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 Previous Item - A MUST SEE Thanks Ken and all the others
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First flight |
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Tom Lansing - Aug 09,2005
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I can't remember if I have updated all progress on 147TL.<br /><br />1st Flight: July 23, 2005, <br />Pilot: Knothead me.<br /><br />Prior to this event I had made successive taxi runs until tail was flying, mains were light & I could keep her close to the RW centerline. Taxi, runups & all were normal. <br /> <br />Gripes:<br />I was sputtering some coolant (total 4-5 Oz). Additional coolant with my cabin heater has come close to capability of Rotax expansion tank. Stabilized at this point.<br /><br />CHT's & OT indication are unreliable. This has been a PITA after I decided to go EFIS/EMS. I really do not need this distraction in the program now. I have new instrument in shipment.<br /><br />Radio (ICOMA200) has sideband volume WAY too high. Will research but is usable.<br /><br />That's about it for issues pre-1st flight except the biggie (me).<br /><br />Saturday 8 am, 23rd July, 05. Perfect! Bright day, low humidity, winds almost calm. Am I ready? <br /><br />Preflight done. One more series of high speed taxi tests. If all goes well I am as ready as I will ever be. Stall Stall Stall. A fellow builder is using my portable & will keep an eye on me. Taxi out to RW33 & do run-up. Announce 147TL taking 33 for taxi test. This goes fine. I clear the RW announce and realize that every other pilot thinks this is a good day as well. The restaurant on the field is hopping. Darn! I am not doing this with all the traffic. As usual everybody is announcing, landing & departing runways with apparent disregard for what is in use or what Winds Calm preference is @ KFZY (RW33). Looks like an air show. Back to the hanger goes I. The Smallish radiator will be sputtering again if I spend too much time ground bound. Escaped the ultimate test again!<br /><br />Same day, 6pm, Winds still calm & no traffic! Wonder if the restaurant is closed. Drat! Running the heck out of excuses. Leaving for Osh on Monday. Am I ready (for 1st flight that is)?<br /><br />I will do the preflight, run-up & 1 more taxi test. Run-up indicates rough on left mag. First time that has happened. Back to the hanger to investigate. Look over all & opinion is If I quit using 147TL as a go cart the plugs might stay clean. OK so I accept this wisdom & after considerable discussion over which runway has the least cross wind (winds calm according to the ASOS but I can clearly see the sock moving, barely. Taxi fast, over to 24 to do my last high speed taxi. Run-up shows mags OK. <br /><br />Announce & take 24 for a taxi test. Smoothly apply power and she scoots off with tail flying almost immediately. The mains come off completely by intersection so I increase power and off I go. Finally remembering I am doing a taxi test I announce departing 24, staying in the pattern & firewall throttle. I notice the engine is trying very hard to leave the airplane thru 4K rpm. Rockin n Rollin and rpm is coming down quick. Jeepers, says i, and bring the throttle back under 4K rpm. Smooth as silk. Can I climb (or maintain alt I have) at 3800rpm? Try again to increase throttle. Engine dances some more. I am now almost over the departure end of 24 so I knash my teeth, reduce powerback to 3800. Well heck I am up here and looking taller than any obstacles, turning around is a no no for sure. Where is closest flat spot from here? Runway 15 so I am aiming for that with very little bank and 1 eye on airspeed. Looks like she is maintaining altitude & airspeed OK. Look at the trees! Look at the river and all the rocks. Never saw so many objects that I don't want to land on. Hope she keeps going..& going..and going. Should I try to make it around the corner & land on 24? Oh look at all the trees between me & 24. Ain't no trees left between me and 15. This is a no brainer. 15 it is. I am still configured with 20 flaps, pilot load is light (ha-ha) bring her over the hanger hit 15 almost at the intersection, remember to reduce throttle (hey this is going to work) chirp chirp and she is down. Not too bad a landing says I. No funny noises or smells so exit 15, announce clear RW and taxi back to hanger. Now my anger mode starts so I firewall throttle & she nearly fly's off the taxiway. Control yourself, don't break anything now. Pull up to the hanger & guys are waiting for my shutdown. Park right in front of hanger door. Shut Down. Master off, Headphones off. Start looking for the 'for Sale CHEAP' sign. I am out of here. Sure am working up a sweat, this test flying is hard work.