Seems instrument troubles are once again the order of business for me. After the last flight I had, and being as happy as a proverbial pig in, you know what, my next attempt at flight turned to just that. At 9.3 x hours I hopped in the plane, after a pre flight, and started up. I noticed the engine instruments all crossed out on the EFIS. It took a while and then they came to life. I was a bit worried so taxied to the main apron where they crossed out again. Hmm. Back to the hangar. I had just flown it for 3 hours or so that day and this was to be the final flight to take it up to the 10 hour mark for servicing. Anyway I looked over everything and all seemed fine. I had no idea what was going on. I jumped in the plane again and started up and all was working again. "What the Heck". So I carried out a short flight and brought the hours up to 9.7 total so close enough for the 10 x hour service.
A little bit worried the next day about the going on's of the EFIS again I carried out the service on the engine and so on and powered up the Instruments. This time nothing was happening in regard to the engine instruments at all. I carried out a very comprehensive check of the wiring with no faults found. I had noticed the steady flash of the green LED on the RDAC and was thinking that was a good sign as in the manual it says that's what they do. Well actually that's what they do when they aren't transmitting data it seems. When they do transmit, they have a nice data type random blinking pattern like you would see on a modem communicating. Had I known about this b4 it would have saved me a week of stuffing round.
So after a week of no results I rang the MGL dealer who was quite certain that the RDAC had probably failed in some way and he would post me a replacement. I was VERY appreciative as I had lost a week's flying already and I should be flying again by next weekend. So I got to Friday and no module in the mail. Great... 2 x weeks flying down the tube now. I rang again Tuesday thinking maybe it will arrive on Monday and I'm just being impatient. Nope, get hold of the Dealer, "oh sorry, I forgot to send it." Typical, just my luck.
Being the 3rd week now of no flying a shiney new RDAC arrives in an express post bag on the Friday morning. "WOOHOO, flying this weekend". Open the box, Wrong RDAC, Doesn't have a MAP sensor. Let the swear words begin. So on Sunday arvo I had calmed down enough and rang the Dealer again. He apologised and said he would send the correct part on Monday. Well hopefully he will and has, so I am patiently awaiting its arrival.
My last flight now was on the 11th of June, exactly one month ago as I write this. Massively disappointed in my choice of instruments and I don't know if I have just had a bad run or not but, in less than 10 x hours, I've needed a new EFIS and RDAC. I am now really worried about the long term prospect of a reliable single glass panel dash. I should have added round dials and saved myself thousands and been flying still. I have been constantly trying to work out if I have done something wrong with the install or caused this issue somehow. I bought all the pre wired harnesses and followed every instruction to the letter, so that thought process has not really been helping. I have had very experienced people helping me out in the process and they all can't see an issue apparent in the install. So it looks to be a bad luck case for me once again. If I could do it over again I would have bought the whole instrument package with the airframe from SONEX . In the US, there is a three year warranty on the instruments, here in OZ we only get one year. Warranty time is quickly running out for me and I haven't even flown for ten hours yet!
Anyway I'm hoping the last of the problems are now behind me.
Monday, 11 July 2016
Sunday, 12 June 2016
A New Dawn
Ok, so after today I have to admit I'm getting a fair bit excited about this plane. I am now trying to put all the negative behind me and focus on the future and I have to admit it looks good. I flew today for 2.1 hours and started to do some general testing with speeds and fuel flow. I started out flying over the airfield for 40 mins then, after it performed flawlessly, I ventured out of the proximity of the airfield and set sail.
Some very basic figures so far, that's if I can rely on the accuracy of the fuel flow metre, but here they are:
- 100kts @ 12.5 Lp/h
- 110kts @ 15 Lp/h
- 130kts @ 22 Lp/h
These figures were at about 4000 to 5000ft for reference.
I have noticed that on take off it is very easy to boost the heck out of this motor. I was a little bit tardy noticing today on take off when I saw 44" hg in the climb . It wasn't for long and I had only just gotten airborne so backed off to about 36" and continued the climb out. It was a short runway and gusty so settled for 36" and climbed out at about 800 fpm. Temps have been fantastic since the addition of the Rotec tbi and the enlarged cooling outlet. Max temp on climb today I saw was about 380f on the hottest cylinder. Happy days for sure.
