Phase 1 update...N427DK

[rightrudder]

I'm almost a third of the way through!

Here's a recap of flights thus far:

1) First flight, 0.7 hours. Cruised around within gliding distance of the airport at 5300', higher than Ontario's airspace ceiling just in case I drifted over. Kept close tabs on CHTs and oil pressure. Slowed down at altitude to 65 KIAS to get a feel for handling in the pattern. Landing was longer than I would have liked!

2) Second flight, 2.4 hours. Everything looked good under the cowling, so buoyed by the success of the first flight, I headed to the practice area...which involves a climb to at least 5500' to follow the Cajon Pass up to SoCal's high desert. Odd to do a bit of mountain flying so early in the process, but once up there it's a big playground. I basically spent the flight at about 2400 rpm learning the visual landmarks on the perimeter of the practice area. Before heading back I did some stalls...Vs was 47 KIAS, and Vso was 39 KIAS.

3) Third flight, 2.8 hours. Calibrated the ASI at three different speeds (80, 100 and 120 KIAS) and used my GPS for heading direction and ground speed. At all speeds, the ASI was reading 2-3 percent lower than actual airspeed. Not too bad, and error in that direction keeps me further away from a stall. Did a couple landings at Apple Valley, and worked on getting the speed down and stabilized in the pattern.

4) Fourth flight, 2.6 hours. Just a joyride to break in the engine, running between 2500 and 2550 rpm. I did this fairly early in the morning to avoid bumpy air in the desert. Mild Santa Ana offshore winds, so coming down the pass got my attention...I went down to maneuvering speed to deal with the turbulence. I made the mistake of descending too early into more turbulent air. Extra altitude next time.

5) Fifth flight, 2.5 hours. More landing practice, engine break-in and some 45-degree banked turns. Ventured up to Barstow-Daggett, then over to Highway 395, the western boundary of my practice area. Practiced leaning technique.

6) Today's flight, 1.9 hours. I cut it short because of bumpy air...not so much in the pass but over the desert floor. This was the first flight with the wheel pants on, and it really gets up to 130 KIAS quick!! During a smoother part of the flight, I wicked it up to about 2750 rpm and saw a TAS of 164 knots (188 mph) and still accelerating (this assumes a 3-percent low ASI reading, consistent with the lower speed calibrations I did). I would've pushed it a little harder, but at this point there was a hint of turbulence so I erred on the side of caution and throttled down. To me, top speed is just a footnote/bragging point; I'm super content just having a 145 KTAS performance cruise.

For the next series of flights, I'll start ballasting the right seat in 80-lb. increments, up to 240 lb. (I've got some big friends!). Also, I need to make a "reset" page for my checklist, for when you land and taxi back for another take-off. Today, I forgot to reset the elevator trim and it felt a little spooky there for a few seconds at rotation.

Looking forward to having the simulated passenger weight and seeing how that affects sink rate on final, stall speeds, etc.

[Mike S]

Sounds like you are doing well, congrats

[Mark C.]

Doug, I will be starting my phase 1 flying in mid-March. As part of the learning process can you provide a couple of details. What engine, prop and temp. you were seeing in climb-out and cruse.. Thanks. Mark C.

[airguy]

Good job!

I'm fighting high oil temps, got a bigger oil cooler and built a diffuser for the air entering it, I'll get to try that out this Friday and see how much difference it makes. I've got 8.1 hours so far and wheel pants and gear fairings are next on my list after testing the new oil cooler setup.

Once I can keep my temps under control I'll start doing some climb testing.

[rightrudder]

Greg, I hope the new oil cooler and possible revised ducting solve the temp issue. I know it's frustrating to sort this out when you'd rather be flying, but it will pay off in peace of mind and engine longevity.

Mark, I'm running an IO-320-D1A with a Catto 2-blade FP prop, 70x70. I'm getting better cooling now that I cut the air dams in front of cyls 1 & 2 down to about 1/3 their original size.

Yesterday, ambient temp at my field (elevation is about 1440') was approaching 80 F, and initial 1000 fpm climb had CHTs just over 410 F (highest was maybe 415). In cruise climb at 500-600 fpm, they come down to 360-370. At 6500' in the practice area, with 61 F OAT, a 1000-fpm climb has CHTs well under 400 F. It's a big improvement over the 5-hour mark, where the dams were about 2/3 original size. With similar OAT, they were touching 430-435 after takeoff, requiring a more gradual climb to bring them down. I suspect they'll decrease even more as the engine continues to break in. If not, I may trim back the cowl exit by a half inch or so.

[rightrudder]

A couple of pics from the practice area. First one is east of Apple Valley; second one is coming up the Cajon Pass, where you can see a little snow on a peak near Mt. Baldy. Note that I have the standard "cowl pucker" that you get when using 1/4 turn fasteners.

[Vlad]

Good work Doug! Keep testing.

[Jimbot]

Hi Doug,

Great info. Congratulations again on building one heck of a nice 9. Can't wait to check it out in person on my next trip to SoCal.

Take care,

[rightrudder]

Thanks, Vlad and Jim! It's going into the paint shop right after the 40-hour mark... I'll be sure to redo the W&B numbers at that point. We all know it's 10 knots faster with a racy scheme that includes a checkerboard rudder!!!

[BillL]

Originally Posted by rightrudder

Note that I have the standard "cowl pucker" that you get when using 1/4 turn fasteners.

Congrats on your progress, I am working to see that view this year!

OK - not the puckers, why? Are they present on the ground, or only flying? i.e. are they only the result of cowl pressure?