Aerolux prop and improved brakes

[zadwit 105]

I finally got my new 582 installed with a 72" two blade Aerolux prop from Green SKy in Florida. THe prop is the smoothest prop I have flown yet, much smoother than ivo or warp drive. I suspect it has to do with the airfoil shape of the blade. Warp and Ivo both have flat blade faces which improve low speed thrust but I suspect at cruise they are turblent flow somewhat. The Aerolux has a blade with curves on both the face and back of the blade. Performance is about the same at IVO or Warp Drive. 5900 static,  climb 1100 fpm at 6200rpm, Cruise at 6000 rpm=85mph

The finish on the blade is superb. Setting the pitch is dead easy, dont need a protractor.

Ive been fighting my MATCO brakes for some time but I finally got them to work satisfactorily. I have dual calipers on the wheel end, the small master cylinder (MC-4) and 8:00x6 tires, all brand new. I could only see 220psi pressure at the slave cylinder(wheel). MATCO says I need 450psi,   I redrilled the rudder pedal and moved top of the master cylinder as close as I could to the pedal and now I have adequate brakes. I cant really raise the pedal or make it taller because I have a nose tank and there is the throttle connection right above the right rudder pedal...It is still a little hard to get my toes on the top of the pedal but I plan on installing non skid slip stuff on there...

I did several landing on pavement , wheel landing and full stall all in a 12 mph quartering cross wind and if the plane started to weathervane I stabbed a brake and it just stopped..There is probably room for improvement on the pedals but it would take a lot of redesign of the area above the rudder pedal and elimination of the nose tank...Ill enclose a photo of  the brake pedal before I drilled the attachment but you can see there is room to move the top of the master cylinder closer to the pedal...

 

[tcj 150]

Wow! You have really made some great improvments on her.  Are those vortex generators on the wings too?  looking very nice.

TJ

[1avidflyer 1983]

Glad you are back with us Mark,  You've been quiet for quite a while, and I wondered if something happened to you.  Let us know how it flys!  JImChuk

[Matthewtanner 44]

haven't heard much of this aerolux...but i don't think i'm ready to start swapping parts out on mine that work. I have a 74" culver...it's just not sexy

[zadwit 105]

Sometime life gets in the way!   I had a lot more work to install the 582 than originally thought... Had to change mount, mount system, muffler, and then the cowling was 3" too long so had to cut the cowl in half and splice it back together.....that was a lot of work because I had to relocate most of the camloks....

 

The Aerolux is 72" diameter and it is a big prop for this set up... It really pulls and the plane if off the ground in 75 ft climbing....IT cruises a little slow, 85 at 6000 rpm so I think a

smaller diameter prop with more pitch would yield better cruise speed. one degree of pitch change, changes the RPM 300 RPM because the prop is so large....

I also installed a Garmin G-5 tied to a Garmin Aera 660. This way I can push the button and the HSI gives me heading to the waypoint. The G-5 EFIS seems to be very accurate when compared to the GPS and the Kitfox Airspeed.

The VGs seemed to make a pretty good difference. I was not sure at first but the more I fly it the more I realize they do work. They make the stall more docile.

I tried to get a video of me flying the other day but I failed to get the camera turned on. IT is clipped to the bill on my cap and I thought it was on but it was not.... Ill get some videos soon. Im looking at a couple of different heater options....cant have too much heat.....WHen I was living in Alaska I was always modifying aircraft heater systems to get more heat....

The colder it gets outside the more difficult it is to rob heat from the engine... from 0 on down it get a lot harder to get heat without covering over the engine and then you have to careful you dont climb into warm air aloft so whatever system a person uses, needs to be controllable from the cockpit even more so with these Rotax 2 strokes...

Mark

 

 

 

[1avidflyer 1983]

Well I know the topic of cabin heat was discussed a lot in another thread, but I'll add a bit here.  One thing that will still be making heat no matter how cold the temperature is is the muffler.  I was flying yesterday at +20 and was warm enough in the Avid.  I have a muffler shroud sending heat through two 2" tubes to the cockpit.  This is with a Jabiru engine, but I did the same with a 582 and had plenty of heat.  JImChuk

[zadwit 105]

I made a muffler heat shroud and NO ram air in, just cowling air, plenty of pressure there, and run the air outlet to a cabin heat box 2" aeroduct.

I used fibreglass wood stove door seal on the ends. I might make another small shroud for the down tube is I need more preheat for the main muffler...

I have the small water heater to install in cabin but if I can live without it, I prefer to do that....Enclosed are photos... I dont know how but move this post to the heater file if there is one...Mark

 

PS used aluminum foil tape on ends of shroud to keep warm air inside muffler shroud...hope it works... anyone ever wrap the outside of the muffler can to insulate it???

[zadwit 105]

I figure the only time I will have too much heat is when Im on fire!!

[zadwit 105]

Currently running a WD 3 blade 68" sq. tip, set 13 degree= 6250 RPM static at 30(f) 2500 MSL.