We flew up to Dallas from the island today, to have the prop balanced on our new (to us) RV-8A, "Amelia".
First, let me say that flying to Dallas, chock to chock, in just two hours, was AMAZING -- but I digress.
My first RV-8 ride was in Jay Pratt's amazing aircraft. This plane had an almost turbine-like smoothness that impressed me. When we trained in Amelia, I noticed immediately that she was about as smooth as Atlas, our Piper Pathfinder, (which has been fine for 11 years), but nowhere near as smooth as Pratt's RV.
So, I found Walt's place, EXPAircraft (http://expaircraft.com) here on the Van's RV website. He came highly recommended as one of the best in the prop balancing business. In a previous life, he worked balancing jet engines for the airlines, and his techniques were honed by many years of practice on DC-10s.
Walt is located at Roanoke, TX (52F) a suburb of Dallas. It's an amazingly active little field, with a good on-field restaurant (the Blue Hangar Restaurant), and a full-blown pilot's shop. General Aviation is alive and thriving in the Dallas area, for sure.
The balancing procedure is deceptively simple. Decowl the engine, put a piece of reflective tape on the prop, and mount a laser on the engine.
Then mount a vibration sensor on the engine, outboard. These two different sensors connect to a handheld computer, where the magic happens.
Step One, run the engine up to 2300 RPM. This is the first run, and Walt hangs some weight on the flywheel at the stations prescribed by the magic handheld computer.
Step Two is the second run. Again, I ran it up to 2300 RPM, and it was immediately apparent that something wonderful was happening. Vibration in the stick, and through my butt, was easily halved.
Step Three, again after hanging more weights at the prescribed locations, was the third run, where the balance is fine tuned.
The third run was...amazing. I just sat there, and nothing shook. Like, at all. It was just sound, and no motion. It was truly amazing.
According to Walt the initial run showed my prop at .018. Apparently .02 is the upper limit of vibration recommended, so our prop was close to the max vibration normally seen.
By the third run, Walt had it reduced to .007, close to perfect. It was an amazing change, night and day, really, and I couldn't be happier.
The flight home was remarkable. We climbed to 11,500', in typical RV fashion (quickly), without any vibration at all. It was almost creepy, but wonderful at the same time.
Best $175 I've ever spent on an airplane. Just do it. (And we got to enjoy lunch with Mr. Pratt and Mr. Reeves, too!)
First, let me say that flying to Dallas, chock to chock, in just two hours, was AMAZING -- but I digress.
My first RV-8 ride was in Jay Pratt's amazing aircraft. This plane had an almost turbine-like smoothness that impressed me. When we trained in Amelia, I noticed immediately that she was about as smooth as Atlas, our Piper Pathfinder, (which has been fine for 11 years), but nowhere near as smooth as Pratt's RV.
So, I found Walt's place, EXPAircraft (http://expaircraft.com) here on the Van's RV website. He came highly recommended as one of the best in the prop balancing business. In a previous life, he worked balancing jet engines for the airlines, and his techniques were honed by many years of practice on DC-10s.
Walt is located at Roanoke, TX (52F) a suburb of Dallas. It's an amazingly active little field, with a good on-field restaurant (the Blue Hangar Restaurant), and a full-blown pilot's shop. General Aviation is alive and thriving in the Dallas area, for sure.
The balancing procedure is deceptively simple. Decowl the engine, put a piece of reflective tape on the prop, and mount a laser on the engine.
Then mount a vibration sensor on the engine, outboard. These two different sensors connect to a handheld computer, where the magic happens.
Step One, run the engine up to 2300 RPM. This is the first run, and Walt hangs some weight on the flywheel at the stations prescribed by the magic handheld computer.
Step Two is the second run. Again, I ran it up to 2300 RPM, and it was immediately apparent that something wonderful was happening. Vibration in the stick, and through my butt, was easily halved.
Step Three, again after hanging more weights at the prescribed locations, was the third run, where the balance is fine tuned.
The third run was...amazing. I just sat there, and nothing shook. Like, at all. It was just sound, and no motion. It was truly amazing.
According to Walt the initial run showed my prop at .018. Apparently .02 is the upper limit of vibration recommended, so our prop was close to the max vibration normally seen.
By the third run, Walt had it reduced to .007, close to perfect. It was an amazing change, night and day, really, and I couldn't be happier.
The flight home was remarkable. We climbed to 11,500', in typical RV fashion (quickly), without any vibration at all. It was almost creepy, but wonderful at the same time.
Best $175 I've ever spent on an airplane. Just do it. (And we got to enjoy lunch with Mr. Pratt and Mr. Reeves, too!)
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