C-FGAH Progress/Elite Cowl Resahping.
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 10:48 am
G-FGAH is now airborne again. The cause of the engine failure was a
seized bearing on the vacuum pump drive shaft, which knocked two teeth
of the camshaft drive gear, and also damaged the keyway on the
crankshaft. Aerosport power fixed everything, and paid the freight
both ways, but it still put a major delay in the flight test program.
Have put an additional 1.9 hours on since completing the
re-installation, so I'm beginning to have confidence all will be OK.
I took advantage of the outage to enlarge the air intakes by moving the
upper edge of the speed cowl up about 2 1/2", much as in the photo of
Walter Klatt's aircraft. I can report that all temperatures stay with
limits in a climb to 6,000', with a ground temperature of +26C, so I
think that is the answer, and probably a "must do" mode for Elite
builders. (Sean White also enlarged the intakes on the two Elites he
built, but he lowered the bottoms of the intakes - take your pick). Mr.
Murphy please note. It sure would be a lot easier if the cowl came out
of the factory right. I had a professional shop do the re-shaping, and
it cost more than the original cowl!
Al Hepburn
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seized bearing on the vacuum pump drive shaft, which knocked two teeth
of the camshaft drive gear, and also damaged the keyway on the
crankshaft. Aerosport power fixed everything, and paid the freight
both ways, but it still put a major delay in the flight test program.
Have put an additional 1.9 hours on since completing the
re-installation, so I'm beginning to have confidence all will be OK.
I took advantage of the outage to enlarge the air intakes by moving the
upper edge of the speed cowl up about 2 1/2", much as in the photo of
Walter Klatt's aircraft. I can report that all temperatures stay with
limits in a climb to 6,000', with a ground temperature of +26C, so I
think that is the answer, and probably a "must do" mode for Elite
builders. (Sean White also enlarged the intakes on the two Elites he
built, but he lowered the bottoms of the intakes - take your pick). Mr.
Murphy please note. It sure would be a lot easier if the cowl came out
of the factory right. I had a professional shop do the re-shaping, and
it cost more than the original cowl!
Al Hepburn
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