I made a short flight today in my Cozy MKIV.  Checking the log, it had been
almost 2 months, since I flew it last.  I had reworked the cooling system,
and also rebuilt the engine.

I only flew once around the pattern and landed, but it was long enough to
find out that I have some air in the cooling system.  I had taxied it a mile
to the far end of the 5000' runway earlier today, and did a high speed run.
On that taxi and run, the oil went up to 160, and the coolant was also at
160, which I thought was pretty good.  It was also only about 67 degrees out
when I did that.

Later after lunch, I taxied it back to the hanger for a quick repair, and
then taxied back the mile long taxi way, and took off.  The engine was
already warm when I started, so the coolant and oil were both about 180 when
I started the roll.  OAT 78.  There was a 1700' AGL overcast, so I couldn't
get too carried away, and there was also a 10 kt crosswind.  Other than
that, it was perfect flying weather.  My oil during the climb went to about
200 (big improvement), but the coolant did go to about 215.  Due to the air
in the system, I think.

Overall not a good day to fly, but good to get back in the air again, none
the less.  With the Hurricane approaching, we are scheduled to get rain from
now through Sunday, so I'm glad I made the flight, even though it was brief.
I heard quite a bit of air gurgling its way out of the header tank after
parking the plane, so I think that one more high power run, and warming it
up to 210 or so, should purge the rest of the air, if any is left.

Hopefully my next flight will be quite a bit longer, and I can see what the
temperatures will be like with the evaporator cores.  The oil temperature
looked very promising, and I'm sure that the cooolant will do even better.

Steve Brooks
Cozy MKIV N75CZ
Turbo Rotary