Greetings,

Here's the log from today's flight.  Things are still going in the right direction performance-wise, but I've got a ways to go.

Rusty (must port wastegate...)

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Climbed out at 5 psi, and it still seems like the best climb rate is 100 mph.  I saw about 2100 fpm on the anywhere map, which is the same as my buddy’s 160 HP RV-3.  This confirms my belief that it takes about 5 psi to break even.  I got a few whiffs of fuel, but the tanks were full, and I know that my RV-8 used to do that too. 

Climbed to 10,000 feet, and shoved the throttle to the max.  Boost stopped building at about 9.5psi, but the power kept coming on as the throttle was opened further.  I’m absolutely convinced that 5 psi will be much stronger when I can get the wastegate opened up more, and that’s next week’s project. 

Here are the speeds with 16 degrees of pitch on the prop:

Boost (over ambient) / MAP / RPM / MPH

Climb

5 psi / 38” / 5400 / 100  (2100 fpm)

5 psi / 38” / 5600 / 120  (1600 fpm)

Cruise at 10,000 ft

5 psi / 30” / 6100 / 140

7 psi / 34” /          / 145

I’m going to leave the prop here for a while.  I’m sure I’ll want to increase the pitch a bit more when I get the wastegate working, and get rid of the cowl drag.

Did some stalls at about 10,000 ft, and there were no surprises, other than the high numbers.  I’ve gotta get this ASI checked, either with the GPS, or with my formation buddy.  The stall comes with decent warning- much more than an RV-6, and less than an RV-8.

No flaps, stall at 70 mph indicated

First notch of flaps (about 18 degrees), stall at 65 mph indicated

Full flaps (28 degrees), stall at 63 mph indicated. 

After the flight, I found that the belly, and tailwheel were pretty oily.  I had recently re-oriented the oil vent line, and it looks like all the oil came from there.  I must have managed to get it in the suction area behind the bottom edge of the cowl.  I added a large diameter clear hose, with a drain valve at the bottom.  This is extended up into the cowl about 18”, then has the smaller diameter vent line stuck inside.  This is not an airtight fit, so the vent still works, but there can be no suction.  I can also monitor how much oil gets out, and drain it as needed.