Running Without Wings

Yukon · #1 03-01-2007, 10:11 PM

I ran my RV-9 today, without wings. A wonderful experience with no problems or issues. CHT was 220 when I shut her down after about 4 minutes of fast idling. I preheated with a Reiff electric crankcase heater, both before and after the run to evaporate condensation. 80 PSI oil pressure at 1100 RPM. Tied the tail and chocked the wheels.

Great motivation! Can't wait to start the canopy tomorrow! See attached video and photos.
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/936...2007001bo2.jpg

Yukon · #2 03-01-2007, 10:55 PM

Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5qgaxBg_UU

rv8ch · #3 03-01-2007, 11:00 PM

Congrats, John!

It's a great feeling to hear the engine run for the first time, that's for sure.

Yukon · #4 03-01-2007, 11:25 PM

It's a great shot of motivation isn't it!

dan · #5 03-01-2007, 11:29 PM

Didn't want to at least cleco the top skin on? What was keeping the gas can from blowing over? What's dangling toward the back between the exhaust stacks, the breather hose?

Glad everything worked out uneventfully!

Yukon · #6 03-01-2007, 11:46 PM

No, Dan, I didn't consider it necessary to cleco on the forward skin, nor the aft turtledeck skin. The fuselage appears to me to be quite rigid without them. Remember, the engine is producing 5 or 10 hp at idle. Notice how smoothly it started and stopped?

The appendage between the pipes is the temporary location of the Reiff preheater cord. I had the oil at about 140 degrees prior to start, and it is still on now to remove any condensation.

The gas can is tied to the airplane with a nylon rope, as well as grounded with a ground wire.

szicree · #7 03-02-2007, 12:22 AM

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but how do you ensure that some curious neighbor kid doesn't walk straight into that prop? I mean, if it happens on a ramp somewhere, you could defend yourself by saying that that's what airports are for, but in your yard??

rvpilot · #8 03-02-2007, 04:40 AM

But, now that it's done, what have you accomplished, really?? What would have happened if the engine had backfired, with that open gas can right there? Was the can full, half full? I hope you had a fire extinguisher handy, one's not visible in the video! All in all, didn't look very well thought out too me.
JMHO! Providing more info for those considering such in the future!

PJSeipel · #9 03-02-2007, 05:06 AM

It's a free country and you can do what you want, but another point to consider is the effect your decision might have on the rest of us:

You may know every one of your neighbors and they might all be o.k. with your running your engine in your front yard, but we have places in this great country (Jacksonville!) where the neighbors aren't so friendly to people building airplanes in their garage. Regardless of whether we think it's safe or not (and it appears some may not think so), it will probably appear even less safe to those who don't routinely interact with airplanes. I think that running an airplane engine in a residential neighborhood would be pretty hard to defend in front of the city council when they overreact and pass an ordinance that says you can't build airplanes in a residential neighborhood.

And I don't even want to think about what the effect on our sport might be if something went terribly wrong while test running an airplane engine in your front yard.

PJ Seipel
RV-10 #40032

Wes Hays · #10 03-02-2007, 06:01 AM

Congratulations John. I told my bride after I started the engine on the -6A that I knew what a new mother must feel like when she heard her newborn cry for the first time. It absolutely brought tears of joy to these old eyes.

What configuration? Looks like FI?

Wes