Wednesday, September 27, 2017
203 Nautical Miles around Calgary
Three of us went on a day trip around Calgary. Alan in his Murphy, Jeff in his Citabria and myself. A bag lunch and we were off at 10:30 for a triangular trip around the Calgary area. Weather was spectacular on this fall day with temperatures at 21 degrees by noon. Skies were clear and wind was very light as we travelled at 5500 feet to Vulcan, 6500 feet to Drumheller and 6500 ft. back to Springbank. We had a long lunch break in Vulcan sitting outside on the picnic tables in the sun having laughs with Don a local flying fellow. Then off to Drumheller for a 40 minute break before heading back to Springbank. Having just completed my Annual inspection on the Q2 it was a good test to make sure all was working 100% and I was pleased it was. Still not happy with some constant background noise I am getting in my MGL radio and will continue to try and isolate. Distant radio transmissions are hard to hear over the noise. I forgot to take any pictures on this trip but have attached the map below showing our route.
Friday, September 1, 2017
Sidetracked for a Canard Gathering
A friend called and asked if I was interested in joining him on a trip to a Canard fly in gathering, of course I had to say of course. Joel invited me to join him in his Cozy Mk4 on this trip to Kanab UT. Add in two travel days and it was a four day trip. The annual gathering has been going for 25 years and this was the highest turn out of Canard aircraft at 39 aircraft. It was a fabulous trip with much of our northern half in smoke from forest fires. The weather at Kanab was fabulous though and our Saturday group tour of aircraft over Zion Park was beautiful, here are a few pictures.
Took a break in Rock Springs WY.
Kanab UT
Zion Park
The Pink Sand Dunes
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Vulcan For Lunch again
A beautiful day here for another flight. Off to Vulcan again with a short walk across the golf course to the club house for very good food. Flight outbound was at 5500 feet and the temperature around 20 degrees celcius. Flight home to Springbank airport (CYBW) was at 6500 feet and the temperature had risen to 27 degrees. I had great company with Alan and Tina in their recently completed HATZ biplane and Alan in his newly aquired Murphy Elite. Looking forward to doing it again soon.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Flight Test 1 of Passenger Carrying Capability
On this day of August 9 2017 I decided it would be a good time to do a test of weight carrying capacity for a passenger. This I planned will be in stages with increasing weights to see if I could carry a passenger. If carrying a passenger is feasible then I would need to figure afterwords what weight in fuel could be carried.
My Q2 thus far has been used only as a single seat airplane and has proven a real fun and sporty aircraft to fly. When I bought this plane it was located at Abbotsford BC Canada and two of us flew in it many times. My weight was 165 and the other pilot was about 180 pounds and we had no trouble flying locally from the elevation of 195 feet. Fuel carried in the main tank was usually around 5 gallons.
Present airport elevation CYBW is: 3965 ft.
Empty weight of aircraft: 626 lbs.
Pilot weight: 165 lbs.
Flight was just for one circuit. The take off roll was a non event, the climb was noticeably shallower than what I have been accustomed during the single seat operation. The landing was also a non event and went smoothly.
Summary: I was not happy with the climb rate but it was what I was expecting for takeoff from this altitude. This is why I limited my passenger weight to the 77 lbs. for my early stages of weight carrying. I was not in a position to read the VSI since my eyes were always outside for visual reference. I will do a second weight test when temperatures are cooler and see what performance is like with the same weight. If all goes well I will gradually increase the weight I carry to see what passenger and fuel load I can safely carry at various temperature and pressure values.
For now it will continue as a fun single seat aircraft.
My Q2 thus far has been used only as a single seat airplane and has proven a real fun and sporty aircraft to fly. When I bought this plane it was located at Abbotsford BC Canada and two of us flew in it many times. My weight was 165 and the other pilot was about 180 pounds and we had no trouble flying locally from the elevation of 195 feet. Fuel carried in the main tank was usually around 5 gallons.
Present airport elevation CYBW is: 3965 ft.
Empty weight of aircraft: 626 lbs.
Pilot weight: 165 lbs.
Misc. baggage wt. 10 lbs
Fuel weight carried: 54 lbs (this is full header tank and 2 gallons in main)
Passenger seat sand bag and lead: 77 lbs.
Outside air temperature: 22 degrees C
Barometric pressure: 30.18
Total weight 932 lbs.
Fuel weight carried: 54 lbs (this is full header tank and 2 gallons in main)
Passenger seat sand bag and lead: 77 lbs.
Outside air temperature: 22 degrees C
Barometric pressure: 30.18
Total weight 932 lbs.
Flight was just for one circuit. The take off roll was a non event, the climb was noticeably shallower than what I have been accustomed during the single seat operation. The landing was also a non event and went smoothly.
Summary: I was not happy with the climb rate but it was what I was expecting for takeoff from this altitude. This is why I limited my passenger weight to the 77 lbs. for my early stages of weight carrying. I was not in a position to read the VSI since my eyes were always outside for visual reference. I will do a second weight test when temperatures are cooler and see what performance is like with the same weight. If all goes well I will gradually increase the weight I carry to see what passenger and fuel load I can safely carry at various temperature and pressure values.
