Hello everyone. Thanks for taking an interest in the video.
Sorry if it begged more questions than it answered, but this is not my field of expertise as my followers will know, and I have based my film on information given. The maintenance organisation didn’t want to appear on camera, and I can understand their choice…many people don’t like to. I had to best describe the situation having discussed it briefly with them.
The financial decisions of our group are private, so I hope you understand why there is much I can’t share here. That’s why I didn’t go into great detail about this in the film, and why I am not going to enter into the debate about our engine fund. Suffice to say, everyone in the group knew the state of affairs, and I’m not complaining about the situation we are in, simply stating fact.
There’s no false jeopardy, although I know it is a feature of some television programmes – I work in news. Scrapping/selling the airframe was one scenario that was presented to me, and in the event that our group couldn’t agree on paying the cash-call, that option would have had to be considered.
I’m sorry if I gave the impression that I am a sole owner of Oscar Romeo…that was not my intention.
I’m grateful to our vigilant engineers for spotting these problems on the ground. It was not a surprise that an engine past TBO has worn out, and it was a scenario I had personally budgeted for, knowing full well the state of our funds. It was unwelcome news, and in the context of my YouTube channel, worthy of reporting.
For those who question the decisions of our excellent engineers, please be aware that you are not in possession of the full facts, my reportage is from the standpoint of a layman, and any criticism of them on this forum should be based on fact, not speculation. Some of what has been said/suggested here is defamatory to them, and so I politely urge restraint should this discussion continue please. They are an excellent maintenance organisation, we do not doubt their conclusions, and I am personally grateful that they detected this problem in the hangar, so that I didn’t have to find out about it over the English Channel.
I film and share my flying with my followers as you know, this is a pretty significant development, and so I have simply made a video about it. I hope you found some of the content interesting.
Jon
Hello Jon
I am a regular viewer of your videos and have followed your You Tube channel for a few months.
Nothing is supposed to be defamatory in any way to your engineers who I have no doubt are excellent, the questions raised were more about the missing information in your video which led to the cylinders being pulled. The topic is of great interest to fellow flyers and the idea of the post was to generate debate about the longevity of regularly used engines.
Airborne_Agains post was very interesting to me (Flying Club with a 3,400 hour engine). Mike Busch’s original book also has interesting sections about running engines on condition and how often an old engine (in good condition) is safe to run. So we are not questioning your engineers just interested in the reasons for camshaft failure at 2,200 hours compared to some that go for 3,400 hours with no significant wear. As Peter says, almost always due to corrosion /lack of use which allows the hardened surface to wear through.
Would a poorly seating valve not show up in increased EGT’s whilst flying?
I am not sure there is a definitive answer to this but I would expect to see a variation in the EGT, while the good cylinders show a steady EGT.
After all, the detection of a sticking or leaking valve is done (by some recent instruments) by looking at the spectrum of the EGT value and if there is a peak (indicating a periodic variation in the EGT) that is the early warning.
Peter_Mundy wrote:
Good news – I always enjoy Jon’s videos
Who does not?
FlyingReporter wrote:
I film and share my flying with my followers as you know, this is a pretty significant development, and so I have simply made a video about it. I hope you found some of the content interesting.
Hopefully G-OR is back on service asap and more videos to come 
PS: one cannot get away with a story on syndicate finances/engine write-offs story on a GA forum, the discussions usually happens without facts, but come on this is the era of online and fake news !!
Peter wrote:
After all, the detection of a sticking or leaking valve is done (by some recent instruments) by looking at the spectrum of the EGT value and if there is a peak (indicating a periodic variation in the EGT) that is the early warning.
That’s basically what I was thinking.
proper downloadable data logging is the feature I miss most on the VM1000.
the discussions usually happens without facts
That’s inevitable if the facts are missing
However I am sure most people try to discuss the topic in a useful manner. As any owner will tell you, ownership is a minefield and the best way to learn is from the experiences of others.
This video, uploaded yesterday, says at the start that the group decided to get the engine done, at Nicholson McLaren.
New video just posted
Excellent video.
I learnt about fretting crankcases and how they can add dowels. Also interesting how the cam wears so quickly after the hardened surface breaks down. Finally, I am glad I happen to have a solid crankshaft!
Thanks Jon
