Friday 13 Mar 2009
2.3 air time
2.4 flt time

Inter-flight activities:

  1. Removed EFIS and shipped it back to Dynon. Plugged the pitot and static lines that normally connected to the EFIS, and did a static system leak check.
  2. Took turn and bank indicator to First Air, to have them determine whether it can be repaired, or whether I need to buy a new one.
  3. Checked and adjusted pitch trim speed. The trim speed governor had been set so that 30 seconds were required for the trim to run full travel. This was changed to 23 seconds, which appears to the be the fastest speed that can be set by the trim speed governor.

Events:

  1. Transponder check with Ottawa Terminal. They reported continuous tracking of my return, and a good ident. Their reported altitude was about 200 ft lower than the actual baro altitude. However, the altitude encoder accuracy was checked to be well within limits prior to first flight last year.
  2. GPS ground and flight tests in accordance FAA Advisory Circular AC20-138A, Airworthiness Approval of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Equipment, which is the same guidance material as is used for IFR GPS certification tests on type-certificated aircraft. All ground and flight tests passed.
  3. COM 2 reception checks at all azimuths. COM 2 is a Microair 760, connected to an Sportcraft antenna (designed by Bob Archer), mounted inside the left wing tip (order from Chief Aircraft). Reception of the CYTR ATIS was checked at 75 nm range. The reception was good at all azimuths, except for a very narrow range of angles around the 3 o'clock position where the reception was much weaker, but still readable. I do not understand how the radio energy gets to the antenna from the 3 o'clock azimuth, as the fuselage and wing would both seem to be between the ground station and the antenna. But it works. Magic.
  4. COM 2 transmission checks at all azimuths. CYND radio reported good reception at 45 nm range, even if they were at the 3 o'clock position. They did not respond to any calls made at 75 nm, on all azimuths, at 8500 ft, so it appears the effective transmission range is somewhere between 45 and 75 nm.
  5. NAV 1 and NAV 2 range checks. Both NAV 1 (GNS 430) and NAV 2 (Narco 122D) picked up the YCF VOR at 75 nm range. The reported VOR radials corresponded to the bearing to the station reported by the GPS. Both NAV receivers are fed from a Sportcraft (Bob Archer design) antenna hidden inside the right wing tip (pictures on Sam Buchanan's web site).
  6. Two touch and go landings, one with zero flap, using a 75 kt approach speed. The landings are starting to be more predictable, with much less tendency to bounce, and less directional workload during the rollout.

New Snags:

  1. It was extremely cold at altitude, and there was a significant draft coming from somewhere, perhaps from the aft canopy skirt area. I was wishing I had worn my insulated pants, and boots. I need to experiment with weather striping around the aft canopy skirt.
  2. Some right rudder force is required in cruise. This isn't a new snag, but I had forgotten to record it until now. A wedge must be added to the left side of the rudder trailing edge.
  3. The link at the aft end of the L tailwheel chain keeps flipping 180 degrees during flight, so what should be the front end is at the back. This does not cause any handling problems, but it puts the link in an orientation that puts much more stress on it, as it doesn't fit through the hole in the tailwheel control arm this way, and thus it sits at an angle. The link on the R side, never does this, even though there is no obvious mechanical difference between the two sides. Further investigation is required.

Existing Snags:

  1. RPM still low in level flight with max rpm selected. An e-mail was sent to Aero Technologies support asking for advice.
  2. EFIS does not power up. It is in a continual reboot cycle at about 1 Hz. Thus no EFIS data is recorded. The EFIS was sent back to Dynon for service.
  3. SD-8 Alternator does not seem to be working. Will defer troubleshooting until engine break-in is completed, as it would be useful to check for AC output from alternator during an engine ground run.
  4. Loud buzz at high speed from aft part of canopy skirt. Try some stick-on Velcro or felt.
  5. Turn needle in turn and bank not working. The OFF flag is removed when power is applied, so power is getting to the instrument. The instrument was sent to First Air for service.
  6. Pitch trim speed of movement is slow during a touch and go.

Notes:

  1. None

Results of Data Review:

  1. The laptop computer failed to record engine monitor data on this flight. Further investigation is required.