Waiter

I believe you could make your own bow, however, I don't think it would be cost effective, and I would be concerned about the quality. You would need to build a mold, You could use the glass tape thats used for the wing spars. Place it in the mold, then cure it at 250 degrees for a day. Look around and find someone else near by that also needs these components, get together and combine your shipping. Good Luck Waiter

Sounds like you may be on to somethng. The gravity feed must supply at least 2x the required fuel. If the O-200 maxes fuel burn is 5GPH, then the fuel system must gravity feed 10 GPH. Check the lines, filters, valves (is the valve opening fully) (sometimes, the carb imlet connection is also a metalic filter), etc ALSO, don't forget to chek the vents to see if they are plugged. Waiter

I would think 2300 static is about right. And the 2800 cruise is about right The drop from 2800 to 2400 tells me something serious is going on that is reducing the power out. Have you experienced this drop yourself? If this drop is accompanied with a vibration, I would expect something that is effecting one cylinder, i.e. sticking valve. If the drop is smooth with no vibration, I would expect something thats effecting All cylinders. Fuel delivery, air delivery, Ignition source. I don't think dropping a mag would have this significant of a rpm drop! (100 - 150 rpm) If you have CHT / EGT guages, what do they read when you get this drop? Just re-read your original post and see that you never seen anything above 2400. Floating (or broken) valve spring - Use a stethescope or hose and listen to each cylinder as the engine is running. Use an automotive timing light and see if anything wierd is going on with the ignition timing. Check both mags, #1 cylinder. Waiter

On my version (very early) the top pin wasn't secured. I drilled and tapped a hole and installed an AN3 bolt to secure this pin. The bolt is safety tied in this photo. This pin should be replaced with a shoulder bolt. I'm still looking into how to retrofit mine. BIG NOTE - I'll be having a meeting with my machinest next week. I plan on having him make me new guide tubes out of steel. I'll replace these while I have the plane down to fix the pin. see post #39 http://www.canardzone.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6268 I don't know how much it will cost, but I'm going to get an estimate for 5 ship-sets, if anyone else is interested (10 tubes). Stay Tuned Waiter

Lynn, As I understand it, the original pin bent. The bent pin was then replaced at the factory. The new replacement pin then broke at roll pin hole. Very Interesting!!!!!! Anyway, I'll most likely perform a repair similiar to the one Ortell did, use a bolt. I'll also replace the left side so its the same (remove the pin and install a bolt). Regardless of the use/abuse of this pin, I just can't concieve it failing in this manner. Anyway, JD recommended the bolt concept as the repair. Waiter

Lynn, Was this the same pin (Lower)? and did it fail in the same way (broke at the roll pin)? I know there was a lower pin that failed after the owner modified it. (Didn't use retaining clip, instead, drilled the pin and installed a home made cotter pin (nail!)). Waiter

I searched around a little and couldn't find any other references to this failure!! Anyway - Anybody hear from the CozyGirrrls lately? I want to talk to them about a couple approaches to this repair. Waiter

Talked to JD last night; He said this is the first time he's seen this pin fail like this. He had a couple thoughts on a repair, I'll be looking at these over the next couple weeks. I got the plane up on jacks over the weekend and was able to prform a closer inspection. Airframe damage is minimal, paint and filler on the wingtip. The lower gear door brackets were bent, we did this placing it on the trailer. (I raised the other gear so we could get it to rest on the trailer.) Waiter

No, I had the alignment problem months ago. There is a roll pin inserted through to capture the pin Its where the roll pin passes through is where the pin failed. I'll get it off the trailer and back onto jacks this morning and be able to ge a better look at think. As I said, I must have gardian angles looking out for me, by all rights, this pin should have failed on touchdown. Lynn, I'll add a page to my site for these "Unapproved" safety mods Waiter

Plane traveled about 3 feet after the right gear collapsed. Pin Failure where roll pin secures the main pin

