Engines: Field or Factory?
I read Larry Anglisano’s article about engine overhauls (“Factory or Field? Think Beyond Price”) in the October 2023 issue of Aviation Consumer with great interest. We have a Beech Bonanza with a Continental IO-520 that is we’ll beyond the TBO. This was an excellent article, but I need to know what constitutes a “factory” engine and what constitutes a “field” engine.
I’m fairly new to GA and a lot of jargon is whipped around in this market. And what about engines from RAM and Western Skyways, to name two examples.
—Brian Muirhead, via email
When we talk about field engines, we’re talking about overhauls that were done by engine shops and local mechanics. Factory is just that—engines that may be exchanged out with factory-new engines or remanufactured or overhauled by a factory service center, as Continental does, or direct from the engine manufacturer. Using Continental Motors as an example, its overhauls include factory-new cylinders, camshafts and lifters, as one example. Field overhaul shops generally have different guidelines, particularly in returning parts to service tolerances instead of new parts limits.
As for your question about companies like RAM and Western Skyways, we generally refer to these as so-called boutique engines. RAM is an engine field overhaul facility that focuses on Continental 520/550 engines and Beechcraft, Cessna and Cirrus airframes.
A RAM overhauled engine is built to the RAM company standard and can be configured to conform to stock specs or RAM STC requirements. Similarly, Texas Skyways focuses on STC’d engine upgrades for single-engine Cessna applications.
Digital Fuel Quantity
I sure wish your article on digital fuel senders (November 2023 Aviation Consumer) came out last year when I had a Garmin EIS installed in my airplane. My shop didn’t even mention the aftermarket CiES digital senders you focused on in your article, but instead sent the existing senders out for overhaul. I was disappointed when they handed the airplane back to me with poor fuel quantity performance on a very pricey installation. I added this upgrade to the second phase of avionics upgrades scheduled for early next year.
—Mark Gunther, via email
Let us know how it works when you get it back. We see too many owners like you deal with the extra costs of removing old analog fuel senders and having them sent for repair or overhaul only to be disappointed when they don’t work any better. But as we pointed out in the article, a CiES sender upgrade isn’t a cure-all if the install isn’t done properly. Bring it someplace that has done a few in an airplane similar to yours.
Panel Planner 101
While you didn’t feature my panel in your Panel Planner 101 column yet, thank you for helping me when we corresponded several months ago. My plan was to have a Dynon SkyView HDX Certified package installed in my Cessna, but my local avionics shop (and others in the area) told me they aren’t Dynon Certified equipment dealers. What’s the story with that?
—Tom Pemberton, via email
If you can’t find a local dealer, you can nominate a capable A&P with IA credentials to do the install. Dynon adds the IA to the SkyView STC after verifying their capabilities, and then the IA signs off the installation when it’s complete.
