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The VAF News - 10.8.2024. #6186. Hurricane relocation list, Blocked oil drain, first flight, submerged RV, tattoo, Torque LG bolts

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
First Things First:

OK, on to the news that caught my eye....
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Fully Submerged
I am fortunate to be writing this post. My plane (RV10) was fully submerged under muddy water (above VS for about 24 hours) in our NC hangar. I say this as I did not have any damage to our home, no friends, family or pets lost, not jobs or livelihoods lost. We are so fortunate compared to many of our local residents.
…I am deciding if I want to attempt a rebuild of my aircraft. Here are some details, I am not really worried about resale value, as that is not what I am interested in. I am interested in a safe aircraft. The entire aircraft was two part epoxy primed (inside and out) during the build process. I take extended camping trips, prior to me leaving the aircraft a few months ago, I had put Phillips "anti-rust" oil in the engine and run it for about 30 minutes. and I taped over exhaust pipe (this tape is still in place after the flood), taped over pitot lines. The throttle body was not taped over.
…My assumption is every wire, switch, relay and piece of avionics will need to be removed and replaced. I was out of town during the flood. Some hangar neighbors were very helpful with some preliminary tasks until I return and complete my evaluation in earnest. Soggy logbooks were put in the freezer, engine was filled (the entire engine, with 18 more quarts of oil) rear seat cushions removed, headliner removed for drying etc... I have not yet drained the oil pan to see if\how much water is in the engine.
…Some specific questions:
- Do I need to overhaul the prop (engine has not been moved)
- Prop governor?
…Anybody done this before? Recommendations? I did find few guidelines from the Australian version of the FAA.
…In an effort to keep the discussion focussed, not really interested in financial discussions, insurance aspects, etc or personal preferences, I am interested in technical input and past experiences of others.



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MZ-30L generator question
We just replaced our backup alternator with a MZ-30L generator and I have an operational question. We have removed the pin that causes the MZ-30L to operate at a lower voltage level (14.2V). The goal was to allow both the primary and backup alternators to be enabled at the same time without causing issues.
…However, we found that after startup, when the battery is low, the primary alternator is not able to keep the voltage high enough to prevent the MZ-30L from also generating charge (based on the output on the "Enabled" wire). So, after startup, if both are enabled, we have both alternators generating power. Is this going to be bad for either device? Or is it only an issue to have both enabled when the battery doesn't need that much current?
…In the future we may switch our primary alternator to a higher-voltage (it is internally-regulated), but until then I need to know if our SOP needs to be to keep the MZ-30L disabled when not needed so that we can guarantee it doesn't generate electricity simultaneously with the primary alternator.



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OFF TOPIC:
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