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Flight test update - long
The last few days of maintenance paid off
today. The engine ran *much* smoother in flight (prop balancing). There's still a fairly pronounced vibration at certain RPMs, but they're easy to avoid and have been reported by other RV-drivers with similar prop/engine combinations. Engine temps are much closer across cylinders (small air dams in front of 1&2) and a full throttle climb on a 90 deg day showed temps within acceptable limits. Now that I can run it harder I definitely see the possibility of overspeeding the prop (2700 RPM max) in a shallow descent at high power. OTOH, at least from 3 to 5K, full throttle results in something close to 2700 RPM after airspeed stabilizes, so I guess the prop is pitched about right. We'll see after I get weather to do it higher. Rather than approach spins as originally planned, since I wanted to keep the power up I changed the plan and did some speed runs. The fairings obviously need some cleaning up, but I indicate 150 KIAS at 3000 ft and 2600 RPM. It'll do better with better fiberglass work, but that will come later. It still feels smokin' to me. Of course I had to do some pretty aggressive maneuvering to stay within the 'measured course', so I got up to 4.5g's. An interesting aside, I can definitely tell how dehydration affects g tolerance. If I drink a bottle of water and wait about 10 minutes my g-tolerance increases by about 1g. Since the time is so short some of it *may* be psychological, but I understand the physiology behind it as well and now make sure I'm well hydrated before flying. I finished up the flight with mild acro: 1g rolls and 'weenie wingovers'. RV's definitely have some aileron buffet at full deflection. Not objectionable, just noticeable. It feels a lot like the stall buffet I get too, but only in the stick, not the whole airframe. I guess I'm feeling separation over the ailerons prior to stall - works for me. It certainly is easy to roll. I tend to dish out the bottom, though, which probably means I'm holding a little too much aft stick either all the way or at the end. Who cares for now, they're fun as all get out. Full-blown wingovers (90 deg out in heading at inverted key, 90 deg nose up and down) and other overhead maneuvers will wait until the engine is broken in and I spin it. I'd much rather have the first spins be intentional rather than out of blown acro. In the meantime, what little I'm willing to do is a nice break from converting old dead dinosaurs into speed with nowhere to go. I'll have more time to fly in the upcoming weeks, I hope to take a huge bite out of the flight test requirements and my test plan. We'll see. Dave 'dinner roll' Hyde RV-4 in flight test, EAA tech counselor |
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