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UNDERSTANDINGENGINEGUAGES
37

Whatthosedialsandlightsaretellingyou
ByJoeCastanza

You'reenroutetoLincolnParkAirportforthatjuicy
hundreddollarhamburger.Youchecktheengine
instruments.Waitsomethingishorriblyamiss.You
havenormaloilpressure,buthighoiltemperature.
Whatdoesthismean?Orperhapsyouseeindications
oflowoilpressurewithhighoiltemperature.Would
thatmakeanydifference?

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Ifyou'veevennoticedtheseindications,you'realreadyaheadofthegame.Theuglytruthisthatmanypilotsdonotpay
adequateattentiontoengineinstruments,especiallythesedays,flyingbrandnewairplaneswithnumerouselectronic
distractions.Butflyingnewairplanesdoesnotprecludeaproblemairplanesandpeoplearenotinfallible.Iftheywere,
airplaneswouldnotcomewithwarranties,andthetermpiloterrorwouldn'tbeintheFAA'slexicon.
Evenfortheseasonedpilot,engineindicationscanbeconfusing.Buttheydon'thavetobe.Someindicationssimply
meanthateverythingisOK,andthosearetheoneswithalotofgreenonbothsidesofeveryneedle.Otherindications
aresignsoftrouble,howmuchtroubletoexpect,andhowsoontoexpectit.Thekeywordhereisexpect,anditmakes
thedifferencebetweenyourfindingtroubleintimetoaddressit,andtroublefindingyouafterit'stoolatetodo
anythingaboutitinotherwords,thedifferencebetweenaprecautionarylandingandaforcedlanding.
"Youdon'tflytheairplane,"ChuckYeageroncesaid."Theairplanefliesitself,youjusttellitwheretogo."Howtrue.
Whenyouinteractwiththeflightcontrols,youaren't"flying"theairplane,you're"communicating"withit.Andjustas
youcommunicateyourneedstoyourairplane,itusesitsownlanguagetocommunicatewhatitneedsfromyou.Ittells
youwhenitneedsmorerudder,moreairspeed,andmorepoweryoutellitwhattodo.Aslongasbothpartieslistento
eachother,thingsgosmoothly.Inadditiontothewayanairplanesoundsandfeelstothepilot,theairplanetellsyou
aboutitshealththroughtheengineinstruments.
Hereareafewthingsairplanessay:"I'mfine""Ineedarichermixture""I'mgoingtobesick""I'mdying."Whatis
yourairplanetellingyou?
Twoofthemostimportantengineinstrumentsaretheoiltemperatureandoilpressuregauges.Theyarethevocabulary
the"airplaneese"thatyourairplaneusestodescribeitshealth.Here'saquicklessoninthelanguage:

Highoiltemperaturewithnormaloilpressure
Thisisatoughone,anditpresentsamountainofpossibilities.Thereisreallynowaytotellwhatisgoingonwithout
furtherinvestigation.Thebestpolicyistoheadforthenearestairportjustincase.Youcanalwaystrytoworkoutthe
problemenroute.Thisway,theworstcasescenarioisthatyouerredonthesideofsafety.Highoiltemperaturesin
flightmayindicatesomethingasinnocuousasahotdayorpoorcoolingduringalongclimbtoaltitude.Someairplanes
justrunalittlehotterthanothers.
Somethingmaybewrongwiththeelectricalsystem.Itsoundsstrange,butinsomeolderaircraft,anelectricalshort
maycausetheoiltemperaturegaugetobehavelikeanammeterthehighertheelectricalload,thehighertheindicated
oiltemperature.Tryturningoffunnecessaryelectricalequipment,oneitematatime,andremembertoadviseATC,if
appropriate.Ifthisdoesn'twork,checkthecircuitbreakersandrecyclethemasterswitch.Ontheotherhand,there
couldbeaseriousengineproblem.Ironically,indicationsofhighoiltemperaturewithnormaloilpressurearecommon
andtheyarecommonlytheresultofpiloterror.
Maybeyoumissedsomethingduringthepreflightinspection,suchasfailingtoremoveacowlplug,oryoumadesome
sortofinflightmistake,orsomethingwentawryduringplanning.Whenyouperformedthepreflightinspection,was
thereoilleakingfromthebottomofthecowling?Thereshouldn'thavebeen.Whenyoucheckedtheoil,wastherean
adequateamountofoilindicatedonthedipstick?Thereshouldhavebeen.Didyouevenremembertochecktheoil?
Youbetterhave,becauseinmostreciprocatingaircraftengines,highoiltemperaturesusuallyresultfromaninadequate
oilsupply.Enginesrelyonlubricatingoilforcontrollinginternalheat,andwithoutityou'reintrouble.
Theairplanemightbetellingyouthatyouhavebeenusingtoomuchpowerwiththemixturetooleannotenoughfuel
inthefuelairmixture.That'salsopiloterror.Normally,youshouldn'tleanthemixturewhenusingmorethan75
percentbrakehorsepower(BHP).Thiscancausedetonation:anexplosiveignitionofthefuelairmixture,and
eventually,preignition.That'swhenpartsinsidetheenginecylinderheattoanincandescentstate,causingthefuelto

