Servicing and Maintenance

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Stuart
Airman First Class
Posts: 91
Joined: 03 Oct 2005, 17:38
Location: Nottingham, England

Servicing and Maintenance

Post by Stuart »

Hello

I just bought this plane last week and I'm really enjoying it - it's rapidly becoming my favourite!

This has probably come up before but I couldn't find anything specific while seraching for it. I don't want to visit the maintenance hangar every time I fly - just when I need to repair things or it is due for a service. How often would these aircraft get serviced? Would it be something like every 100hrs, take it in to the hangar and have it checked out. If there's anything wrong, then get it fixed? Or would it be more frequent?

Also, how about changing oil and the like - how often should that be done? And anything else I've not thought of - like spark plugs - do they need changing from time to time?

Just trying to decrease my dependency on the maintenance hangar and trying to see if I can spot problems myself in the walk around and in normal operations.

Cheers
Stu

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AKar
A2A Master Mechanic
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Joined: 26 May 2013, 05:03

Re: Servicing and Maintenance

Post by AKar »

Hi Stu,

If basing on the manufacturer's schedule, then essentially every 50 hours for an oil + filter change and some basic quick flashlight treatment. Every other visit, that is, each 100 hours, typically gets somewhat more thorough flashlight treatment and other servicing as well. Myriads of other stuff with longer intervals gets scheduled too, but the basic schedule is more or less like 50-100-150-200-250.... Under FAA, of course there is that annual inspection requirement.

-Esa

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Great Ozzie
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Re: Servicing and Maintenance

Post by Great Ozzie »

Hi Stu,

I wrote some things a while back on that... see my response under RaveScotts in this Periodic maintenance thread.

-Rob
Rob Osborne
Flight Instructor - CFI, CFII, MEI, MEII
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Stuart
Airman First Class
Posts: 91
Joined: 03 Oct 2005, 17:38
Location: Nottingham, England

Re: Servicing and Maintenance

Post by Stuart »

AKar wrote:Hi Stu,

If basing on the manufacturer's schedule, then essentially every 50 hours for an oil + filter change and some basic quick flashlight treatment. Every other visit, that is, each 100 hours, typically gets somewhat more thorough flashlight treatment and other servicing as well. Myriads of other stuff with longer intervals gets scheduled too, but the basic schedule is more or less like 50-100-150-200-250.... Under FAA, of course there is that annual inspection requirement.

-Esa
Thank you Esa, this is exactly the info I need - I'll do a quick look in the hangar every 50 hrs and fix anything in dire need of repair and change oil etc.... Then at the 100 hour mark I'll do the compression tests and a more thorough engine check.
Great Ozzie wrote:Hi Stu,

I wrote some things a while back on that... see my response under RaveScotts in this Periodic maintenance thread.

-Rob
Wow, thank you Rob - this is a really detailed breakdown of the requirements. I'm going to bookmark that page and keep it for reference.

I appreciate the information gentlemen - I knew it wouldn't take long on these forums to get it! :D

All the best,
Stu.

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AKar
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Joined: 26 May 2013, 05:03

Re: Servicing and Maintenance

Post by AKar »

There are various discussions over the forums about the required and recommended maintenance also concerning the different regulatory environments one meets around the world. Rob's linked post makes a great one I don't think I have noticed myself previously.

As I log very little hours with my sim planes, and I understand the chances of issues are elevated in Accusim airplanes (to keep things more interesting), I pop into the maintenance hangar every 25 hours to change the oil. Obviously, I get an automatic inspection of the airplane's condition while at it. I think it makes a good balance in the simulator.

-Esa

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mallcott
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Location: UK

Re: Servicing and Maintenance

Post by mallcott »

AKar wrote:There are various discussions over the forums about the required and recommended maintenance also concerning the different regulatory environments one meets around the world. Rob's linked post makes a great one I don't think I have noticed myself previously.

As I log very little hours with my sim planes, and I understand the chances of issues are elevated in Accusim airplanes (to keep things more interesting), I pop into the maintenance hangar every 25 hours to change the oil. Obviously, I get an automatic inspection of the airplane's condition while at it. I think it makes a good balance in the simulator.

-Esa
As Esa says, things are slightly `magnified` in the risk department but there are other factors that really impact on the answer to your question, such as frequency of use and frequency of NOT used. The oil is an easy one to spot in the walkround as the dipstick goes a darker shade as the oil ages. It ages faster if the aircraft is NOT used.
But for almost everything else you need the maintenance hangar as you won't necessarily see or feel the impending failure or `ageing` - yellow-to-red is the key. You can't spot engine internal `rapid-advance-toward-failure` without it, so regard the hangar as a separate, but related monitoring system. You see things there you won't see in the walkround (and vice versa).

Each A2A aircraft is therefore individual within the users system (not within the users paint schemes, sadly) - I'm like Esa, changing oil and filter every 25 hours, but that's because I tend to fly my A2A aircraft in `clusters`, with substantial intervals between different models) and I will always spend a good few minutes in the hangar with any bird that's been stood for a while - both imaginary and real. I often `catch` things that would be problematic were I to take them into the air. Mirthful in the sim. Lethal in the real air.

What you might want to do is adjust your mindset rather than the aircraft. Fix everything at the click of a button and go fly, OR you go through the `proper` preparations for a flight or trip. Don't try to do something half-assed - A2A birds WILL catch you out. :lol:

Stuart
Airman First Class
Posts: 91
Joined: 03 Oct 2005, 17:38
Location: Nottingham, England

Re: Servicing and Maintenance

Post by Stuart »

Ah thanks Esa and Mallcott. I hadn't thought of that - issues being slightly magnified in the sim. Yes in that case it makes more sense to reduce the hours somewhat for the checks. I'll try 25 for my first one and see how we go. As long as I'm not going to the hangar every flight, that's all I want to avoid.

" Don't try to do something half-assed - A2A birds WILL catch you out. :lol:"

Yes this is what I love about them! :lol:

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