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I figure some of you might be interested in how things look on my 360 at the
100 hour mark. I've been flying it for 9 months now and have made a number
of long trips. It is still in the debug stage (if that ever ends) and paint
is scheduled for late June. The engine (IO360 B1F) has proven flawlessly
reliable and has not been affected by the recent crankshaft and fuel pump
advisories we've seen.
Temperatures: The CHTs are coming down now after some cowl tweaking and
takeoff technique changes. They were crowding 450 degrees on warm air
takeoff and 400 degrees at cruise when leaned beyond 150 degrees rich of
peak. Cylinder #3 is the hottest. My oil cooler is in front of number 2
and my filtered air intake is in front of number 1. To improve things, I've
added ramps inside the upper cowling to smooth the inlet air. I've also
capped the cabin heat valve on the exhaust side so that air no longer is
robbed from behind cyl. 3 unless it's cold outside. At takeoff, I now open
the ram air inlet which cuts the draw from in front of cyl 1 and increases
power substantially. The combined affect is to lower takeoff and climbout
CHTs to below 410. Cruise CHTs did not seem to be affected much.
Next, I've added more silicone around the baffling and have installed exit
air down ramps at the bottom of the cowl using bent aluminum sheetmetal pop
riveted in place. My initial test shows that I can now lean to 50 degrees
ROP (the hottest CHT situation) and be at 375 CHT (zero degrees ambient at
10k feet 75% (2500 rpm, 21.4 inches) power). That's a 30 to 40 degree
improvement over before at cruise. These exit air ramps are sheet metal
flanges that bend down at about a 35 degree angle and are 1 inch long after
the bend. There are 3 of them, one in front of the nose gear slot (3 inches
wide) and one on either side of the nose gear at the back of the cowling (6
inches wide each). So it appears that I have the cooling licked but their
seems to be a slight penalty on speed: 191 kts at the same conditions
above.
High Speed Vibration: There is a noise that comes in at around the top of
the green arc usually during descent. I estimate that it's around the 100
Hz range, maybe lower. It's heard (Bose headsets), not felt and it was NOT
there on day one. I suspect gear doors/wells as the culprit since the mains
are not very flush yet and there are gaps where air can see into the well.
Also the nose door has relaxed away from the fuselage in the rear 3rd of the
door. I build this peice on the flat bench and tried to heat bend it but I
think with the exhaust heat it goes back to its original shape. I'll next
remove bid and foam, bend it, then install new glass to lock in the desired
shape. Also, I've yet to install the nose gear close out that seals the leg
to the sheet metal boot.
I've had "creaking" in the gear while taxiing. While it sounds like
something is cracked, the springs just needed some grease. I had a nose
gear tire go flat at the far end of my home runway. Happened all of a
sudden. Memo: always carry at least a spare inner tube since no FBO has
the tiny 4 series tires/tubes. The brakes do not hold the plane still at
1800 rpm runup (MT prop). Don't yet know for certain if it's the tire
skidding or not enough brake. In any event, too much leg power is needed.
I have the original pads on from 5 years ago and will try the replacement
Cleveland pads I received.
Rain: OK, I now believe it. Rain is like shot peening. Any week spots in
the skin like poor primer adhesion along the leading edges or foam buildups
around the cowl inlets not glassed over will erode. I made the apparent
mistake of not glassing over my carefully micro and foam contoured surfaces
on the cowl and elevator counter weights. These will now have to be glassed
if they are to survive. The leading edges appear to be fine except for
random locations on the wings.
Make sure to take a garden hose to your plane early on so that you can see
how water tight it is. Take the seats out first. Mine fills with water in
the seat area! I thought it was the untaped D section but now I'm certain
it's coming from the outback flap torque tube openning. Unfortunately,
water channels right to this area and in my case I had to cut away some of
the top flap skin for clearances. Factory says a boot over the torque tube
won't work so I'll close out the tube with some plates of one sort or
another.
What's worked great: Automatic fuel trasfer system between wings and
header. Ground power outlet underneath the door handle. Hydraulic gages on
panel. Bose headsets are great and music comes through as if at home. The
portable CD player plugs into a jack on the panel. I've got 2 power outlets
at the bottom of the pedestal, one for CD player, one for the Garmin 295.
Fuel tank sealer inside the cabin anywhere hydraulic oil might spill. Makes
a clean appearance and helps you keep things clean. Forget about co-pilot
rudder pedals unless you really think you need them. I don't have them and
put the space to good use. The mountain high Oxygen system (EDS system with
kevlar bottle) is great. I really feel the difference after a cross country
and the cannula does not interfere with the headset. It opens up another
set of altitude choices.
What's not great: When you are strapped in, you can't reach far. The
eyeball vents for fresh air are in plans location and unreachable. Scott
Krueger showed me a neat stick he uses to reach them. I wish I had electric
rudder trim. I'd rather have a Garmin 430 in the panel. The one touch up
flap relays were a waste of time: I found a switch that does exactly the
same thing: middle position is off, spring loaded return from the down
position but detented up position. Gear Minder was a waste unfortunately
since there seems to be a software bug and I had to bypass it. I'm having a
devil of a time sealing the canopy. The plans glove box was a waste because
I need that surface to mount the portable GPS. I use pockes for pencils.
Get the nice static ports from aircraft spruce so that your static integrity
is not subject to how well you bond fittings into the skin. My only leaks
were at both ports until I switched. My plane fits people 6 feet tall and
smaller. A lot of your friends are taller than 6 feet zero inches so plan
for that while you still can. Don't put the gear switch anywhere close to
the flap, trim or anyother switch you grab during the checklists. It's a
damn accident waiting to happen. I moved mine from the pedestal to above
the flight instruments. Get your trim and flap indicators in easy view.
You only need the trim indicator prior to takeoff but you need your flap
indicator in the pattern. Mine were hidden by the engine controls. The
inboard gear doors flap in the prop wash on the ground (outback gear). Best
I can tell it's mostly a function of sloppy hinge pin fits. I think there's
a nylon sleeve that can be used, can anyone confirm?
The plane is fun to fly: 150 kts and 1000 fpm on climbout and it will
maintain 1000 fpm beyond 10k feet indicating 135 kts (all stock stuff but
with ram air and at 1650 lbs). You can get astronomical climb rates (2000
fpm at 120 kts) but the deck angle is extreme and not practical.
Happy Flying,
Ed de Chazal, Rochester Michigan
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LML website: http://www.olsusa.com/Users/Mkaye/maillist.html
LML Builders' Bookstore: http://www.buildersbooks.com/lancair
Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.
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