cowlove

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Everything posted by cowlove



  1. cowlove added a post in a topic 670 thread   

    I'm installing a Rotax Rick 670 at this very moment, but I'm not sure I'm the guy you're looking for. 
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  2. cowlove added a post in a topic Yamaha RX1 Engines   

    Good discussion all around. 
    > As far as the Rk400 clutch Im not sure why someone would need to tear it down every 75 hours. Where did this information come from?
    The RK400 requires an inspection of the friction surfaces every 75 hours, per the manufacturer's instructions.   This requires draining/removing the gearbox, of course.   Pretty quick job, I've never felt overly burdened with doing it.  
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  3. cowlove added a topic in Rotax and other engines   

    Approximate Inlet/scoop size for an internal 582 radiator?
    Hi.  I'm moving my Catalina's prominent radiator inside.     Does anyone have a faired/cowled 582 radiator setup that they're happy with?  What's your approximate inlet area?   I'm having a hoot reading NASA CR3405 and other resources, but I'd like to also see what has worked for other similar planes.  I assume most of our planes would have similar climb speed, cooling needs, and radiator area, so I'm guessing other people's experience would be directly applicable.  
    I have lots of room to play with, so I can make the inlet/outlet almost any size I need, but a starting point would be helpful. 
    Thanks!
    Jim
     
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  4. cowlove added a post in a topic First Annual Pacific Northwest Catalina Flyin - Last July   

    Just got the 670 back from being redone.  Since the plane is now out of annual and the weather is turning, I'm going to take a few months with it in the garage to get after all the deferred maintenance list, and do some of the fun projects I've been dreaming of:
    new vac formed canopyrelocate radiator internallyfull lotus sponsonsjack screw landing gear actuatorI'll post updates as they happen.  Wish me luck
     
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  5. cowlove added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    First Annual Pacific Northwest Catalina Flyin - Last July
    Just ran across this and realized I forgot to post this last July.  Flywise and I met in Squamish, BC, and had a chance to briefly glance over each other's planes.   Laurent's plane looks as nice in person as it does in his photo album.   
     

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  6. cowlove added a post in a topic Melted piston from overheat due to coolant loss- repair plan?   

    It is a Rotax Rick 670.  Mistakes happen, but I've been very pleased with his customer service and how he immediately stood behind his engine and offered to redo it.   I've enjoyed talking with him a bunch over the last year as we made a 670 happen.   Apparently about 2-3 hours of phone conversation is included with the price of a build-up
     
     
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  7. cowlove added a post in a topic Melted piston from overheat due to coolant loss- repair plan?   

    Talked with the builder this morning and shipped the motor back; he's going to redo it all under warranty.   I'll start a new thread with (hopefully) better taxi test news when I get it back. 
    Thanks everyone for all they help   
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  8. cowlove added a post in a topic Melted piston from overheat due to coolant loss- repair plan?   

    akflyer, the image is of the undamaged side, and the valve could have flipped around any which way after I took it out.  I trust they were in correctly- the main failure is definitely the loose nut and the extra 1/8" of solid interference with the piston.  
     
     
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  9. cowlove added a post in a topic Melted piston from overheat due to coolant loss- repair plan?   

    Here's the style from my engine (unaffected cylinder).   You can see the stud and jam nut going into the actual blade of the valve.  If the nut and/or stud loosen, the valve goes further in... crunch.  

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  10. cowlove added a post in a topic Melted piston from overheat due to coolant loss- repair plan?   

    Oh, you could push it a full, clear 1/8" into the cylinder.   The other cylinder is normal.   There's a nut on the threaded stud coming out of the end of the RAVE slide.   The shoulder of that nut is what actually contacts the stop and limits the travel of the valve.  If that nut loosens and rides up the stud, the valve can protrude further into the cylinder.    As I found it, the nut was loose and about 1/8" up the stud.  The valve had neatly and precisely cut/routed out a perfect little footprint in the piston, and the debris tore up the rest of the piston/cylinder/head, but I don't see any melt or other kind of damage. 
    The engine backfired a few times right before I shut it down, and I think that blew off the RAVE valve diaphragm boot (and zip tie), but the rest of the RAVE valve hardware was undamaged.  (Well, the slide is beat up from eating away the piston, but I mean to say the rest of the RAVE valve hardware looked like it was functional) 
     
     
     
     
     
     
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  11. cowlove added a post in a topic Melted piston from overheat due to coolant loss- repair plan?   

