10-31-04 1.9 hours /
40.0 total
I finished up the
climb testing, and did some descent testing. Unfortunately, I must have been seeing
things yesterday when I though I saw 3000 rpm. Either that, or it was a bit of an
extended zoom climb. The real
figure is 2222 fpm, which is almost depressing, but it was 85 degrees, and I
have full fuel, so I’m sure I can improve this with better conditions. The goal is still 3000 fpm, but I’m
wondering if I’ll make it now.
The main climb test
was done at 4000 ft. I started at
3500, then established a climb at the designated speed. Once it was stabilized, and I passed
through 4000 ft, I recorded the reading from the VSI. This was just to get an idea of the best
ROC, without regard to the actual figure.
Climb testing : mph /
fps climb
90
/ 2100
100 /
2200
110 /
2000
120 /
1900
130 /
1700
140 /
1400
Since 100 mph was
the best, I dropped to 1500 feet, established 100 mph at full throttle climb,
and timed how long it took to get from 2000 to 3000 feet. The average of a few runs was 27
seconds, which calculates to 2222 fpm.
If nothing else, it shows that my VSI is pretty accurate.
I also did some
descent rate testing around 3000 feet.
Basically, I went to idle, and noted the VSI descent rate at the
following speeds.
Mph /
fps descent
80
/ 700
90
/ 900
100 /
1100
I had added a trim
tab to the (new) rudder, and found that it wasn’t quite enough. It’s amazing the power it has
though. In high power cruise, I
still need a little right rudder (added more trim after the flight), but in
descent testing, I had to add a bunch of left rudder to counteract the trim
tab.
I also tried to
un-squeeze the trailing edge of the new left aileron, to try to correct a little
left rolling motion that was aggravated when I replaced the aileron. It may have been a little better, but it
still took some trim. After the
flight, I gently squeezed the right aileron a little, so we’ll see if that helps
more.
Finally, this
concludes the phase one testing. I
had to circle around the area for the last couple tenths to be legal, but it’s
done. The airframe itself has behaved just as
any RV should, and since I did fairly through airframe testing on my previous
RV-8, I was able to get through the testing of this plane fairly quickly. Just gotta love Van’s RV’s :-)
Now that the
official time is over, I plan to pull the cowl, and do some work on the oil temp
scoop. I’m also going to vastly
improve the TB air inlet that’s in the right radiator duct.