I am just about at my wit’s end at this point.
In my last update, I was cheered by the fact that both engines had been assembled and were being tested. As of 28 August, engine 1 had passed the test cell and engine 2 was set to be tested on 31 August.
I gave Poplar a few extra days before inquiring and they told me “we saw something we didn’t like” and asked for a few more days. After a few more days I spoke to them on 11 September and was told that the engine was making insufficient oil pressure in the test cell. Steve reassured me, saying that this happens every three or four years, and that it has always been previously fixed by replacing the engine case. He promised that Divco, the well-known company that refinishes most general aviation engine cases, would prioritize getting a new case, and he expected to have the engine up and running in another week. We decided to go ahead and ship the first engine down to Baker Aviation so they could get started on it. The shipping went fine and the engine is now safely in Florida with the airplane.
As hard as it was for me to sit patiently without swearing, I decided to let the shop cook. On 21 September I finally decided to ask for an update and was told that the engine was being assembled and would be test run on the 22nd or 23rd. Today I called them and…
…wait for it…
the replacement case also has a different flaw in it.
So now Poplar has to disassemble the engine they just reassembled, get the new case from Divco, and put the whole thing together again.
It probably goes without saying that I am seeing previously unknown colors as my blood pressure exceeds POH limits.
I know this is just a run of bad luck. I certainly can’t hold Poplar responsible for flaws in the case. And I think they’re making a genuine effort to get a well-built engine out of their building with my name on it. With that said, my airplane has now been down since 9 February and has been waiting on the completed engines for significantly longer than the original estimate, which I already thought was very generous. If I had listened to engine guru Bill Cunningham and just bought factory-overhauled engines, I wouldn’t be sitting here typing this because I would be flying somewhere.
