Along with solving the mixture problem, I think it might be time to level-set with this A&P about how things get handled.
First, there were two things that the odd-ball arrangement might have meant. It might have meant that the last A&P didn't adjust it right. It might have meant that it was done conciously in an effort to solve a problem. Turns out it was the latter case. You said that it was running way too rich after the 'correction.' Why did the A&P turn the plane loose in such a condition? Why is he sending you flying in a plane that clearly has a carburation problem? This is a problem that should be tested and resolved on the ground. Seems to me that, putting 1 and 1 together (first being the mis-calibrated mixture control, second being that it ran too rich when re-calibrated) equals two. And 'two' in this case, points to a problem which someone previously had 'shlocked' their way around, rather than fixing it properly. Maybe its a misguided effort to save the customer (you) some money by not digging into the guts of the carb to find what may really be going on (e.g., bad jets, screwed up venturi, piece of crud). A work-around might have been to have set you on the trail of prior names in the maintenence logs to ask pointed questions about what's up with the mixture, and when the problem appeared. Or even the prior owner. But don't fly it until EVERY step has been taken to ensure that it's right, on the ground. I'm a bit sensitized in this regard right now. A while back, I left a flying club. I thought that their A&P didn't listen well to or respect the pilots and tried to fix things by less expensive measures that MIGHT work versus more expensive measures that WILL work. I got tired of being a test-pilot. I may have been right. A few months later, one of the planes this A&P works on had a 'mysterious power loss' and the result of the emergency landing attempt was not good. People were hurt, burned, injured. I don't KNOW that it was some cost-saving half-measure that was the cause. But the preliminary NTSB report sure doesn't make me any more interested in flying his work or even flying in his work. Greg
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