Almost there

Yesterday morning I had to wait in for a parcel to be delivered that needed to be signed for so while I waited I prepared a 50% mix of the G12 anti-freeze that I’d received previously. Afterwards it became too hot again to work outside and finish off the service on my Savannah but I was able to today, which was much cooler.

I started by emptying its cooling system which I’d previously filled with straight water and then filled and emptied it again to flush out as much of the original coolant as I could. I suspect that having the ‘wrong’ kind of anti-freeze may have had something to do with the original coolant expansion bottle having corroded but even if this was not the case, I’ll be happy now that it’s been swapped for G12 which is the recommended coolant for the Savannah’s engine.

As I’d already done an oil and filter change and replaced the spark plugs, it was then just a matter of going all over the engine to make sure that there were no leaks and cable-tying anything that needed to be secured. It was then time to run the engine up to temperature and afterwards recheck the fluid levels. Here’s how it all looked before starting the engine.

So not bad for an old ‘un, which the Savannah now is. The engine started very easily and ran very smoothly with good oil pressure. Afterwards I was able to top up the cooling system after the air in the system had been expelled and as I’d already cleaned everything up and lubricated all the cables and linkages, the engine service was complete.

Then I had the pleasure of replacing the lower and upper engine covers. These had been removed and left under covers for weeks due to the delays on account of obtaining the correct coolant overflow bottle and not being able to work outside because of the exceptionally hot weather.

Before I left for home I lubricated all of the external control system hinges and linkages so all that is left now for the Savannah to be fully flyable is for the internal controls, cables and linkages to be checked and lubricated and for the aircraft to be thoroughly cleaned inside and out. Then I can’t wait to get it back up in the air again. It’s been a long time. Too long 🙁