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2 Oct  09        Today - 1.2        Total - 14.9

Changed out the main jet today and removed the air deflector from #3 cylinder and went flying.

I expected to see lower fuel flow, but it was not to be.  I only climbed to 6500' so the comparison to the last flight at 9500' is not valid, but I could only lean to 10.8 before reaching 50 LOP.  That is a higher flow than I had with the larger jet, but I need to climb to 9500' to get a good comparison.

I took readings to use to balance the injectors (as suggested by Air Flow Performance) and got the following:

12.3 GPH - #2 peaked at 1432

12.0 GPH - #3 peaked at 1485

11.7 GPH - #4 peaked at 1413

11.4 GPH - #1 peaked at 1511

3 Oct 09        Today - 1.4        Total - 16.3

Flew formation with my neighbor, Ron Stevens, flying his 400 HP Velocity.  He's had some concerns about IAS, TAS, and GS indications and whether or not they are accurate.  So, this morning we flew in his airplane up to 17,500' to check out his plane.  It has a bit of a pitching problem caused, I think, by tight parameters on the autopilot.   The autopilot makes abrupt corrections to slight altitude changes which causes a frequent pitching moment.  Nice airplane with lots of turbocharged power.  Then we flew formation to check airspeeds.  His plane is faster than mine by a few knots and of course he can maintain power in the climb.  I was lagging behind in the climb and finally caught up after level off at 10,500 (he pulled some power for me).  IAS, TAS, and GS all matched within a knot, so it appears his is actually getting lower speeds than expected from the airplane.  His is the only Velocity with 400 HP and the factory had forecast TAS of 250.  He's getting 210-218 TAS.  Anyway we had fun flying.

3 Oct 09        Today - 1.2        Total - 17.5

Got in another flight today with plans to work on leaning using the peak indication on the engine monitor, checking VOR indications, try engaging the autopilot, and practicing with flight plans in the EFIS.

The leaning function works great and allows me to monitor each cylinder for rich and lean of peak, which is nice to use during descent to keep temps in check.

I got VOR indications for Ormond Beach on the SL-30, but not on the EFIS.  So, I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong (probably) or if the EFIS is not working properly.

I engaged the AP in both heading hold and altitude hold - one at a time.  In heading hold, it began a right turn each time even though the heading bug was centered.  In altitude hold, it pitched down even though I was at the altitude set in the AP window.  So, I have work to do on the AP.

Engine Readings Conditions

5500' MSL - 2400 RPM - 24" MP - 155 KIAS - 170 KTAS

Engine Readings - each data group was taken over 2.5 to 3 minutes at 5500'.  Only appreciable difference is fuel flow.

8 Oct 09        Today - 0.9        Total - 18.4

Got in a short flight today to gather data for a Canadian doing analysis on Lycoming power charts.  Still didn't get to climb to 9500 to compare FF with earlier readings with larger main jet.

9 Oct 09        Today - 1.2        Total - 19.6

Another flight to gather engine data for Kevin Horton.  Climbed to 9500' and concentrated on keeping the #3 CHT about 400.  It bounced above 400 several times during the climb, but by leaning during the climb, even at low altitude, and keeping the IAS about 140-145, I got a climb rate of 6-700 FPM to 9500'.  I did all engine data gathering at 9500' and 2500 RPM and 2400 RPM with WOT and about 21.5".

The engine ran very well except when I first reduced the FF to 10.8 and it began to stumble a lot.  Surprisingly, later in the flight I was able to lean to 10.5 without a hickup.

Ran up to Vne again during descent and leveled at 3300' and checked level flight speed - got 187 TAS (215 MPH) with about 27" and 2500 RPM

The engine readings for today proved interesting.  In particular, they show what I can expect when cruising at 9500' MSL.  There appear to be disadvantages to cruising at 2500 RPM vs 2400 RPM.  TAS does not improve and CHTs are too high.  Also, I can lean more at 2400.  Anyway, the numbers speak for themselves.

Leaned Cruise 9500' MSL - 2500 RPM - 21.3" MP - 145 KIAS - 171 KTAS

Leaned Cruise 9500' MSL - 2400 RPM - 21.5" MP - 147 KIAS - 174 KTAS

12 Oct 09        Today - 1.4        Total - 21.0

Alright!  Halfway through the Phase 1 flyoff.

