Greetings,

 

I've been flying my Legacy IO-550 for seven years and about 720 hours.  Over that time, I have done many oil changes and spilled oil onto my hangar floor many times.  Early on I tried installing the "standard" quick drain fitting but there wasn't enough clearance from the nose gear.  Back when I was building, I had to use longer than normal over center link arms on the nose gear to get the required rake angle.  I think that change made my clearance too small for the standard oil drain valve. 

 

So a few months ago I installed a different quick drain valve, called the "Lancair IV Oil Drain Valve," Aircraft Spruce part #08-01298.  It looks like this:

 

 

 

And here's the link:

 

 

I installed the drain valve into the oil pan, lifted the nose gear off the ground, and manually swung the nose gear.  The clearance was tight, considering how much the engine rocks and rolls, but it looked like there would be enough.  For the first few flights after installing it, I inspected the drain closely, looking for rub marks.  I didn't find any.  There is no evidence that the nose gear strut is contacting the drain valve.

 

I flew it for about 50 hours and recently did my first easy and clean oil change.  Draining the oil was simple and effective.  The instructions say to let it drain overnight, so I expected it would drain slowly.  But it drained pretty much all the oil in an hour or so.  The oil was hot when I drained it; I'm sure it would be much slower if it was cold. 

 

So long as you check clearance after installation, I recommend this quick drain valve for those of us with reduced clearance.

 

Dennis

Legacy 720 hours