My biggest hand brake now is I am waiting on a prop. I actually thought I was going to take a lot longer than this but I have been working on it every spare minute since the 20th of February. I have even taken it out and given it a good wash as the dust build up was depressing. I have ordered a prop from Sensenich and will be using the Sonex recommended Rotax prop. It seems I am going to be the first person to use this Plane/engine and prop combo so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I had plans to just use a Bolly prop from our local guys but I wanted to keep the thing simple and also this way I don't need to use a large spinner which would restrict my air intakes and so on. I plan to use the same Sonex spinner and hopefully it will work well. Time will tell.
I have carried out a weighing of the aircraft this weekend and found it to be very close to what it was before. In fact it has actually 1x kg heavier than with the Aerovee turbo. Well I do have an aux tank fitted now also but to be honest there is not much difference in the final installed weight with the two engines. I was actually very shocked myself. I am very happy we moved the engine forward as much as we did as I think it will fly really nicely and hopefully the exact way it did before. I was very happy with how the Turbo flew and hope this one is just as impressive. It will be a great comparison when I do get it flying as I don't think anyone has gone from a Turbo to Rotax yet. I have tried to find data online about how the Sonex goes with a Rotax but everyone has a different prop and so detailed info is very sketchy.
I have just completed the annual inspection also this last weekend past with nothing untoward coming up. It was also a good time to fix those few things that were bugging me like the cable for the Aux tank and just re adjusting the elevator trim and those little things. I do need to wait also on the paper work to come through but until I have a serial number from the prop I am going to use I am stuck dead in the water. I am really hoping it will come soon as the winter flying season is just coming into play. Summer is still very flyable up here but it does tend to get very hot, turbulent and sometimes just plain not fun. Winter up here generally consists of nice warm days with light winds and clear skies, unless a front comes through, but like anywhere we pick our days to fly. I have been in contact the whole time with my AP inspector and things are looking good. I have that massive plank on the front of my plane called the GT prop. Its a nice enough prop but just not really suitable for what I am after. It's a bit big in diameter and a little light on pitch. I have not changed my gear legs or anything, nor added larger tyres. Everything is as before.
Oh except the engine :)
It has taken me 3 months to do this conversion so far... I have had lots of help along the way and really couldn't have done it so quickly or even so well without all the guys efforts..
Thanks to all who chipped in...
It's not over yet though guys,,,don't run away,,,just in case...... :)
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