Some who are interested in the modified cooling system I built have asked for more photos.  By popular request, I have also included a photo of the infamous carbon passenger step and not so infamous all carbon nose gear doors.  Weather has been lousy so outside photos have been few.  It has been dark in the hangar with the low overcast and rain.

 

Also I have included my flight test graduation picture with Qantas Captain Gary Burns.  Gary flew his new Lancair IV around the world soon after he built it in 1998.  I met Gary in OSH which was a way point on his trip.  At the Lancair forum that year some may recall that I entered Gary into the exalted Order of Brass Balls for his trip.  The ceremony included a one inch diameter brass ball with ribbon loop that I hung around his neck to the applause and adulation of the gathered masses.

 

Gary is currently on leave from Qantas and teaching Chinese how to fly Airbus 330s in Shanghai.  He came in from Shanghai on his way home to Brisbane and did the first flight.  Then he flew with me for three days, each day with its own frontal passage.  Such fun.  Rain, hail, gusty wings, ragged low ceilings, and all the weather goodies kept us in the hangar a lot, but we went out as often as possible for more test flying.  One day we did about ten touch and goes in 38 knot winds of somewhat variable direction.  The prop paint took a beating in the rain.  The rest of the paint is OK, but Gary recommends 180 KTAS max if you want to protect your paint job in heavy rain.

 

At graduation, Gary presented me with my diploma and graduation gifts shown in one of the photos.  I received a Chinese Army red star winter hat, a black Chairman Mao T shirt, and a set of chopsticks, all direct from Beijing.    Gary never screamed once during my many circuits of highly irregular shape and speed.  Much champagne was drunk during his stay.  What a terrific guy. 

 

We got nine hours of flying in finishing up on my home drome dirt strip which was a mud bath, and then we spent half an hour wiping mud off the belly and wings.  I think I will build a fender for the nose tire.  The nose gear well collects tire mud nicely.

 

Gary left today (Tuesday in Australia).  Tomorrow I strip the cowls off again and have a very close look.  So far everything has been fine except for the nose gear doors opening when the cowl flaps close and a few small exhaust pipe burns where the exhaust pipes hit the cowl flaps and exhaust air ramp. 

 

The nose gear doors only crack open slightly when the cowl flaps are open as determined via flight check from a chase plane.  But when accelerating through 165 knots IAS with cowl flaps closed, the internal pressure increases and pushes the doors open and these pull the nose gear down from its up stop extinguishing the nose gear up light. 

 

I don’t know how far the nose gear doors open at 220 IAS which was our low altitude cruise speed (low ceilings, remember) but there must be a LOT of leakage out the open doors because the CHTs never went above 230F.  CHT spread is about 20F.  For some reason the EGT spread is awful (up to 80F).  Investigation needed.

 

I have implemented the Brent Regan mods to improve the nose gear door linkage geometry, but that has proven insufficient to keep the gear doors from overpowering the nose gear hydraulic cylinder with cowl flaps closed.  I will choose from several options we have pencilled out so far and let everyone know what works best.

 

We did only one very rough speed run because of the gawdawful weather.  We found a big irregular hole in the overcast, climbed to 10,000 for a series of stall tests (stall strips gone, the tape holding them on being eaten by rain), found the stall to be level and unexciting with the ball carefully held in the center, and ended the series at 6500 where we did the speed run.  At 24 inches and 2450 RPM (estimate 71-72%) a two way run and GPS check yielded 230 KTAS with a lot of uncertainty in that number.  This is with the IO-550 in an unpressurized Lancair IV.  Empty weight is 1947 pounds (includes oil and four gallons of unusable fuel), and the run was made with nearly full fuel (90 gallons) and about 400 pounds of crew and other cabin debris.

 

Once I get the break-in completed, I will collect some (hopefully) high quality data and post it here while I fly off my 40 hour Phase 1 restrictions.

 

Today when Gary left, the sun came out.  Of course…

 

Cheers,

 

Fred Moreno