I changed the oil today. Also cleaned the fuel filters and replaced the engine driven fuel pump (was having fuel pressure problems) Went out for a 30 minute flight, everthing looked OK. (bad Day) As I was taxing back in, the final turn to my hangar row, All the suden, the plane dipped on the right side, and I heard the hydraulic pump kick on. My first thought was the gear was attempting to retract,, but this wasn't true, the Down pump was running. As right side went down, the prop ground into the pavement (it was at idle). I shut everything down and got out of the plane. A quick inspection confirmed my fears, The right gear had collapsed. :( A couple guys came out of the Hangar to see what happened and check to see if I was OK, I was. We gathered up some help, put the plane on a trailer and took it to my hangar. Upon closer look, the culprit was the pivot pin on the gear leg that supports the lower side brace had broken. This pin is pinned to the gear strut. it had broken where it was pinned. The right wing tip has cosmetic damage (little sanding and paint). The prop is destroyed. ******************************** OK, Now the Good news. This failure was going to happen, and there wasn't anything I could have done to prevent it. With that in mind; 1) This didn't happen on the runway while landing or takeoff. This could have been very, very bad, with a good chance of destroying the plane, and possibly fatal. 2) It didn't happen at a remote field. It happen less than 200 ft from my hangar, at very low speed and the engine at idle 3) I had determined that I need to order new prop blades that are cut just a little more course. I had been mauling this over for about two weeks. Well, I guess I can now order the new blades. I was reviewing my performance data with another pilot, I had determined that at cruise, my prop was now operating at the cruise end stop for 2300 rpm. (I used to be able to select as low as 1900 rpm, but can't do it now.) This is caused by the plane being faster and cleaner, the prop blades need to be a little bit more course during cruise. ***************** I'll Call JD Monday and ask him if he has any recommendations on how to repair/replace the lower pin. If your lower side brace pin is secured by a roll pin, you may want to follow this thread, as this may effect you. Waiter

I moved the heater to the rear thigh support because I needed the room in the nose for hydraulic pumps, etc. I have a 2" SCAT tube that moves hot air from the rear thigh support to my toes. Works great. Thoughts on Series vs Parallel oil coolers: I originally had my coolers in series (Heater first) to get the maximum heat/oil flow to the heater. This worked OK, but I was concerned about total flow through the cooler circuit, as it was a long hose run to/from the cooler in the nose. (I don't have any data to support this, just a thought) I reconfigured the coolers so they were in parallel, When I did this, I was also concerned if I could still get plenty of oil to the heater. It wasn't a problem! I far as cabin heat, I never noticed any difference between serias and parallel configuration. The parallel configuration effectively provides more high Delta T, hot surface area. Therefore, this should provide greater cooling capacity. The parallel also provides greater flow through this portion of the circuit, so oil flow/pressure shouldn't be any problem. Again, I don't think this is an issue. If I have the correct pressure After the oil cooler circuit, where the oil is now introduced into the engine components, galleys, etc, then I have the correct oil flow into these components. I did a writeup back in the Sq2 days on how the Lycoming oil system works. I'll see if I can resurict this. NOTE - My current configuration is parallel. This decision was based on convience of installing rather that either of the two arguments above. I get enought heat to run you out of the plane. Waiter

FUEL TANK IS SOLD (pending) Stay tuned for a lot of other stuff (cleaning out shop) Waiter

Dave and Mike; Sorry to hear your loss. My prayers are with you and your families. Waiter

I was hoping to get $100 out of it. It will cost you more than this to make a new one. The tank has an OUT and a Vent. The Vent needs to connect to an outside air source. I have a tube connected to the vent, I would clamp this tube to the passangers "fresh air eyeball vent" then open the eyeball vent. The OUT has a solenoid valve. I installed a plug and cord on the "Nav Lights" circuit. I then plug the valve into this plug. This can be inserted/removed during flight. I connected a 3 ft long hose to a "T" just where the fuel line goes through the firewall. When not in use, install a cap on the end of the hose and coil it up inside the hell hole. To use it, remove the plug from the hose and connect it to the solenoid valve thats mounted on the tank. The Tank also has a standard filler neck and cap so it can be filled after you install it in the rear seat. Use the passanger seat belt and sholder harness to secure the tank in the back seat. OPERATION I take off on the left tank, run for 1/2 hour, then switch to the right tank for 1/2 hour. After this, I turn my fuel valve to OFF and turn on the NAV lights, This energizes the valve and fuel is now flowing from the Aux Tank. When it runs dry, I turn off the nav lights, and switch the fuel selector back to the LEFT tank (A few seconds of boost pump will restore the fuel flow more quickly. If I'm running at night, I unplug the tank solenoid and turn the lights back on. Waiter

