Narrative:

I had been picked up by a friend who had flown down to pick me up. As a part 121 pilot; I was nearing the end of my single engine currency; so my friend (a CFI with quite a few hours in the airplane) allowed me to sit left seat; with the plan to get my three required landings and do some air work enroute. We departed and flew VFR northbound to an airport. After lunch; we departed to the north again and flew to a CTAF airport. The wind was from the south; so either runway was usable; and hearing no traffic on the CTAF frequency I elected to land on runway xx (which provided an unobstructed approach over the water versus runway yy which had a tree line near the threshold). After an otherwise normal landing; I turned the airplane around at the end of the runway; performed a brief runup; and initiated a departure on runway yy. During my initial climb out; at approximately 200 ft; I noticed that the oil temperature was near its red line. I shallowed the climb; confirmed the cowl flaps were open; and allowed the aircraft to accelerate. Roughly a mile off the departure end of the runway was a sandy island surrounded by; in my estimation; 50-75 boats. I elected to perform a wide turn around this island to remain clear of these boats should the engine seize or lose power; however I considered remaining over the water; where the boats could see us and potentially help us; better than circling the opposite direction over a mix of freshly plowed fields and trees. I would estimate that at the highest point; the aircraft was 500 ft AGL. I performed a roughly 210-240 degree turn to align with runway xx; where I performed an otherwise normal landing. I taxied to the parking area and the other pilot and I exited the aircraft and allowed it to sit and cool and checked the oil. Though roughly a quart of oil would have been trapped in the engine still; we elected to add a quart to bring the engine to its maximum serviceable level (including the oil trapped in the engine) due to the hot temperature (close to 40 C). After adding the oil; we departed once again off runway xx to give an unobstructed departure path and performed a slow climb with a higher indicated airspeed for approximately two to three miles to observe the oil temperature. At no time during the second engine start; runup; departure; or initial climb did the oil temperature get to a worrisome level; so I resumed a normal climb procedure and preceded VFR back to our departure airport without incident. My friend reported no anomalies on his return flight after dropping me off and reported that the engine was still within one half to one fourth quart of it's maximum capacity on his arrival at his home base airport. I believe this incident could potentially have been alarming for the boaters surrounding the island and those off the end of the runway. While the island is a fair distance from the airport; an aircraft as low as we were; especially circling; could have caused alarm. Additionally; I believe that the open area immediately off the departure end of runway yy could be dangerous for an aircraft that had some sort of performance issue; especially with the changing winds that are frequently present at the location as aircraft emerge from the cover of the trees. While small sized fishing and pleasure boats would typically sit below the runway (especially during the popular hot summer months where the lake sits slightly low); boats are free to move right across the threshold; and a houseboat or especially a sailboat could provide a very dangerous obstacle that could easily 'sneak' from behind the trees located on each side of the runway.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A BE35 oil was slightly low causing a high oil temperature so the pilot landed; added oil and proceeded with no further problems.

Narrative: I had been picked up by a friend who had flown down to pick me up. As a Part 121 pilot; I was nearing the end of my single engine currency; so my friend (a CFI with quite a few hours in the airplane) allowed me to sit left seat; with the plan to get my three required landings and do some air work enroute. We departed and flew VFR northbound to an airport. After lunch; we departed to the north again and flew to a CTAF airport. The wind was from the south; so either runway was usable; and hearing no traffic on the CTAF frequency I elected to land on Runway XX (which provided an unobstructed approach over the water versus Runway YY which had a tree line near the threshold). After an otherwise normal landing; I turned the airplane around at the end of the runway; performed a brief runup; and initiated a departure on Runway YY. During my initial climb out; at approximately 200 FT; I noticed that the oil temperature was near its red line. I shallowed the climb; confirmed the cowl flaps were open; and allowed the aircraft to accelerate. Roughly a mile off the departure end of the runway was a sandy island surrounded by; in my estimation; 50-75 boats. I elected to perform a wide turn around this island to remain clear of these boats should the engine seize or lose power; however I considered remaining over the water; where the boats could see us and potentially help us; better than circling the opposite direction over a mix of freshly plowed fields and trees. I would estimate that at the highest point; the aircraft was 500 FT AGL. I performed a roughly 210-240 degree turn to align with Runway XX; where I performed an otherwise normal landing. I taxied to the parking area and the other pilot and I exited the aircraft and allowed it to sit and cool and checked the oil. Though roughly a quart of oil would have been trapped in the engine still; we elected to add a quart to bring the engine to its maximum serviceable level (including the oil trapped in the engine) due to the hot temperature (close to 40 C). After adding the oil; we departed once again off Runway XX to give an unobstructed departure path and performed a slow climb with a higher indicated airspeed for approximately two to three miles to observe the oil temperature. At no time during the second engine start; runup; departure; or initial climb did the oil temperature get to a worrisome level; so I resumed a normal climb procedure and preceded VFR back to our departure airport without incident. My friend reported no anomalies on his return flight after dropping me off and reported that the engine was still within one half to one fourth quart of it's maximum capacity on his arrival at his home base airport. I believe this incident could potentially have been alarming for the boaters surrounding the island and those off the end of the runway. While the island is a fair distance from the airport; an aircraft as low as we were; especially circling; could have caused alarm. Additionally; I believe that the open area immediately off the departure end of Runway YY could be dangerous for an aircraft that had some sort of performance issue; especially with the changing winds that are frequently present at the location as aircraft emerge from the cover of the trees. While small sized fishing and pleasure boats would typically sit below the runway (especially during the popular hot summer months where the lake sits slightly low); boats are free to move right across the threshold; and a houseboat or especially a sailboat could provide a very dangerous obstacle that could easily 'sneak' from behind the trees located on each side of the runway.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.