No airplane to fly. No airplane to work on. Waiting for the engine to be returned by Lycoming. Cold and snowy in Michigan. Waiting for spring at home in Florida. What? In Florida, and I’m complaining?
Hope recovered nicely when I read about a wooden tail lift in the VanAirForce forums. Having a way to raise the tail of the plane is a great help in draining all of the oil during engine oil changes. I used Sam Buchanan’s lift photo as a model and built my own as shown below.
The winch mechanism and the castors are from Harbor Freight. Dolly drove her HHR North in the spring with the lift stowed nicely in the back.
On Friday November 11th N50KB had its first engine run.[KGVID]http://bambas.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/First-Start.mp4[/KGVID]A visit was scheduled with a FAA FSDO inspector for the afternoon of Wednesday the 22nd. In the interim I completed wiring and testing the Pilot and PAX seat heaters; and sealed seven more firewall penetrations with red high temperature silicone caulk.
Wednesday morning I started the engine with the intention of taxiing to check the brakes. It ran rough and was shut down. The #4 cylinder was cold. Inspection showed valve movement was OK and another start was made. The engine again ran rough for less than a minute and was shut down. Instruments (Garmin G3X) showed the #4 CHT and EGT rose only to 150 and 205 degrees while the other cylinder temperatures appeared normal. An overly lean condition was suspected. The #4 fuel injection restrictor was inspected and blown clean with air.
The FSDO inspector arrived and was told of the day’s activity. I agreed to a suggestion we do an engine start. During the start sequence the #4 EGT was seen to rise rapidly and then decline. Other cylinder temperatures were normal. The airworthiness inspection was terminated. During post run discussion a fuel flow test and plug sparking test were suggested.
Fuel Flow Test
The fuel distribution test collected avgas from the four injector lines while the fuel boost pump was running. This photo shows the results.
Fuel Flow Test Result
From left to right the cups contain the fuel for cylinders 1,2,3 and 4. The overly lean condition of cylinder #4 is obvious. There was likely a problem in the AVstat fuel distributor on the top of the engine.
Plug Sparking Test
The plugs were removed and their cases connected to engine ground by safety wire. With the master and ignition switches on, the propeller was rotated by hand. Sparks were observed from the plugs connected to the left E-MAG. The plugs connected to the right E-MAG did not spark.
Brad at E-MAG Ignitions was contacted by phone. He led us through several levels of tests that at end indicated the right E-MAG was operating OK. He then asked me to remove the right E-MAG. I was to verify the magneto shaft is engaging the drive gear in the engine accessory case.
I removed the E-MAG. It’s shaft and gear look OK. I then reached into the accessory case to feel the drive gear. This is what my fingers found. A broken magneto drive gear in a factory new Lycoming YIO-360-M1B engine that ran a total of less than 1.1 hours, with over an hour of that time on the factory dynamometer.
Broken Section of Magneto Drive Gear
The following Monday began a week of phone calls and emails with several levels of the Lycoming warranty organization. Dolly had returned to Florida and before driving south I proceeded to pickle the engine with fogging oil and desiccator plugs for the winter.
Eventually Lycoming agreed to send a packing crate and pay to airfreight the engine back to the factory. Dolly and I drove back to Michigan where I spent several days removing the engine from the plane and with help from friends preparing the shipment. I took many photos of the process. The engine arrived in Williamsport, PA on January 2nd.
Could not yet see the light at the end of the RV7 build, but knew it was getting closer. The list of accomplishments in the interim included:
Fastening the fuel tank “break away” tabs to the fuselage on each side.
Fabricating and installing the short fuel vent lines and connecting fuel supply lines between the wing and the fuselage
Fuel Vent and Supply Lines
Making up brake lines with Berringer fittings to go from the firewall down to the wheel brakes.
Filling the brake calipers and lines up from the bleader valves to the reservoirs over the master cylinders
Final fastening the PAX baggage floor and PAX seat pan to underlying ribs with machine screws. This and other tasks may sound simple, however I found them to take significant time.
Finished wiring the flap motor and position sensor
Flap Drive Motor
Installing a quick drain valve on the left front oil sump drain.
Installing Clasic Aero aileron push-rod boots to seal out cold air.
Installing SCAT tubes from NACA air scoops to the instrument panel outlets
Timing of the PMags
Fitting the cylinder baffles and using the “Paper clip” method to trim the baffles 1/2″ from the cowl
Paper Clips on the Engine Baffles
Fitting the oil cooler to the right rear engine baffle; doing the install and connecting oil lines
Oil Cooler Mounted
Cuting and glassing the engine air intake snorkle between the air filter and the fuel servo
Installed Wire Guide
Installing the ignition wire protectors that I designed last winter
Left Wing inspection port
Closing up the six inspection ports in the wing bottom skins
Installing an alternate air door into the snorkle with control from the instrument panel
Installing all interior cover panels, baggage rear wall and pilot seat pan
Blue RTV Engine to Baffle Seal
Sealing the engine to baffle gaps with Blue RTV
Installing wing to fuselage faring strips
Installing seat belts
Whew, and that’s not all.
Right Air IntakeLeft Air IntakeInitial Cowl Trimming
The Vans upper and lower cowl halves had to be trimmed to fit each other and the fuselage firewall. For October 30th we had a Halloween Lantern.
Our Halloween Lantern
The cowl interiors were painted with three coats of white two-part epoxy.
Upper Front Skin Inspection Port
I copied the practice of many Vans builders and cut an inspection port into the upper skin in front of the canopy. This provides access to the break fluid reservoirs, the voltage regulators and the forward sockets of the VPX power box.
Installing the Top Front Skin
Another deviation from the Vans standard is that I fabricated and installed a plenum cover over the top of the engine, rather than the usual flexible baffle strips that seal the baffles to the top cowl.
Fiberglass Engine Plenum
The potential advantages of a plenum in cooling efficiency and reduced wear on the cowl have been often debated on the Vans Airforce website forums. Casting of the plenum was discussed in an earlier post.
Checking Plenum Clearance to Cowl
Clay risers were set on the plenum to verify 1/2″ clearance from the cowl.
Fitting the Plenum to the Engine Baffles
Aluminum and fiberglass edges were set with platenuts for fastening to the engine baffles.
Catto Propeller
The Catto three blade wood/carbon fiberglass propeller was installed. Specifications:
68″ diameter
74″ Pitch
Nickle leading edges
Design RPM 2750
Red Line RPM 3300
Prior to first engine start start the fuel tanks were calibrated and a weight and balance prepared. Both of these steps will be repeated as the W&B indicates a heavier spinner ‘crush plate’ will be needed to move the center of gravity further forward.