Redeyes

ignitepriortonormalignitionandforcingthecylinderstofireoutofsequence.Theseconditionsputaseriousstrainon
theengine,willcausealossofpower,andmaycauseenginedamageorevenfailure.Checkintheperformancesection
ofyourPOHtofindoutwhatconstitutes75percentBHPforyourairplaneandnoticethatthisfigurechangeswith
pressurealtitudeandairtemperature.
Thereareavarietyofengineinstrumentsthatareusefulinthemixtureleaningprocess.Everyairplanehasa
tachometer.Touseitforleaninganairplaneengineturningafixedpitchpropeller,setthePOHspecifiedcruisepower
setting,leanthemixtureuntiltherpmpeaks,andthenleanitjustabitmoreuntiltheydropslightly15to50rpm,
dependingonairplanemakeandmodel.Ifavailable,exhaustgastemperature(EGT)andfuelflowgaugesmakeleaning
anyairplaneabreeze.Generally,tousetheEGTgaugeyouwouldleanthemixtureuntilthetemperaturepeaks,then
enrichituntilthetemperatureis25to75degreesFahrenheitlower.Fuelflowgaugesarealittlebiteasiertouse.You
simplysetthepowerasspecifiedinthePOHforyourpressurealtitudeandairtemperatureandthenleanthemixture
untilyouhavethePOHspecifiedfuelflowindication.Ifyouhaveacylinderheadtemperature(CHT)gaugeonboard,
itwillmakeavaluablereferenceinstrumentyou'llseehigherindicationswithleanermixtures,andthat'sfine.In
addition,CHTisgreatforconfirmingoiltemperatureindicationsifbothoiltemperatureandCHTindicationsare
excessivelyhigh,theairplaneissaying"Hey,I'mnotkiddingI'mhot."
Usetheproperleaningprocedureforyourairplane,asspecifiedinsectionfourofyourairplane'sPOH.Justremember
that,regardlessoftheleaningprocedurespecifiedorused,iftheenginebeginstorunhotorrough,you'veoverleaned
themixture.Here'sawaytodeterminewhetheryouarerunningyourenginetoolean:Ifyouraircrafthasafixedpitch
propandisequippedwithcarburetorheat,setyourpowerandleanthemixtureuntilyoubelieveit'ssetproperly.Then
activatethecarburetorheatandnotetheindicationonthetachometer.Iftherpmincreased,you'veoverleanedthe
mixture.Therpmincreasedbecauseyouhaveenrichedthemixtureincreasedtheamountoffuelrelativetothe
amountofairbyheatingtheairenteringthecarburetor.Whentheairheated,itbecamelessdense,resultinginless
airforthesameamountoffuel.Thisenrichedthemixturetoapointclosertotheoptimummixtureforthatparticular
powersetting.So,heretheairplaneissaying,"enrichthemixture."Trythistechniqueonthegroundfirsttogetafeel
forhowitworks.
Anothercommoncauseforhighoiltemperatureindicationswithnormaloilpressureistheuseoftoohighapower
settingattooslowanairspeed.ThiscanhappenduringanextendedperformanceclimbatVX,bestangleofclimb
airspeed.Youareoverworkingtheengine,theairspeedistooslowtoprovideadequateairflowthroughtheengine
cowlingforcooling,andtheoilistryingtocompensate.Theairplaneissaying,"Ineedabreak."Ifanenginerunstoo
hotfortoolong,theoilpressurewilleventuallydecrease.Thishappensbecauseofthermalbreakdownwhenoil
overheats,itbeginstobreakdownandloseitslubricatingcapacity.Nowyou'vereallygotaproblem:highengine
temperaturescancausealossofpowerandeventuallyenginedamageorfailure.
Treatanyenginethatisoverheating,detonating,orpreignitinginexactlythesamefashion:Smoothlyreducethepower,
graduallyenrichthemixturetofullrich,andlowerthenoseslightlytoincreasetheairspeed.Reducingpowerwill
reducetheamountofheatbeinggenerated.Enrichingthemixtureaddsadditionalfuelthatwillabsorbsomeofthe
heat.Loweringthenoseandincreasingtheairspeedwillallowmoreairtoflowthroughthecowlingforcooling.Ifthere
arecowlflaps,openthem.Holdlevelflightdon'tdescendfortworeasons:First,youdon'twanttoshockcoolthe
enginethatis,coolittooquicklybydiving.Thismaycausethecylinderheadsorenginecasingtocrack.Second,
conserveyouraltitudejustincaseyouactuallydohaveaproblem,becauseyouwillcometomissaltitudeveryquickly
whenyoureallyneeditanddon'thaveit.

