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Commander 112/114/115 Service Data
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Tech
News & Information
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This area is dedicated for servicing information and tips. For specific parts information and sources, see the Hangar section. Have some good service insights to share? Submit your write-up along with pictures here. Engine and Fuel Management
Landing Gear / HydraulicsOfficial 2007 COG Gear Troubleshooting Guide (requires Adobe PDF Reader)
ElectricalInteriorAirframe / Exterior
General The Commander Owners Group reserves the right to accept or reject any submissions for any reasons. All submissions become the property of the Commander Owners Group. Listed material is informational only and proper licensed personnel should be consulted as appropriate concerning any parts or service needs. |
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Engine and Fuel Management
M20 installed/mounted on
motor mount, pilots side. Beechhurst Industries (150-35 12th Ave, Whitestone, NY 11357. 718-746-3900). They can make up most of the cable assemblies used in the Commander. Send them the old cable and they'll use it as a guide to make up a new. Ever leave the fuel pump on? We all have! I HATE when that happens, especially when you consider $1000 for a new one. This LED blinks at you until you shut it off. I never leave it on more than necessary any more. I have FAA approval for the install with schematic & parts list for anyone interested. If you notice a flow fuel drip from below the fuel selector and fuel position handle position has no effect, the problem may be the vent in the tank. This is designed to be an emergency vent for fuel injected aircraft (keeps the wing from collapsing) and has no connection to the selector valve. There is a very simple check valve at the top of the tank (a ball and socket type). Very difficult to replace. You can determine which is leaking by only filling one tank. It will continue to drip until the fuel get below the valve. Solution, fill to the tabs unless going on a trip. As the owner of three
commanders, I have become an expert in sealing the tanks. If your leak is
near or along the area of the fuel pickup line, it will show itself at the
access panel near the jack point. Also you will see some blue in the wheel
well. Put the fuel selector value in both and jack up the other side of the plane. Keep checking on the powder as the tank fills. Use a mirror and You should see your leak. You can do this several time
by moving the jack from side to side.
My fuel selector had a small
blue stain on it during the annual inspection. I removed it, cleaned it, and
tore it apart. The "O" rings were crusty-hard. CAC was unavailable, but the
manufacturer of the part is Airight, Inc., in Wichita, KS (see contact info
in Hangar). "everything is
proprietary design data so he can't tell me the part numbers, but I could
send them the unit and they would be happy to replace the "O" rings for me
for $125.00". If you are told your Edo-Aire 34-828-014-2 governor can't be overhauled, try Southwest Aero, Inc in Tukwila, WA (206)575-8732. They had the parts required and overhauled mine. Hallelujah!!!!! No more hot
cylinder! from 410-430, now running 275-380. Amazing. Heads up. Anytime you have a mechanic go into the dual magneto and try to move that set screw once it was done by a shop, you might encounter what I did. In Mexico I was stuck and a mechanic did that without knowledge of the peculiar nature of the D3000. He set it but it turned out 20 hours later it moved enough that I was stuck again. Another mechanic got it set again, and again without really knowing what he was dealing with, he'd never seen a D3000 before. To cut to the chase, I got back and in March 07 at annual ordered a rebuilt D3000 (yes, done by Kelly Aerospace). My mechanic went in and adjusted that screw, not really knowing the strange nature of the marks being used to set the points correctly. I saw him do it and scratched my head of why would he do it given that it was a factory rebuilt unit and really should not need any adjusting, but said nothing. Well---after 9 months of concern of having to clean plugs every 20-30 hours, even buying the fine-wires, and doing compression checks, injector cleaning, harness checks, etc., I finally had a hunch and sent the magneto to the repair shop. Sure enough, that set screw had the points way off. Not only that, it had not been torqued correctly. And this was after the plugs fouling on both mags, extreme roughness, etc. I did a little research and found out through an old AOPA article (Pilot Advisory, Bendix Dual Magnetos, 11/84) that that little set screw coming loose had caused 7 aircraft crashes -'78-'81 with engines suddenly stopping. Obviously that got my attention, operating over all sorts of terrain in the Sierras and over the Sea of Cortez without sight of land. My advice, ask questions if any casual mechanic wants to screw around with that set screw, and even if he knows about the unique character of setting the points using different markings than normal, make sure that "locktight" is used along with the correct torque. The factory rebuilt has a white paint that will tell you if anyone has disturbed that screw. It is possible that your relay is OK and your master switch internal contacts are grubby. Either circumstance can create the symptom you are describing. If you have time and are inclined:
A final thought is that given the cost of $13 - $30 for a relay, why not change it every three to five years when you change your battery? It's a key part of the aircraft electrical system critical path analysis. Think about what we spend changing pneumatic system filter elements each year or the ELT battery change every two years. Pretty cheap insurance. Link to Part Number info How do you get the filter off
without getting a mess of oil on the back side of the engine? Whine change pitch along with the engine RPM? If it does (among other possible causes) it could be caused by one bad diode in the multi-diode bridge rectifier in the alternator. You might not notice any degradation in battery charging...the chief symptom would be a sudden appearance of this whine in the radios that no amount of filtering or grounding will cure. (The cure would be to replace the diode). ADC Remote Oil Filter Installation on the Motor Mount rather than Fire Wall. Pictures from Taz. Installed for over a year and makes for a very clean remove/install process. Data from Wag Aero Catalog. Remote Spin-On Filter for All Lycoming
0-320 & up by ADC
Definitely spins the prop faster and makes hot starts a breeze. SKU:
