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1 Jul 10

The winglets turned out nice.  I trimmed them and sanded the edges to make them identical.  Next I have to figure out how to hold them in place vertically while I lay on glass to the shape of the wingtip.  Then I'll drill in assembly the winglet to the wingtip and then add nutplates and begin the laborious sanding and filling process.

2 Jul 10

I rigged up some wood supports to hold the winglets at 90 degrees while I laid on glass.  The supports worked well and I put two layers on each winglet to wingtip intersection.

Then I began the time consuming task of attaching the stainless sheet to the exhaust ramp.  I've talked to other guys who made similar exhaust pipe mods as I've done and they reported greatly increased noise and vibration from the straight pipes.  They also reported cracking of the aluminum ramp - especially at the trailing edge rivets.  Also, my new pipe extensions will allow the exhaust to just touch the trailing edge of the ramp - exactly where the cracking problem occurs.

In order to avert those problems, I ordered a sheet of 20 GA stainless (about .019) and some sound deadening material called Deamplifier Pro (secondskinaudio.com) that is very thin.  My plan was to put a layer of the insulation between the new stainless ramp and the original aluminum ramp.  Next flight will be revealing.

3 Jul 10

I tell ya - if it ain't one thing - it's another.

Pulled the stainless ramp off and added RTV along the edges.  What a mess.  Finally got it cleaned up and it looks like the edges are sealed well now.

Following the Nuckols' theory on aircraft batteries, I ordered a new Odyssey PC680.  Nuckols recommends changing one of two batteries every year and thus never having a battery older than two years.  I may stretch that out, but for now I'll go with that plan.  The new battery arrived today (portablepower.com  $107).

I broke off a screw in a tiny bracket on the engine baffles and decided to remove and remake the bracket since it was flimsy and had been bothering me for a long time.  That took over an hour.  Hate those #6 screws.

7 Jul 10

Cleaned carbon out of the exhaust ports and rehung the exhaust pipes.  Shaped the right side engine mount fairing and made clearance for the exhaust pipes.

8 Jul 10

Remade the exhaust hangers and installed them.  Had to order new stainless 3/8 tubing and tapped it for the rod end bearing.  The old hanger clamps had to fit over some of the new welds and were tighter than before.  The exhaust looks like it will have clearance, but tomorrow's engine run will tell the story.  Also reinstalled the EGT probes and spark plug wires.

I figured out a way to route both of the air-oil separator hoses into one aluminum tube and thus eliminate much of the heavy, awkward hose.  But I have to buy some more 3/8 aluminum tubing before I can finish it.

JB Welded the engine mount tube fairing mods to a piece of PVC, let it cure, and then laid on two layers of carbon fiber with high temp resin.  That will cure overnight and after a little more glass work, I'll sand it to shape and test fit.

Popped off the winglets today and discovered I hadn't allowed enough fiberglass overlap onto the vertical winglet.  So, tomorrow I'll mix some resin to fill the voids and add some extra glass.

Tomorrow I need to remove the old main battery, pull the back seat, pull the aft battery and move it forward, install the new battery in the rear, install the plenum, check the brake reservoirs, install the panel stuff, and do an engine run.

9 Jul 10

Swapped the batteries, adjusted the left flap upward 1.5 turns of the rod end bearing (hoping it will help correct the right rolling tendency), added a bit of brake fluid, and did an engine run.

A neighbor watched the exhaust pipes during the engine run and they did not touch anywhere.  YEA!  So, it looks like the newly welded exhaust pipes are a winner.  The sound insulation above the exhaust ramp seems to be doing a great job as I could not hear or feel the exhaust through the floor.

Added more glass to the engine mount fairings and did some sanding.

15 Jul 10        Today - 0.5        Total - 85.3

First flight after a long maintenance break.

All instruments reinstalled and all fairings installed.  Noticed a "rattling" noise during power change at low RPM.  I cannot figure out what is causing the noise.  I've checked the exhaust pipes and they are not hitting the engine mount.  The noise is due to the engine shaking at low RPM as the RPM is increased.  If the power is increased slowly, there is no noise.  But, if the power is rapidly increased, the engine shakes and "something" is rattling.  So, another mystery to solve.

Several things to investigate on today's flight.  First off was to see if the heavy wing problem had changed as a result of adjusting the left flap upward.  It made no difference.  So, the next change will be to lower the right flap.

Second, check for a CHT change on cylinder #1 as a result of the air dam change.  The new air dam appears to be just right.  It brought the #1 CHT up to very closely match #4.  Next I'll add a small air dam to #2 cylinder to bring it within a couple of degrees of 1 and 4.  Then the only oddball will be #3 which is 45 degrees higher than all the others.  Bringing it down closer to the others will be the next task.

Third, take notice of the exhaust noise in the cockpit and any noticeable changes to the exit air flow.  The exhaust noise inside the cockpit did not change for the worse.  The sound insulation seems to have been a good change.

Investigate top IAS at 1000' MSL for any change.  The IAS at 1K' seems to have increased one knot.  I'll do more testing, but level WOT, 2670 RPM gives 185KIAS and 190KTAS.