According to whatever you read the Aerovee is supposed to be broken in hard. Treat it mean keep it keen I believe. Well today that just wasn't going to happen. The turbulence was a huge limiting factor and mostly I was really only flying at around 2600rpm @ 24" map. It was averaging about 110kts and that was about the top speed I was comfortable with. I'd like to think it will still be run in ok and upon landing the compressions felt really good turning the prop over so we will see.
I tried in vain to set the compass module for the discovery lite. It seems I got to 99.3% done but landed so will have to do it again I guess, I'm not sure why it wouldn't finalise but will read the instructions again and try next flight.
I have also today set the dial a trim correctly. I'm not sure why I didn't read the manual correctly but in doing so today I found it works perfectly and now flys very close to hands off. I also cut the trim tab down by half on the aileron but need again to trim some more off. It should be perfect after the next adjustment. In regard to the elevator trim I think I just erred on the side of caution in regard to the initial setting. I didn't want to find myself with a huge amount of up trim on the first flight so was a tad too cautious. After the adjustment today though all is good.
So for future flights now that the temps and engine seems under control I best start documenting the SAAA cards for the phase 2 registration. I have about 36 hours to go so need to get cracking. There seems to be a large number of them so time to start. They basically help you determine best glide speeds and climb stats so should be fun and also something to do to help pass the time for the test hours.
Some pics of today's flight
Some very basic figures so far, that's if I can rely on the accuracy of the fuel flow metre, but here they are:
- 100kts @ 12.5 Lp/h
- 110kts @ 15 Lp/h
- 130kts @ 22 Lp/h
These figures were at about 4000 to 5000ft for reference.
I have noticed that on take off it is very easy to boost the heck out of this motor. I was a little bit tardy noticing today on take off when I saw 44" hg in the climb . It wasn't for long and I had only just gotten airborne so backed off to about 36" and continued the climb out. It was a short runway and gusty so settled for 36" and climbed out at about 800 fpm. Temps have been fantastic since the addition of the Rotec tbi and the enlarged cooling outlet. Max temp on climb today I saw was about 380f on the hottest cylinder. Happy days for sure.
According to whatever you read the Aerovee is supposed to be broken in hard. Treat it mean keep it keen I believe. Well today that just wasn't going to happen. The turbulence was a huge limiting factor and mostly I was really only flying at around 2600rpm @ 24" map. It was averaging about 110kts and that was about the top speed I was comfortable with. I'd like to think it will still be run in ok and upon landing the compressions felt really good turning the prop over so we will see.
I tried in vain to set the compass module for the discovery lite. It seems I got to 99.3% done but landed so will have to do it again I guess, I'm not sure why it wouldn't finalise but will read the instructions again and try next flight.
I have also today set the dial a trim correctly. I'm not sure why I didn't read the manual correctly but in doing so today I found it works perfectly and now flys very close to hands off. I also cut the trim tab down by half on the aileron but need again to trim some more off. It should be perfect after the next adjustment. In regard to the elevator trim I think I just erred on the side of caution in regard to the initial setting. I didn't want to find myself with a huge amount of up trim on the first flight so was a tad too cautious. After the adjustment today though all is good.
So for future flights now that the temps and engine seems under control I best start documenting the SAAA cards for the phase 2 registration. I have about 36 hours to go so need to get cracking. There seems to be a large number of them so time to start. They basically help you determine best glide speeds and climb stats so should be fun and also something to do to help pass the time for the test hours.
Some pics of today's flight
Sunday, 5 June 2016
Ok who has a smile from ear to ear?
Well as it turns out ME !!!!!!!
I flew the plane today for a nice 0.7 flight and a now 2.1 hours in total. With a nice Carb fitted and good mixtures it climbed out with temps all in the green. The CHT's never exceeded 400f and it climbed out great. I took it up to about 5000 ft and circled the airfield before a quick fly over the house to wave to the wife and daughter as a sort of victory lap. I have to tell you I was very happy upon landing as the whole flight was perfect. Dodging a few low clouds here and there saw me level out and start to see some good numbers on the panel.
The 3rd pic is a bit hard to see but straight and level at about 29-30 " I was TAS about 129 kts. Sweeeeeet. The first two screens I was on a gradual climb out of about 200-300 fpm.
