A few months ago, I listed a few maintenance and inspection tasks which were in my view made easier and better by dropping the tail feathers.? One item was getting more dirty engine oil out.? As a follow up, on a recent oil change, I measured the additional oil drained with the tail lowered (see attached pic).? It's a tad north of 100 ml.? Don't know if it would make any difference in the life of the engine, but it makes me feel better.? For the record, my Mason jar is traceable to NIST Class A standards and has been maintained at constant temperature and humidity since initial certification. (big silly grin)
I also have a question: We have all heard numerous times on this list about the importance of having our hatch sills level.? Can someone kindly point me to a written reference for that and ideally some tolerance in either degrees or tail height limits?? Someone asked roughly the same question not so long ago but as I recall the responses were not specific.? I know that the TCDS for aircraft gives the leveling means, but I have always taken this to mean the reference used to level the aircraft for the purpose of getting accurate weight and balance data and not a specific mandate to maintain the ship in level attitude.? I sure could be wrong on that.? Gratitude in advance to anyone that can provide the specification.? I think we all understand the concept of why it makes sense aerodynamically and why we need a level floor and what not, so I respectfully ask that you resist the urge to respond by repeating any of that. Cheers, Bill
