Lake Tips
Collected at River Ranch by Malcolm Dickinson, CFI, Lake Flight Instructor
These are but a few of the hundreds of tips and tricks that were told at the 1996 and 1997 Lake Amphibian Flyer's Club fly-in workshops held at River Ranch, Florida.
Neither I, nor any of the other flight instructors quoted, will be held liable for anything (good or bad) that happens to anyone who follows any of these tips. Reading about it is no substitute for flight instruction from an experienced instructor. Please do NOT go out and do something just because you read about it here.
Notes
from Lake Fly-In and Safety Seminar at River Ranch, February 1997
—collected by
Malcolm Dickinson, CFI
Water operations
·
Any time you’re on the step (step taxi, water
takeoff, water landing), it’s crucial to keep the center of gravity in front
of the center of flotation. Don’t touch down in a nose-low attitude! [BM]
Engine
·
Run the engine a minimum of once every two weeks.
Running for over an hour is necessary in order to get full benefit.
Engines used regularly suffer from less internal rust and corrosion
because the oil temperatures generating during frequent use vaporize any water
that is inside the engine. [PF]
·
Rainwater can collect in the exhaust stacks if the
plane is kept outdoors and not used regularly.
The humidity can work its way up and rust the exhaust valves.
If you’ll be storing the plane outdoors for a long time (two months or
more), it’s worth covering all intakes and exhausts, including the breather.
[PF]
·
Changes in the way your engine runs are often
gradual. You have to be flying your plane on a regular basis in order to notice
the changes. [LM]
·
Lycoming recommends running your engine a minimum
of 12 hours per month. [LM]
Fuel System
·
If you see reddish or brown fluid coming out of the
fuel pump sump drain, or if your electric fuel pump sounds like it’s laboring
(if it sounds like the battery was low), then the fuel pump is getting ready to
fail. You might as well replace it when you get this warning sign instead of
waiting for complete failure.
·
The Buccaneer owner’s manual recommends use of
the electric fuel pump when flying above 10,000 feet. [MD]
·
Auxiliary fuel tanks: The blue lights indicate that
the fuel transfer switch is on, not
that the pumps are actually working, and not
that fuel is actually flowing. Larry Martin recommends an alteration that makes
the lights indicate fuel pressure in the
transfer lines instead. That way you will know not only when the pumps are
working, but also when all fuel has been transferred. [LM]
·
It takes 20 to 30 minutes to transfer fuel from the
float tanks. [LM]
·
It’s not good to run the fuel transfer pumps more
than a few minutes without fuel flowing through them. [LM]
Landing Gear
·
Nose gear struts are prone to bending, especially
the Lake type.
·
Wheel bearings: some rust is acceptable, but they
will seize if there’s too much. It’s vital to keep the wheel hubs packed
with grease. The grease may seep out and dirty up the outside of the gear a bit,
but if the hub is not completely packed, water will get it and rust the
bearings. [LM]
·
Most repair shops do not understand the specifics
of the fickle finger, the risk of bending the nose gear if it’s misadjusted,
or the risk of breaking the nose gear-up switch by hitting it too hard. Have
your local shop call Jack Tarbox at Lake for advice. [LM]
·
FBOs can damage the nose gear by towing the
airplane. If they must do it, put 50-75 lbs. of weights on the nose.
·
The new style of nose gear-up switch, available
from Lake, is much better than the old, because they can accept extra pressure
(up to even ½”) without breaking. [LM]
·
After moving the gear switch, always let the
hydraulic pressure charge back up before moving the flaps.
If you operate the flaps and gear in rapid succession, the hydraulic
pressure can get low, allowing fluid to flow by an O-ring that is twisted in its
groove. Keeping hydraulic pressure
high helps to avoid this. [LM]
Hydraulics
·
To test your manual hydraulic pump, bleed pressure
down to 0 and try pumping it up from there with the hand pump.
If you only use the manual pump when there’s already pressure in the
lines, you’re not testing it fully. [LM]
·
If you hear gurgling when the pressure gets low,
it’s probably nitrogen in the hydraulic lines. This indicates that the seal in
the accumulator is allowing nitrogen to leak by. [LM]
·
If the hydraulic pressure drops to 0, and there’s
too much fluid in the system, excess fluid will flow out the overflow on the
right side of the nose.