I'm so far really happy about the performance. Hopefully after 20-30 hours the engine will cool down some more like they usually do. I have a good positive feeling about it all now and looking forward to seeing these 40 test hours behind me.
I added an aileron trim tab that seems to be a bit large now. At the faster cruise I was at today, now temps are under control, the wing wants to go the other way funnily. I will reduce the size of the tab next time I'm out at the field and that should sort that out. I believe I will also need to add some more spring tension to the elevator "dial a trim". I just can't seem to get enough up trim for any flight operation so far. I have been flying with full up trim for the whole flight so need to get onto that asap. It will be nice when it flies hands-free after being all set up properly. Now the engine is running like it should I can start to concentrate on those sorts of things.
So I only flew the 0.7 today but I think I will just do the first oil change after the engine rebuild now. This will see me able to fly off the next 5 hours before it's due again as part of the break in procedure.
Happy days.
I flew the plane today for a nice 0.7 flight and a now 2.1 hours in total. With a nice Carb fitted and good mixtures it climbed out with temps all in the green. The CHT's never exceeded 400f and it climbed out great. I took it up to about 5000 ft and circled the airfield before a quick fly over the house to wave to the wife and daughter as a sort of victory lap. I have to tell you I was very happy upon landing as the whole flight was perfect. Dodging a few low clouds here and there saw me level out and start to see some good numbers on the panel.
The 3rd pic is a bit hard to see but straight and level at about 29-30 " I was TAS about 129 kts. Sweeeeeet. The first two screens I was on a gradual climb out of about 200-300 fpm.
I'm so far really happy about the performance. Hopefully after 20-30 hours the engine will cool down some more like they usually do. I have a good positive feeling about it all now and looking forward to seeing these 40 test hours behind me.
I added an aileron trim tab that seems to be a bit large now. At the faster cruise I was at today, now temps are under control, the wing wants to go the other way funnily. I will reduce the size of the tab next time I'm out at the field and that should sort that out. I believe I will also need to add some more spring tension to the elevator "dial a trim". I just can't seem to get enough up trim for any flight operation so far. I have been flying with full up trim for the whole flight so need to get onto that asap. It will be nice when it flies hands-free after being all set up properly. Now the engine is running like it should I can start to concentrate on those sorts of things.
So I only flew the 0.7 today but I think I will just do the first oil change after the engine rebuild now. This will see me able to fly off the next 5 hours before it's due again as part of the break in procedure.
Happy days.
Fuel system makeover and engine rebuild.
Well its been a fair amount of work to get the plane back running again. I have been busy adapting the new Rotec tbi to the aircraft and doing a new fuel line system. I have basically copied the fuel system off my other plane and fitted a one way valve and a fuel pump in parallel. Essentially it runs on gravity most of the time and the fuel pump can be used for takeoff and landing if desired and perhaps one day aerobatics.
There seems to be adequate clearance between my foot on the rudder pedals and all the components so hopefully all will be good. Obviously I still need to wire up the pump but I thankfully put all the wiring in place just in case long term I had to fit a pump. I honestly didn't think I would need to be fitting one at 1.4 hours but that's how it goes.
I've had to make up all new controls, cable brackets and air cleaner spigots as well in the drawn out process of changing the carby over. The new tbi also requires a primer so a 3rd cable was also required to be fitted to the aircraft. The controls were all ordered from Spruce and were here in a very short time after ordering.
My dash looks a little like this now. Conventional throttle and mixture controls with an added 3rd cable for the primer.
So it turns out I forgot to take photos of the brackets and spigot I had to make up to adapt this carb to the aerovee. You can see the TBI all fitted but the details of the brackets are a bit hard to see properly. It all seems to work fine so a test flight I think won't be too far off. I carried out a flight attitude gravity only fuel flow test after all the work was done just to be sure. Results were fine so not much to hold me back now.
Let's hope this is the end of all the major issues and from now on it's all smooth sailing. I'm really after that big grin after a successful flight.
Monday, 9 May 2016
Ups and downs,round and round
Okay beware everybody, a bit of a negative post coming up again, sorry. I have to be honest, I have been having a really hard time with this plane.