    Actually, upon teardown, there was no piston melting- the RAVE valve hardware had loosened and allowed the slide to contact the piston.  It wore down the piston until it broke chunks off the rings, which then tore up the cylinder and head pretty good.  This made a hotspot that visibly failed the inner head o-ring, which pressurized the coolant and blew it all out the overflow tank.     The low coolant was a final symptom, not the root cause.  
    The engine install is inverted- any thoughts on the chances that debris made it into the crankcase? 
     
     
     


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  12. cowlove added a topic in Rotax and other engines   

    Melted piston from overheat due to coolant loss- repair plan?
    I was out on the water doing the break-in procedure and taxi tests for my new 670, and during the 4500RPM step, I noticed a sudden loss of a few hundred RPM and a rapidly increasing and erratic coolant temp.  I idled the engine, and decided to taxi back to the boat launch, with coolant temps hovering about 180, but erratic.   I found the coolant level just below the water pump (engine is inverted), and I'm sure I was boiling coolant in the heads even though the CHT showed 180- that must have been the erratic part.   I haven't located the exact leak location yet, but there is coolant spray all over the pusher prop, tail and empannage.   
    Anyway, the #1 piston's edge is melted at the exhaust port, and the cylinder crosshatching is gone at the 4 corners.    #2 cylinder looks fine, at least from the exhaust port view. 
    So- my question:  Is it a reasonable repair plan to just rehone, install new pistons, and possibly new head if it's warped?
    PS-  The overheat is certainly my fault and I'm really happy with Rotax Rick's 670.  I definitely have no complaint at this point about his product.   The few minutes I got to spend with it, it seems awesome and I can hardly wait.   Very smooth, and the boat clawed its way onto step at 4500RPM, which almost unbelievable.  6100RPM minimum needed with the 582.  
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  13. cowlove added a post in a topic Fuel pooling behind oil-injector on Rotax 582?   

    Re the primer suggestion:  I have an electric prime and the solenoid valve isn't leaking.   Fuel that leaks down the rotary valve could accumulate where I'm seeing that, and that's my current suspicion. 
     
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  14. cowlove added a topic in Rotax and other engines   

    Fuel pooling behind oil-injector on Rotax 582?
    I pulled out one of the screws securing the oil-injector block-off plate on my Rotax 582, and was surprised when maybe a couple fluid ounces of gas came pouring out of the hole.  Looking at the exploded view of the engine, I can't fathom how gas would accumulate there or what seal may be failing.   
    It didn't appear the be the goopy deposited oil that accumulates in/around the carbs when using pre-mixed gas.  Instead, it appear to be fairly fresh gasoline. 
    Any ideas? 
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  15. cowlove added a post in a topic 150 performance   



  16. cowlove added a post in a topic Flying 40 hours off in a 50nm radius   

    What is that you're using for your EFIS and nav displays?  
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  17. cowlove added a post in a topic WTB looking to buy full lotus sponsons   

    I bought some new a few months ago.   I think they only have white ones left..  http://www.full-lotus.com/accessories.html halfway down the page. 
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  18. cowlove added a post in a topic Left flaperion hinge failure.   

    Thanks for having the courage to share the details here, we all appreciate it.   Hopefully it's a very good reminder for us all to address un-reinforced rib tails!  
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  19. cowlove added a post in a topic Airframe/wing flutter   

    About what frequency was the flutter?  I had a loose elevator trim tab yield about a 5 hz "thumping" that was a little hard to chase down it was so intermittent.   
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  20. cowlove added a post in a topic landing on hard runway pain   

    Also- check to make sure your gear mechanism is actually over-center.  With the right precautions, actually undo the lock pin and bounce the plane and wiggle the handle around and make sure it doesn't collapse.   The build manual stated the builder should bend the push/pull tube to ensure the mechanism was over-center, but that doesn't actually change the geometry of the mechanism, it just makes it *look* more over center.  
    Mine was just barely *not* over center, and held fine for hundreds of landings, but the lock pin was actually getting loaded a tiny bit.  I finally planted it hard enough to rip out the lock pin one day.   The good news?  The Catalina is perfectly at home sliding across grass.   Steerable right up to the stop, smooth, just a little grass stain on her chin.    Zero damage other than the lock pin. 
     