For now it will continue as a fun single seat aircraft.
Monday, July 10, 2017
My New Electronic Ignition Installation
July 26 2017
The CPI System is timed by a Hall Sensor style of ignition timing. I had a custom bracket fabricated for the support of the Hall Sensor and it was triangulated to mounting points on the front of the engine. This so there could not be any movement of the Hall Sensor position.
Below is a top down photo of the Hall magnetic pickup. The magnets have yet to be installed into three of the propeller bolts. the mnagnets will stick out of the face of the bolt head about 3/16 of an inch.
July 18 2017
The Coil packs sit on top of my engine and the photo below shows the aluminum mounting plate I had made up to support them. One coil pack is for the upper plugs and the second is for the lower spark plugs.
July 10 2017
I am installing an Electronic Ignition system on my aircraft to eliminate the Bendix D3000 dual magneto that is presently installed on the back of the engine. The Electronic Ignition system is a made in Canada solution from a reputable supplier of ignitions for race car and aviation purposes. The company is Racetech Inc. and the product they have for my application is the CPI (Coil Pack Ignition) System. This is the system designed by "Racetech Inc." for engines which are normally aspirated. They also have another product designed for the Fuel Injected engine. Their web page can be viewed at http://www.sdsefi.com/
There are two main reasons that I wish to change my ignition. First I have been getting a lot of static over my radio that has been proved to be from both sides of the magneto. Second the magneto is located on the back side of the engine case and if it has to be serviced the engine has to be removed to access the magneto. This is not a ideal design but being the plane was designed for it's compactness, light weight and aerodynamic shape that was a necessary evil of this fabulous flying airplane. As a result the magneto and starter sit inside of a recess well behind the main firewall. I have had to remove the engine a couple of times to work on the magneto already and have been looking for a solution. Removing the engine was a time consuming and arduous task needing some acrobatic agility. Finally the cost of overhauling the magneto was more than the cost of a electronic ignition. The CPI offers the simplicity and reliability as used in most all automobiles these days.
Below is the result of the engine cowling that I had to enlarge the main propeller opening.
My project is not the first to go through this type of change but does require some specialized custom brackets to be made for my Revmaster aviation engine. Racetech Inc. has made up brackets for more common aircraft engines but my engine is rare and so the customized brackets.
The CPI System is timed by a Hall Sensor style of ignition timing. I had a custom bracket fabricated for the support of the Hall Sensor and it was triangulated to mounting points on the front of the engine. This so there could not be any movement of the Hall Sensor position.
Below is a top down photo of the Hall magnetic pickup. The magnets have yet to be installed into three of the propeller bolts. the mnagnets will stick out of the face of the bolt head about 3/16 of an inch.
July 18 2017
The Coil packs sit on top of my engine and the photo below shows the aluminum mounting plate I had made up to support them. One coil pack is for the upper plugs and the second is for the lower spark plugs.
July 10 2017
I am installing an Electronic Ignition system on my aircraft to eliminate the Bendix D3000 dual magneto that is presently installed on the back of the engine. The Electronic Ignition system is a made in Canada solution from a reputable supplier of ignitions for race car and aviation purposes. The company is Racetech Inc. and the product they have for my application is the CPI (Coil Pack Ignition) System. This is the system designed by "Racetech Inc." for engines which are normally aspirated. They also have another product designed for the Fuel Injected engine. Their web page can be viewed at http://www.sdsefi.com/
There are two main reasons that I wish to change my ignition. First I have been getting a lot of static over my radio that has been proved to be from both sides of the magneto. Second the magneto is located on the back side of the engine case and if it has to be serviced the engine has to be removed to access the magneto. This is not a ideal design but being the plane was designed for it's compactness, light weight and aerodynamic shape that was a necessary evil of this fabulous flying airplane. As a result the magneto and starter sit inside of a recess well behind the main firewall. I have had to remove the engine a couple of times to work on the magneto already and have been looking for a solution. Removing the engine was a time consuming and arduous task needing some acrobatic agility. Finally the cost of overhauling the magneto was more than the cost of a electronic ignition. The CPI offers the simplicity and reliability as used in most all automobiles these days.
Below is the result of the engine cowling that I had to enlarge the main propeller opening.
My project is not the first to go through this type of change but does require some specialized custom brackets to be made for my Revmaster aviation engine. Racetech Inc. has made up brackets for more common aircraft engines but my engine is rare and so the customized brackets.
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Flight to Vulcan Alberta for Lunch
It was a beautiful day with some high scattered cloud around, a mostly sunny day. Temperature was at 24 degrees C in the afternoon. We flight planned for an altitude of 5500 ft for this short flight to the SE from Springbank airport. The flight time was showing to be a 41 minute flight using my FltplanGo software with the current winds. The actual flight time turned out to be 42 minutes and we encountered very light turbulence due to the daytime heating beginning.
