Advanced Pilot Guessing

I was recently pointed to an article by John Deakin about aircraft starts and run-ups at the following URL:

http://www.advancedpilot.com/articles.php?action=article&articleid=1844

I gave it a read, and now is my opportunity to complain about it.

Let me start by saying that I'm by no means the world's foremost expert, and these are just my uninformed opinions.  John Deakin's bio lists 39,000 flight hours, which I'm not going to be able to compete with.

I'm really more interested in the conversation than being right.  If I'm really lucky, someone will correct me and I'll learn something.

Moving on...

The article starts with a sentence saying that the article will "cover some new techniques with engine monitors."  The article then goes on to say, in short: "look at the engine monitor sometimes, maybe in the normalized mode, maybe not."  Not a good start.

He goes on to say that you should try to avoid blowing away other airplanes when you start up, and try to avoid excessive power.  It's hard to disagree with that.

He also goes on to recommend a technique that involves not changing the throttle between shutdown and startup.  While you may be able to do this in a fuel injected engine, it's not going to work very well in a carburated engine without a primer (or with only a primer that shouldn't be used for routine starts).  I think that's a pretty large demographic to give bad advice to.

The next part of the article extols the virtues of lean-of-peak operation on the ground, even through the run-up.  I'm not convinced that this is a good idea for all the same reasons doing it in flight - although worse due to the reduced airflow.  In fairness, he does recommend keeping the run-up short, but rushing through things may not be the best idea if you happen to have less than 39,000 hours under your belt.  I fail to see the advantage for light singles or twins, and I'm not convinced for bigger iron.  There is a distinct lack of measurements or documentation.

He mentions that his oil temperature monitor is located at the far end of the oil passages.  I've been told (but never confirmed) that oil temperatures are normally measured at the oil cooler exit.  Once again, he seems to give advice that will silently lead the typical GA pilot astray.

I cannot disagree with his advice to not ride the brakes, disturb the airport's neighbors, or blow away other aircraft while doing your run-up.

Speaking of run-ups, he is strongly against using the parking brake.  I find that to be a pretty common opinion, but I'm neutral.  For the aircraft that I have experience in, I recommend either whatever the manufacturer recommends or whatever makes you happy.  The important thing is this: keep one eye outside the aircraft.  Distracted feet are no better than leaky parking brakes.  Also, leaky parking brakes should be fixed, not worked around.  They are a hazard to people and property and shouldn't be ignored just because they aren't a flight control.

There a wive's tale in there about crosswind run-ups causing damaging prop imbalances.  I'll just say that the torque, P-factor, turbulence, and maximum power of every takeoff would seem to make these worries moot, although I have no empirical evidence.  I'm comfortable with that, since he doesn't either.

He recommends doing a run-up at "the traditional" 1700 RPM.  Every Cherokee I've been in says 2000 RPM in the manual.

If you are seriously worried about wearing out your prop by cycling it three times per the manufacturers instructions, then you need to sell your airplane before it kills you.

I see a high-time pilot turning anecdotes into advice contrary to the published opinions of the engineering teams at Lycoming and Continental.  Great pilots are not necessarily aeronautical engineers any more than the converse.  The extraordinary claims are going to require extraordinary evidence.