Early, at 8am when it was just 85 F, I started closing everything up and putting the canopy back on and topped off the charge of the battery.
I threw in the cushions on the left side after installing the seat back.
I even checked what the fuel pressure would be without the engine running but with the electric fuel pump on.
2 psi - that looks a bit low and I will have to check with VAF to see if this indeed correct to be so low.
With the help of the Van's tow-bar I pushed the plane out into the driveway and made sure that the nose wheel and - more importantly - the prop would be still on or above the concrete ramp. I was really concerned about picking up small debris or gravel and so I swept the carport clean.
And here is the video of the first run:
Inside the cockpit I took some photos of the SV display during the 5 minute run. Note that I had forgotten to open the fuel valve which resulted in 0 psi fuel pressure despite the engine running (with the fuel from the float bowl). Follow the checklist!
Engine up and running, no fuel pressure - valve closed!
With the valve open fuel pressure was always high, close to 6 psi
Fuel flow zero? Great consumption! Oil psi drops from 64 to 52 when warm.
Higher rev and finally some way too high fuel flow.
One noticeable but familiar problem is that the ignition A circuit loss drops the RPM by 150 revs which exceeds the 120 allowed by Rotax. I had the same "issue" with my previous bird that also had a 912ULS, so I won't worry too much about it. Ignition B circuit loss dropped RPM by around 90.
Overall it ran fine although somewhat rough even at 2500 rpm and so I warmed it up at 2700. It was very smooth above 3000.
After the run I pulled her back into the carport and set up a fan to cool the engine. I will yet have to check the lifters.
Oh, and we hit 107F when I was done ...
Congratulations for your first run, just a few days behind mine. Which of our two planes will fly first?
ReplyDeleteI made a copy of your EMS display and will compare to mine at the next run. Very useful!
Thank you, Jean-Pierre! Yes, I was right on your tail with the engine start. I still have ways to go inside the tunnel, need to complete the rear window and the hangar is another story. So, go ahead and fly ahead. Wish you the best of luck for your Maiden Flight!
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