Coupers; Today was mechanical delay day. As we were climbing out after our take off a few minutes after sun up, I noticed that the right side of the cowl was vibrating/shaking. After analyzing the situation (about 5 seconds) I turned the Coupe around and landed in the opposite direction. Sure enough,
the screw that holds the RH upper cowl brace to the upper engine mount had sheared off. So we waited until a few minutes before 8 for the mechanic to arrive in order to obtain a new screw, washer, and nut. Fifteen minutes later we were on our way. The visibility wasn't so good today. The temperature and dew point were both at 73 degrees, so we might have had 5 miles visibility. However, the air was smooth at 4500 ft.and the headwind component was less than 10 mph. Consequently, our 100+ mph average today brought the trip average speed up to over 94 mph. The first day's average was less than 85 mph, so we have had a couple pretty good days now for heading west. On our second leg, to Pecos, we climbed up to 10,500 ft msl just to ensure that the ole coupe could do it. She did just fine and indicated about 95 mph at 2600 rpm, however, our 300 ft/minute rate of climb didn't impress Houston Center too much! The cloud tops were already above 10,500 when we started our descent into Pecos. It was pretty bumpy all the way down. On the ground - HOT - 99 degrees. I gave the grandson the choice of whether or not to continue on to Silver City, knowing that he would rather go to the pool than get beat up in the turbulence. I added the first quart of oil this morning, so at over 12 hours since oil change,and over 20 hours since I redid the cylinders, I think the cylinders are just fine. The oil temp ran about 160 today until we climbed up to 10,500. There it stayed at 180. We have traveled just over 1700 miles so far, so tomorrow should put us over the 2K mark, barring any more problems. Every one has been great, so if the rest of the trip goes as well as these first 4 days, it will be a terrific summer. Wish you all were here. Lynn and Joel Nelsen N99387 52FL __________________________________________________________________________ ______ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
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