Jul 05, 2023     Engine first run - (4 hours)       Category: Engine

We had our first run of the engine. We tested the fuel system first, both the internal pressure, looking for leaks and then we jacked up the plane in a nose high attitude (17 degrees) and did a fuel flow test.

We ran 1 minute on each tank with only 3.5 gallons of fuel in each tank and got similar results of about 2.5 lbs per minute. This is about double what Lycoming demands from the fuel flow test.

Now the plane is finally done! We have just the inspection left and then we can do our first flight!

Here is a link to the video of our first engine test run. I did have a CHT probe and an EGT probe wired backwards (swapped the pins) which was (thankfully) and easy fix so all probes ended up testing perfect after the initial run.

https://youtu.be/kr_JsWNpEeU

  Sep 11, 2022     Cowlings - (80 hours)       Category: Engine

The cowls took me a lot longer than I expected. It begins with you mounting the top cowl with an angle that will rest on the spinner bulkhead which is to give a nice alignment for the cowl. You add one washer to give room for the engine to seed later on as it wears into the Barry mounts.

I had already grossly trimmed them to the scribe lines and put in a hole on each side of tbe spinner so that I had a way to connect the two cowls while I was taping in preparation to match drilling.

After this you level the plane in roll so that you can use plumb bobs to make sure you have the top and bottom cowls aligned for final trimming before you install the piano hinges. This was a lot more work that I expected but I am glad I took so long. These cowls are very expensive and you don't want to screw them up beyond repair. It's a lot easier to take material off than to put it back on!

Once I got everything aligned and trimmed as best I could I decided to go for it and install the piano hinges. I was very pleased and a little surprised how easily the hinges came together. The top hing pins were definitely the hardest to get to go in with that curve on the edges but it really was a non event. It was good to take time when I installed the hinges the first time to the firewall and made sure I could easily slide the in's in and out with little hang up.

Once all that got installed and riveted I did a final trim to make sure they all had a gap for paint. I used the metal ruler thickness as a guage to try my best to keep the gap all about the same, this required a lot of ON and OFF and ON again operations with the cowls which is where a lot of my time got eaten up. It was definitely good to go this over several days instead of trying to rush through it as you get tired and impatient when you have to keep removing and installing these cowls. That's when mistakes happen.

Speaking of mistakes, I should have considered the oil door before I trimmed the support flanges. Vans sends you and oil door that has two holes in the corners where you are supposed to install the wing nuts to secure the oil door. However, if you want to use flush latches which I found on Amazon by the way, you won't be able to use those holes and this the oil door is useless. So I have to fabricate my own. Bending the .063 metal is a challenge. I am using my friends roller than he has at school which takes time but does a nice, uniform bend.

Installing the air inlets on the top cowl took some time and effort, I really did not like the fit but eventually with (again) lots of ON and OFF and ON again procedures I managed to get them to fit nice enough. You end up filling and saidung yne edges that contact the baffles anyway so I probably didn't need yo be so picky, but I was very happy with the smooth transitions in the end.

Once all that was done and cured I put one final coat of resin and then installed the heat shield. This turned out to be a lot easier to do in segments and overlapping them. Trying to form one large sheet was impossible and ugly and it was a lot easier to just trim out sectors. For example the exhaust channels in the bottom were curved and deep (about 5”) and they tapered to a smooth surface. Even doing these alone required 3 pieces. But when you finish it off you seal them with epoxy and so it was really no big deal and once again I was quite happy with the final result.

The fit around the front where the spinner is was pretty poor but that was actually the easiest thing to smooth out. Simple as some filler and sand paper.

Lastly I decided to use my own fairings to hide the hole for the hinge pin entry at the front. I made a layout on my cowl and cut it to cover the gap which I will secure with two screws.

  Jul 28, 2022     Engine part 2 - (30 hours)       Category: Engine

This week was lot of reading. Propeller and engine manuals, fuel servo and we'll just about every document I could find regarding torque values and I have finally turned the corner in becoming an engine mechanic.

I've got most of my hose and clamps lined out and installed my alternator. Surprisingly the torque values for the bolts that go into the engine case are much higher than what we would use for nuts. For example the 5/16 bolt into the engine casing takes 17-19 ft-lbs which is over 209 inch-lbs. Normally when installing an AN5 bolt I would use between 100-140 in-lbs. And I like to be on the lighter side of this range so basically the torque values I am using on the engine are about twice what I am used to and I really don't want to over torque and break anything so this is something you triple check. In addition the engine overhaul manual warns that under torque bolts can wear quickly and cause damage as well so needless to say the correct values are very important. So this took me lots of time to read and get to know these manuals that came with the engine and the propeller (the alternator instructions say to use the torque values specified by the engine manufacturer).

Next I ended up running some wires through the penetration point of my engine. It's really cool seeing it all set to come together.

Still missing quite a few of my parts from the kit. My prop governor bracket, baffles, engine starter master solenoid, lots of things actually. It's a little frustrating as Van's waits until all the parts are in before they send you the rest, which I imagine is more efficient but for us builders it seems like a hassle to have to constantly skip steps and sometimes entire sections. But this is the current state of our world with all the demand and low supply chain issues we are facing.

So, I guess I am onto working on the cowlings.

  Jul 16, 2022     Engine part 1 - (40 hours)       Category: Engine

This was a big couple weeks for me. Obviously the engine install was a huge deal. I got a flight in a friends RV14 before I borrowed his hoist and he gave me some good tips. Having never worked on an engine, I had to wait for my mentor to be come over. This was definitely a 2 person job.
Once we got all the Barry mount cushions in the correct order with the washers in the right orientation (top and bottom are actually opposite each other) we set out everything and hoisted the engine. It was super exciting to get the engine up. The foam around the engine from the Lycoming box/crate was incredibly difficult to remove. We ended up cutting little chunks off with a saw and then gently peeling them off until we were close enough to the engine to pull the rest off by hand. Eventually we got it all clear.
We installed the first bolt in a manner of minutes. No surprise there. The second bolt took us quite a bit longer. We elected to get both top bolts in first, not sure if that was the right decision as in order to get the bottom cushions installed I had to lift the front of the engine while my mentor installed the cushions. Then we went yo aligning the holes. This was a very long exercise in patience. We did a lot of experimenting with slightly adjustments up and down, slight jiggles with our hands and some love taps with a rubber mallet. We did use a center alignment tool for the holes that made it a lot easier to get the bolt holes generally aligned, but it still took a lot of patience and small adjustments and eventually we got the bolt in. Once the third bolt was through the fourth bolt went in quite easily, maybe just 10 minutes of fiddling. We may have gotten lucky but we were not complaining. We got them all in and torqued them all so that our engine was now holding the tail up so I could remove the supporting saw horse and pads that the tailcone was resting on.
We did install a nuts as we installed each bolt just a few threads. But the final bolts we used the nuts to pull the bolt through. Then we were able to get them all fully installed and relaxed the engine hoist and put it away.
After that I went on to install a ton of clamps and hoses and set myself up for the coming wiring and baffles. I also installed the cooling flap that was pretty easy to make.