The bird man

I decided to open the cowl up a bit more to allow for better air flow (post #78 shows the before photo). I also started her up after dinner. Motor tached at 7000 rpm's with the Menz 22-8. I leaned it out slightly on the top end and it sounds much better with a very quick transition. I also got a new sound level. In a previous post BadBoy MadMikey said he thought the IMAC limit was 94dBA at 25' from the side. I measured 89 dBA 25' from the side at full throttle and 90 dBA 25' to the rear at full throttle. This is after cutting about 3/4" off my down tubes on a slimline pitts muffler to clear the cowl ring. One thing that puzzles me is in my Edge I was getting 7200 rpm's with a 22-8 Menz prop and it was running rich. Now I cut 3/4" off the tubes which should have increased rpm, I put in a new spark plug (just in case there was a hairline crack from the crash), and I leaned out the engine about 1/16 of a turn (High speed) and I running the same gas/oil and I lost 200 rpm's?? Any answers for this? The only thing I can think of is that the current prop weighs more than the same type, pitch and diameter prop that was on the Edge (slightly higher density wood).

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

First, no two wood props of the same manufacturer and size are ever exactly the same. Wood density, weight, slight pitch and length variations are normal. The closest ou will ever get to props being the ame will be with composite props, and even they differ in weight to some extent.

Second, cutting the pipes may have caused a slight scavenging effect, increasing the inflow of air to the mixture. Combine with leaning just a bit and a 200 rpm loss would be real easy to obtain. My vote goes with the change in pipe length.

The bird man

SUCCESS!!!! The first flight is in the books! I got out to the field around noon, hind sight being 20-20 I should have got there a 8:00am. After spending an hour doing range checks with the engine off and running at full throttle I gave here the seal of approval to fly[sm=thumbs_up.gif]! Not so fast[sm=rolleyes.gif], next was taxi testing which as it turned out was a bigger pain than it should have been[:'(]. I had to make several adjustments to the tail-wheel as I was having trouble with the steering lagging behind the rudder which would then cause it to over steer badly. After one and a half hours of tweaking I had to shorten the springs 4 coils to correct the problem. I didn't want to go to far to fast and cut to much so it took awhile to sort out. BTW the range test was again in excess of 400' antenna down w/engine at full throttle. Now she can fly RIGHT[sm=thumbs_up.gif]?... Wrong[sm=sad_smile.gif]! Now there were 5 or 6 planes in the air and I had no desire to add to it, so I waited patiently. At about 3:00pm she finally broke ground and headed skyward!! After a couple circuits around the field to adjust trims (only needed 2 clicks of left aileron, no rudder, no elevator) and she was hands off! It was beginning to get crowded again so I didn't do much more than an 8 minute flight. On the second flight I got to try a few things (sorry guys just basic stuff for now till I get to engine dialed in) Loops and rolls were very crisp with no issues and inverted flight was even better than my short lived Edge (May she rest in peace or is that piece(s)) very little down elevator was needed to hold her level. It did seem like it wanted to slightly drop the right wing tip when I got it to stall but both times I had a fair cross wind blowing so I think that I'll need some more time on the sticks to know for sure. When I checked the lateral balance a few nights ago it was dead perfect on static balance, I know dynamic balance is a different animal and I'll be doing more soon. I only got the two flights in but they went very well. The best part of the day was that my landings were better. I had to do one go round on the first attempt due to going a little long (a tad to much throttle[sm=red_smile.gif]) but I'll get used to that. The engine is still in need of some adjustments though.

I have two minor problems:
1) I lean it out on the ground and it sounds great then as soon as it's in the air it goes rich (especially mid range).
2) On both landings after touching down and rolling out about 15' the engine died??

At first I was thinking the low end might need to be a bit leaner but the transition on the ground seems good. On the way home I was thinking "I wonder if the ignition is cutting out when it makes first contact"? I will do a test in the yard to check for this. All in all a great day with no bad news. Below are a few photos from the field no video though. In the first photo you will see behind me the post that took out the Edge (its the second one from the left ) I can tell you I felt like taking a saw to the top 2 or 3" just to remind me of what not to do on a landing LOL! Getting this one in the air takes the sting out quite a bit! I think I may change the tail-wheel if I can find one that doesn't require springs.

sailing1

My Feedback: (134)

Hey congratulations WW2 ACE. Your WH looks GREAT. Has your DA 50 had the upgrade for the "bump stop"? Those are my words, maybe not what DA calls the modification. If not, that could be the reason for your engine stoping after landing. I had the exact problem on my Great Planes 1/4 Extra until I sent the engine in for the upgrade. After the fix it worked much better.

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

If I recall correctly you're using a DA. If so, the engine dying during the taxi is so common as to not be perplexing anymore. Two things, incorrect low end mixture, which I suspect from the in flight issue, or being one that was never returned to DA for the "fix". Call DA with the serial number and they will let you know if it did or not.

Re the tailwheel springs. For others about to get to this point use the maximum distance out from the rudder you can go using the nylon aileron horns and have the springs under a little bit of tension. Not very much, just a little. It helps to block the rudder in neutral when you do the first spring then use the rudder in a "free" position to install and equal the other side when you install the springs.

Redneck Shaun

My Feedback: (1)

Congrats WW2. The plane looks great .You done a great job on her. I have about 20 or so flight on mine now. It just keep getting better as you start to get her trimmed out.I flew basic in IMAC this weekend with mine. She did wonderful!!!
Congrats!!!!!
Redneck

Bobby Folsom

I can vouch for Shaun, he did great with his Wild Hare. They are great flying planes. Way to go WW2ace.