Misc.
·
Larry Martin and Paul Furnee of Aircraft
Innovations have the following parts available: [LM]
·
Cowl alignment pins $99 + 1 hour
·
On-the-yoke electric trim (both elevator and
rudder) $1,295 + 3 hours
·
Gas struts that mount at the top of the cowl doors
$295 + 3 hours
·
Annunciator lights to indicate Hydraulic pump on
and fuel pump on.
Key to attributions: PF - Paul Furnee; LM - Larry Martin; MD - Malcolm Dickinson; BG - Bearded guy; ET - Elton Townsend; JS - John Staber; ND - Norval Dawson
Notes
from Lake Fly-In and Safety Seminar, February 1996, Sebring, FL.
—collected by
Malcolm Dickinson, CFI
Preflight
·
The forward fuel quickdrain comes from the fuel
system just below the boost pump. The rear one comes from the bottom of the fuel
tank. However, they may have been switched by mistake somewhere in your
plane’s history. [BM]
·
When draining fuel from the fuel pump sump, an
orange color in the fuel means the fuel pump is about to fail. [BM]
·
If not pumped or drained out, water in the bilge
can submerge the elevator and/or rudder pushrods. During flight above the freezing level, the rudder controls
can freeze solid in ice! Always drain or pump out before flying above the
freezing level. [BM] If the elevator control does freeze on you, you may be able
to get the plane down by using the trim.
·
The hooded vent underneath the left wing is the
vent to the main fuel tank. [BM]
·
If mud daubers (wasps) are present, they will plug
all the various vent holes unless you have them plugged. You can do this with
golf tees, but if they’re wooden they can swell up and break off in the vent
hole. Better to use plastic screw anchors. Various sizes are available at the
hardware store to fit various vent holes.
·
Shake the wingtip back and forth during preflight
to check for loose wing attach nuts.
Water operations
·
Think BOAT. When a Lake is on the water, it’s a
boat, and needs to be handled as such. [BM]
·
When practicing water landings, you can leave the
fuel pump off to prolong its life. Turn
it on at the first sign of trouble. [ND]
·
Abort takeoff if a motorboat races you. He might
cut in front of you and his wake could cause you to crash. [SR]
·
If a motorboater is waiting to race you, just shut
down and wait him out. Eventually he will give up and go away. [SR]
·
Motorboaters who want to race never expect the Lake
to suddenly accelerate from 60 to 80 as it comes off the water. [SR]
·
Beware of jetskiers and other boaters who see you
land and assume you are now completely stopped. It does not occur to them that
your prop is still turning and you are therefore moving forward with no way of
stopping. They will come right in front of you, expecting you to stop and talk.
Be prepared to wave them away or shut the engine down if necessary.
·
When practicing or teaching water work, don’t
wear headsets, particularly ANR ones. Headsets deprive you of hearing the noise
of the water on the hull. Without them you can hear where on the hull water
contact is being made. This sensation helps determine the proper attitude for
water landing, taxi, and takeoff, and helps prevent bent or jammed nosegear
doors.
·
If you are floating towards a dam and can’t get
the engine started, put the gear down. There is a cable strung across the river
just upstream of every dam and your gear will catch the cable and keep you from
going over.
·
When mooring in shallow water, put the gear down.
If the plane sinks, it won’t sink as far or be damaged as badly on a rocky
bottom. This is also a good precaution in a tidal area where the tide may go
out.
Water takeoff
·
On takeoff, if you get thrown into the air by a
wave or boat wake, the only way to prevent a nose-in is to close the throttle immediately.
·
Before beginning a takeoff run on water, set the
trim full back. This will help to
counteract the dive tendency if you bounce or get thrown into the air.
·
For normal takeoff with normal loading and a
central CG, trim for takeoff so the trim tab is located exactly even with the
elevator when you pull the yoke all the way back.
·
Any time you begin to porpoise, add a little back
pressure to stop the porpoise. Do it immediately, because the porpoise gets more
difficult to recover from with each cycle. [SR]
·
12” waves, measured trough to crest, are the
roughest water you want to try taking off in.
·
Whitecaps are a bad sign. Avoid whenever possible.
·
Don’t take off or land in waves that are more
than 20% of the hull length apart. (In the LA-4 this is 5 feet.)