I was accompanied by Alan in his RV3 who flew about 5 minutes behind me as we departed Springbank. The RV3 is faster than the Q2 and I knew this would work out fine for our 41 minute trip to Vulcan. The landing strip is paved and 2950 feet long at a elevation of 3440 feet. My landing went very well and I used about 3/4 of the runway length before turning around and backtracking on the runway. After climbing out of my cockpit on the parking ramp I heard Alan arriving on the downwind approach for landing and was able to watch his nice 2 wheel landing. As we stood talking after Alan shut down we heard a sound similar to a turbine coming into the airport. Not a turbine at all but the exquisite Subaru powered Q2 of Reg Clarke from the Lethbridge area. Reg later noted he was probably going about 150 knots as he flew over top the airfield, what a beautiful sound. He quickly slowed and did a beautiful landing. Reg later explained to me that he has to have a very light touchdown as there is no landing gear shock absorption in his custom landing gear configuration. This is very different to my Q2 in which the full Canard wing is a spring for my landing gear.
Alan left right away for a meeting back home and Reg offered to do a tandem takeoff with me on our departure. He would give me a comfortable lead and shortly after takeoff he called me up his position and I saw the beautiful yellow Q2 screaming by about 300 feet below in our left turn. This turbo Subaru with an SDS electronic ignition system from Ross Farnam in Alberta is one fine example of a Q2 tandem wing aircraft.
View or trip track at:
https://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=11&ts=1498262400&te=1498348800&call=a%2FCGMBK
More coming soon.
I was accompanied by Alan in his RV3 who flew about 5 minutes behind me as we departed Springbank. The RV3 is faster than the Q2 and I knew this would work out fine for our 41 minute trip to Vulcan. The landing strip is paved and 2950 feet long at a elevation of 3440 feet. My landing went very well and I used about 3/4 of the runway length before turning around and backtracking on the runway. After climbing out of my cockpit on the parking ramp I heard Alan arriving on the downwind approach for landing and was able to watch his nice 2 wheel landing. As we stood talking after Alan shut down we heard a sound similar to a turbine coming into the airport. Not a turbine at all but the exquisite Subaru powered Q2 of Reg Clarke from the Lethbridge area. Reg later noted he was probably going about 150 knots as he flew over top the airfield, what a beautiful sound. He quickly slowed and did a beautiful landing. Reg later explained to me that he has to have a very light touchdown as there is no landing gear shock absorption in his custom landing gear configuration. This is very different to my Q2 in which the full Canard wing is a spring for my landing gear.
We were going to walk across the golf course to lunch in the club house but a local pilot Don was admiring our planes and offered to drive us over. We had a nice lunch with great conversation around the table. We walked back to the airport (15 minute) from the golf course and prepared for departure.
Alan left right away for a meeting back home and Reg offered to do a tandem takeoff with me on our departure. He would give me a comfortable lead and shortly after takeoff he called me up his position and I saw the beautiful yellow Q2 screaming by about 300 feet below in our left turn. This turbo Subaru with an SDS electronic ignition system from Ross Farnam in Alberta is one fine example of a Q2 tandem wing aircraft.
View or trip track at:
https://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=11&ts=1498262400&te=1498348800&call=a%2FCGMBK
More coming soon.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Fun flight for lunch
We organised a fun flight to Red Deer Alberta for a lunch once again. I was joined by my friend Joel in his "Cozy Mk 4" and had a visit from another friend up from Lethbridge in his Q2 with a Turbo Subaru engine. Reg's airplane is a beauty but we missed each other on this trip by a mere 15 minutes. We will get together later and I will supply some pictures of his plane.
A great chance to burn off a bit of 100LL fuel and see how my plane is performing. I was very pleased with the how my Q2 is operating. There are only two small repair items that have to be attended to and they has now been completed. One was tightening up a mounting point for my trim system and the other a test of my tracking system to find out why my APRS transmission is interfering with my engine monitor display. We had a great flight with 25 km wind from the NW and only scattered cloud up around 8000 feet. This flight was at 6500 feet each way and the flight time was 45 minutes each way. Joel mentioned he could not spot my plane as he was gaining on me from behind. Considering I have a strobe on top and on the belly of the plane that is a surprise to me although I know my surface area is extremely small. I just love flying this airplane with it's sensitive fingertip control and fabulous view out of the large bubble canopy.
Click this link to see map of trip:
https://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=11&ts=1497657600&te=1497744000&call=a%2FCGMBK
More coming soon.
A great chance to burn off a bit of 100LL fuel and see how my plane is performing. I was very pleased with the how my Q2 is operating. There are only two small repair items that have to be attended to and they has now been completed. One was tightening up a mounting point for my trim system and the other a test of my tracking system to find out why my APRS transmission is interfering with my engine monitor display. We had a great flight with 25 km wind from the NW and only scattered cloud up around 8000 feet. This flight was at 6500 feet each way and the flight time was 45 minutes each way. Joel mentioned he could not spot my plane as he was gaining on me from behind. Considering I have a strobe on top and on the belly of the plane that is a surprise to me although I know my surface area is extremely small. I just love flying this airplane with it's sensitive fingertip control and fabulous view out of the large bubble canopy.
Click this link to see map of trip:
https://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=11&ts=1497657600&te=1497744000&call=a%2FCGMBK
More coming soon.
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