abatista
You're pretty new to flying for a typical Maintenance Officer. If your club is full of newbies, you may want to create a document on care and feeding of aircraft. I used to run clubs, rent and leaseback so I've seen it all.
1.) 50 hr oil changes are a religion, not just a good idea. It's better to change the oil at 45hrs before a long X-C renter takes it away then to change the oil at 60hrs after the guy returns.
2.) Learn how to start airplanes! Nothing drives me more crazy than hearing starter motors burning themselves out by guys who haven't got a clue about fuel/air ratios. One rule of thumb is "Feed a Piper, starve a Cessna" meaning when the engine won't start, usually the error is that a pilot hasn't given enough fuel for the Piper carb and they've usually flooded the Cessna carb. For Piper carbs, start at 80F and go down to 20F - at 80, give one shot of prime, at 60F, two shots, at 40F, three shots and at 20F, give 4 shots - then pump the throttle once and once only. Start. For Cessnas, if you've pumped that primer twice, you've put a heck of a lot of fuel in the engine and you need to be working hard to introduce enough air to offset all that fuel.
3.) Lean on the ground and in the air. Fouling the plugs and valves doesn't help engine life one bit.
4.) After you've attained a safe altitude (personal preference on the definition of safe), lower the nose. Climbing airplanes at Vx or Vy on 75F or greater days is just cooking those cylinders. You can climb at 85, 90, 95 knots and get better cooling across the engine. You can also see better over the nose.
5.) Proper leaning on all engines and running at 60-65% power levels gives a whole lot more engine life than running at 75%. Use your performance charts. Lycoming O-320's and O-360's have a sweet spot in the 6,000-8,000ft range where you get best bang for the buck. If on long X-C's take advantage of these altitudes.
6.) Although the smaller Lycomings are not as succeptible to shock cooling as bigger blocks, if you have been on a long X-C and then suddenly chop and drop, you will find out all about cracks in the crankcase. On X-C's, plan a descent to a lower altitude that is a cruise descent keeping power till stable at a lower altitude.
7.) On landing, get that carb. heat switch closed and stop sucking in all that dust. If you've got cowl flaps, get them open and fast. Taxi at the pace you were taught by your instructor, not too fast, not too slow.
And finally - little goodies:
-a clean airplane is a happy airplane!
-treat plastic parts like egg shells - they break that easy!
-turn radio knobs and switches like they belong to an $8,000 stereo system - they are not bathroom door handles.
-the knob on the DG is actuated by pushing all the way to the bottom, turning in the desired direction and releasing. Don't start turning until the gears have unmeshed.
-the max allowable items on your ignition key ring is the equivalent of three keys. Hanging 20lbs of junk from a Bendix ignition switch is just going to break the tumblers inside.
-plastic windshields are made of plastic not glass - no ammonia, no squegees, no paper towels - unless those soft cottony ones - use lots of water and rub softly in a windstream direction not circles.
-props are made to be turned in the direction they turn - turning a prop backwards does not move oil - only turning forward does the oil pump actually squeeze oil into the lines. And treat every prop like it is "hot"(i.e. ready to start).
I don't rent anymore but do I remember my maintenance bills - starters, radios, batteries, wing tips, royalite parts, DG's and AI's and my mechanic constantly yelling at me "tell them to lean, tell them to lean". Keeping IFR equipped rental airplanes in flying shape is not fun!
