RECOMMENDED READING
ON RECIPROCATING ENGINES
IN THE DECEMBER ISSUE, Cmdr. Robert Jones asked if the writer (of
the article about EGTs) could recommend a good book discussing
the hows and whys of operating reciprocating engines. As a
CFII with a fair amount of experience flying ( 4,500 hours) and
maintaining my 1946 Cub, and operating other airplanes (Bonanza,
Seneca), I have found the engine operation columns published by
John Deakin to be thoroughly detailed, based on sound science
(generally Pratt & Whitney information), and enormously helpful.
These columns can be found on the website
www.Av
Web.com/news/
pelican (see
www.SportAviation.org for a direct link).
George Coleman, EAA 578399
Kennewick, Washington
IN RESPONSE TO Cmdr. Robert Jones’ query for books on reciprocating
engines, I strongly recommend Fly the Engine by Kas Thomas
(available from Amazon and many aviation stores). It not only
describes what to do but also why to do it. John Deakin also has lots
to say on the subject in his Pelican’s Perch series.
John Goldsmith, EAA 556642
Livermore, California
Torque Limits Addendum
I applaud Joe Norris’ article on handy torque
limits reference, but I don’t see an important bit of
information that we should all keep handy—the date
of your next required calibration. Torque wrench
manufacturers state that recalibration is required at set
intervals. Various factors—proper use, quantity of use,
storage conditions, and quality of materials—will affect
the calibration.
When I was in the Air Force I had the opportunity
to visit with technicians in the calibration lab and
found some interesting info. The techs felt that the
most important things were proper use and storage
followed by frequent calibration. They also noted that
the older “deflection” or “beam” wrenches maintained
their calibration much better than the “click stop” style
because of the simplicity of their mechanism. When was
the last time you had the calibration checked on your
torque wrench? Or reread the instructions?
Karl Schneider, EAA 577017
Temple, Texas
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