Question about Oil temp...
On my commute to Iowa yesterday the Oil Pressure remained rock steady right in the green range... The Oil temp however failed to rise even a little bit.
During my 3 hr BFR (haven't flown a stiff wing in forever) acceptance flight of N61112 I noticed no rise in oil temp. Outside air temps were between 10 and 30 degrees. Should I be concerned?
At temps below 20F, if you don't have a winter kit (restrictor baffles) in the cowl I wouldn't be surprised. It's entirely possible that it just isn't warming up enough to register a visible change on the gauge - especially if you were cruising lower power settings.
At least, that's my experience this past year. I've flown FJBN in temps from -25C to +30C, and in the colder temps it can be difficult to tell if the oil temp needle moves at all, particularly for shorter or low power flights. An extended climb at full power will definitely result in easily visible movement, so if in doubt - try a 15 min full power climb.