·
In rough water, get speed up on the water with the
flaps up, then lower them at 50mph.
[SR]
Drawbacks: – Don’t grab the gear handle! If you did it would cause you to
crash.
– The plane will pitch down drastically when the flaps come down. This could
cause you to nose in if you aren’t expecting it. Be ready to compensate with
additional back pressure as they come down.
·
Having trouble getting on the step? Trim all
the way back. Then retrim a little forward once you’re on the step.
·
Having trouble getting on the step in relatively
light wind? Go downwind to get on the step, then make a step turn and take off
upwind. Watch out for your own wake!
·
If you drive into the water from a ramp, it’s
easy to forget to raise the gear before starting your takeoff run. Don’t
forget! [SR]
·
If you try a water take off with the gear still
down, the nose will sink in and you’ll get water all over the nose and canopy.
[SR] Done on purpose, this is a good way to rinse off in fresh water after
flying in salt water. [ND]
·
If you’re moving forward in the water after an
attempted gear-down takeoff, and you select gear up, the mains will retract but
the nose gear will not retract until you stop all forward speed. Water pressure
from forward movement prevents the nose gear from going forward and up.
·
If the water rudder is slipping into the down
position, either tighten the bolt that the water rudder handle swivels on, or
add Velcro to the handle and the cabin floor (hooks on the floor, loops on the
handle).
·
If you take off or step taxi with the water rudder
still down, you will probably bend it. Use a simple pre-step checklist (CARS,
FCARS, etc.) to be sure you don’t forget.
·
If the water rudder is bent and you force it to
retract, the handle may break off, or the water rudder make get stuck up inside
the air rudder and fail to extend again when you need it.
·
Crosswind water takeoff: Be traveling into the wind
as closely as possible during the time you’re coming up onto the step. (This is when the nose is highest out of
the water and will be pushed downwind otherwise.) One you’re on the step, then
turn away from the wind onto the heading you’ll use for the rest of your
takeoff run. Now that you’re on the step, you have enough airflow over the
ailerons to keep the downwind sponson out of the water. If you try to get onto
the step with a crosswind, the downwind sponson will be submerged and may be
damaged.
·
It’s easier to make a crosswind takeoff with the
wind from the right than from the left. This is due to torque.
·
If you need to take off and the waves are too big,
make a crosswind takeoff in the lee of the shore or in the lee of an island,
where it’s not so wavy. However, in high winds, you’re likely to encounter
severe turbulence as you pass through 10 feet AGL, so climb with plenty of speed
(Vy+10) to avoid stalling.
·
If you’re going to take off and you’re not sure
how big the waves, motorboat wakes, etc. are: taxi down the proposed takeoff
area on the step at a minimum step speed. If you run into boat wakes they will
cause a bump, but won’t throw you into the air. If you reach the other end of
the takeoff area and judge the conditions to be OK, turn around and take off.
Water landing
·
Just before your first water landing of the day,
check (by the feel on the handle) that your water rudder will in fact extend.
·
The time to be sure the water rudder will extend is
not after you have water-taxied in
among a group of expensive mahogany motorboats.
·
Bounce Recovery: [SR]
2 foot bounce: land
4 to 8 foot bounce: add half throttle
and tail it in.
10 foot bounce: dip the nose a little, add half throttle, and fly
it out.
Remember: half throttle, never full throttle. Full throttle will cause it to
nose in because of the high thrust line.
·
In rough water, every fifth to seventh wave is a
“rogue wave” that is larger than the rest. Try to touch down just after the
bigger wave and you’ll likely only have to pound through some smaller ones.
[LS]
Land landing
·
The demonstrated crosswind component is 13 knots.
·
Use flaps for land landing until the crosswind
component exceeds 15 knots. When the crosswind component is higher, just land
very fast on a very long runway.
·
In a strong crosswind, you can also land with flaps
and then immediately retract the flaps (not the gear!) as soon as you touch
down. This is very risky, because you might grab the gear handle by mistake.
Salt Water
·
If you often fly in salt water, you can have your
mechanic add perforated hoses inside the wings. These can be either flat green
garden sprayer hose with lots of holes in it (not soaker hose) or polybutylene
pipe with thousands of tiny holes drilled into it. [PA]
It takes forever to drill the holes into the polybutylene pipe. [PF] In
either case, the hose connection will come out in the wheel well. Cap the hose
connection when not in use to keep sand or dirt from getting in and plugging up
the holes.
