X-Virus-Scanned: clean according to Sophos on Logan.com Return-Path: Received: from securemail.ever-tek.com ([64.129.170.194] verified) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 5.2.16) with ESMTP id 3839419 for flyrotary@lancaironline.net; Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:12:12 -0400 Received-SPF: none receiver=logan.com; client-ip=64.129.170.194; envelope-from=cbarber@bellairepolice.com Message-ID: Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2009 20:10:56 -0500 From: "Chris Barber" Subject: RE: [FlyRotary] At long last, First Flight To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" , "Rotary motors in aircraft" Content-class: urn:content-classes:message X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft Exchange V6.5 X-MS-Has-Attach: X-MS-TNEF-Correlator: Thread-Topic: [FlyRotary] At long last, First Flight Thread-Index: AcovVww1DhxzlMFSSX64epZPos6wkwAAQFxl References: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01CA2F58.25BABFC6" This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------_=_NextPart_001_01CA2F58.25BABFC6 Content-Type: text/plain;charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Yea!!! Congrats Tracy. =20 We were all with you there in spirit. =20 All the best and clear sky's. =20 Chris =20 Cpl. Christopher Barber, JD Badge 330 Bellaire Police Department 5110 Jessamine Bellaire, Texas 77401 =20 713-668-0487 713-662-8289 fax =20 CBarber@BellairePolice.com ________________________________ From: Rotary motors in aircraft on behalf of Tracy Crook Sent: Sun 9/6/2009 8:03 PM To: Rotary motors in aircraft Subject: [FlyRotary] At long last, First Flight Today there was nothing left to do on the RV-8 but flight test it.=20 Very hot day (93 F and high humidity) but ground tests of the cooling sy= stem had gone so well that I was confident of cooling in flight. Instal= led the radio and transponder in the panel (which for some reason I had n= eglected to do until this morning) and they both worked with no problems,= which is always a surprise. =20 High speed taxi tests had already been completed and the P-factor was no = worse than the RV-4, in fact I think it has less. This may be premature = because I haven't done a full throttle takeoff yet. The RV-8 has 1.25 de= grees right offset which I think helps a lot. The RV-4 has no offset. F= irst flight was done without wheel pants or main gear intersection fairin= gs. Just to make sure there were no surprises, takeoff was done at the same f= uel flow as the RV-4 at WOT. I didn't note the manifold pressure but the= throttle quadrant was barely over 1/2 throttle. Ground run on the -8 fe= els more stable than the -4 with considerably more rudder authority (it's= physically bigger so no surprise). The plane broke ground at about the= same point as the -4 but it feels like it levitates off rather than rota= tes off. Probably due to the higher wing incidence on the ground than th= e -4 with the short gear legs but also due to the longer wing. I had ext= ended both wings by about 18" so the wing loading and span loading are le= ss than on the -4. It has about 13% more wing area than stock. This wa= s actually the second time the -8 had air under the tires since it had fl= oated off ground about a foot once before during a high speed taxi test. Airspeed was increasing rapidly after lift off but the ASI was not matchi= ng the visual ques. Normally I expect to see 120 mph at the end of the = runway but ASI shows only 80. Too late to abort but the airplane is climb= ing & sounding very nice. I had been doing a lot of seat-of-the pants t= akeoff and simulated dead stick landings (in the -4) in anticipation of t= oday's tests so I would feel comfortable in the event of partial or compl= ete panel failure (Blue Mountain EFIS1 with only a standard ASI for back= up). Climb to 1000 feet felt effortless even after throttling back to 8 = GPH. I notice that I'm hunting for information and not absorbing much du= e to the very different instrument panel. Remembering that the EFIS1 ha= s the primary ASI in a speed ribbon format I hunt for it and see 0 MPH wh= en I finally find it. The EM2 shows the same airspeed as the steam gauge= , now about 100 MPH. First squawk of the flight and this means I will do= the first landing sans airspeed indicator. I can't seem to locate the G= PS ground speed on the display either. Glad I did all that practice.=20 Time to settle in and start evaluating engine performance. I had taken o= ff with the engine fairly warm so I was not surprised to see oil & water = temps nearing 190 F after climbout. I continue collecting data hoping t= he temps will start coming down but it is soon apparent that they are sta= bilizing at about 200 on both oil and coolant. Very disappointing, sinc= e they had been well below this on the ground when at the same fuel flow = I was currently flying at (I had backed it down to 5.75 gph by this time)= =2E The plane itself is flying beautifully. The aileron trim is able to trim= out a very slight left wing heavy tendency and the ship feels like it is= gliding through the air effortlessly. Again, no surprise, the plane fee= ls just like an RV (Magnificent!). At this speed (guessing about 135 mph= ) the roll response is only slightly slower than the -4. The ailerons w= ere extended with the wing so the RV feel has been preserved. I've compl= eted a wide circuit of the pattern and in position to make an approach so= I throttle back and I can immediately tell that the glide ratio is signi= ficantly higher than the -4. The longer wing is having more effect than= I thought it would even with the heavier engine. This -8 with a 20B end= ed up weighing about 70 pounds more than the average one equipped with an= 0 - 360 and fixed pitch prop and about the same as one equipped with an = IO - 360 with constant speed prop. All the attention to weight control h= as paid off. I throttle up for a go around and the FBW throttle responds= well, no detectable throttle lag at all. The higher than expected oil and water temps are distracting me from data= gathering (Rats, I haven't had time to replace the EM2 with a data loggi= ng EM3 yet) so I make a few more circuits of the field and setup for an a= pproach. I crank in more flaps early to kill off the airspeed and excess= glide ratio and intentionally do not look at the ASI to avoid being conf= used. Wheel landing touchdown is perfect and now I glance at the ASI and= see 40 MPH. Obviously wrong. All in all, a great first flight. The RV-8 is going to be exactly the ai= rplane I was hoping for. Still a lot of testing and tweaking to do. Tracy =20 Warning: This e-mail transmission, and any documents, files or previous e= -mails attached to it, may contain confidential information that is legal= ly privileged. If you are not the intended recipient or the person respon= sible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notifie= d that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of any of the informa= tion contained in or attached to this transmission is STRICTLY PROHIBITED= =2E If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately n= otify us by telephone at 713-662-8132 and destroy the original transmissi= on and its attachments without reading them. Thank you. ------_=_NextPart_001_01CA2F58.25BABFC6 Content-Type: text/html;charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable =0A=0A=0A=0A
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Yea!!! Congrat= s Tracy.
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We were all wi= th you there in spirit.
=0A
 
