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1 Oct 10

Not much going on in September - so no entries for the month.  Only flew once the entire month.  I'm avoiding flying too much now with the exhaust gases hitting the bottom of the fuselage.  Really need to get the pipes rewelded.

28 Oct 10

Got the pipes rewelded and reinstalled.  They are too long, but I'm going to fly with them a bit before trimming.  Also, filled some voids in the upper fear leg fairings and sanded them.  There were too many gaps around the edges so I filled them.  I'm also still working on the new all aluminum drain tube from the air-oil separator.

30 Oct 10        Today - 3.6        Total - 119.1

Put the airplane all back together and flew in the gaggle this morning and then to Tampa and back to take a friend flying.

The cockpit is noticeably quieter with the exhaust not hitting the bottom of the airplane.  The pipes hang a bit far into the free stream, but not too bad.  I did a WOT run at 1000' (2690 RPM and 28.8" MP) and got 1-2 knots more than normal (185-186), so something must have helped a bit - and the pipes don't seem to hurt.  So, maybe I won't trim them.

The cleaned up upper strut fairings did fine and appear to be more aerodynamic.

I'm going to add a few ounces of lead under the horizontal stabilizer to help reduce aerodynamic and trim drag to see if I can gain another knot.  I only need a couple more and I can win the January race.

Engine Readings

5500"  164KIAS

5500'   150KIAS   174KTAS