AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 101

higher than usual. Low minimum oil pressure at idle with the engine hot is 10 psi, but
mine was always 15 to 20 psi. This night I
was looking at 35 psi at idle with the engine
hot. I had never seen idle oil pressure that
high but was not concerned. I pushed the
airplane into my home hangar and returned
the next morning to change the oil. The
tachometer showed the engine had accumulated 1,445 hours since overhaul.
I drained the oil and replaced the oil filter
and began refilling the crankcase with fresh
oil when I decided it was time to cut the oil
filter. I found a large amount of metal in my
oil filter. The oil that drained out of the filter
was filled with metal flakes that looked like
silver glitter on my hand. What happened? I
had not cut the oil filter or submitted an oil
sample at the last oil change so there is no
way of knowing what I would have found
then. Had I not cut and examined the oil filter on this oil change, I would not have found
the metal in time, and bad things would have
happened on the next flight.
When I disassembled the engine I
found that two of the main bearings had
turned in the crankcase and were obviously
very near to having a catastrophic failure.
Now this engine did not vibrate, knock, or
lose power. The only in-flight indication of
any problem was a change from the usual
oil pressure readings, with the actual reading remaining in the normal range.
As Buck, my old flight instructor, would
have said: "She was talking to you." I was
not listening carefully enough but survived
just the same. This is the accident that
never happened simply because I cut the
oil filter. Had I submitted the oil for analysis and waited for the results before flying
again the problem could have been discovered, but I fly too often to await test results.
I would have received an urgent phone call
from my oil analysis company, but it would
have been after the accident.
My current practice is to cut every oil
filter at the time of oil change. Cutting the
oil filter, while messy, is free and gives
immediate feedback. This simple process
can save your airplane and your life. AOPA
RUSTY HERRINGTON, MD, is the vice presi-

dent of the American Navion Society and is
a commercial pilot with 4,400 hours.

aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 101



http://aopafinance.org/business http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 26
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 30
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 32
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 34
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 95
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 100
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 102
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 104
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 106
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 107
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 108
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - 112
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2020 - Cover4
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