It’s always good to get the annual test done and dusted but it’s also a time where things might crop up .. it might be recent or it might not …

A few things came up and one particular one was a bit of a pain ..

A while back I wanted to fit a go pro mount and had seen some really good ‘tail looking forward footage.. so drilled a mount and all was well

Unfortunately this is a ‘non standard’ mod so I can either somehow do all the official stress test analysis and load testing and submit to the LAA for approval or … remove and replace it !

As approvals are not the fastest thing to go for I opted to remove and replace the single bar fin leading edge

I’ve not undone the Oratex much before and it was stuck like rock .. judicial use of the heat gun to remove the wide pinked cut band overlay and then start to get the edge of the material loose

An earlier post in this blog shows how I feathered the overlap on each side of the fin to ease the complex curves .. this all needed releasing now

All the time I was thinking I didn’t want to over stress the removal as I was intending to put it back and re tape the join cover

The factory had the replacement material in stock but NOT a trimmed and pilot holed part.

TLACs Emma raised a works order for part T53 .. the final leading edge and 20 minutes later I was in front of the cutting tool with the amazing Chris

Part duly cut .. 2 pilot holes .. and lined up in the now open fin area.. clecos applied and drill through the 6 x M62 large rivets and 6 M41s

Just need to get the 2 new lower brackets paired and shaped and aligned for pilot hole marking and drilling

Last task of the prep work for the annual .. the LAA now want a mass of captured data and settings and measurements..

I’ve not captured the engine leak down test before but The Light Aircraft Company kindly leant me their leakdown test kit

We have a compressor at home and so read up about getting the prop to Top Dead Centre TDC, removing each rocker cover so we can see when the valves were compressing (opening) and lifting (closing) and both closed

Connecting up the pressure test .. introducing it to the exhaust cylinder .. having removed the spark plug

Pressure released to 80 and check leak down in 2nd gunge.. 70 or more on all 4 cylinders .. Great … 👍

Time for the annual flight test .. a sort of normal flight and then a long climb up through 1,000, 2,000 to just over 3,000′ and time the climb

Getting about 500fpm and, at the top of the climb … decide to to the stall checks

A couple of reducing to tick over and holding back on the stick to get to the stall … slight buffet at around 40 and then slow mush at 35

Then … push the nose over and down to check VNE .. max descent speed … listed at 100mph … after a fair descent .. and no drama .. I chickened out at 95mph

Post the flight I thought it sensible to check for leaks and engine bits

On analysis I spotted a small smear on the outside of the rear left pushrod tube guide

After taking the rocker cover off I couldn’t really see anything obvious so rang Kev the specialist and opted to remove the head and check

On removal I could see small trace of oil on the lower bolt area .. 6 bolts hold the head in place

Removed and cleaned down with some wire wool which easily cleaned all the head faces and bolts and fins

Put it all back together … very careful to make sure no rubbers were nipped and rotated as the head was tightened down

Ground run and all CHTs spot on ! Great to get fix … flight test next

Reckon the problem was waiting 5 hours before first torque check.. so plan to torque check every flight or 1 hour for the first 5 hours

I’ve not written about why I have sourced and fitted another Jabiru 2200 but I had a slight issue with my previous … it dropped a valve seat and then had an unexplained issue with a piston which decided to dismantle itself

Slight problem was we were 2 up, Will was in his second only time in the rear (as part of my training to get him to soloing) and we were 1,100’ N of the field

The wind was between 5-8 Southerly and so an immediate turn back .. with almost zero power but a still running engine was initiated ..throttling back to try to analyse the issue

We both calmly discussed the issue … Will initially saying ‘Your aircraft’ … having already made the turn for home within seconds of the first rough running

I had Wills work bag on my lap in the front .. so space was at a premium and I certainly couldn’t hold the stick and throttle and fly with the bag … so elected to hand back to Will and govern throttle and course whilst he flew

We ran through the guage readings as we inexorably descended, now downwind, back towards an impossible to reach threshold.

Having exhausted options as to what was wrong … fuel, mags, switches, nothing … I advised to tighten the harness straps right up as we would probably not make the field

A minute or so passed and almost impossibly the very shallow float angle and supreme lift ..and it looked like we had a great chance of just making the field

Will held off to perform an almost perfect 3 pointer … and I advised to kill the mags … the ‘plane rolled to a silent stop a few feet into the upwind end of the runway we had just departed from

Engine was inspected as it cooled and removed that afternoon to drive up to Yorkshire for tests

As the rebuild ..new valve seat, new piston, liner, rings, valve, push rod and Conrod was going to take a while I sourced the spare .. all the way from Shetland

Will started his PPL just after we moved back to the U.K. and rattled through it … far quicker than I did all those years ago when juggling a small family .. a new (very old 1642) house and commuting from Suffolk to London every day on a motorbike, train and walk … the reverse each evening.