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All the best and clear sky's.
=0A
 
=0A
Chris
=0A
 
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Cpl. Christopher Barber, = JD
=0A
Badge 330
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= Bellaire Police Department
=0A
5110 Jessamine
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Bell= aire, Texas 77401
=0A
 =0A
713-668-0487
=0A
713-662-8289 fax
=0A
 
=0A
CBarber@BellairePolice.com
=0A

=0A
=0AFrom: Rotary motors in aircraft on behalf of Tracy= Crook
Sent: Sun 9/6/2009 8:03 PM
To: Rotary motors i= n aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] At long last, First Flight
<= /FONT>
=0A
Today there was nothing left to do on the RV-8 bu= t flight test it.

 Very hot day (93 F and high humidity) but= ground tests of the cooling system had gone so well that I was confident= of cooling in flight.   Installed the radio and transponder in= the panel (which for some reason I had neglected to do until this mornin= g) and they both worked with no problems, which is always a surprise.&nbs= p;

High speed taxi tests had already been completed and the P-fac= tor was no worse than the RV-4, in fact I think it has less.  This m= ay be premature because I haven't done a full throttle takeoff yet. = The RV-8 has 1.25 degrees right offset which I think helps a lot.  = The RV-4 has no offset.  First flight was done without wheel pants o= r main gear intersection fairings.

