As always, it was 'worth the drive'. Had an enjoyable trip down with
Kelly, Monty & Ken on Thursday.  As you can tell by seeing Bill's
photos, the tour of Finn's 'incident site' was terrifying. The rest of
the weekend was much more pleasant. All the forums were informative,
from Tracy de-mystifying engine controller programming to Monty starting
a research program into quieting the rotary's exhaust. In my
not-so-humble opinion, this could be a pivotal factor in the widespread
acceptance of the rotary.

The highlight of the weekend for me was my ride in Tracy's rotary RV-4.
Acceleration & climb were obviously more impressive than my Lyc powered
-4, but the exciting thing for me was seeing a low altitude (~1500ft)
cruise power setting yielding 190-195 mph true airspeed burning between
8.5 & 9 gph. My goal for my RV-7 project is minimum 200 mph cruise at
max 10 gph. I've been a huge fan of the rotary since my dad's purchase
of a new '74 model RX-4, but I've had serious misgivings about whether
the rotary could achieve that fuel burn/speed combination due to numbers
quoted by others already flying. Tracy's plane proves those numbers are
achievable. Now, Mike Magee needs to get back to work on that aluminum
accessory cover that will bolt up to a standard Lyc mount. (Are you
listening, Mike?) Even though Mistral seems to be making their parts
available, I really can't afford the exchange rate & 'certified' prices.

The more I see of the Renesis, the more pleased I become that I'm
running so far behind everyone else. :-) By the time I'm ready for an
engine, it will be almost as cheap as a 2nd/3rd gen engine & *much*
easier to convert for aviation use. No water pump mods needed, dirt
simple & compact intake & exhaust manifolds, easier to tame exhaust
pulses, equal or superior horsepower, available used without being 'used
up', etc, etc.

Anyone who is installing or planning a rotary installation can't help
gaining invaluable knowledge while attending these events. Beyond that,
you just can't beat the great people you meet & form friendships with.

My heartfelt thanks to Tracy for sharing his wealth of knowledge & to
Laura for making these events possible. I can't wait to see you guys at
Bill & Linda's in February.

Charlie





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