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Sunday, 24th February, 2002
Well, it's been a while since the site was updated, and it's been a while
since the rain wasn't hammering down and the wind howling too! I'm still
waiting for the final inspection, and it's driving me nuts! Might give
John Whelan a ring during the week and see if we can't arrange to do it in a
hanger somewhere.
This isn't really the build anymore, but I thought I'd keep these pages going
as a bit of a plane diary. Once she's fully legal and flying, I'll separate
these bits out from the build pages.
So what happened today worth writing about? Read on and find out!
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I bought a nice, big, liquid-filled, strut mounted compass
at Telford. Guess what? They don't bounce! That's 50 quid I'll never see
again. Anyway, I had a re-think, and decided a smaller compass would go
nicely in the gap left in the dash, so that's what I fitted. The EFIS makes
it deflect a couple of degrees, but I'll carry out a proper 'compass swing'
once I'm flying, and placard it up appropriately. I'll also have a parallex
error due to it not being on the centreline, and I'll include that in the
placard so it can be read correctly by the P1. |
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A big parcel arrived from Flylight during the week,
containing a Trike cover and a rear-seat steering kit. I'd ordered the
steering kit with the plane, but it got overlooked. It can fit above or
below the keel, and I've opted for below as it makes the rear seat position
more comfortable (knees not so high). The downside is that it restricts pod
storage slightly, so I may end up moving it before The Wight Party, so I can
fit the Karaoke machine and beer barrel. |
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It's very simple to connect as you can see.
I intend to get an instructor to check me out flying the plane from the
back seat, so I can let me kids feel what it's like in the front (not that
I'd let them take control, as that would be illegal!) |
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The trike cover was 137 quid, but I think it's worth it as I
intend to do a lot of cross-countries, with overnight, outfield stops, and
it'll ensure the trike stays nice and dry inside whatever the weather, plus
it stops people fiddling with switches! I laid it out on the garage floor
to try and figure out which way it goes on. I immediately spotted a little
pocket, which seemed perfectly shaped for the nose, so offered it up to the
trike...... |
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....where it just seemed to dangle, with nothing fitting as
you can see here! |
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In fact, there seemed to be space for a missile pod
alongside the nose, but if Flylight do those as an option for the Kiss,
they've not told me! |
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The giveaway was the fit around the front-strut. "That
shouldn't be that loose", I thought. "Aha! It's for the monopole".
Yes, I had it on backwards! |
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So here it is the right way round, and looking much nicer.
It's a bit slack between the front-strut and the monopole, so that the cover
can be fitted with the wing attached when in a hanger. Normally, the bar is
tied back to the seat frame (as against to the front strut) so you can get
maximum planes in minimum space, and the slackness allows this to be done,
thus protecting the trike from pigeon-poo, etc., in the hanger.
The only drawback is that something must be fitted to protect the windscreen
from chafing when trailing with the cover on. I asked why a felt pad was not
fitted, but Flylight pointed out to me that it would simply absorb moisture
and dirt over time, and become a built-in Brillo-pad! Makes sense to me, so
I'll invest in some soft dusters to do the job.
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Engine nicely enclosed too, and protected from the
weather........ The hole if for one of the prop covers to be tied to the
exhaust, to secure the prop in transit. I had to ask Flylight, because I was
too stupid to figure that out on my own! |
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.....and the new prop covers look great too. My first
reaction to the prop covers when I saw them at Telford for 55 quid was "an overpriced waste of money", but having caught prop
tips on my garage roof beams twice already (no damage done) I decided they
were a sound investment. Anyway, having spent so much on the plane, it seems
a shame to skimp at this point.
I honestly believe the only spending I've yet to do is for the permits
now. I was starting to think the spend would never end! |
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Here's the bit of the cover that fooled me: It's a pocket to
sit over the expansion tank on the engine! |
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This is the engine I intend to use to replace the Rotax:
Chevrolet 377 cubic inch (6.1 Litre) Bow-Tie block with siamesed cylinders).
Stage II Bore 4.155 Stroke 3.480 Comp 9.0:1 (low because it'll have a
supercharger on it developing 12-15 lbs of boost).
 | Eagle Forged crankshaft (2 piece rear main seal) |
| Eagle 6” I beam rods |
| SRP forged pistons |
| Sealed Power molly piston rings |
| Cloyes roller timing set |
| TRW HD oil pump |
| O’Donahue Racing camshaft Hyd. Stage II |
| Mr. Gasket head gaskets |
| AFR cylinder heads 220cc |
| Stainless steel valves |
| O’Donahue Racing valve springs and retainers |
| Comp Cams stainless roller rocker arms |
| ARP main bolts and head bolts |
| TPIS Tunnel RAM |
| 8 x 36 Lb/Hour injectors, plus programmable fuel-curve-generator |
| High volume, replacement in-tank fuel pump, and supplementary in-line
high-power fuel pump. Should be able to get 100psi with this setup. |
Seriously, this is going in my motor when the weather cheers up enough to
fit it. I'm expecting 550-600 b.h.p.!.....which is nice. |
Bummer of the day
Feeling stupid after having spent at least an hour trying to figure out how
the trike cover went on!
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