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RV-6 rebuild project in Palm Springs CA

Took the RV-6 to work today. First proper trip in it.

I've fitted the gear legs (no pants yet) and saw 7 knots increase in cruise. I now see 167 knots at 24/24. I'd really like to get 174 knots, which is 200mph.

Sorted some little issues with the autopilot (originally couldn't set a course / flightplan because the source GPS wasn't set in the menu), and I really love using it.

On the way home I noticed I hadn't latched the canopy shut. Scared the bejesus out of me, and I clung to it like mad person. It probably would have dislocated my arm if it had let go. Managed to very gingerly reseat the latch on just one side before landing to sort it out.

Still can't get my ADS-B out to work - the email that comes back from the FAA says Failed to Generate a Report. It's really annoying me.

CHTs are still a mess. #3 gets hot very quickly on the climbout. #1 consistently runs about 100F cooler, and about 60-80F cooler than #2 and #4. I've seen air deflectors fitted in the cowl intakes of other RVs and wonder if I should make one for this.

Plan to fit wheel pants soon.

That is all.
 
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Thanks Ed - definitely the same ones. They're nice.

Dan - I've read that thread, thank you. I think they're showing an O-320. My 360 has more fin depth, and fins around the intake port.

I have put a small deflector in front of Cyl1 to try to flip some cool air over to Cyl3. I'll report back on the results.
 
Dan - I've read that thread, thank you. I think they're showing an O-320. My 360 has more fin depth, and fins around the intake port.

I have put a small deflector in front of Cyl1 to try to flip some cool air over to Cyl3. I'll report back on the results.
Just a datapoint; on my O-360-A1D the #3 cylinder would get pretty toasty warm at times... now I like toast, but not on my engine! So, I did that little air duct mod behind #3 and it made a big difference, brought the temps down a good 15-20 degrees as I recall. It’s an easy fix too, just a coupla hours of metal work.
 
Thanks John. I may just try the 'washer under the mounting screw' trick to see what difference it makes. My cylinders are wrapped, and I don't really want to change the rest of the setup (unless anyone thinks they should be more wrapped?).

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*I just noticed that braided CHT wire cable-tied to the oil line. That's nasty - I will space it off.

In other news, the wheel pants are coming along.

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I'm modifying the upper intersection fairings so should hopefully only need two screws and will hold the leg fairings in place. I've glassed them up at the back, which is normally left open, and will put a cut, with overlap, directly behind the leg. The leg fairings themselves are just floating in the intersection fairings.

So far they're a nice tight fit. The pants themselves are secondhand, from an unfinished RV-8 project, I think, and could do with being closed up a bit around the tire.

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Also added a bump to the lower cowl where the alternator pulley was eating through.

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Sorry about the weird colors in these shots - some dip**** set fire to a few hundred acres of forest south of Big Bear doing some 'gender reveal' party for their unborn child, and the whole valley is filled with smoke.

Soon I will hit all this with some primer to even out the ugliness.
 
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Thanks John. I may just try the 'washer under the mounting screw' trick to see what difference it makes. My cylinders are wrapped, and I don't really want to change the rest of the setup (unless anyone thinks they should be more wrapped?).

How about a photo of the back/bottom of #3 where the baffles wrap around it, looking directly left (perpendicular to fuselage) from the right side?

FWIW I incorporated DanH's baffle mod suggestion when I was building (mine is also an O-360). Lower baffles are pulled tightly against the fins, almost no edge gap. Went wild with the red RTV, don't forget the cylinder base at the back (if the air isn't going through fins it isn't doing much good). #3 is my coldest.
 
Took it up for some spins. In particular, I wanted to simulated a slow, tight, base-to-final, to find out at which point it will drop a wing. The tight pattern approach, that this thing seems to favour, has been giving me the major heebies.

Well, it turns out that you do have to haul on it quite a bit before it flips over and drops out of the sky. Which is heartening. Still wary doing it this close to the ground, but I now have a feel for the stick pressures involved, at least.

Also tried some spins from a straight and level stall. It behaves exactly like the RV-4 did, with a gentle 3/4 turn in before it fully develops. Just apply opposite rudder and centre the stick, no forward stick required. I let it run three rotations only and recovery was quick and easy. No weird noises and nothing fell off.

I set my starting altitude at 6000ft and my cap at 3000ft. Once I was ready to go back up, being able to engage autopilot climb in pitch mode, whilst sitting and collecting my thoughts, was really pleasant after falling out of the sky sideways for three thousand feet.

Little disclaimer - all of this info applies to this aircraft only. Your aircraft may need forward stick to exit a spin, and a tight base to final may stuff you in the ground. Don't use this as advice for anything please!
 
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How about a photo of the back/bottom of #3 where the baffles wrap around it, looking directly left (perpendicular to fuselage) from the right side?

FWIW I incorporated DanH's baffle mod suggestion when I was building (mine is also an O-360). Lower baffles are pulled tightly against the fins, almost no edge gap. Went wild with the red RTV, don't forget the cylinder base at the back (if the air isn't going through fins it isn't doing much good). #3 is my coldest.

**** your cold #3, Lars!

OK, I think I'm coming around to the fact that I have to do that mod. I'll try flying it with the forward baffle first, just to see.

One thing I did notice was that the entry 'ramps' on my top cowling were open at each end. It slowly occurred to me that ram air could pass from the spinner side to the outside, which would pressurise the underside (low pressure) part of the cowl.