Normaloiltemperaturewithlowoilpressure
Thisoneisalittlereasiertodealwith.Theairplaneissaying,"I'mgoingtobesick."Lowoilpressureistheproblem
hereit'sabadsign,awarningoftheonsetofafewpossibleproblems,theleastofwhichisagaugemalfunction.There
maybeanobstructionintheoilline.Buthere'sthereallybadnews:Anoilline,gasket,orsealmayhaveblown,andthe
enginemaybelosingoil.Thiswillinvariablyleadtoahightemperature/lowpressureissue,andthat'stheworst.Either
way,there'sanoilcirculationissueandwithoutthatoil,enginefailureisimminent.Here'sthewaytotreatthisone:
Assumethatyourgaugesarerightandheadforthenearestairportifonegaugeiswrong,theworstthatwillhappenis
thatyouwillmakeasafeprecautionarylanding.Ifyouseetheoiltemperaturebegintorisefurther,orifthisis
accompaniedbydecreasingoilpressure,don'tpanic.Butdoexpectapartialorfulllossofpower,becausenowthe
airplaneissaying,"I'mdying."Lookforaplacetolandsafely,andgotoitimmediately.

Normaloiltemperaturewithhighoilpressure
Thisoneisrare.Itcouldbetheresultofanobstructionintheoilline,amalfunctioningoilcheckorregulatorvalve,a
faultygauge,oranelectricalproblem.Theairplaneissaying"Something'swrong,andI'mnotsurewhat."Thisis
probablynotalifeordeathsituationrightnowbutthereisstillacirculationproblem,sowatchthegaugesandproceed
withcautiontothenearestairport.Expecttheoiltemperaturetorise.

Highoiltemperaturewithlowoilpressure
Herearetwogaugesindicatingserioustrouble.Theairplaneissaying,"I'mdying."Don'twastetimetryingtoworkthis
oneoutbecausebothgaugescan'tbewrong.Theengineisdefinitelyabouttogiveuptheghost.Findaspottolandand
treattheengineasthoughithasalreadyfailed.Gettheapproachrightthefirsttimeyoumaynothaveanenginefora
goaround.Thereisanoteworthypatternhere:Lowoilpressureorhighoiltemperaturewilleventuallyresultinahigh
oiltemperaturecombinedwithlowoilpressure,andthat'sthereallybadone.Highoilpressurecombinedwithnormal
oiltemperatureisarare,usuallyerroneousindication,butdon'tbetyourlifeorthelivesofothersonagauge
malfunction.
There'sacommonthemehereaswell.Ineachsituation,thebestadviceistolandsoon.There'saverygoodreasonfor
this:Anyengineindicationsthatarenotnormalarejustthatthey'renotnormal.Ifyoucanaddresstheproblem,doso.
Youmayhavemoreoptionswithcertainindicationsthanothersyoumayevenhavemoretime.Justdon'tcountonit.
Astitchintimemaysaveyoualotofstitcheswhenit'sover.Remembertolistentoyourairplaneafterall,it'sbeen
listeningtoyou.Ifsomethingdoesn'tlookright,expectaproblem,andyouwon'teverbecaughtoffguard.Don'tpanic
youwon'teverjustfalloutofthesky.Iftheengineisstillrunning,thenyoustillhaveanairplane.Ifnot,thenyouat
leasthaveaglider.Continuetoflyeitheroneforaslongasitwillfly.
Meanwhile,remembertolookoutside.Andrememberthosethreelittlewordsthatareevenmoreimportantthan"I
loveyou":Aviate,navigate,andcommunicate.Inthatorder.Checkintoanyproblemsinsidethecockpit,butyour
primaryresponsibilityisforwhatisgoingonoutside.Makesurethatyouarestillflyingtheairplane.Yourprimary
responsibilitytoyourself,passengers,lovedones,andstrangersonthegroundistokeepitintheairuntilotherwise
necessary.Don'tgetcaughtinthesametrapastheairlinercrewthatcrashedintotheEvergladesin1972whenthe
pilotsweredistractedbyapanelproblem.Thegearwasdownandlocked,butonehundredpeopleperishedbecausea
$10landinggearpositionlightburnedout.
Learnyourairplane'slanguage,andconversewithit.Asmartpilotonthegroundisasafepilotintheair,andapilot
wholistenstohisorherairplanewillbeasmartpilotonthegroundagain.

JoeCastanzaisaprofessorofphysicsattheUniversityofMedicineandDentistryofNewJersey.HeisaCFIand
hasapproximately1,500hoursofflighttime.
IllustrationbyCathyGendron

37
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