·
You can flush the inside of the hull after salt
water use by installing a similar sprayer hose underneath the floorboards. [PA]
However, you can also successfully rinse that area by putting a hose down
by the rudder pedals and filling the hull with fresh water until the foot pan
starts to go underwater. When the foot pan is under, turn off the water and open
the hull drain plugs. This level of water will bathe the hull inside as well as
the rudder push rods, and should spill over into the rear compartment. [PF]
·
When landing in tidal areas, give careful
consideration to the tide tables or you may find you have landed in an area that
is full of obstructions which surface only at low tide. [PF]
·
Cleanup after salt water: land in fresh water,
lower the gear, then add full power for a moment. The nose will go underwater
and fresh water will wash over the windshield. After landing, hose everything
down. Use soap & water under pressure to get the salt off. Spray all nuts
& bolts with ACF-50. [ND]
Sponsons
·
If a sponson gets knocked off one wing, you must
take immediate action to prevent the aircraft from rolling over and capsizing.
To prevent this:
– Climb out on the other wing
– Fill the other sponson with water
– Tie a lifejacket to the wingtip with no sponson
·
When mooring overnight, if a sponson fills up with
water due to a leak, the plane will turn over and sink. Adding Styrofoam in the
wings will prevent this. The Styrofoam will provide sufficient floatation that
the wing could never go under even without a sponson. However, the foam goes not
in the wingtip but in the wing itself, so installation involves removal of wing
skins ($$$). The drawback of Styrofoam in the wing is that it creates areas that
you can’t get at with fresh water after salt operations.
·
If you must take off with only one sponson, be sure
that the wing with the missing sponson is positioned upwind, and deflect the
yoke away from the wind to keep the
remaining sponson in firm contact with the water. [SR]
·
Never attempt a takeoff if both sponsons are
missing. [LS]
·
New replacement sponsons from Lake cost about
$5,000 each. If you have to replace one, consider replacing both with fiberglass
ones that hold 15 gallons of fuel per side. These are available from Bob
Copeland (602-963-4194) for $5500. They weigh 7 lbs. more per side than the
original sponsons. The filler caps are on the front instead of the side for
easier access.
Engine
·
Replacing the original crankshaft on a 180 or 200
with one that has been dynamically balanced will remove the RPM restriction.
This is a valuable consideration during overhaul. [PF]
·
Textron Lycoming will send you a more easily
readable numerical power chart for your engine on request. You pick the pressure
altitude, % power (55, 65, or 75%), and RPM you want to cruise at, and the chart
will tell you the proper manifold pressure to use numerically, not graphically.
It also allows you to compensate for nonstandard temperature. Call them
at 717-323-6181 for your copy. You will need to know the exact model number of
your engine. [PA]
·
To stave off arrival at TBO and increase fuel
economy, you can run under the
restricted RPM zone, e.g., 2000 RPM, with a higher manifold pressure. You’ll
still get 75% power, but with many fewer revolutions of the engine, less tach
time increase, and lower fuel consumption. This also allows the prop to work
more efficiently. [PF]
·
In the EP, you can follow the above suggestion,
albeit to a lesser extent, by selecting your highest permissible continuous MP
and then using a correspondingly lower RPM. [PF]
·
Good engine gauges are invaluable in increasing the
life of your engine. Your current
engine gauges are extremely inaccurate. I
can sell you more accurate ones. [PF & HS]
·
Look out behind you before you start the engine. On
the ramp or beach, you will sandblast whatever is right behind you. Near shore,
you could blow grass clippings all over Granny’s newly-painted boathouse.[SR]
·
If you are using a lightweight starter, start on
left mag only unless you have double-impulse mags. (Double-impulse mags is a
good mod) [HS]
·
Engine failure on takeoff or climb out: Lower
the nose immediately. [SR]
·
Engine failure on takeoff or climb out: push
forward and trim forward immediately. You had better have enough weight
in the nose or you will not be able to prevent a stall.
·
If you experience any uncommanded pitch-up during a
climb, assume it’s a loss of power, and lower
the nose immediately.
·
Engine failure procedures:
– Don’t put the flaps down
– Don’t lower the gear until the last minute before a land landing (it
reduces your glide angle a lot)
– Best glide is 75mph with the flaps up.
