Only $17,000? What deal...

I didn't buy an airplane to go slow. Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!

Gas is more expensive than cylinders nowadays. I'll replace cylinders. No biggie.

Not only that but I talk to many Continental guys who are NA and they're all replacing cylinders in the 700+ hour range.

 

There was a rash of fuel related engine problems when they did away with leaded avgas.

Avgas is a low demand low volume boutique fuel with the refineries, is there a relationship with fuel formulation / quality and some of the engine issues.

 

Back off 4 or 5 knots and double your cylinder life as well as burn less gas. Getting the last couple of knots is what's costing you the life. It's not like you have to slow down much at all. Just watch the egt's and you'll see what I'm talking about.

A prudent pilot understand his equipment, and always gives himself some margin.

Remember it isn't just that you have to replace a jug, you can just as easily drop a valve... And in a single if you drop a valve it's not just that things can go bang in a big way, it either gets really noisy or very quiet an neither is a very plesant feeling... Have a little sympathy for the machinery.. So yea damn the torpedos, full steam ahead, but I woudn't be wanting to go night IFR over the mountains in your plane if you fly it like that...

As I said in my earlier post, Conti's have a history of shorter cylinder life, it's in the DNA, but it also is a factor of how they are flown. I seriously doubt that there is a difference in quality between newer and older parts, but newer airplanes are more tightly cowled, and are generally run harder than older airplanes. Add that to the propensity for cylinder life problems that Conti's had and now you have a life issue.

The way I looked at it was no Conti (Lyc owner here) no problem.

 

Conti had a cylinder recall a couple years ago. My Bonanza just made the cut but I think they replaced cylinders on a couple hundred G36's.

As for running slower. I run LOP 100% of the time in cruise. My CHT's are lower than they were before I had the plane turbo normalized. EGT's don't matter as I can effect egt by changing the position of the probe.

I run Wide open throttle, 2500 rpm and change HP based on fuel flow.

 

I think it has more to do with business, and even personal life, being more global. If my business was largely in a 200 mile radius, then a small recip would be great. Unfortunately, I often need to travel across the continent, and even overseas, and a small recip just doesn't work for that.

I think that sort of travel is becoming more the norm, and that makes it difficult.

Not impossible, and not useless, just less useful than it may have been in the past.

 

I use my Bonanza 99% for business. I have projects all over the SE and it gets me there. I try to upgrade to a turbine and just can't make the numbers work.

If you fly overseas a lot then the only thing that will make sense is a G5 or larger. So its not just small recips that won't work for this type of travel. Nothing under $20 million will work for that type of travel.

 

Yes!