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So I did some searching on here and, of course, it has been discussed, and yes, it matters. So last night I closed mine up with some fiberglass cloth.

I also masked out the bottom of the pants to help me add material that had been previously removed. I'm aiming for that magic 5/8in gap.

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I really like how this thing looks with its pants on.

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All I really want now is 200mph cruise.

And 50F less on cyl 3.
 
Installed a larger baffle in front of cylinder 1. Put the (very rough, unfinished) wheel pants on. Flew to Chino.

400F on climbout, 380 in cruise. #3 is no longer my hottest (now it's #2, weirdly).

Also, at 24.5 MAP and 2450 RPM I get... 174 knots TAS which is

200.26mph

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Me, at warp speed, trying to hold it together.

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Travel time was exactly 1/4 of what it would have taken in a car, and I burnt about a gallon less fuel, too.
 
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Hi James, I think you last reported that you did not like your trim knob mounting experiment. I was wondering what you ended up with and if you've discovered that you have had to make any other mods to the plane.
 
Hi James, I think you last reported that you did not like your trim knob mounting experiment. I was wondering what you ended up with and if you've discovered that you have had to make any other mods to the plane.

Record for late reply? I went with electric trim.

I ran a push-pull cable from the elevator trim through to a box that had been added to the back of my storage area (which is not part of the standard build).

Then I mounted a Ray Allen servo on the side, which actuates the cable.

The switch is between the throttle and the prop pitch knob, so I can run it with one finger when I have my hand on the throttle. I never liked them on the stick because pressing the switch affects the feel of the stick whilst you're trying to adjust it. I find it nicer to hold the stick lightly and hit the switch with my other hand.

I'll see if I can dig out some pictures.
 
Little update.

I've had the aircraft flying for just over a year now and I really love it. It's fast, carries way more than the 4 did, and I've just worked out how to land it properly (despite my trying, it won't three-point nicely so I wheel it on at 63 knots).

During the rebuild I removed the 'centre console' thing that ran from the middle of the panel to the middle of the seats (and held the tank selector and engine & prop controls) and constructed a box tunnel to cover the fuel line and create a home for the tank selector. I planned to put cup holders in the top of the box, along with stuff for pens and whatnot.

The tunnel never got finished, so I flew around with the fuel pipe and a big (wrapped) bundle of wires sort of exposed to the sky. It looked terrible. The cup holder idea was also dreadful due to the proximity to the rudder pedals and potential for stray items to migrate to places where they could cause chaos.

So this weekend I pulled everything apart and started again. To cut a long, hot and sweaty story short, the fuel line and wiring now run under the floor, and I have a wide open footwell that is completely flat from side to side.

The fuel selector is on a bracket which is held in place by two spar bolts. The pump is on another bracket held in the place by two other spar bolts. Unlike my tunnel setup, the selector is now within easy reach without having to lean forward.

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(This was taken before I tied and P-clipped the wire bundle)

Next on my list is to sort out the upholstery. Back when I was nearly ready to fly the thing, I was very graciously given a set of seat cushions by a fellow VAF'er. They've been great, but they don't quite fit my (low) seat backs and I would prefer something that was easier to clean (vinyl or leather). Trying to work out whether to go with Classic Aero or similar, or stick with the basic foam I have. I flew the thing back to SoCal from North Carolina a few weeks ago (14 hours over a day) and it wasn't that terrible, but I do occasionally get this sense I'm teetering on a block of foam rather than being sat 'in' a seat.

At some point I should also finish the wheel pants and get the fiberglass painted...

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A westbound transcon trip over one long day.... 14 hours in the seat? Dude, you're my hero! My longest was 10 hours in the seat Houston - Boise, and I was beat!

Get Classic Aero if you can, they're worth the price.
 
A westbound transcon trip over one long day.... 14 hours in the seat? Dude, you're my hero! My longest was 10 hours in the seat Houston - Boise, and I was beat!

Get Classic Aero if you can, they're worth the price.

Everything I've read leads to Classic Aero.

Yeah, 14 hours in the air, ducking and weaving around a front that extended from NC to AZ. Sometimes at 11,000, sometimes at 500. Lots of interesting moments, including a controller that was sure I had flown into terrain east of Phoenix (meanwhile I was having a lovely time hacking along in almost unlimited forward vis).

I slept 12 hours that night.
 
Everything I've read leads to Classic Aero.

Yeah, 14 hours in the air, ducking and weaving around a front that extended from NC to AZ. Sometimes at 11,000, sometimes at 500. Lots of interesting moments, including a controller that was sure I had flown into terrain east of Phoenix (meanwhile I was having a lovely time hacking along in almost unlimited forward vis).

I slept 12 hours that night.

James-

In the motorcycle world they'd call that an ironbutt ride. Have done that sort of thing in my oh so distant dim memory past but couldn't countenance a journey like that anymore in my dotage- my hat is off to you.

As for seats, another vote for Classic Aero.
 
That was a fun trip report to read. Some day I'll go for a "fly-about" like that. Meanwhile, keep posting about your rv6 re-build.
 
Pulled my old radio setup and installed a new Garmin GTR200B. Long-term aim is to fit a GPS 175 and get the RV-6 IFR-equipped for LPV approaches.

So far I really like the GTR 200B. The 3D audio function is great, and the bluetooth music muting during intercom and radio transmit/receive is nicely controlled.

I also wired it to my GRT HXr for remote frequency selection, which is slightly pointless (given that they sit less than 12in from each other) but also kind of fancy.

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