·
CFIs, when pulling the throttle back to simulate
engine failure, remember: the minimum altitude loss with a good pilot who is
expecting the engine loss and who makes no mistakes is as follows:
– Vy to best glide: 100 foot loss
– Vx to best glide: 200 foot loss but no possibility to flare
So don’t pull the power below 500 feet AGL! If the student locks up or pulls
back, you might never recover.
Propeller
·
It is not necessary to run at 2400rpm for cruise
flight. Time left before TBO is determined from the tach, and the tach measures
revolutions, so flying at a lower RPM will make the engine last for more hours
of flight. In addition, lower RPM causes less noise both in the cabin and on the
ground.
·
When flying through precipitation, choosing a lower
RPM will also result in less precip damage to the propeller blades. [PF]
·
Never taxi over 1000RPM unless you are on the step.
Displacement taxi over 1000RPM causes severe water damage to the
propeller. [SR]
·
EPs must have 74” propellers. If the prop is
damaged and repair makes it shorter, it must be replaced. However, the shorter
prop could be sold to a 180 or 200 owner.
·
200-style or EP-style propellers are a useful
addition to a 180 because they are much more efficient than the old 180
propeller. They are also not subject to the new (1995) AD on the original 180
prop. Any 180 owner whose prop is due for overhaul would do well to look into a
used 200 prop. Changing to the newer prop also requires changing the hub.
·
If you get a nick in the propeller you should have
the nick “dressed” by a prop shop. If you are in the outback, you can dress
it yourself using a normal file. Measure the depth of the nick (e.g., 1/16”)
and level out ten times the depth (10/16”)on either side of the nick.
Landing Gear
·
Do not fly with a flat (depleted) nose gear oleo
strut. The nose gear can get tangled up in the gear doors if the wheel is not
given forward extension by the oleo. If this happens, the gear will be stuck in
a halfway position—it won’t go up, and it won’t go down!
·
The protruding pin at the top of the nose gear
actuator manufactured by Aerofab tends to break off [HS] [Or perhaps it is the
one manufactured by Gerdes that breaks?-MD]
·
On the main gear, there is an aluminum “kidney”
piece that fails and breaks at one of the three bolt holes. There will probably
be an AD along the lines of Service Bulletin 62. Replace the aluminum part with
a steel one. This is an easy change to make. You can use a magnet to determine
which one is currently in your airplane. The oldest type is made of 15 layers of
steel and does not need to be replaced.
·
One-piece, no-moving-parts fiberglass landing gear
doors are available from Bob Copeland in Arizona for $550. They may help climb,
but they do not provide any measurable increase in cruise speed. [EP owner]
·
Remember, the Lake does not have a squat switch to
prevent you from raising the gear by mistake while sitting on the ground.
Therefore, after landing, wait until you are clear of the active runway
before raising the flaps. Then say out loud, “THESE ARE THE FLAPS.”
·
To lessen the chance of confusion between gear and
flaps, you can paint the gear handle black (the color of tires) and the flap
handle white (or the color of flaps if they’re not white).
·
If the gear (or flap) handle won’t go down, the
very large nut on the valve assembly may have loosened. This nut keeps all the
parts of the valve together and working the handle too aggressively may loosen
it. You can tighten it by hand and you’ll then be able to lower the gear
handle.
·
To help reduce wear on the flap and gear handles
and keep them from loosening, remember to pull out on the handle before moving
it. Then move it firmly but smoothly all the way to the new position.
Don’t slam it into the new position. Moving it only ¾ of the way to the new
position will put it in the bleed position and the gear or flaps will only move
halfway.
·
To avoid getting into a tough situation in the
event of a loss of hydraulic fluid, you can add to your checklist “check
hydraulic pressure” before raising or lowering the gear. If a leak has caused
a fluid loss, moving the gear handle will result in partial movement of the gear
and you could end up with the gear stuck, immovable, halfway up/halfway down. If
you check the pressure before moving the handle, you have the opportunity to
spot the low pressure, elect to leave the gear in its current position, and land
on an appropriate surface.
·
Apply reflective red tape to the nose gear doors at
the position and angle that the nose gear assumes in the down position. Then it
will be clearer to you when looking in the sponson mirror whether the nose gear
is down fully or not.
