Dave,

I was curious why you went with the T04 turbo.  Did you have trouble with the modified hybrid that you were running. The reason I ask is, that I am planning on sending my stock turbo off for the same modification. 

 

 

Steve Brooks

-----Original Message-----
From: Rotary motors in aircraft [mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net]On Behalf Of David Leonard
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2007 11:36 PM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] N4VY flys again

After a year and a half of deployment and assorted upgrades, my RV-6 finally got back in the skys.  And she did great.

The most significant upgrade was the new cowl and new larger radiator. (see picture).  Some of you may have participated in the 'smiley' cowl vs. 'OH' cowl debate.  Smiley cowl won on the basis of aesthetics, but there was a concern that that boundary layer issues (and the fact that the intake is several inches back from the prop) would prevent adequate cooling.  The other concern of mine was exit air balance between coolant and oil.  Both issues seemed to not be a significant factor.  Oil and water temps now were essentially the same, with the oil just slightly warmer.  Temps for both peaked at about 150, despite the mid 80's ambient temp and a warm-soaked engine (I am living at a tie-down now adays).  I limited my MAP to 30" and was at 26" for most of the flight (at 6500'), but those temps should allow continuous power well into the mid 30's for MAP. 

I made what I thought was a light weight and well designed cowl flap integrated into the radiator mount (see open/closed pictures), but as was my prior experience, the cowl flap did not have much authority to affect the cooling system.  The only difference today was that my temps are borderline too cold, instead of borderline too hot.

I am expecting some increased cooling drag from the BAI (big ass intake), but at least it was not remarkable enough to notice on this flight.  More accurate data to follow.

Other upgrades included new nav antenna, marker antenna, subdued satellite antennas, muffler, new interior, and about 50 smaller items and I was pleased with all.  In fact, my biggest issue with todays flight was that Sirius radio does not come in very well while upside down and the MP3 player is the best option for  aerobatics. Maybe I should have gotten XM, but the Sirius radios all come detachable so that I can easily use the same radio in my car and plane.

Any day you fly instead of build is a great day  :-)

--
David Leonard

Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY
http://N4VY.RotaryRoster.net
http://RotaryRoster.net