I'd planned to take the plane apart today and start working on things that need to be done, but I couldn't help myself.  I took it up for another flight and gathered more engine data to pass on to Kevin Horton.

13 Oct 09        Today - 0.9        Total - 21.9

I just couldn't force myself to take the airplane apart today and do maintenance things.  I tested the autopilot sitting in the hangar as described in the Blue Mountain Guide and everything checked okay with the EFIS One after I reversed the lateral and pitch selections.  It was pitching down when it should be up and turning right when it should be left.  I am having some issue with the EFIS Lite connecting to the AP, but I'll working on that later.

I flew to 6500' and took more engine readings.  I also engaged the AP first in altitude hold, then heading hold, then both, then heading hold with 500 FPM descent to 1100'.

In straight flight, the altitude hold works very nice holding the altitude within 20' of selected altitude.  However, when making turns, it fought to maintain altitude fluctuating 160' up and down.

Then, heading hold struggled to keep the heading, but that is because of my heavy wing.  Once that problem is solved, the AP should hold heading right on.  Even with the heavy wing, the AP was able to hold within 2 degrees of heading.

Next time I'll work on the EFIS Lite AP interface.

Coming back into the pattern I was flying initial at about 175-180 and a Lancair that was flying an angling approach to RW 5 was approaching from the right.  I'm sure he thought he'd be able to easily beat me to the runway.  As we got closer I was pulling ahead of him and I told him I'd offset to the west and let him in first.

He said, "That thing sure is fast!"  I said, "Yessir!"  I was smiling in the cockpit.

18 Oct 09

Time to take the airplane apart for inspection and repairs.  I've been putting it off too long.

I have a list of things that need attention.

  1. Plenum needs a change so purge valve doesn't hit it

  2. Exit air fairings need trimming and adjustment to avoid rubbing on exhaust pipes

  3. Prop Governor needs another adjustment to get 2700 RPM

  4. Need to pull wing root fairings and trim so rubber channel fits better

  5. Need to add fiberglass to plenum and grind air intakes to make better airflow

  6. Need to add fiberglass to Nose strut fairing to close small gap at leading edge

  7. Need to grind flats on ram air control nut so I can tighten it

  8. Need to figure out why I have a heavy wing and fix it

When I pulled the top cowling I discovered that the left front baffle had cracked completely through.  I decided to make a new baffle and then began to ponder why this one had cracked.  It became obvious that it cracked because I have a lot of pressure on it from the lower cowling air intake lip pressing down hard on the air ramp it's attached to.  I need the tight fit of the lower cowling intake lip, so making a new piece wouldn't solve the problem unless it were made of much thicker material.  Using thicker material for the entire piece wouldn't work because it wouldn't fit.  So, I made a small patch from .050 and quickly realized it would not be sufficient.  I made a large patch from .125 and I'll install it tomorrow.

I ground off the part of the plenum that was blocking the purge valve and laid on new glass along with new glass on the intake portion.  Tomorrow I can grind out the intake to smooth the intake air flow.

I took measurements on the ailerons and may have the reason for the heavy wing.  I'll call Van's tomorrow to discuss it with them.  The left aileron is higher the the right one by .003 to .006 inches.  So, I may have to remove the right aileron and slot the hinges slightly, reinstall them and see if that solves the problem.  If so, I'll buy new hinges and drill them to fit.

25 Oct 09

Pulled the wing root fairings and trimmed them and got them (mostly) reinstalled.  They fit a little better, but there has to be a better solution.  I've heard a few guys made fiberglass fairings for the wing root, but aerodynamically, the squared off Van's solution is best.

Prop governor is adjusted and plenum is ground down and reinstalled.  I added the air deflector for the #3 cylinder again.  It wasn't harming when installed before, so I decided to try it again.  I'm going to see if it helps with the #3 CHT during the climb.  During climb above 5000 MSL, the #3 CHT goes up to 408 to 420F.  That isn't out of limits, but it higher than the others and higher than I'd like it to be.  The limit is 450 degrees.  Lycoming says to maintain 400 or less during economy cruise for best longevity.  During cruise the high CHT is about 375-380, so not a problem.  Still, I'd like to bring down the #3 CHT.