·
If your gear is going down but you’re not getting
the green gear-down light, you can verify that the main gear is locking down
correctly with the following method. When the gear locks down, the rod that
connects the uplock and downlock hooks gives a “jiggle.” You can see the
uplock hooks easily from the cabin. So extend the gear and watch carefully for
the “jiggle” just as the main gear gets to the bottom of its travel. If you
observe the jiggle, then the downlock hook is
engaging on that side and the gear is in fact locked down. By observing the
jiggle on both sides and checking the nosegear in the mirror with the aid of the
reflective tape stripe, you can be virtually certain of gear downlock, even
without the green light.
Flaps
·
Unless it is likely to be windy before your next
flight, it is not necessary to raise the flaps after landing. [PF]
·
If there is the chance of high winds, or if you
will be away from the airplane for 24 hours or more, it is very important to
raise the flaps and trim full nose-down when parking. These will cut down the
tendency to fly away. [ND]
·
Don’t retract flaps below 500 feet. Never fly
below 500 ( or 1000) feet without the flaps down.
·
During any control problem, lower the flaps.
Lowering the flaps lowers the stall speed from 52 to 40 (significant) and also
pitches the nose down for better visibility.
·
The aircraft will not take off without the flaps
down.
·
Water damage to flaps occurs only on landing, never on the takeoff run. Hitting the water hard
at 60mph will damage the flaps. The slower you’re going when you land on
water, the less damage you’re going to do to the flaps (as well as everything
else).
·
Any time you change the flaps or gear position in
flight, you’ll need to retrim.
Hydraulics
·
The accumulator is the heart of the hydraulic
system. It stores energy. It is a foot-long cylinder with a sliding “hockey
puck” which keeps the fluid and nitrogen separated using o-rings. [LM]
·
180hp models have the hydraulic fluid reservoir in
the anchor compartment on the nose. They have a spherical accumulator located
just aft of the reservoir, forward of the manual hydraulic pump, in the center
of the panel. [LM] This can interfere with certain radio installations. [PF]
·
At the first sign of hydraulic troubles, have your
accumulator checked. If you keep your accumulator charged with nitrogen to
350psi and it gets regular use, it could last 20 years. [LM]
·
The Aerofab-manufactured accumulators had removable
ends and a rod down the middle. They are notoriously leaky and very difficult to
get adjusted just right. [LM]
·
The O-rings that separate fluid from nitrogen
inside the accumulator can go bad or get twisted. When this happens on an
Aerofab-manufactured accumulator, it can be taken apart and the O-rings
replaced. When it happens on other models, the entire accumulator must be
replaced.
·
When a non-Lake-experienced mechanic goes to charge
the accumulator, he may not add enough nitrogen to even move the “hockey
puck.” When it moves it may make a sound like a creaky door. It’s best to
put too much pressure in (600psi) to be sure it’s moving, then back off
pressure to return to 350psi. He may have to give it as much as 1000psi to move
the puck if it is sticking. It should be charged so the accumulator is
completely full of nitrogen. If extra fluid has been added to compensate for a
dead accumulator, this will cause fluid to come out of the fluid overflow vent,
which is located on the right side of the nose at about crotch height. Be sure
no one standing there as it will ruin their pants. [LM]
·
If the electric hydraulic pump is making a growling
noise, the electric unit of the pump has been flooded with hydraulic fluid and
must be cleaned or replaced. This is very labor-intensive and expensive.
·
Exercise the manual (emergency) hydraulic pump at
least once a month. This will lubricate its check valves with fluid and keep
them from sticking in the case you actually need it. It will also familiarize you with the effort required so that
it will not come as a surprise when your electric hydraulic pump fails. It is
also necessary to lubricate the handle itself occasionally so that it will
extend easily. [LM]
·
The valve that usually sticks first is the check
valve upstream from the manual hydraulic pump. At the first sign of trouble,
replace this valve with the kind that has a spring. This is a very
labor-intensive procedure and will be expensive. While doing this, have the old
fuel-bowl-style filter replaced with the new in-line, blue, removable filter.