If the weather was good at the weekend .. I was lucky … if not … I’d just moan and do stuff around the house ticking off a never ending list of things that you have to do to old houses !

Fast forward … and back in the U.K. and one of the ‘babies’ now WhatsApp’s me at 5pm when he leaves work and states …”Meet you at the strip for circuits then ?”

I remember that, just before I went away for the weekend (a trial 3 day campervan excursion to sunny – and wet – Shropshire) I’d completed an oil change after just 4.5 hours of flying with the new engine… and left the cowls off (deliberately) to remind me to check levels and leaks before the next flight.

Nipped up to Priory Farm strip and checked levels .. all good to go .. so popped the cowls on and opened the hangar doors. I’m really fortunate here in that I’m either right behind the doors or next one in … and both are easy to pull out (compared to the Cirrus, PA32 and surprisingly heavy Cub I used to have to shift in Jersey before wheeling mine out)

Tonight, I’m pole position … so open the doors and she is already facing 01 … runway heading 01 😊 there’s a smidgen of a tailwind but, even with full fuel and a not so light pax load ..we should be off by half way

No sign of son, so walk around check and strap in … then startup to get her warm as it’s cooling now as the sun sets towards Old Buckenham

The new gauges really do show up in this light and all CHTs are reading sensible values around 14 and spring to life as the engine bursts into life first turn of the prop .. those 2 inline batteries put in 7 years ago really don’t miss a beat.

Will turns up smack on the oil temp reaching 50’ ..how does he do it ! … comes over and clambers in .. the slightly non standard way …goes to ease himself in but then pushes backward with his bum a shade too early … crack … the ply seat back cracks slightly but the 2 stiffener bars (running vertically) are fine .. just break the original glue joint that has lasted 7 years !

We shut down to check status and it’s not going anywhere with braces and his back supported on coving ..and it’s an easy fix which we both agreed could be done in situ .. probably using the super strong glue vs the epoxy I used originally

The slight downwind departure is off at about 50% of the way down the grass strip into pretty still cool air … handing over control to Will .. that’s my flying for the evening … we climb fully laden and, in these conditions, it ain’t sparkling but we circle up to around 1,100’ then idle large circle back to pick up an approach

The first approach is ok but a bit rapid as I don’t want him to get caught in any sink over the hangars … the second is way way too high but I leave him to realise .. which he does … so he sticks in a load of slide slip to try to recover to a more reasonable approach path … we duly arrive over the house, trees and hangar at around 73 KTS ..about 84 mph in old money

I suggest we make this one a fly by … so he goes for full burn up of the field (at about 10′) and pull up and away to the left (Priory has a preferred dog leg departure to avoid farms and houses)

He settles the next downwind way better … turns base and eases the the throttle back ..the height is much better .. again a slight dog leg to avoid some noise sensitive houses .. nice side slip to get her onto final and a lovely greaser

We pull away .. firewalling the throttle is giving us about 3,290 .. a smidgen short of the listed 3,300 the Jabiru manual lists .. i have my colour RPM guages going from Green to Yellow at 2,900 (to visually remind me if I leave it too fast in the crhise) and then Yellow to Red at 3,100

We make this the last landing and pull around in a large easy teardrop back to land on the Southerly direction which means we roll out at the end at the hangar doors for a shutdown… its pretty dusky now as the engine ticks down .. lift the tail and pull her in in about 20 seconds

This ‘training’ lark is quite exhausting but lovely when you get results

Back safe and warm in the hangar … seat back will be glued and clamped tomorrow …

Engine refit and rewire all complete and signed off today and first test flight

I don’t often fly in just shorts ..but it was around 30 degrees ..very close and hot … engine was already warm from a ground run .. so oil temp was already up to 50 in no time …

10 mins from startup .. to taxi out ..take off .. a couple of orbits and back to land ..admittedly a little too fast .. (you can see her skip up slightly) ..but first biplane landing in some months

Great news is that the new colour gauge is reading perfectly

I’ve configured it so that , instead of split 2 x EGT and 2 x CHT.. I’ve got all 4 x CHT on this gauge reading vertically .. much easier to glance

The old MGL multi gauge now has 4 x EGT reading concurrently