     
     
     
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  21. cowlove added a post in a topic landing on hard runway pain   

    First I'll address the gusty wind part of your question.  
    Really NOT an ideal crosswind machine.   Given the minimal sponson clearance and the narrow track, I kinda developed a "decrab and plop" technique where I kick it straight at the last moment of a 3-point landing with a tiny bit of power added in for rudder authority.   Get right on firm crosswind corrections the second you touch down, then bounce to a stop on your ridiculous golf cart tires.   The only saving grace is you're going pretty darn slow at touchdown.     If you don't time the "decrab" part perfectly, you'll either scrape a sponson or sideload the tires and wallow all over the runway fighting a groundloop.   
    Not a good general technique, and if you try it in someone else's land plane they'll probably never let you fly it again.
    Honestly, I'd avoid crosswinds until you're super comfortable with the plane.   The maximum I've landed is a 6 knot direct crosswind at KBFI, and would probably divert to a water landing at KRNT and walk home rather than do that again. 
    PS: Be careful about scraping your sponsons to the point where they can get waterlogged or water-filled... a Catalina owner died that way.   
    Second, as far as the suspension goes- the tires do have a lot of give to them, but unfortunately also have no damping and will bounce you even more than spring gear.   Running a really low pressure helps.   I added a simple suspension by cutting the main landing gear push/pull tube in half and making it so it could telescope a couple inches, then adding ears for a standard Piper Cub HD bungee to hold it together/shortened.  I'll upload pictures when I get home.  
    Jack from Texas spoke about wheel landing his plane, but I never found a technique that worked predictably and consistently.  I keep meaning to spend more time exploring that. 
    Good luck!
     
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  22. cowlove added a post in a topic Cold Weather vs. RK400C clutch?   

    About 150 hours on the clutch at this point.  The friction linings are definitely a consumable item, and were *right* at the wear limits anyway, so I'm not bummed at all.    
    It's almost completely implausible that moisture could get in the clutch- the entire engine is well-covered by a fairing, and the entire interior of the clutch housing and clutch itself has a very light and delicate layer of clutch dust from the last 50-ish hours of operation that would show a single drop or trickle of condensation.  
    However, it definitely happened while the plane was sitting during the cold.  I have to handle the prop to put on the plane's canvas cover, and it was as free-spinning as ever when I put the plane away.   Then a few days later on a cold morning, the clutch was engaged solid as a rock, and the motor could easily be hand-propped.    A few days after that, on a warmer morning, the clutch had some heavy drag on it, but would move with some squealing.   All without moving or starting the plane. 
    Anyway, I plan to keep using the clutch with the new parts, and will report back any info. 
     
     
      
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  23. cowlove added a post in a topic Cold Weather vs. RK400C clutch?   

    Finally got around to tearing down the gearbox/clutch.  A large chunk of lining had come off and was causing the drag and squealing.  Given the problems started suddenly in the cold, without having run or touched the engine, I think that some moisture was trapped under the lining and broke it off during the cold.
    Clutch overhaul kits seem to be on backorder everywhere... Grrr.
    Jim
     
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  24. cowlove added a topic in Avid Catalina   

    Cold Weather vs. RK400C clutch?
    It got below 30degF for a while here in Seattle, and my 582's clutch started acting up.  It was definitely freewheeling properly when I last parked the plane, but I found the clutch solidly stuck during my next preflight.  I hand propped the engine over a few times trying to see if it would free itself, but it was solid.   I came back when it was warmer, and the clutch would slip slightly, but made screeching noises and was definitely not free-spinning as normal. 
    Bringing the plane home for a gearbox/clutch inspection is definitely in order, but in the meantime I'm pondering things.  Has anyone heard of anything similar? 
     
     
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  25. cowlove added a post in a topic First flight follies   

    Changing stabilizer incidence may be just what you need- I was just advocating flying and testing your most fwd CG first, and always making sure you have that case covered.   Trim, CG and elevator/rudder authority are very, very intricate in this plane, all profoundly affected by the off-axis thrust and the prop sitting *right* upstream of the tail fins.  Love it!  There's a noticeable difference between power on, power off, and even prop windmilling or stopped    Test all these conditions and make sure you have ample control.  
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