3/25/2021 0 Comments Airpath Compass Fluid
Directions were not the best but it was easy enough to figure it out.Some compasses has a filler plug on top I suggest replacing the o-ring on the plug (not in this kit-order separately) as my leak was from a perished o-ring.The glass was a little too wide but some careful grinding brought it down to size and now my compass holds fluid again.It is of the quality I have come to expect from Aircraft Spruce.
I have ordered many items from Aircraft Spruce and they have all been as advertised and as I expected. I wish all I have to do phone business with were equal to Aircraft Spruce. It was much more effective to slightly overfill the fill spout and rock the compass till all the bubbles worked their way out and screw in the plug. Work your way around the rose, making correction notes every 30 degrees. Dont confuse this with the gyroscopic (or equivalent) directional indicator. Ever have one that leaked its fluid down the front of the instrument panel The idea is to address the health of a compass before it comes to that. Even calibrationwhich should be done regularlycan be a time-consuming project. Even the routing of wires under a cowl-mounted compass can cause magnetic interference, as can the installation and removal of equipment. According to FAR 65.81, any repair or alteration of instruments on certificated aircraft (a compass is one of those instruments) may only be performed by a certified instrument repairman. That also means if you calibrate one on your own, technically it should be supervised and signed off by an AP. One noted that even topping a compass off with fluid is off limits, although the fluid is a necessary part of maintaining the instruments accuracy. Some compasses are field-refillable, but save the Jack Daniels for your own consumption. Both tasks are equally disruptive to the schedule given the time-consuming process. This includes changing its permanent position to a different geographical location that results in a major change in magnetic variation. Its worth asking if you can assist, but understand that experience is required to get it right the first timewhich even the pros sometimes dont. Airpath Compass Fluid Free Painted AreaThis is an interference-free painted area on the field for positioning the aircraft and making the adjustments. The rose is oriented to magnetic north, while cardinal points are normally painted 30 degrees apart. The engine(s) should be running and all typical avionics and lighting used in flight turned on. Watch your compass swing to a new heading the next time you start or stop the engine and turn stuff on and off. Be sure to remove any material from the glove box and surrounding areas. Turn the aircraft and put it on east and adjust the EW compensator until the compass reads 090 degrees. Continue by placing the aircraft on 180 degrees and with the NS screw, remove half of the south heading correction. Obviously this will throw off the north correction, but the error will now be divided equally between the two headings. Last, go back to west and adjust the EW screw to remove half of the west error. Errors up to 10 degrees between the compass heading and a magnetic heading are acceptable. If the errors are greater than 10 degrees, there could be strong influences in the cockpit that the compensating magnets cant cope with, or you were sloppy during your lineup.
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