N767JM IS FLYING

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Rockyjs
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N767JM IS FLYING

Post by Rockyjs »

On July 25th N767JM flew two uneventful flights totaling 1.5 hours. The aircraft flew great! Straight as an arrow. I started on a soggy runway and elected to use flaps for the initial takeoff. Ground run was about 200 feet. Really impressive! I did have a radio problem and couldn't receive so stayed at 1400' and below to stay clear of Class C airspace. It was a bit uncomfortable at 88 degrees OAT and 140 KIAS at 75% power for 40 minutes and 18 delta patterns above the field. The second flight was done above 4000', much better. I've had no issues with the Superior IO-360. The temps have remained well within limits which is very surprising due to the high ambient temperatures here. I changed out the straight mineral oil at 15 hours. With the piston spray nozzles I rarely see CHT vary by more than 10 degrees, coolest to warmest. At cruise power (75%) I'm seeing 155 KIAS without wheel or leg fairings. CHT are in the 330 to 340 range. At 55% power and leaning with the Dynon Lean mode I see about 132 KIAS with a fuel burn of 6.3 GPH at 7500'. I started working on the wheel pants and leg fairings. I've had a few small issues. Leaking brake cylinders, small oil filter leak, Porpoising in the Altitude Servo (Trio), LED power supplies are blasting the VHF radios.

You can see in the picture which is captured from a video that the LED nav lights are clearly visible . Everyone at the field comments on their brightness. I'm hoping to get the interference issues cleared up, but Rudi ultimately replaced his power supplies with resistors to remedy his problem.

I want to thank all of you for your wisdom, innovation, helpfulness and wit.


This is the best small GA aircraft I have flown. I may be a bit biased. The flight controls are very coordinated, light and responsive. I have to keep slight right rudder at 75% cruise, but I believe once the fairings are on that the speed increase will offset the engine torque.

A few other issues that you might have to deal with on the Airworthiness Inspection.
Start a dialog well ahead and talk things over with the DAR or FSDO. If you're concerned about your seatbelts, Nav lights, ask about it.
I didn't have a printout of my Kitlog, but he said that a notebook computer with the log would suffice. During the inspection he never looked at the log. They just want to verify that you did the work.
Send a proposed test area depicted on a sectional with your reasons for the area. I'm inside a MOA, under class C, and have no southern area to fly in due to the Gulf of Mexico Warning Areas. Initially he said 25 mile radius from the field. Well that just wouldn't work, so I moved the 25 mile center over a point that put my airport on the SE edge. I additionally added a corridor to include some airports that have FBOs and the best prices on fuel in the area. That gave me straight legs of over 80 SM. to work with.
The only thing I failed to get was that I am prohibited during phase I to fly in Class C. I argued, er, discussed this at some length, but they weren't flexible. Well I can live with it for another 23 hours or so.
Be organized for the inspection. I had a table with chairs with manuals, invoices, flashlights and mirrors next to the aircraft. Even though you have performed a condition inspection previously, the night before I rechecked the critical items using a checklist (cotter keys, safety wire, wire chaffing). I found punch lists helpful, but even better, correct or finish it right now when it is discovered.
Have a well thought out, doable but flexible test plan. The odds are you won't fly the flights in exact order. That latest electronic Gizmo that is sitting there is going to get the best of you. Ask me how I know!

Keep building guys!! It is worth every hour. I'm still Grinning!


Thanks

Rocky



N767JM Low Pass
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By rockyjs at 2008-08-11

Actually the second landing which was a wheelie!
Image
By rockyjs at 2008-08-11

Spike
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Post by Spike »

Too Friggin Cool!!
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cjensen
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Post by cjensen »

Way to go Rock! Very cool, and a great write up!! Looking forward to more flight reports!!! 8) 8)
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dons
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Post by dons »

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to post this, something tells me right now you would have rather been flying :-). What a great feeling it must be.
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TomC
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Way to go!!!

Post by TomC »

Congratulations on the big event.
The only thing I failed to get was that I am prohibited during phase I to fly in Class C. I argued, er, discussed this at some length, but they weren't flexible.
My airport is a Class C airport and the inspector had no problem with my test flights. Go figure! The inspector, an FSDO employee, said that Class C airports have all sorts of neat stuff, like fire trucks and ambulances that could come in handy for test flights.

Good Luck!

weezbad
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Post by weezbad »

awesome, awesome, awesome,very nice. i cant wait to join the flyin side of rv's. man i can almost smell the avgas now.
love the pics, toooooo sweeet. :mrgreen:
william....don't let it beat you down, you are stronger than you think.

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svanarts
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Post by svanarts »

:welcome: to the world of completed RVs.

Building is fun, flying is funner!
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Rockyjs
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Post by Rockyjs »

Thanks for the comments guys!

I just received a pair of Pmags in the mail. I'll fly one more flight and then pull the slicks off. I already am past the due time of the second inspection on the brand new Slicks. I was planning on going with Pmags all along so I'm pre-wired through the firewall for them. My engine builder was giving a credit of less than $400 for the entire Slick ignition system delete, so I decided to fly phase I with them and get Pmags later. In light of the problems with the Slicks especially removing the right mag, I decided to swap them out now. I was told a few days ago that a fix is coming in September, but of course in July it was August. I have enough data available to make a good comparison as far as performance changes are concerned.

TomC
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What Problem

Post by TomC »

In light of the problems with the Slicks especially removing the right mag
What problem are you refering to?

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Rockyjs
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Post by Rockyjs »

Tom,
Here is a link to the Service Bulletin they issued. I saw something from the FAA also, but can't find it. Both my mags fall under this SB and the right mag on my 7 has to be completely assembled before installation due to battery/case interference on the firewall mounted Odyssey and not having access to the distributor cap screws. Why they use torx screws there I have no idea. Allen screws would be a better choice. They are working on a fix for the premature brush block wear, and I believe Rhonda Barrett found a place in Tulsa that would do a permanent repair for $75 a mag plus shipping/handling. I'm a little upset that I received my engine in January, but found out about this through a fellow builder. I hope it doesn't affect too many of you.


http://bonanza.org/documents/Slick%20SB3-08.pdf


















, and it would appear that

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rob
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Post by rob »

cjensen wrote:Way to go Rock! Very cool, and a great write up!! Looking forward to more flight reports!!! 8) 8)
Was this a subtle hint???? :wink:
Rob Johnson
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RV7Factory
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Post by RV7Factory »

Fantastic... congrats Rocky!!!
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f14rio
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Post by f14rio »

Congrats Rocky! Can't wait 'til I join that club!
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Bob Barrett
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Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Bob Barrett »

Congratulations on your first two flights. I hope to be able to duplicate that in the next week or two!

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