Touring Machine Company

John Deakin has an interesting article on how air gets into the engine and why “Manifold Pressure” is really “Suction Pressure”. One takeaway from the article is that your MP gauge may not be calibrated accurately. To find out what it really says you need to make some photos and do some arithmetic. This will […]

Some quotes from blogs about running lean of peak. Leaning and MP In terms of what power settings you would want for an IFR approach, I have found that every plane and pilot combination is slightly different from the next. But in my case, I have found that level flight with the gear and 10 […]

The new insurer for the 210 I fly is only going to charge $300 to add me to the policy—instead of $1,300 the old one wanted—so I’ve been reading the 210 manual for the first time in several years. I noticed that the Owner’s Manual doesn’t mention anything about leaning on the ground and gives […]

If your airplane has a split master switch, one half provides current to the alternator field windings and that side can be turned off during engine start to reduce the load on the battery. Once the engine is running, the alternator field side of the master switch can be turned back on to provide electricity […]

This is a work in progress for identifying engine parts. This screen shows individual parts. This screen is more quiz-like. Roll over the engine to see parts labelled. You can use the Show/Hide button to see all of the parts that are labelled. We still need to verify some of the parts and some need […]

Turbocharging and turbonormalizing allow an airplane to maintain sea-level power at higher altitudes. Both work on the same principle, exhaust gases turn a turbine that compresses the air that is fed into the engine. The compressed air contains more oxygen so more fuel can be burned resulting in more power. Turbonormalizing increases the air pressure […]

This subject comes up a lot on the knowledge tests. From Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge p 5-12, 5-12 Detonation is an uncontrolled, explosive ignition of the fuel/air mixture within the cylinder’s combustion chamber. It causes excessive temperatures and pressures which, if not corrected, can quickly lead to failure of the piston, cylinder, or valves. […]