Well I eventually had a win with the Instruments. The Australian dealer came to the party and sent me a new Discovery lite. Long story. Well I assume it was new as it had the plastic wrapper on the screen and looked good. When I powered the unit up it didn't seem to have the default screen and it had extra things on it loaded like a weight and balance chart for a different aircraft. It had a few things missing like the battery voltage and amp gauges. I was not too worried as I could just load the old screens from my memory card that I saved them all to. So I go to load the screens on and guess what?! I cant't find the memory card. To say I searched high and low to find this card was an understatement. I looked everywhere. I did find some odd things searching through all my cupboards and so on as you do but no micro sd card. At a huge loss I rang the Australian dealer again who was away at the time. A few days later I got in touch with him again when he was home and he told me the card was in the old unit. Damn, I can't believe I was that silly to leave it in the EFIS. Oh well. He said he would post it no problems but I happened to ask if he could send the files via email if that was easier. "Yep, No Problem. I'll do it within the hour" So weeks later the email still hasn't come. I give up on that front as it's just too hard. It took me hours and hours to set the screens up again manually and basically I can only blame myself. I did fly the plane again and "YES" everything works fine. I was so relieved and felt that little bit of a smile creep in. What was not good however still was the engine temps. Sky high once more but at least I could land with an ASI that was working and a fully functioning EFIS.
I had played with the mixtures again on the Aerocarb and tried to richen the baby up some more. It got to the point now where starting the engine was finicky as if I didn't have the mixture right it would flood and carry on. Still determined to get it right I flew it again. Temps still high. After scouring the forums I just decided to do what most builders do and open up the lower cowling. I cut out an extra 2 inches for a total of 6" x 13" lower outlet. I reinstalled the deflector lip and flew the plane. As per the video Below I flew the plane and the CHT's were drastically lower and all under 400f. WINNING. The EGT's were a little high and I gave the carb a tickle richer and flew the plane again. Honestly thinking this was finally going to be my victory flight I was soon to be proven wrong. I took off and instantly noticed the mixtures were drastically wrong and I was in trouble. I felt the power loss in flight and carried out a very small low level circuit. Landed and taxied back to this.
It has spewed a massive amount of oil out the front prop hub and oil was everywhere and almost back to the tailwheel. I was soooo stoked I just wanted to give up. Turning the motor over by the prop indicated 2 cylinders had no compression.
I pulled the motor down the next day and discovered the two rear cylinders had issues. One side had a leaking exhaust valve and the other side has a melted piston, snapped ring and a stuffed barrel.
One thing that is an absolute bonus about this engine is the price of parts and the availability. I had the heads tested and all 8 valves and seats re-ground. This cost me $125 at the local automotive machine shop. New piston rings cost me $124.50. I happened to have 2 x good condition second hand barrels from the first engine rebuild on the other Aerovee so that was good. I used one of the cylinders and pistons so I still have one good one spare in case I ever need it. I then went and ordered a Rotec Tbi to avoid destroying another engine by running excessively lean mixtures!
I reassembled the engine yesterday and ran it for the last time on the Aerocarb. I didn't run it for long and only just long enough to make sure it was okay and running fine with no abnormal noises etc. It ran fine and again a little smile crept in.
Today I started to carry out the Rotec Tbi conversion. I plan to get it mounted and running first just on gravity feed then decide about the boost pump. I took the old aerocarb off and set about making the brackets and so on for the cable attachments and additional primer set up. I am still dismayed by the lack of anything supplied for brackets or any forms of mounts especially for the air cleaner side. Talking to the factory regarding this was fruitless so I need to make them myself. I really love the way the engine runs on the other plane with the Rotec Tbi so I guess I can put up with the lack of support and just forge on. I would like to add a fuel pump eventually as I noticed on the other plane the mixture control seems nicer for want of a better word to describe it. It just has a better feel. The other plane I can run gravity or the fuel pump as it has a one way valve and an alternate path for the fuel for gravity feed. It's still a pain on both as with the fuel pump on the fuel flow meter reads higher than what it is really using, I think due to the pulses from the pump. If I run gravity feed the fuel flow reads accurately but the mixture doesn't feel as linear. So we'll see when I get it running what I do long term.
Please bare in mind that this video is just my twisted thoughts on the matter. . Don't let my grumblings persuade you one way or the other in what carb or system you think is better. I'm still trying to get over the fact I'm rebuilding my engine one hour into the test flight phase. I'm actually wondering if this is some kind of record!
