david010

One item not mentioned in the discussion about a retract system is insurance. Check it out before making a deposit. dd

I do not know Greg Richter personally, but have spoken to him at SNF and OSH a few times and came away with the feeling he is OK and certainly a whiz at what he is doing. His response to Gary Newsted's report is most refreshing. It proves again that there are lots of neat people in this business. dd

Having just sold an experimental airplane I built, here is what I learned about the legal aspects of the sale. 1. The builder can not escape the potential liability of having built the airplane. Liability waivers are held "not in the interest of the public" and are not worth the paper they are written on. The waiver is somewhat of a barrier from the buyer, but none at all from third parties, like his wife or children. 2. The wording of a contract can make it difficult to file suit, but if money is sniffed out by a lawyer, he will go for it. If the builder has nothing, he is not likely to be sued. If he committed fraud or gross negligence, he could go to jail. 3. Selling parts is slightly less risky than the whole airplane. 4. The FAA has no interest in the buying and selling experimental airplanes except that they be properly registered. Maintenance is cut and dried. The annual condition inspection must be signed off by the original builder (if he holds a repairman certificate) or an A&P. 5. It is possible to recertify an experimental airplane from parts with the new owners name on the data plate. Whether or not that person would be eligible for a repairman certificate is unknow. dd

Before making a substantial deposit on any of these systems, check out this url. http://www.jlc.net/~fcs/Builders_Journal.htm for a report on one builder's experience so far. EFIS is complicated and requires a number of subsystems work together. It's been great on Boeing airplanes for 20 years, but the economical transfer of this technology to experiemental aviation is quite a challenge. Greg Richter is attempting to do just that but it is not without its risk. Certainly in time the bugs will be worked out. It is a lot of neat stuff at a reasonable cost, but it must work. dd

Nat, The reason the #4 pipe broke was heat differention across a weld at the heat muff. The pipe cracked exactly where the weld was and should no longer be of concern since all have been replaced (or should have) with a clamped on heat muff. I've had the pipes secured together aft of the baffle with a large hose clamp plus clamps forward of the baffle. The clamp aft of the baffle is a very poor fix as the #2 and #4 clamp broke recently and the only thing that kept it from the prop was safety wire through the screw head and secured to the baffle. Others are doing this as I first saw it at OSH or SNF. Any type of securing device aft of the baffle should be removed as it is a greater hazzard than the pipe breaking. I remain somewhat concerned about securing the pipes to each other. It seems they would function best if independent and not touching each other. (free float) Time will tell. dd

Nick, Re "There is some rubbing of the Al on the steel but I think it was just discoloration more than metal removal." There is definitely metal missing from #2 and #4 pipes. It can be felt. The pipes must rest on something coming aft, especially #4 being about 18 inches long with no support other than the slip joint, and that rest spot is the hole through the baffle. I have clamps forward of the baffle and one large one aft holding the 2 together. They will not leave the airplane even if they do break as the aft clamp is safety wired to the baffle, but the forces at work while the two pipes are in contact with each other are unknown at this time. Your 1500 hours without an exhaust event would indicate this may be of no concern. But it happened with an approved welded heat muff system and my lack of confidence on the subject is slow in coming back and in fact stalled out. I still fly several times a week but not without thinking about a busted pipe. It behooves all of us to check this area often as the consequences of an event therein are rather serious. dd

Greeting, Nice forum Nick. It will take a while to get acquanted with all the options, but it is neat. Yesterday I jerked the cowling after 25 hours, which I am doing regularly, to check things over. (I have constant pipe anxiety and need to do it if for no other reason than to make sure all is well.) I noticed wear on the pipes where they exit the aft baffle. The current policy is to have a tight fit where the pipes exit the engine and it seems with this arrangement there is bound to be pipe wear at the contact point of the exit. Question is, how much pipe wear is tolerable? I would prefer none, but that is impossible with a "tight fit" to prevent loss of cooling air and the pipe if it should break forward of the baffle. This issue needs to be addressed as more time is logged with this installation. I am at 370 hours and do not think the pipes will last another 370 hours at the rate they are wearing at present. Dave Domeier Cozy MKIV N10CZ PS Does this message feature have a spell checker?