728MT Nears Completion!

Here is the update on our 9a through July 3rd.

Project started July 28th, 2004.
S# 90535 non quick build kit, acquired from a builder that lost his medical after completing the vertical stab.

Moved to our hangar at MMV 6.1.06
Wings bolted on 6.10.06
Weight and balance 6.30.06. empty weight is 1125.

First fueling of the tanks 7.1.06.
Fully tested the aux fuel pump to drain the tanks, and determined that we have 10 ounces unusable on each side. No leaks in the cabin, tanks, and fwf. Great!

First engine start Saturday afternoon, but it would only run on the Slick mag ... the P-Mag was unresponsive. After working all of Sunday, and after many talks with Brad from Emagair on his HOME number, we sorted out the problem, adjusted the mag, and Monday we were able to start on the P-Mag, then bring the Slick mag on line, and the engine runs very smoothly.

After adjusting the idle via the throttle cable, we got the rpm range we were looking for. We then installed both cowlings, started again ... and did two taxi tests!

Very cool ... and although we have 2 things to fix (left fuel tank reads "full" when it is not, and the airspeed indicator shows "zero" even on a fast taxi) ... we are getting close.

I have 3 transition hours scheduled with Mike Seager Wednesday 7.5.06, and then we are waiting on the FAA paperwork ...

And as Kent B said (before he broke through a month early) ... "Fly in July".

Tom Sampson
Tigard, Oregon
90535
N 728 MT

Fuel gauge

Tom,

Sounds like you are very close.... getting exciting isn't it!

Do you have the Van's fuel gauges? If so, tap on that fuel gauge that is showing full and isn't... one of my fuel gauges stuck in the full position one time and a tap took care of it. I ordered a replacement but the old one hasn't done it since then so I haven't replaced it yet.

fuel gauge

Check the grounding wires. Make sure that the wires aren't backwards at the unit. Also, the sender doesn't need a ground wire. Good luck. Glad to see another 9/9A ready (almost) to fly. They are the best. Jack

First, Congrats! This is a very exciting time.

In my plane, it takes about 30 knots for the airspeed to register. I personally would not perform taxi tests with enough speed to register on the guage. At 30 knots, it just takes a blink of an eye before you're flying (ground effect.) It can lead to some real problems.

I hope all continues to go well. Keep us posted.

Fuel Level and Airspeed

Hi Guys.
In checking with Mike Seager yesterday ... it was obvious that the airspeed is slow to shoew an indication ... so we'll wait for the test flight to see how that goes.

On the fuel levels ... it looks like builder error.
We have the large Dynons ... and they supply 2 wires ... one for "tank 1" and one for "tank 2".

The process is to first calibrate the fuel tanks by adding 2 gallons at a time to an empty tank. So, we added fuel to the left tank, and the sender level didn't change. So we added 2 more, and it didn't change again ... each time we received a statement on the screen that asked "are you sure you put in 2 gallons?"

It turns out that the left tank was being read by the "tank 2" wire. So when I was fueling the left tank, the Dynon was reading the right tank ... which obviously was empty and the level was not changing. D-Oh ...

So, we switched the wires, and we'll empty both tanks again ... and I'll be that the problem will sort itself out.

Thanks,
Tom