<br /><br />Post Flight debrief:<br />What went right: 147TL stayed in one piece. All flight controls acted normal. Pitch normal. walk around showed nothing hanging off or missing. I don't even need a change of underwear.<br /><br />What went wrong: Engine failed to maintain power over 4K rpm. Fortunately for me 3800 was sufficient to fly the airplane. Subsequent examination discovered sediment in both carb bowls. The left was sufficient to prevent fuel flow to the engine. Flake's look like dried tea leaves pieces and some granular sand like deposits, rust colored. Both primary & secondary filters show no deposits at all. I believe this sediment is residual from factory run or storage procedures by Rotax. Also found Cylinder 1 plugs sooty with upper plug having a bent high tension lead & sootier than lower plug. Plug replaced. Subsequent run shows all normal.<br /><br />Pilot judgment: It was foolhardy to transition from a taxi test to a flight! Because I burned so much runway before committing I lost important options that could have had a very large impact on the outcome. My choice to test out of Fulton with 5000 ft RW was fortuitous given the poor planning & decision making for the first flight of 147TL. My decision to fly the plane, continue the flight and not turn back were correct, I believe, but the decision making to fly was was terribly flawed. I consider myself very lucky in the outcome, considering my idiocy. <br /><br />In spite of wanting to put her in the hanger I decided I absolutely had to get back in the saddle right away so off I go for some 'crow hops'. Three were conducted with altitude limited to 25 feet and re-land same runway. These were uneventful. I must be learning because I used take off power on the numbers.<br /><br />Saturday 9am, 06 August: After discussion with Loren Dates who suggested not continuing the 'crow hops' His logic; that I was compressing the two most critical phases of flight. I agreed so flew the pattern for .7 hours and the area within glide distance 1.2 Hr. These flights were normal. Testing at altitude for critical flight speeds will begin.<br /><br />Some say experimental aircraft is exciting. Dang right it is! None the less November One Four Seven Tango Lima (kit 264C) joins the fleet. It is my intention to become a pilot right away.<br /><br />Tom<br />
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Jeff Arnold - Aug 09,2005
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Congratulations Tom. You are quite a pilot and quite a story teller. I was on the edge of my seat reading your account. Look forward to seeing you and November One Four Seven Tango Lima at a flying event soon. Enjoy!
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Mark Alan MacKinnon - Aug 09,2005
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Congrats Tom. Another one joins the flock.<br /><br />This reminded me of my first flight after purchasing N1144D. Except I had it at a narrow grass field, trees on both sides and uneven terrain. Not a good choice for first flights, no error margin.<br /><br />Anyway, while going over the plane after U-hauling it back from Florida (to Maine), I noticed one of the two bolts holding the throttle handle bracket was upside down (bolt head down). Well, as anyone knows, this is a no-no so I 'wisely' turned it around right-side up.<br /><br />I found out on my first takeoff why it was upside-down.<br /><br />I advanced the throttle to what I thought was the full throttle stop...the plane took off fine, seemed like plenty of power..but I noticed rpms were low, I think between 5000 and 5500. Lucky for me, the 912 on the single-place Stingray, with 140 lbs of me on board, is more than enough power with plenty to spare. My first flight needed that power reserve. I shoved the throttle more and it jumped past the obstruction to full power. <br /><br />Back on the ground, I discovered that that bolt interferred with the throttle handle when mounted bolt head up. That's why it was upside down. Dummy me, I should have checked the throttle full range after changing it.
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