K21 Annual Inspection

[TimF]

This year's K21 Annual was completed successfully on Friday 29 July.

As you know it follows hot on heels of the refinishing work in Poland and the aircraft has only had two weekends flying since its return to Milfield. In this time it has flown well but it was noted that the wheel brake was ineffective and the main wheel rumbles when turning. The wheel brake problem was found to be due to air in the hydraulic system (the brake fluid reservoir was replaced in Poland) and the rumbling was found to be defective wheel bearings. Both have now been fixed.

We took the opportunity to remove and investigate the front Turn and Slip indicator which has been unserviceable for at least a year. It now works OK so the restriction of "No Cloud Flying" has been removed. The rear Turn and Slip indicator was also examined and cleaned so it is now working better than it did. Both instruments indicate a turn of 360 degrees in about 30 seconds with the needle on the first marker.

Andy successfully loaded the S80 vario system with all the BGA waypoints. These are visible on the "map" page. The nearest are "Mil" (Milfield), "Eta" (Etal) and "Kil" (Kilham). Navigating back to Milfield (should you become disorientated) is now a simple matter of turning until "Mil" is in the 12 oclock position and keeping it there. It's worth becoming familiar with how to make this work. Don't hesitate to ask if you need help.

There is now a Ram mount ball in the front cockpit which will allow a moving map display device (eg a phone) to be fitted. I plan to add one to the rear cockpit in due course.

My thanks go to Barry who has masterminded this activity (and is still ploughing through the paperwork!) assisted along the way by Ian S, Andy B and several others who have also rolled their sleeves to help.

Please let me know if you find anything that needs attention.

Tim