·
When using the manual hydraulic pump, it is not
necessary to wear yourself out trying to achieve full hydraulic pressure
(1100psi). 900psi is enough to extend or retract the gear. [HS]
·
The flap and gear handles have three positions and
two bleed-by areas:
– fully up (fluid is flowing through to contract the actuators)
– fully down (fluid is flowing through to extend the actuators)
– center detent (no fluid is flowing at all—this position is used if you
suspect a hydraulic leak in flight to prevent any further loss of fluid)
– when the handle is not in any of the above three positions, it is in a
bleed-by position and allows fluid to flow by, depleting hydraulic pressure in
the system without doing anything. The electric pump will run continuously. [HS]
·
To test the charge on your accumulator, bleed down
the system pressure by moving the flap handle into one of the two bleed
positions. The hydraulic pressure gauge will drop steadily to about 300psi, then
drop suddenly to 0. The reading just before it drops to 0 is the current charge
on the accumulator. If it’s below 350psi, the accumulator is low. [HS]
·
If the hydraulic system is losing pressure when the
plane is sitting on the ramp (“bleed-down”), put the flap lever in the
center (shutoff) position and see if the bleed-down ceases. If so, the flow-by
leak is in the flap actuator o-ring. Likewise, if the bleed-down ceases when the
gear handle is left in the center position, it’s one of the gear actuators
that is flowing by.
·
If you determine (using the above procedure) there
is flow-by but have trouble determining in which actuator, you can use a
stethoscope to listen for flow-by.
·
If the flap or gear selector handle goes past the
”up” or “down” position, the little metal balls that prevent further
movement have been dislodged and the handle requires immediate service. This is
usually caused by rough manipulation of the lever. Remember that the lever must
be gently pulled before changing its position. Forcing it without pulling can
dislodge the metal balls.
·
Replace the O-ring-type check valve with the steel
ball/brass seat type [where? My notes are incomplete]
·
An “O-ring backer” is a Teflon backup ring
which can be put into the groove where the rubber O-ring goes. It sits in the
groove, behind the O-ring, and provides support. The O-rings are notorious for
variances in size and thickness, and a backer can solve some flow-by problems
that don’t go away when you replace the O-ring.
·
When draining water from the hull, if you find
hydraulic fluid pooled in the bottom of the hull along with the water, you have
a leak somewhere in the system. Check the brake master cylinders first. If the
leak is not there, it could be a pinhole in any one of the hydraulic lines in
the hull. It might be difficult to find. Finding it might involve removing the
floorboards and laying out paper towels in the hull, then observing to see where
the red stain appears first.
Misc.
·
Keep an old towel under the front seat. You will
often need one to wipe off wet feet, oily hands, etc. [SR]
·
You can get a padded boot to slip over the left
door handle so it doesn’t chafe on your left elbow when you’re flying. [SR]
[Where can I get one? He didn’t say…]
·
A Lake appears in the movie Motherlode and also in the book Sabotage
Flight by Paul Meyerhoff II. ($12.95 from Dimi Press, 1-800-644-3464).
·
Remembering to turn off the fuel pump at 500 feet
(“not 5,000”) will extend its life. To help you remember you can have a
yellow light installed on your panel labeled “FUEL PUMP ON.” [HS]
·
Leave your strobe light switch on at all times
(except when in clouds or taxiing at a busy airport at night). This way it will
blink at you as you walk away if you ever leave the master switch on. In
addition, it will serve as a warning to others on the ramp that you are about to
start your engine.
·
If you’re flying without an anchor in the nose
locker, you’re probably out of balance. When flying solo with full fuel, as
much as 40 lbs. of weight may be required in the nose locker to keep the CG
within limits. Flying without weight in the nose means risking your life if the
engine should fail during climb out. [SR, PA]
·
Serial numbers went up to 1116 (LA-4s) and 130
(Renegades). About 1000 were made in total. Approximately 880 are still flying,
600 of which are in the U.S. About half (450) are owned by LAFC members.
·
To increase the visibility of your Lake to other
aircraft while in the air, you can paint the top and bottom of the horizontal
stabilizer, elevator, and elevator trim with a darker color. The underside of
the hull and sponsons can also be painted a darker color. If your Lake is mostly
white, as many are, these dark surfaces will pop out for increased recognition.
·
Do a weight and balance for your takeoff weight and
landing weight with less fuel. You may find that the fuel burn during the
flight causes the CG to move forward outside the acceptable range.
·
Luke Smith has written a comprehensive Buccaneer
training manual which is available for $100. [BM]