NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: prices of N.A.
From: Gary LaPook
Date: 2012 Sep 23, 10:40 -0700
From: Gary LaPook
Date: 2012 Sep 23, 10:40 -0700
Here's the deal. Airplane engines are required by regulations and the type of tachometers that are installed ar "recording tachometers," here is an example: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/in/tachometers_mitchell.html These record one hour of real time for one hour of engine revolutions at full power so read less when the engine is operated at a lower rpm. Federal Aviation Regulations require periodic inspections (usually required every one hundred hours of "time in service" which is the actual time the plane is off the ground) and this time can be determined simply by logging time off and time on but it is more convenient to simply use engine operating hours which is a close enough approximation for the regulation. Using a recording tach is a good measure of engine wear since it is actually counting the revolutions of the crankshaft and displaying this information in comparable hours by dividing by the number of revolutions per hour. Since these record time even when the plane is on the ground, they record more than the required "time in service," so inspections may be indicated more frequently than actually required. A Hobbs meter is a real clock that records accurate time so does not run slow when the engine is operated at less than full power and this is the standard instrument installed in rental aircraft so that the full rental cost can be billed even if the renter pilot operated at less than full power, which is normal. The Hobbs meter is an electric clock that is connected to an "oil pressure switch" installed on the engine so when the engine starts, and the oil pressure goes up, the clock starts running. When you shut the engine down at the end, the oil pressure goes down and the clock stops running. You then read out the digital number of hours at the end and subtract the starting reading to determine the number of hours you pay for. This maximizes the rental income for the owner of the plane. (Greq, you might want to install an oil pressure switch for your hour meter. If you have a low oil pressure horn on your boat, you might be able to utilize the out put of that oil pressure switch. See:) http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/hobbsswitch.php gl If you want to minimize maintenance costs for your own airplane then you can connect a hobbs meter to a "squat switch" connected to the landing gear that detects when the plane is off the ground so records only time in service as required by regulations, but this complication is rarely done. --- On Sat, 9/22/12, bill <billyrem42@earthlink.net> wrote:
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