Note regarding the Bogert large gauge cables; I had heard of something referenced as starter drag. After replacing my starter I learned what it was. The new starter uses a solenoid instead of a throw out bearing to engage the bendix. I believe this combination causes excessive draw on initial start up. The result is the starter turns the prop one half rotation and stops. A simple off and on again with the key and it fires right up (the bendix is already engaged.) The Bogert cables are much larger (2 gauge) and have very little amperage loss over distance. This gives you more starting power and should alleviate the problem. Landing Gear / HydraulicsCheck the pivot (through the engine mount) tube on the upper drag brace to see if it is hollow. The updated tube is solid. (both are stainless steel) The hollow tubes would deform and not let the link lock "over center". In most situations the indication would be on the nose gear--(down and locked) but the gear will still fold. The only way to tell if the hollow tube is at fault is to roll it on a true surface and see if it wobbles. This picture shows the replaced part (the ends are counterbored about 3/4"). See the parts information in the Hangar section. Problem - upon landing little brake effectiveness. Pumping up brakes usually restores normal operation until next flight when symptoms repeat. The main gear brake calipers
are being compressed during main gear retraction because the brake caliper
"bleed screw" makes contact with wing walk support in main gear wheel well
causing the caliper to be compressed resulting in little to no toe brake
stopping effectiveness upon landing. After pumping the brakes upon landing
the brakes remain effective/pumped up until the next take-off and main gear
retraction at which time the same sequence of events occur. The evidence of
this occurrence came be seen inside the wheel well where the brake bleed
screw leaves marks close to the edge of the wing walk support in one or both
of the wheel wells. The bleed screw contact point on the support is close to
the installed elevated square bumper pad that is aligned with the round
rubber stopper installed on the back side of the main gears. Before you have your mechanic start ripping everything apart, here are some tips on how the system works and how to test operation
There has been a lot of discussion over the years relating to the Hydraulic Gear Pump and whether or not there should be some additional indicators on the instrument panel. I have had some weird problems over the past 5 years which would have been easier to sort out if I had some additional info when they occurred. I decided to go through the hoops here in Australia to put some indicators on the panel which indicate if the Hyd Gear motor is running "up" or "down". The indicator lamps are from Aircraft Spruce and are similar to those already installed on the panel. Below are links to the EO plus my notes I sent to the aero-engineer. They may help others who are considering additional indicators. Engineering Order, Schematic, Engineering Order Request Nose Gear Pin Technical Drawing (PDF format) Issue: On gear extension, the
gear extends normally except when it arrives at the very end of its cycle.
The pump then cycles on and off rapidly, and ground tests indicate a
"hydraulic bounce," or slight reversal of the pump or fluid flow, which is
causing the lock pin on the nose gear cylinder to slightly retract away from
the full engaged position. When this occurs, the microswitch thinks the gear
isn't fully down and repeats the cycle several times a second. Click here
If you experience intermittent gear pump operation, it can be caused by either failures of o-rings, a problem with the hydraulic pack itself, or air trapped in the system somewhere. When you get the airplane on the jacks, before you open any fittings or remove any actuators etc..., put the emergency down knob in the Emergency Down position (down) and then turn the master on and let the pump run for 20 or 30 seconds. This will flush all of the air from the "up hydraulic lock".
As the pump is still running,
place the Emergency Down knob the the normal up position and let the gear
come up and shut off. If it's much longer than that, (say 10-20 seconds) you then can look for the leaking actuator. Also, if one of the wheels starts to immediately fall from the up position (master off) that is likely the leaking actuator. ElectricalYou can get rid of strobe noise by using a "ferrite choke" on the + going to each strobe power supply. Alternatively, you can use "the eliminator" (Lonestar Aviation) or a similar product for the same purpose. Unless its the strobe light itself... and from Jeffrey A Boccaccio As 08J goes back together with a re finished panel I am
trying to take care of all the little irritants that bother me. One in
particular is the cross modulation I was getting from my strobes. InteriorTie wrap the seat lock handle fully opened or the locking
pins will cause you grief. Remove the 2 rear seat rail stop pins. Also slide
the seat rear wards to get the pin lock supports aligned with the seat rail
notches, lift up the rear and out it comes. (sort of) I also had to perform some repairs to the plastics
(wingtips and fairings) as they had been damaged/split/cracked either
through age or hangar rash. Initially I was going to use epoxy/glassfibre
cloth reinforced with carbon fibre tows to effect the repair but was put
onto a fantastic product by an auto body/spray shop.
This shop has anything needed for professional plastic repair. The site includes a great tutorial with pictures showing a complete repair of a badly cracked and broken plastic panel overlay for an aircraft. http://www.urethanesupply.com/ Airframe / Exterior
An update
on what I have found works (really well) for the removal of two pack paint
from the plastics for wingtip, elevator and rudder/tail tips. I was
initially very concerned that the usual plethora of strippers would damage
the plastics (especially after reading the "what not to use it on" caveats
from the manufacturers), most seemed too harsh or strong so my obvious
concern was damage to the plastics. Apparently the factory may have missed some important rivets in the tail assembly on a very few planes. This write-up has good pictures and service information. Definitely worth checking at the next annual. Click here.
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General
If you have some of the interior removed for service or another purpose, here are some tips for some preventative maintenance items you can take a look at. Power pack is
pretty straight forward. There is a slotted round head screw w/ small o-ring
on a step-down boss on the left side nearest you as you look at the unit
from the baggage compartment access panel. (or to be a little more
technically accurate... the inboard forward corner of the pump reservoir)
This screw covers the reservoir filler port. Remove the screw to check
(don't drop it as it could roll forward and become a PIA to retrieve if your
interior is installed) the fluid level. Should be full to the top. If not,
add H-5606 to fill to brim. Tighten screw just to seal o-ring under screw...
not rip it in two. |
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