Would it quit???

This morning I took a Cessna 152 on a maintenance test flight…EXPECTING an engine failure. It didn’t quit…here’s the story-

This was not a particularly dangerous flight, as the airplane just had an annual, it runs fine, and everything checked out, except one item. After a runup, the prop is hard to turn, not stuck, but it was like it was binding up when the engine was warm. After it cools down, it turns as it should. The main problem with this particular airplane is it’s lack of use. In the last three years, it flew 10 hours. The owners annual it each year, but rarely fly it.

Back to the flight. Taking off in an airplane, expecting the noise to go away is quite different from taking off, expecting all to go well, then be completely surprised if it goes quiet. The mechanic that worked on the airplane went with me, and if he is comfortable with it, I didn’t have a problem with it. I had an exact plan in my head ahead of time to assure landing on a runway with no power. There should be a plan on every flight to take planned action in the event of a failure. But because it’s not all that common, we are surprised if it does happen. This time, I knew it MIGHT happen, so I was readily prepared to deal with it.

I preflighted the airplane normally, but gave an extra look at the prop, and moved it more than I typically would. I HATE moving propellers, even though I know for sure the keys are out of the mag switch and everything is off. Props scare the crap out of me. It moves freely, as expected. We jumped in, straped in, and fired it up. After a call to ground telling them what we expected to do, which was climb to 2,000ft, and circle the airport in a close right hand traffic pattern, we were given clearance to taxi to runway 11. Winds were 100 at 14. Off we went. As I said in the second sentence above, it did not quit, and it actually ran perfectly. The oil temp and pressure never fluctuated, and the RPM’s stayed as constant as a fixed pitch prop will allow. If we were to have a problem, indications on the oil temp and pressure gauges would give us a clue. It was not a situation where the engine would suddenly stop. The oil temp would rise, the pressure would drop, and we would have a steady decrease in RPM. Nothing happened.

Doug was satisfied with what he observed after the second circuit, so we called the tower to let them know we were done. They asked if we could bring it in tight for a short approach to get in before the RJ traffic turned final. No problem! I love those approaches! I had a Saab 340 on short final in front of me, and I turned in close behind him (aware of wake turbulence…stay above the path of the Saab), and S-turned down final to allow him to exit the runway. I touched down just past the numbers, and made the first taxiway. Got a nice “Thanks” from the tower, and we taxied to the hanger. As I shut the engine down, that RJ was just touching down. Guess I didn’t have to expedite as quickly as I thought, but it was good practice, and fun.

So, the engine didn’t quit, but after we shut it down, the prop was very stiff. It would turn, but not like one would expect. It needs to be flown more is the diagnosis. I’ll volunteer…

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