Added resin to the nose strut upper fairing and got it reshaped to look good.

I squeezed the left aileron trailing edge again by hand after talking to Van's.  They weren't much help and said to look on their web site at the FAQs.  Been there - done that.  I guess I'm on my own.

I'll finish the wing root fairings in the morning and then it's time to fly again.

26 Oct 09        Today - 1.3        Total - 23.2

As I reinstalled the upper main gear fairings (after removing/installing the wing root fairings), the right fairing didn't fit right, so I duct taped the leading edge so ram air didn't rip off the fairing.  But, I've got to figure out what changed.  I will likely modify the fairing with fiberglass and add another screw on the leading edge of the fairing.

During climbout today I varied the IAS to see what effect, if any, there was on CHTs.  It appears IAS makes little difference on CHTs.  The CHTs stay cool at lower altitudes where air molecules are more dense.  Then at about 4000' to 5000' the #3 CHT hits 400.  Using 2500 RPM for climb, it appears that leaning #3 EGT to 1340 and holding 140 KIAS will keep that CHT at 400 or less.  Then above 5000', leaning #3 EGT to 1400 (11.0 GPH) will help keep the CHT cooler.  At cruise, CHT is not an issue.

I climbed to 12,500" today and it was surprisingly starting to peter out.  I still had 3-400 FPM climb at 130 KIAS, but certainly not spectacular performance.

The AP would not engage using the EFIS Lite, so something is amiss in the wiring.  Another issue to solve.  I tried the EFIS One AP connection again and it worked reasonably well again.  When I descended to lower altitude and the aerodynamic forces on the ailerons became too large for the AP to overcome the heavy wing, it began to get jerky in heading hold.  No surprise there.

I noticed something in the engine readings that is puzzling.  At low altitude, there is a periodic higher amperage draw on the electrical system that lowers the voltage to 13.2 and causes the standby battery to kick in electrons to satisfy the load.  When that happens, the OAT reading drops about 2-4 degrees.  I can't imagine why a load on the electrical would cause the OAT reading to be erroneous, so I'll contact the engine monitor manufacturer to find out why.  I believe the higher load my be occurring when I extend or retract the flaps.  That's fine, but I don't know why the OAT sensor would care.  Well, I looked at the engine monitor data again and the electrical loads are not coincidental with the flap movement.  It appears the load spikes (and related OAT errors) may be occurring when I transmit on the radio.  I'm wondering if the radio waves from the antenna are affecting the OAT probe.

Squeezing the left aileron trailing edge made no difference on the heavy wing.  Maybe I'm not doing enough squeezing or not in the right place.  The common tendency, though, is to overdo it and squeeze too much and then have to reverse it by squeezing the other aileron.  So, I'm trying to take baby steps with it.

Next I'm going to start strapping weight in the rear cockpit to test CG changes.

Engine Readings follow:

First is 1000' MSL and about 170 KIAS.  Remaining are at 12,500' MSL and only variable is RPM.

29 Oct 09        Today - 1.4        Total - 24.6

Had planned to load weight in the RCP and do some stalls and landings with farther aft CG, but ran out of time to set it all up, so I took it up and programmed the AP to follow a GPS course and climb to 15,500.  It worked reasonably well.  The AP tracked course okay and I gave it one difficult turn of 140 degrees along the course.  It did the turn okay but had to correct back to course and then turned to the next waypoint.  The AP doesn't anticipate the turn and begin early so as to roll out on course.  Instead it flies over the point and then turns.  VNAV is a bit clunky as it fluctuates around the assigned climb rate quite a bit - especially in turns.  But, it finally got to 15,500 and leveled off and then I set it to descend back to 1000' and it did okay - not great.  But, it is fighting a heavy wing, so I have to give it credit there.

I came back into the pattern at 180 KIAS using just under 2700 RPM and 27" MP.  After T&G I had to follow a Mooney and he flew a bomber pattern and then, for some reason, stopped on the runway, turned around and taxied against traffic on the runway without announcing his intentions.  I had to go around and came back around for a no flap landing.

Engine Readings at 15,500   IAS 130   TAS 170

Next update 27 Oct 09