved. Cirrus stood behind everything that has been uncovered. I have not had much of a problem with my bird. It flies great and the engine keeps purring along. During the annual which I did in DLH we learned that the engine mixture was leaning more than it should. The auto-mixture control was replaced. The engine was “bench checked” to get all the tolerates just right. It flew back just fine albeit a little slower, but dramatically cooler!

2nd I’d also be quite interested to know WHAT if anything you might have done differently in buying the SR20, selecting options, handling the early FAM training, etc.

The current training program in place appears to be much better and more organized that when I took it. I would expect that current and future customers will get a wonderful training experience.

3rd have you ADDED anything or modified anything since you took delivery?

The only thing I have done and am doing is: (1) changed the audio panel to prohibit the intercom from interrupting the external music source; and (b) changing the Hobbs to run on an airswitch. The first item is easy and is an OPTION from Garmin, but Cirrus will NOT change it for you Â… something about certification standards. What happens is that you can play a portable CD and not have intercom traffic interrupt the song(s). The second item is more problematic. I hate to have the Hobbs meter running when not in flight. The stupid thing records time when the alternator is turned on. Theoretically you could record time when the engine isn’t even running! I looked into having the GNS430 turn on the Hobbs since it has an air switch trigger, but it does not have an external switch capability. I finally got a part presumably I can get from Bendix/King that can be used in the pitot line to switch on the Hobbs Â… then I get flight time.

The other maddening about the way the Hobbs works is that when you want to track hourly operating costs you can’t rely on the Hobbs to give you flight time. You have to record that on the side.

My operating costs are based on 10 GPH for fuel and oil changes every 50 hours. With what I learned from the annual, I would do some maintenance such clean the fuel injectors, etc. every 100 hours.