REFLECTOR: nice day to fly

[Andy Millin]

Hey Doug!!!  Warm congratulations.  Way to go brother!!!

 

Andy

 

From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
Behalf Of Douglas Holub
Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2009 3:56 PM
To: reflector at tvbf.org
Cc: Randy_Groff at sil.org
Subject: REFLECTOR: nice day to fly

 

It's a beautiful day to fly in North Texas today. Temperature in the low
50s, wind coming down the runway at 5 knots. A good day for first flight.

 

I didn't tell my wife I was going to fly the Velocity today because I knew
she would worry. I got the airworthiness certificate on Monday and got the
transponder certified on Wednesday. 

 

The plane got off the ground easily and climbed impressively. The number 4
cylinder was about 410 degrees, the number 3 was 375, but 1 and 2 were less
than 300 degrees, so it looks like I'm getting too much air to the back
cylinders and not enough to the front cylinders. The good news is it looks
like I've got plenty of cooling air from the NACAs to work with.  

 

I was getting worried about that #4 cylinder, so I landed in Arlington. I
was having trouble with the pitch trim while I was landing. When I got on
the ground I saw that the pitch motor was stuck in the full up position. No
wonder I had to push so hard on the stick to land!

 

So I borrowed a screw driver and a pair of pliers from the FBO and
disconnected the pitch motor from the pitch spring. But then the pitch
spring interfered with other stuff behind the panel when the elevators were
at their travel limits, so I asked the FBO if they had a piece of wire I
could borrow to limit the motion of the spring. They didn't, so I used one
of my shoe laces. Worked great, and got me the 7 miles back home to the
Grand Prairie airport.

 

Thanks to all the folks on this list who have been so much help to me for
the past 9 years. And special thanks to the organizers and presenters at the
Velocity Symposium 3 years ago in Sherman, Texas. That weekend gave me a big
kick in the butt to get this project finished.

 

Doug Holub

Velocity Standard FG w/ electric nose lift

ECI IOX-360 with dual Plasma III ignition

110% done, 2% to go

 

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