AOPA Pilot Blog: Reporting Points

Spring is well underway. Our feathered friends are now nesting and laying eggs. And they often decide that the nooks and crannies of a tied down, or hangared airplane–small spaces under the cowling, in the tail section, or up in a wheel well–are ideal spots to build a nest and lay eggs.

During my 30 + years around the air yard, I’ve seen plenty of nests in other pilots’ airplanes. In the intervening days between my last flight 10 days ago and yesterday a local mama bird built a nest and laid four eggs on top of my engine’s #1 and #3 cylinders. I’m grateful that both sides of the cowling of my Comanche open wide, permitting me unlimited access to my engine. I set the nest aside and used compressed air to blow the remaining twigs and sticks off the engine.

If your cowling doesn’t permit a good engine inspection prior to flight, get some cowl plugs. These plugs are a lot less expensive than changing a cylinder due to a nest that’s blocked the cooling air.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 5:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.