REFLECTOR: Oil, P-factor and othe things

[David Ullman]

I now have 80+ hours on my SEFG.  Still have a 50' paint job and the
interior isn't finished.  When we first started flying we had handling
problems and so the IO-360 C1C never got broken in correctly as we couldn't
do full power at first.  Thus, the rings are not seated so I use oil, a lot
of oil - a quart a tank (maybe I have a 2-cycle engine).  I am thinking of
pulling the cylinders, honing and reringing.  Any thoughts?

On take off my plane pulls to the left enough that I have to tap the right
brake.  It is not very much so on taxi.  I don't seem to have brake drag and
I have tinkered with the toe in.  I though Canards did not have a P-factor
and if so should be to the right.  IS this really a toe-in issue?  If so,
which wheel is off.  I have tried 13 different ways of measuring toe in and
thought I was about right.  But??

I just found that I broke an exhaust pipe.  The factory supplied system had
one piece for each cylinder, with the two pieces on each side slip fit
together and projecting forward.  In order to get the 1-3 cylinder assembly
to fit in the cowl, I cut a Vee in them near the cylinder flange and had
them rewelded.  I thought we normalized them, but this where the #3 pipe
cracked.  My cowl does hit this pipe a little.  So I need to replace the
pipe near the flange and fix the cowl clearance issue.  Anybody know what
stainless steel this is and a source for it.  I will call the factory on
Monday and see if they can aim me at the original vendor. 

In spite of the oil problem I did a lap around Mt. St Helens last week
(found the broken exhaust on return).  See attached photos.  First one is
looking west with the Olympics in the background and the second south with
the dark, still warm part of the mountain in the lower part of the of the
image.  I am at 9500 in these photos.  

David Ullman
N444DX
President EAA 292
541-754-3609
david at davidullman.com
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