Long...
Thanks everyone!
The former svelte RV-9 is now 1068 lbs without paint. (I still think Radomir had his toe on one of the scales.) Radomir pointed out that we were using a different set of scales this time, so that could account for some of the weight gain. The original weight didn?t include the floor insulation, carpet, and some other things. I?m still in shock as to the empty weight but I can live with it. Radomir will tell you the weight gain is a result of the extra Adel clamps I added in this installation. He could be right but when I removed the old engine, there were no signs of wear on any of the wires, hoses, etc. So, if the extra weight is the price to pay, then I?ll happily pay it.
My numbers came out to:
1068 EW with a CG of 76.76. The CG works out rather nicely.
The only squawk seems to be the autopilot disconnect button doesn?t work, which means I can?t calibrate the AP, which also means I can?t turn it on. Not a big deal. I?ll fix that next time I go out to the airport.
Here is how the day played out.
I arrived at the airport at 8:30 AM and went to work draining the right tank (The left tank was already dry.), installing the cooling plenum, cowling, pre-heating the plane, doing a complete pre-flight, etc.
Things found in the pre-flight, the left tank?s quick drain was never tightened, only the right tank. The trim tab cable was disconnected at the knob in the cockpit. (Still trying to figure out how that happened.) Weighed the plane at 11 AM with the help of Radomir, Ed Anderson (of rotary RV fame), and Danny C.
Ed, Radomir, and I went for lunch. Upon returning from filling our bellies, I put 10 gallons in each tank.
After pulling the plane out, I climbed in, closed the canopy while saying to myself, ?Self, you need to latch that,? and started her up. With the oil already up to 75 degrees, it didn?t take long for all the temps to get into the green. I was going through my check list and realized that although I had my sun glasses on, I really should have a cap on. Not a big deal, this wouldn?t be a long flight, so I lined up on the center line.
I applied power slowly and was surprised at how quickly the tail came up. ?Boy, I?m going to enjoy this extra power!? I said to myself, just as the canopy began to lift. ?Dang it, I forgot to latch the canopy!? For a split second I thought about continuing and realized I really wanted my hat so I pulled the power off, spun around, and taxied back to the waiting crowd, who were all grinning ear-to-ear. One of them grabbed a hat for me, and I again lined up for the takeoff. At this point, my temps were still in the low green range.
I think the reason Mark thought my takeoff was so quite was that I?m not sure I had the throttle full in before I was flying. It is my habit to apply the power slowly and with the extra power, I can easily do partial power takeoffs.
A quick climb to 3000? (2500 DA) at 120 MPH found me circling over Goose Creek and then on to Monroe where there is a much longer runway. I spent 20 minutes circling there at 3000 feet, (Our ground elevations are under 600?.) and then flew back home.
Needless to say, I wasn?t spending a lot of time looking at the speeds but rather had my eyes tuned to the engine parameters.
While buzzing along at 2650 RPM / 25.0? I was seeing speeds in the 170 to 180 MPH range WITHOUT fairings. (I?ll give Craig Catto a call on Monday regarding these numbers as I could easily over speed the engine.) My climb rates were averaging 1700 FPM at 110 kts with my big ?ol butt and full tanks.
The first landing in my -9 in over 19 months was acceptable. After decowling, we adjusted the oil pressure (dialed it back), and found nothing else out of line.
Here are the temps from my 2nd flight:
___CHT___EGT
#1_342___1149
#2_366___1211
#3_366___1161
#4_366___1170
Oil 178F & 87 PSI
I need to make some air dams to put in front #1. Rather than riveting in the dam as recommended by Van?s, I put in plate nuts so I can easily install air dams, once I know what size they need to be. Temporarily, I will use aluminum tape to figure out the correct shape/size of the air dam.
As for how it handles, I did notice the extra weight up front. Two of my three landings were really nice wheel landings because I didn?t rotate it enough. I seem to recall DR telling me he experienced the same thing when he installed the O-360 in Flash, so I shouldn?t be surprised.
Thanks again to everyone on this board for all the help, suggestions, and encouragement over the years!