Not much new here either but have a few squawks & details to report.

The AeroTurbine muffler has about 15 hours on it and still working well but I do see a loose piece of SS inside.  No danger of it clogging things up so leaving it to disintegrate.

After flying with the EC3 closed loop software for awhile I have a better feel for how the O2 sensor responds to mixture.   Its more like a switch than a linear sensor in that it's full range of output occurs over a very narrow range of mixture.  Guess that's why they are called narrow band sensors!   Anyway, it makes it a little tricky to set the EC3 target mixture.  Best results are obtained by setting the target at a fairly lean mixture.  Because the best fuel economy is achieved at a mixture below which common narrow band sensors work at,  It is not possible to get as good fuel economy in closed loop as you can by carefully tweaking the mixture in open loop when in cruise.  The difference is not large (about .3 GPH) but enough to make me want better.

After seeing this, I decided to experiment with a wideband sensor.   They have come down in price so even penny pinchers like me can afford them. $150.00 range.  They typically put out a voltage between 0 & 5 volts instead of 0 to 1 volt like narrow band does.   The polarity is opposite as well so rich mixture is at low end of range instead of high.   With the latest version of the software (after Feb 2013) you can now setup the EC3 to use either  type sensor.   With the wideband sensor it is much easier to target the exact mixture you want and to achieve the best fuel economy in closed loop.

Both the Renesis in the -4 and the 20B in the -8 have been wonderfully non-eventful.
I'm always amazed at how long the apex seals take to fully seat in.   The 20B cranking speed compression is still improving after 120 hours.  The 13B was at around 250 hours when it reached maximum.

Tracy

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 9, 2013, at 3:52 PM, Chris Barber <cbarber@texasattorney.net> wrote:

I so dislike when this list goes silent.

Phase One report:  After addressing a clogged fuel filter (ultimately removing it....very small passages in the screen) I flew again on Thursday. Just a quick hop around the patch. This is sometime more an issue than it would seem at a towered field with heavy military/NASA traffic under Class B.

No squawks and nice data log with the latest Dynon 5.1 update. Along with "Clouds Ahoy" ya get a pretty nice picture off the flight and parameters. This was only the ninth flight but was more fun as I seem to be getting things sorted. Still haven't left the pattern :-)

Chris

Sent from my iPhone 5
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