Microlighters

Four years later...

Take off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEGYUcVuPO4

Landing (just a vague white dot until 1:30):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNiJKhfqPMA

At Last !!!

Wel done mate !!

Well done.

Hey Justin, maar ek se.........daai Vollatjie klink darem lekker
Well done Sir Justin.
Jean.

Really well done Justin. All that patience with your engine seems to have paid off.

Best wishes and many happy flights in her mate.

Test flight went well, but there is still work to be done...

The only real complaint from the test pilot was that the engine surged during steep turns. So this gravity regulated carb is going over rich in high G manoeuvres. Part of the problem may be that the test pilot did not lean the mixture (which was already set very rich. So doubling the fuel pressure at 2G probably pushed it over the limit.

Aside from that, stall was dead straight at 40kts, and everything else was fine.

Oil temps are too low. 5 minute climb at full throttle only got to 65C - so I will need to blank some of the cooler, or add an adjustable flap. The pilot did not log the CHTs, but did say that they didn't even come close to the 190C cruise limit, even after 5 minutes of full power climb. So overall cooling looks good.

The major issue is, as expected, engine power. It seems the little VW just may not be enough. RPM stayed at 3000, from static, all the way up to 75kts - and that was about all it would do. Test pilot says it definitely won't haul two people yet. The good news, is the torque band is flat to 3400RPM, so there is still 13% more power available - I just need to prop it to reach that RPM... But will 13% more power be enough to make any real difference?

Mooi man Justin!

Wow Justin! Congrats man!! This is such an achievement!! you must be one of the expert VW builders in the country now thak knowledge will allways benfit you. I am sure you will get her sorted out! All the best!

Now that the plane's paperwork is ready, I need to get mine ready... Went back to school yesterday, and flew for the first time in two years...

Did a credible approximation of the drunk pilot airshow routine! Rusty does not begin to describe it. A few more sessions, and I will be ready to convert onto my own plane - if I can get the type conversion sorted out.

Hey Justin. Good luck with removing the rust.. I have also not flown since jan 2012 and even then it took a while to get it acceptable to be sent solo. I also need to get into a plane again soon. Any news on your engine power issue? Or are you planning to fly her like that for the time being? Are you planning further prop experimentation? Is your test pilot going to do some more flights for you? - presume you are going to try and find another raven to get you conversion on and then fly you own? Good luck!

AndyCAP wrote:Hey Justin. Good luck with removing the rust.. I have also not flown since jan 2012 and even then it took a while to get it acceptable to be sent solo. I also need to get into a plane again soon. Any news on your engine power issue? Or are you planning to fly her like that for the time being? Are you planning further prop experimentation? Is your test pilot going to do some more flights for you? - presume you are going to try and find another raven to get you conversion on and then fly you own? Good luck!

Rust removal is not happening very well... lots of cancelled flights (this whole weekend was blown away...). Jonty Esser will be helping me with some performance testing. I am having both props shortened by 1", and he will hopefully fly both next weekend, if everything works out. If I can get acceptable 2-up performance, then Jonty will do my conversion on my plane. Otherwise, he is asking around to see if there is one he can rent (he sold his Raven).

Let us see what next weekend brings...

Well, Jonty came to fly my plane today. Climbs 360fpm at 65kts and 3160 rpm. So the engine does not have that much more to give. Perhaps 3 or 4 more HP. Doing the maths, it seems excess HP (climb HP available) is around 11hp. Which would equate to 300 fpm 2 up. And the extra horsepower still available can get me another 100fpm.

A little more tweaking, and this VW could actually work quite nicely!

Once I have renewed my license, Jonty will do the conversion on my own plane. Says it will be fine if we do it early in the morning.

Doing my renewal is turning out to be tricky though. Training slots at the school are few and far between. But at least I pulled off one perfect landings today. We will just ignore the other 'landings' though...

Oh yes. Jonty said the plane flies like a dream, and the VW goes better than any he has flown behind before...