Bobby

BadBoy__MadMikey

Saturday i went to an ultralite fly-in here close to were i live and myself and my two buddys took our imac planes and othe planes and helis and flew demos. after that i got 12 flights on my extra now!!!! and she is really grovvin!!! still workin on getting the motor broke in but on the top end she is really starting to make some power!!!! i myself have a contest this weekend. it will be my first contest with the new extra!!!!!! i been really flying her great the past 2 weeks!!! i hope all goes good!!!

mikey

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

You can tell if you had the carb update by looking at the black reed housing..If there is a pressure tap on the black housing then you have the upgraded carb. If the tap is on the engine itself then you dont..Da will send the parts to you or you can send them the carb and they will do it..The burbling in the mid will slowly go away as you get more time on the engine..What you will quickly find out, if you havent already, is that the high needle isnt as critical as the low..What I did on both of mine was to lean out the low end until it quits in transitin from idle to wot..then back it off about 1/8 turn..next I go to the high and lean it until the rpms drop..then Ill richen 1/8 and that usually gets me very close..The final adjustments are made in flight if necessary..most likely to the low end 1/16th at a time as needed. If I have to lean the low any more than 1/8 I will re-check the high..I have 30 gallons on my first one and prolly 15 on my second..both run like a top..

BadBoy__MadMikey

that was something i was wondering about. at idle she runs smooth as silk and wide open she feels great but mid she kind of pops and spits, motor runs ok during that time no loss or gain of power so i figured it was just a breakin deal. am i right??? will all the mid range junk go away. cause right now i have about 1.25 gallons thru her!!! but as i said before she is really starting to make some great top end power. cause saturday i was doing some crazy verticals. now i'm only going to be doin imac with this plane. so after about 5 gallons or so would a 23x8 be my best prop to go to for smooth vertical power but really help keep her smooth and slower on down lines????

mikey

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

Some it is breakin and some is tuning..and if your using 32:1 oil thats some of it as well..I started noticing a difference after about 4 gallons..I switched to 100:1 Amsoil and alot of the burbling went away..of course you have to re-tune when going to a leaner mix..Ive since switched to BelRay H1R at 50:1 and like it a lot..engine runs a little cooler as well on the 50:1..The key..at least for me..was to slowly lean the low end after each flight until I had it exactly the way I wanted..Im talking 1/16th or less at a time..Ask Silversurfer how many times I messed with it until I got it right!! LOL!

As far as the 23-8..I switched after about 5 gallons..Im running the stock muffler and am turning 6850-6900 as per my cheap tach..Im running the 23-8 NX

BadBoy__MadMikey

i figured the 32:1 lawnboy ashless oil was causeing alot of it. i plan to run 50:! penzoil and a Mez carbon prop. even as little as i have run we turn it about every other flight. just about a 1/16 or so each time. it's been mostly on the low end here as of late we been tuning on. cause the high end has really come on the past 5 flights.


mikey

The bird man

Guys in the above quote I mentioned that my wings had a little washout. I wanted to correct that statement. It was NOT washout, just a slight twist to the ailerons which as stated is very easy to fix. I emailed Tom and he confirmed that removing the twist was the correct step to take. I just wanted to clearify that point.
Thanks.

Redneck Shaun

My Feedback: (1)

[sm=thumbs_up.gif] Classy move............. Everyone makes mistakes .

Bobby Folsom

Hey Shaun, have you finished that "crashed airplane" yet?

Bobby

Redneck Shaun

My Feedback: (1)

No sir, Not yet

The bird man

Anyone know of a good place to try to find CM-6 spark plugs without having to order them? Can these be bought at a lawnmower shop or other outdoor equipment repair shop? Also which oil is best and why: Bel-Ray H1R or MC-1?

rctom

Honda garden equipment shops should have them.

TF

The bird man

I called several power equipment shops today (4or 5 which sell honda) and none carried or could even order a NGK CM-6 plug[:@]. The one place that could order them wanted me to order at least 10 at $3.99 ea + 6% tax. I can order them cheeper from DA!

Bobby Folsom

I got a couple of them from Don's Hobbies at the same time I ordered some other stuff. I think the plugs were $3.49 each.

Bobby

rctom

I stock them too at $3.50.

TF

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Tom,

I guess you'll have to change your website to annotate each and every item that you carry. When someone puts together a new order they can run through and check off all the boxes for that "one stop" shopping feeling.

or, with all the information in here I suppose someone could mention that you carry a lot more than just the plane, and asking about what else they could obtain at the time of the order or even later could be useful.

rctom

The guy asked. It was simpler for me to send him to a Honda dealer than to try to earn $1.25.


TF

bgold

The CM-6 fits a few models of Honda generators, so find a Honda shop that sells generators or go to sparkplugs.com and search CM-6, they're $2.25 ea. They also have the list of what they fit.

The bird man

Thanks very much for the info guys. I was trying to find a local source without having to order them or have the local store order them. Tom's suggestion about the Honda service shops was investigated with no luck. It seams that I will have no choice but to order them on line or by phone. One of the shops I called was one of the largest Honda dealers in the Midwest and they would still have to order them as they don't stock them. I'll keep looking.
Thanks again.

BTW I decided to go with the Bel-Ray H1R at 50:1 and I peeked the high end first then the low. I then re-peeked the high and backed off about 100 rpm's richer. I then checked the transition and it seems good on the ground. I checked all the ignition wires and bounced the plane from about 4-6" and it did not stall as it did I my first two landings so for now I have concluded the stall on landing was caused by the low end mixture being to rich. I hope to get it in the air this weekend but i'll have to wait and see.