Well I eventually had a win with the Instruments. The Australian dealer came to the party and sent me a new Discovery lite. Long story. Well I assume it was new as it had the plastic wrapper on the screen and looked good. When I powered the unit up it didn't seem to have the default screen and it had extra things on it loaded like a weight and balance chart for a different aircraft. It had a few things missing like the battery voltage and amp gauges. I was not too worried as I could just load the old screens from my memory card that I saved them all to. So I go to load the screens on and guess what?! I cant't find the memory card. To say I searched high and low to find this card was an understatement. I looked everywhere. I did find some odd things searching through all my cupboards and so on as you do but no micro sd card. At a huge loss I rang the Australian dealer again who was away at the time. A few days later I got in touch with him again when he was home and he told me the card was in the old unit. Damn, I can't believe I was that silly to leave it in the EFIS. Oh well. He said he would post it no problems but I happened to ask if he could send the files via email if that was easier. "Yep, No Problem. I'll do it within the hour" So weeks later the email still hasn't come. I give up on that front as it's just too hard. It took me hours and hours to set the screens up again manually and basically I can only blame myself. I did fly the plane again and "YES" everything works fine. I was so relieved and felt that little bit of a smile creep in. What was not good however still was the engine temps. Sky high once more but at least I could land with an ASI that was working and a fully functioning EFIS.
I had played with the mixtures again on the Aerocarb and tried to richen the baby up some more. It got to the point now where starting the engine was finicky as if I didn't have the mixture right it would flood and carry on. Still determined to get it right I flew it again. Temps still high. After scouring the forums I just decided to do what most builders do and open up the lower cowling. I cut out an extra 2 inches for a total of 6" x 13" lower outlet. I reinstalled the deflector lip and flew the plane. As per the video Below I flew the plane and the CHT's were drastically lower and all under 400f. WINNING. The EGT's were a little high and I gave the carb a tickle richer and flew the plane again. Honestly thinking this was finally going to be my victory flight I was soon to be proven wrong. I took off and instantly noticed the mixtures were drastically wrong and I was in trouble. I felt the power loss in flight and carried out a very small low level circuit. Landed and taxied back to this.
It has spewed a massive amount of oil out the front prop hub and oil was everywhere and almost back to the tailwheel. I was soooo stoked I just wanted to give up. Turning the motor over by the prop indicated 2 cylinders had no compression.
I pulled the motor down the next day and discovered the two rear cylinders had issues. One side had a leaking exhaust valve and the other side has a melted piston, snapped ring and a stuffed barrel.
One thing that is an absolute bonus about this engine is the price of parts and the availability. I had the heads tested and all 8 valves and seats re-ground. This cost me $125 at the local automotive machine shop. New piston rings cost me $124.50. I happened to have 2 x good condition second hand barrels from the first engine rebuild on the other Aerovee so that was good. I used one of the cylinders and pistons so I still have one good one spare in case I ever need it. I then went and ordered a Rotec Tbi to avoid destroying another engine by running excessively lean mixtures!
I reassembled the engine yesterday and ran it for the last time on the Aerocarb. I didn't run it for long and only just long enough to make sure it was okay and running fine with no abnormal noises etc. It ran fine and again a little smile crept in.
Today I started to carry out the Rotec Tbi conversion. I plan to get it mounted and running first just on gravity feed then decide about the boost pump. I took the old aerocarb off and set about making the brackets and so on for the cable attachments and additional primer set up. I am still dismayed by the lack of anything supplied for brackets or any forms of mounts especially for the air cleaner side. Talking to the factory regarding this was fruitless so I need to make them myself. I really love the way the engine runs on the other plane with the Rotec Tbi so I guess I can put up with the lack of support and just forge on. I would like to add a fuel pump eventually as I noticed on the other plane the mixture control seems nicer for want of a better word to describe it. It just has a better feel. The other plane I can run gravity or the fuel pump as it has a one way valve and an alternate path for the fuel for gravity feed. It's still a pain on both as with the fuel pump on the fuel flow meter reads higher than what it is really using, I think due to the pulses from the pump. If I run gravity feed the fuel flow reads accurately but the mixture doesn't feel as linear. So we'll see when I get it running what I do long term.
