Having had three successful but short engine runs it was disappointing to see that the small smear of oil I noticed just near the base of the oil filler hadn’t disappeared after I had thoroughly cleaned all around it.
This means it can’t just down to a careless dribble whilst topping up ;(

Contacted Jabiru in Australia as, although this is around 6 years old it’s brand new out of the box ! A chap called Michael got back to me and suggested undoing the grub screw that holds the dipstick / fill tube in place and checking it was seated ok …

Oh dear ….

Tube duly removed and yes I can just see the O ring indent about 2mm down from the nicely machined face on the lower sump …. The inlet pipes are just above this so it’s tricky to see too closely but my nail could fit nicely into the machine groove ….. Which of course it SHOULDN’T ! … A rubber O ring should prevent that ! But it’s missing !

That leaves me with the challenge of

A) it’s missing and was never put in … Not good practice .. But better for me … 95p from SkyCraft or

B) it WAS put in but was pushed inside by the tube when fitted ! … So it’s in the sump somewhere

I have mixed feelings ….

I suddenly feel a little more like an engineer as I have looked into a problem and found the actual issue but angry that this is slowing the critical engine testing now ….

Graham from CIAS has a couple of scopes that we will try to see if we can see anything … Have asked SkyCraft if they stock sump gaskets and looking how easy it is to drop the sump … Looks like all the exhaust and inlet manifolds off and then a rectangle of Allen bolts …. May be safer in the long run

The second engine run .. Of about 5 mins was a much more controlled and pleasant affair !!

explored a bit more of the range .. Very small movement invoked the most amazing amount of thrust … Boy this hung is going to go ….

I ran her up to about 60% .. Once I had some warmth in ….

I could then hear the zing of the prop as the sound echoed around of the hangar walls .. She sounded just like a REAL aeroplane … Just absolutely purred …. Back to slow running which was clearly ‘hunting’ .. That is the choke not closing properly .. Part now ordered from Sky Craft to peg this properly

I could then see that the multi engine monitor unit I had indicated that a warning in the Port CHT .. No reading so looks like maybe a bad connection … RPM was varying between -300 and plus +800 … This was located to my incorrect initial setting of the RPM defaults … Spotted I had left the default of 6 pulses per revolution when the Jab only has two nuts that pass the tacho ! Now reset will check on next run

Wired up prop ahead of planned engine test ..

Pre torqued up as per Hercules spec … Nice clear instructions they provide with each prop

Although i intend to put a double Trig set in i am starting off with an Icom unit. The ariel that comes with the Icom should be fine for testing but def not mid channel crossings !

So i have a top of cabane mounted comant ariel which i have made an under tray for with rivnuts so that i have blind access. Three long countersunk allen headed bolts complete the fitting.

I sourced two RG58 co ax plugs from RS and these will be fitted to the base today ready for covering the centre top cabane (Olive Green). The Green contrasts to the Cub Yellow wings but carries in the top cowl, upper body colour scheme before it changes to Yellow behind the pilots head.

I intend to curl some slack ariel cable in the top cabane so that i have ‘working’ cable should i need to service the ariel.

I am now looking for suitable trunking rubber to secure down the back of one of the supports struts so that the ariel cable routes neatly to the cockpit.

Although it’s been a long family break I have been trying to keep things moving over the Christmas and New Year break !

The big build  to a ski trip was dashed when the high winds meant we couldn’t sail off the island so ended up flying to Malta .. Not renowned for its ski slopes ! But lovely 20′ nonetheless …

it’s been a great chance to catch up with odd days and hours when the work support and trips permitted …

• Tidying and gluing the underside covering
• This leaves just two full length sides  – about 3 evenings work
• Re rigging all upper cables for the tailplane
• Making a new wing bracing wire as last re rig proved one was just too short
• Re thread the pitot tubes through the drag spar and into the fuselage
• Connecting the plumbing for the fuel tank and incorporating a drain plug / valve
• Completing the wiring of the 2 x CHT and 2 x EGT sensors
• Adding a splitter pair of wires to allow a secondary CHT gauge in the front cockpit
• Securing the throttle cable guide
• Ordering some sheathed cable for the magnetos and headset connectors
• Complete drilling and fitting of the lower wing tips using small alloy brackets to allow removable option
• Tweak trailer wing support to accept tailor made carbon fibre supports that span two full ribs cushioning the whole transport
• Re fitted all 4 ailerons
• Purchased 4 gate bolts as advised by my good fellow builder Danny to make the return springs on each wing peg
• Re sized the headrest to be a closer fit to the head bubble
• Pre tested the icom unit

Next step .. Onto trailer and up to the airport for first engine test run

Haven’t done this for years !

Middle son Will is picking up the old traits and, rather than buy all foam, out of the box, battery in, and fly type models … he has opted to build an RCM&E FW190 plan based aircraft.

Interesting to get used to reading this sort of plan again and prepping all the ribs and spars etc He has also invested in some Robart retracts … I always dreamt of those but could never afford them … had mechanical set which were a bit clunky ! Flew them in my SuperStar off an old American aerodrome in Suffolk called Alpheton