Greetings Fellow Travelers:

With over 100 hours now on my IVP, I’m finally starting to read some of the manuals that came with various components of the plane.  Like avionics and stuff.  You know, those flashing light thingies on the “dash board” that talk to you and drown out the IPod music.  Like “Angle, Angle, PUSH!”  How’s a guy supposed to listen to tunes when someone keeps telling him to angle angle push?  Is that a new dance or something?

So in my pile of stuff I found something from Continental that actually tells you how to operate the engine.  Clever.

Under “Check Propeller Operation,” it says,

“Set throttle to 1700 RPM and move the propeller governor control toward low RPM position and observe tachometer.  Engine speed should decrease to minimum governing speed or as specified by the airframe manufacturer.  Return governor control to high speed position.  Using this procedure the RPM drop should be a minimum of 400 RPM do not exceed 500 RPM.  Repeat this procedure two or three times to circulate warm oil into the propeller hub.”

Then it says:

“Where applicable move propeller control to ‘feather’ position.  Observe for RPM drop below minimum governing RPM.  Then return control to “full increase” RPM position in accordance with the airframe manufacturer’s requirements.”

Do you guys actually do that??

I admit I haven’t done it because I was afraid the feathered prop would lug down the engine to the point it killed it and I wouldn’t be able to un-feather the prop by myself.

Also, in the first paragraph above it says that in exercising the prop that the RPM drop should not exceed 500 RPM.  Seems that if you went to full feather, you would absolutely exceed the 500 RPM drop.

So do you guys do this check?  How?  If you do it, do you just quickly feather then unfeather while you still have enough RPM to drive the prop flat again??

Please advise and thanks.  But don’t talk while the music is playing.

John Hafen