The new plugs seem to be running hotter than the previous ones.  I'll need more data, but that is the initial indication.  Also, I got a bit of backfiring during final approach.

The ram air cable is still jamming, so I think I'm going to have to rotate the entire canister clockwise back to the original position.  Something is interfering with movement.

Check oil temp for changes due to addition of air deflector.  The temps did rise between 8 and 14 degrees, but that is likely partially due to high ambient temps and running WOT, high RPM at low altitude.  The highest airborne oil temp was 199, but most of the time it was about 192.  But, the reason for adding the air deflector was to lower the firewall temp inside the front baggage area.  In fact, the temp on the inside of the firewall was higher today than ever before.  I believe the heat is being transferred from the air deflector to the firewall through the fasteners holding it in place.  In any case, the oil cooler air deflector did not accomplish the intended result, so I'm going to remove it.  I believe I'll add some thermal insulation on the engine side of the firewall.

The sniffle valve made no difference in manifold pressure.  In fact, it seems to be a bit higher today than normal  -  29" at 1000' MSL.

Still lots of thing to work on, but it was nice to get the airplane in the air again.

Engine Readings for today

16 Jul 10        Today - 0.8        Total - 85.3

Another shakedown flight to see if there are any issues.  I still hear the rattling when RPM is low and changing.  The main thing I'm watching right now are the engine numbers.  I'm hearing a little bit of what I think is backfiring when on final approach with about 10" MP.  I'm considering going back to 35 degree advance on the P Mags.  The engine seemed to run smoother and cooler there.  More testing before deciding.

Today's Engine Readings

17 Jul 10        Today - 1.3        Total - 86.6

Well I've decided the rattling noise I'm hearing is the exhaust (not the pipes) hitting the bottom of the airplane.  The right exhaust is 1/4" higher than the left and hits the new stainless on the exhaust ramp.  I guess it's good to have stainless on there - although it may have not hit the bottom without the thickness of the stainless and insulation.  I'll have to consider adding down turned pipes.

Today's flight was to Titusville with Preston Gilpatrick, a visitor from Oklahoma.  We flew down in a 5 ship gaggle and back single ship.

Engine Readings

As an analysis of the engine changes, the change from 35 degree to 39 degrees advance on one P mag caused EGTs to increase between 60 and 108 degrees while CHTs dropped between 18 and 36 degrees.

Then a change to 39 degrees on both P Mags in conjunction with a change to iridium plugs inidcates the EGTs are in the range 85-115 degrees hotter and the CHTs are 40-50 degrees hotter - given approximately the same MP, RPM and FF.

The #1 cylinder air dam did its job.  The #1 CHT is about 6 degrees cooler than #2 at 2400 RPM and slightly hotter than #2 above 2500 RPM.

More testing is needed, but the iridium plugs seem to be causing a hotter running engine.

The interior firewall is hotter than it was before I made the oil cooler air deflector.  My thought was that if I directed the hot air from the oil cooler away from the firewall that the firewall would not get as hot.  It's now getting hotter, so I'm thinking the air deflector is absorbing the heat and transferring it to the firewall at the attachment points.  So, the next plan is to cover the engine side of the firewall with heat insulation.  There are several thin heat reflectors used in race cars that might be effective.

21 Jul 10        Today - 1.3        Total - 88.7        Fuel - 28.6  18.6L  10.0R  FC read 31.2  FC set at 670

Test flight today after adjusting the right flap 1.5 turns lower.  The change was noticeable right after takeoff and a heavy right foot was required for climb.  The lower right flap caused a slight left roll, but not as much as expected.  I'm not yet convinced that adjusting the flaps is the solution to the heavy wing.  I think I'll remove the aileron wedge and cut down its size and test fly again before making any other changes.

I did a climb to 14k' in preparation for the climb attempt to FL240.  I only had about 3-400 FPM climb rate at 14,000, so I'm not sure if it will climb all the way to 240.  I'll probably make the attempt on Saturday afternoon with JAX center.  I borrowed an oxygen bottle from a neighbor for the altitude attempt.

Engine readings

At 14K'

At 800'

22 Jul 10

Note: Topped tanks to 12.9.  9.3L  3.6R   FC read 14.7.   Adjusted FC from 670 to 680.

23 Jul 10

YIKES!!

As I preflighted the RV this morning for a short flight, I discovered one prop blade is partially delaminated.  The missing piece was nowhere to be found, so it must have come off during the last flight and I didn't notice on post flight.  I'm talking to MT about what to do.

24 Jul 10

It turns out that MT has had some delaminations similar to mine.  The prop blades used to be made of fiberglass except for the outer 10 inches which was carbon fiber.  The delaminations have been happening where the transition from fiberglass to carbon fiber occurs.  That's exactly where mine occurred.  I had noticed some cracking in the paint at the spot where the delamination occurred, but assumed it was due to poor surface preparation when the Imron paint was applied.  However, the delamination occurred exactly where the cracked paint was.  So, it must have been an early indication of the problem.