Longest non-stop: 12 hours When I lived in Calif, I flew back and forth from San Jose to Toledo 6 or 7 times a year (2100 miles). When I fly eastbound, I would typically go high (17,5000ft) and catch a good tail wind (50 - 100 kts). The trip normally took about 8-9 hours. But the longest was almost 12 hours (poor tail wind) West bound, I would need to stay low (fighting head winds), The trip west would take about 12 - 15 hours, and normally 1 fuel stop. PASSANGER WARNING - Limit the flight times to about 3 - 4 hours. The front seat is a lot more comfortable for long duration than the rear seat. YELLOW CONTRAILS - You'll need a really large bladder OR the ability to leave Yellow Contrails (Relief tube) CABIN HEAT - The plans exhaust heat muff won't get it, you need a heat source that can fight against -50 Deg F OAT (Oil Heat) FUEL: When I'm SOLO, I have a fuel tank that I strap into the rear seat to give me extra range. The tank holds about 25 gallons ( NOTE - My original tank is for sale, I'm making a new rear seat tank (The old one won't fit now that I installed an oil heater in the thihgh support). Waiter

Lynn; VariNice Waiter

Reference your feet being cramped on the flight. It sounds like the rudders may be adjusted perfectly! After takeoff and you find your not using the rudders any more, place your toes in front of the rudders. much more relaxing. (Use caution with long shoe laces, its EZ to get them caught on the rudder pedals, etc.) Waiter

Very, Very Nice Waiter

I used Lexan for my strake windows. Over the years, theyve become scratched and dirty. I find that I can't buff out the scratches and now wish I had used regular plexiglass. Any thoughts on this? Waiter

Yes, All the above, depending on what your doing. HOWEVER - You need to make sure its mixed completely before using it. If I'm doing large flat surfaces, I'll pour it on and use a squegee to spread around. The original Rutan video was a good primer for working with glass. Not sure where to find it!!! Waiter

I'm not sure if your talking about a LOngEZ? Anyway, one of the mounting methods for the Strong Pitch system is to attach it on the right side, and it clamps to the elevator push/pull tube. However, I installed the Strong system on the left side using the original bellcrank thats installed on the elevator. This required adding another bellcrank so the Strong actuator points backwards. I wanted to install it on the left side to achieve some degree of control redundancy. If its just the aft portion of the PTB thats hitting, something like this may work for you, as I don't use the aft (upper) part of the PTB, only the forward (lower) part. Look here for a short writeup and photos; http://www.iflyez.com/LongEZ_Retrofit_SEP_05.shtml I've been flying with this configuration for about 40 hours, I like it. I use the pitch trim a lot during Takeoffs/langings - When my main gear is retracted/extended, it significantly changes the pitch of the plane. I've learned to hit the pitch trim up/down for about three seconds when I lower/raise the gear. Waiter

Winglets - Vertically Oriented, VHF Comm. Put one in each winglet, that way your covered for Comm1 and Comm2 (Comm transmitters cannot share same antenna) Canard - Horizontally Oriented - Nav, is best, but, this will also work as a Comm. Your range will be significantly reduced because of the orientiation. It will work, I use it for my comm2 (I didn't install antennas in both winglets, and I no longer have a Nav). it works OK for ATIS, ground control, anything that is close. Gear leg - Loran (No longer used, but connects to my AM/FM radio. Waiter

Shipping on the foam can easily pay for a mini vacation. Good time for a road trip. A pickup truck, van, or small trailer. then stop by ACS to pick up the foam, then a quick trip to Disney land :-) Waiter

Excellent, Congradulations. Waiter