Just to make sure there were no= surprises, takeoff was done at the same fuel flow as the RV-4 at WOT.&nb= sp; I didn't note the manifold pressure but the throttle quadrant was bar= ely over 1/2 throttle.  Ground run on the -8 feels more stable than = the -4 with considerably more rudder authority (it's physically bigger so= no surprise).   The plane broke ground at about the same point= as the -4 but it feels like it levitates off rather than rotates off.&nb= sp; Probably due to the higher wing incidence on the ground than the -4 w= ith the short gear legs but also due to the longer wing.  I had exte= nded both wings by about 18" so the wing loading and span loading are les= s than on the -4.   It has about 13% more wing area than stock.=   This was actually the second time the -8 had air under the tires s= ince it had floated off ground about a foot once before during a high spe= ed taxi test.

Airspeed was increasing rapidly after lift off but t= he ASI was not matching the visual ques.   Normally I expect to= see 120 mph at the end of the runway but ASI shows only 80. Too late to = abort but the airplane is climbing & sounding very nice.   = I had been doing a lot of seat-of-the pants takeoff and simulated dead st= ick landings (in the -4) in anticipation of today's tests so I would feel= comfortable in the event of partial or complete panel failure  (Blu= e Mountain EFIS1 with only a standard ASI for backup).  Climb to 100= 0 feet felt effortless even after throttling back to 8 GPH.  I notic= e that I'm hunting for information and not absorbing much due to the very= different instrument panel.   Remembering that the EFIS1 has t= he primary ASI in a speed ribbon format I hunt for it and see 0 MPH when = I finally find it.  The EM2 shows the same airspeed as the steam gau= ge, now about 100 MPH.  First squawk of the flight and this means I = will do the first landing sans airspeed indicator.  I can't seem to = locate the GPS ground speed on the display either.  Glad I did all t= hat practice.

Time to settle in and start evaluating engine perfo= rmance.  I had taken off with the engine fairly warm so I was not su= rprised to see oil & water temps nearing 190 F after climbout. &= nbsp; I continue collecting data hoping the temps will start coming down = but it is soon apparent that they are stabilizing at about 200 on both oi= l and coolant.   Very disappointing, since they had been well below = this on the ground when at the same fuel flow I was currently flying at (= I had backed it down to 5.75 gph by this time).

The plane itself i= s flying beautifully.  The aileron trim is able to trim out a very s= light left wing heavy tendency and the ship feels like it is gliding thro= ugh the air effortlessly.  Again, no surprise, the plane feels just = like an RV (Magnificent!).  At this speed (guessing about 135 mph) t= he roll response  is only slightly slower than the -4.  The ail= erons were extended with the wing so the RV feel has been preserved. = ; I've completed a wide circuit of the pattern and in position to make an= approach so I throttle back and I can immediately tell that the glide ra= tio is significantly higher than the -4.   The longer wing is h= aving more effect than I thought it would even with the heavier engine.&n= bsp; This -8 with a 20B ended up weighing about 70 pounds more than the a= verage one equipped with an 0 - 360 and fixed pitch prop and about the sa= me as one equipped with an IO - 360 with constant speed prop.  All t= he attention to weight control has paid off.  I throttle up for a go= around and the FBW throttle responds well, no detectable throttle lag at= all.

The higher than expected oil and water temps are distracting= me from data gathering (Rats, I haven't had time to replace the EM2 with= a data logging EM3 yet) so I make a few more circuits of the field and s= etup for an approach.  I crank in more flaps early to kill off the a= irspeed and excess glide ratio and intentionally do not look at the ASI t= o avoid being confused.  Wheel landing touchdown is perfect and now = I glance at the ASI and see 40 MPH.  Obviously wrong.

All in = all, a great first flight.  The RV-8 is going to be exactly the airp= lane I was hoping for.   Still a lot of testing and tweaking to do.<= BR>
Tracy     

Warning: This e-mail transmission, and any documents, files or previo= us e-mails attached to it, may contain confidential information that is l= egally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient or the person re= sponsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby not= ified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of any of the inf= ormation contained in or attached to this transmission is STRICTLY PROHIB= ITED. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately= notify us by telephone at 713-662-8132 and destroy the original transmis= sion and its attachments without reading them. Thank you.

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