Wilksch WAM-120 flying in RV-9A

Dave_Boxall · #1 11-29-2006, 11:09 AM

On the UK RV squadron yahoo group today:

Hi All

G.CDCD took to the air for the first time today under Wilksch Power and performed exactly as it says on the tin! Apart from a slightly heavy left wing and the tick over being a bit high it was faultless.

Two flights were conducted from Wellesbourne the first by Wilksch Engineer Kerry Ashcroft and the second by yours truly. Numbers appear to be:

Take off in about 350 ft
Climb 1200 ft/min at 100 mph with 580lb on board
Cruise about 120 kts at 85% power at 2000ft

All the T,s and P,s were good.

Yes, I am still grinning!!

Regards
Steve

G-CDCD is the second RV-9a fitted with a WAM-120 to fly. The first used different radiator / intercooler positions & has some cooling issues being resolved.

cawmd82 · #2 11-29-2006, 11:30 AM

What might that be in American terms?

Congratulations and the other question is what did you see for fuel flow numbers?

pierre smith · #3 11-29-2006, 11:33 AM

[quote=Dave_Boxall]On the UK RV squadron yahoo group today:

[i]Hi All

G Numbers appear to be:

Climb 1200 ft/min at 100 mph with 580lb on board
Cruise about 120 kts at 85% power at 2000ft

All the T,s and P,s were good.

Yes, I am still grinning!!

Regards
Steve

Very nice, Steve...congratulations but it seems somewhat slow. 120 knots at 85%??? Seems it's around 35 knots short

What is the horsepower rating on the engine?
Regards,

rv6ejguy · #4 11-29-2006, 11:50 AM

Congrats! Keep us up to speed on flight testing and performance.

Tick over = idle.

As far as the speed goes, this is turbocharged- Hello engine room, need more manifold pressure. It will take at bit for this to perform like an O-320 but the fuel flow should be very impressive.

Dave_Boxall · #5 11-29-2006, 12:01 PM

120 knots = 138 mph

Engine is 120 hp

Empty weight is 1050 lbs - Steve hopes to lose between 5 & 10 lbs when he swaps his prototype cowl for a "production standard" one

FlyingArcher · #6 12-01-2006, 12:33 PM

As I was gathering info in the final planning stage of my soon-to-come Rv-9A project, I received this from Kerry Ashcroft:

Hello Daniel

We have recently had the second RV-9A flying here in the UK. Just to
give you some figures, although they are only some rough initial ones.
It has a 700lb useful load, climbs at 1200fpm, cruises at 120kts easily
using approx 16ltrs/hr of JET A-1 all on a WAM-120.
The RV-9A is certainly an impressive performer.

I will certainly put you on the mailing list.

We were trying to launch a new website but have had some problems with
it which has left the old one running and is now very much out of date.
I have been asking that they at least update the old site, even if it is
only a temporary measure until the new one is ready.

If you would like any further information then please let me know.

Best Regards

Kerry Ashcroft
Installations and Customer Support Engineer
Wilksch Airmotive Ltd
mobile: 07944 739234
tel: 0870 170 9670
fax: 0870 170 9678
e-mail: kerry.ashcroft@wilksch.com

Sounds interesting to me

Dave_Boxall · #7 12-02-2006, 03:28 AM

16 litres / hour is 4.22 US Gallons / hr

rv8ch · #8 12-02-2006, 12:19 PM

Keep in mind that Jet-A is about half the price of even mogas in the UK. This makes this diesel engine *very* attractive. Kudos to all involved - I'm looking forward to seeing it fly!

Dave_Boxall · #9 12-03-2006, 01:02 PM

More from the UK RV Squadron Yahoo group.

Sat Dec 2, 2006 5:53 pm

Having completed another flight with her I agree that 100mph is an excellent climb speed.

I climbed out at 90 today and the nose was so high almost all forward vision was lost, I was using an operating manual written by an American owner who gives VY at 86 and VY AT 74MPH. Quite where the nose would be at 74 worries me. Your 1400 foot is probably nearer the mark.

What was good today was that we got 160mph in the cruise........ don't they fly nice!

Steve

Dave_Boxall · #10 12-17-2006, 03:15 PM

Steve has just posted some more details about his installation on the PFA bulletin board.

Dave

Steve Arnold posted 17 December, 2006 08:58 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi

I refilled the tanks yesterday 55 litres was used for 40mins taxying (including fast taxy), and 2 hours 45 minutes of flight ( hasn't the weather been ****!) A fair amount of this has been in the climb on full power, 7 take offs and one climb at full power for 5 mins...... max permitted time. So 3hrs 25ish for 55litres....

I make that 16 litres per hour which is excactly what Wilksch quote for an economy cruise.

I think my estimate of 25l was because the aeroplane has Vans fuel guages which are calibrated in US gallons.

So there you have it folks 16l/hour which I think is really good considering the size of te aeroplane, a 140 to 160 mph cruise. I just hope I can get some more test flying in in the next few weeks.

RV/Wilksch grin!!

[ 17. December 2006, 09:01 PM: Message edited by: Steve Arnold ]