Please bare in mind that this video is just my twisted thoughts on the matter. . Don't let my grumblings persuade you one way or the other in what carb or system you think is better. I'm still trying to get over the fact I'm rebuilding my engine one hour into the test flight phase. I'm actually wondering if this is some kind of record!
Monday, 4 April 2016
Instrument woes and overheating
Well I now have a total of four flights on the scoreboard and one hour on the grand total. Achieving these milestones has been exactly that too. From the first flight I have been battling sky high temps and Instrument problems. My plan has been to try to get into the air asap after startup. Obviously though with common sense I have carried out all the pre flight checks and run ups and so on but I just haven't dawdled. I have attempted to climb out with moderate power until the temps max out then lower the nose and maintain height or do an ever so slight climb to try to keep the temps under control. Any attempt to speed up for more airflow results in a roasting motor again. On the longest flight of 35 mins or so I was maintaining about 4000 ft and temps were okay at about half throttle. Trying to get to a decent cruise setting sent them upward once more.
The MGL instruments I must say have been the biggest disappointment so far however. On the first flight my ASI was okay. On the second flight it decided to stop working. "Great" I thought, it was reading 70 kts and was stuck on that. I cycled the power to the efis thinking maybe it might just work for me again. Nope, and now it just read 0 kts,,, great.... so I chose not to panic and carried on as usual and made my base and finals approach nice and hot with plenty of wind noise over the canopy. Rounding out and touching down just fine. I set about finding the issue with the EFIS. I have been over the wiring with a fine tooth comb. Every wire, power,earth and plug has been pulled apart and inspected and tested with my multimeter whist giving a good twist and so on to try and replicate the issue. I had noticed that the local time had kept needing to be set so figured that the memory battery being flat could somehow contribute to this. I changed the battery and refitted the EFIS. With gentle wiggling of the wiring I had a solid reading for the ASI and thought I must have it sussed. I flew the plane again and YEP no ASI again. Getting really frustrated with this I landed. Bare in mind while I keep losing my ASI and causing stress I seriously don't need I am also battling the overheating issues to top it all off. Quite a recipe for disaster If I don't say so myself. Before this flight I had modified the Cowling inlets and Outlets as Per instructions from Sonex. I had also done the mod to the heads in regard to opening up all the airways around the exhaust ports and in between the 2 cyls on the heads like perhaps others have seen pics of before.
All these passages have now been opened right up for added airflow. I wish I had taken some photo's of them opened up but I can do that next time I am at the airport.
These pics are a bit of a before and after in regard to the cowling Lip added. It is basically 2" long over the original 1" long and has the tapered sides as well. On the last flight I did I saw 390 f on three cylinders and the one cylinder still skyrocketing up and over 450 f. I seriously think I have run over a black cat that was pregnant with thirteen black kittens. The mods certainly have reduced three of the CHT's , I just wish all four had been okay. I have also been playing around with the baffle seals a little and replaced a section that was in three pieces with a singular piece in the hope the air has not been bypassing the joins. I have also spent some time just trying to work out why 1 x CHT would be so much different. The sensors all read the same when turned off and warming up. It's just when I get airborne one heats right up.
I am hesitant to modify anything now while I have no Instrument and flying obviously is not going to happen so I now just need to sit on my hands and wait.
I rang the Australian Dealer for MGL and asked how he was progressing with the checking of the ASI and EFIS in general. It seems highly likely now that it will be heading off to South Africa for a proper test. I honestly wonder what next. I am thankful it is still in Warranty having only bought the whole system around 10 months ago. Let's see what comes of the testing and progress from there. I mostly bought a MGL system as my original one in the Aeropup has performed flawlessly from day one. I fully expected the second system to be the same in terms of reliability but perhaps I was just unlucky.
Well sorry everyone for such a negative update. If I can get on top of these two issues I think it will then be smooth sailing. I am just a little frustrated that's all due to the fact that I have to fly forty hours in one calendar year to finish the test hours off or I have to go through the whole registration process again including all registration and inspections costs so the clock is ticking. Secondly winter is fast approaching and right now almost to the day the best weather for the flying season is upon me. Calm winds, blue skies and no big thermals inland. With the EFIS heading to South Africa most likely I will be grounded for a Month at best guess. Time to twiddle some thumbs.
The MGL instruments I must say have been the biggest disappointment so far however. On the first flight my ASI was okay. On the second flight it decided to stop working. "Great" I thought, it was reading 70 kts and was stuck on that. I cycled the power to the efis thinking maybe it might just work for me again. Nope, and now it just read 0 kts,,, great.... so I chose not to panic and carried on as usual and made my base and finals approach nice and hot with plenty of wind noise over the canopy. Rounding out and touching down just fine. I set about finding the issue with the EFIS. I have been over the wiring with a fine tooth comb. Every wire, power,earth and plug has been pulled apart and inspected and tested with my multimeter whist giving a good twist and so on to try and replicate the issue. I had noticed that the local time had kept needing to be set so figured that the memory battery being flat could somehow contribute to this. I changed the battery and refitted the EFIS. With gentle wiggling of the wiring I had a solid reading for the ASI and thought I must have it sussed. I flew the plane again and YEP no ASI again. Getting really frustrated with this I landed. Bare in mind while I keep losing my ASI and causing stress I seriously don't need I am also battling the overheating issues to top it all off. Quite a recipe for disaster If I don't say so myself. Before this flight I had modified the Cowling inlets and Outlets as Per instructions from Sonex. I had also done the mod to the heads in regard to opening up all the airways around the exhaust ports and in between the 2 cyls on the heads like perhaps others have seen pics of before.
All these passages have now been opened right up for added airflow. I wish I had taken some photo's of them opened up but I can do that next time I am at the airport.
These pics are a bit of a before and after in regard to the cowling Lip added. It is basically 2" long over the original 1" long and has the tapered sides as well. On the last flight I did I saw 390 f on three cylinders and the one cylinder still skyrocketing up and over 450 f. I seriously think I have run over a black cat that was pregnant with thirteen black kittens. The mods certainly have reduced three of the CHT's , I just wish all four had been okay. I have also been playing around with the baffle seals a little and replaced a section that was in three pieces with a singular piece in the hope the air has not been bypassing the joins. I have also spent some time just trying to work out why 1 x CHT would be so much different. The sensors all read the same when turned off and warming up. It's just when I get airborne one heats right up.
I am hesitant to modify anything now while I have no Instrument and flying obviously is not going to happen so I now just need to sit on my hands and wait.
I rang the Australian Dealer for MGL and asked how he was progressing with the checking of the ASI and EFIS in general. It seems highly likely now that it will be heading off to South Africa for a proper test. I honestly wonder what next. I am thankful it is still in Warranty having only bought the whole system around 10 months ago. Let's see what comes of the testing and progress from there. I mostly bought a MGL system as my original one in the Aeropup has performed flawlessly from day one. I fully expected the second system to be the same in terms of reliability but perhaps I was just unlucky.
Well sorry everyone for such a negative update. If I can get on top of these two issues I think it will then be smooth sailing. I am just a little frustrated that's all due to the fact that I have to fly forty hours in one calendar year to finish the test hours off or I have to go through the whole registration process again including all registration and inspections costs so the clock is ticking. Secondly winter is fast approaching and right now almost to the day the best weather for the flying season is upon me. Calm winds, blue skies and no big thermals inland. With the EFIS heading to South Africa most likely I will be grounded for a Month at best guess. Time to twiddle some thumbs.
Tuesday, 22 March 2016
The culprit
Back in biz it seems after a short delay.
I managed to change the coil out and back in business I was. It's hard to imagine a part failing so early in the programme and I was a little worried I had misdiagnosed or made an error somewhere. It turns out I worried over nothing and it's all good now. The coil had a few slightly different markings but was identical in all major aspects so I bolted it on and gave it a whirl. The engine fired up and ran great on both ignitions. Happy days once more. Now to just sort out this overheating issue.
This was the little bad boy here. I should just throw it straight in the bin but I think I want too look at it for a little bit longer in disgust, then chuck it away.
I managed to change the coil out and back in business I was. It's hard to imagine a part failing so early in the programme and I was a little worried I had misdiagnosed or made an error somewhere. It turns out I worried over nothing and it's all good now. The coil had a few slightly different markings but was identical in all major aspects so I bolted it on and gave it a whirl. The engine fired up and ran great on both ignitions. Happy days once more. Now to just sort out this overheating issue.
This was the little bad boy here. I should just throw it straight in the bin but I think I want too look at it for a little bit longer in disgust, then chuck it away.
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