Not only that, but a Prop as well! One of the most amazing things about the ?RV Community? (here on VAF, the web in general, and in the ?real world?) is the connectedness we have. A loner by nature, I have met more people, made more valuable contacts, and been exposed to more suppliers and companies than I ever dreamed possible ? all as a part of my immersion in this great activity. So it shouldn?t really be a surprise when a great opportunity comes along, just when we have the means to jump on it. It?s all about being ?plugged in?.
Louise and I don?t actually have a real schedule for building and finishing the -3 project. We have two well-maintained and operational RV?s right now, and use them a lot. Back when I was building my -8, my trusty old Yankee was exceedingly long in the tooth, and I knew that I needed to build quickly or end up without flyable wings. The -8 came out in just 18 months. But the -3, well, we have the luxury of time. The wings are nearly finished in their racks (no use riveting on those lower skins until we have to?), the tail is complete, and the fuselage is almost ready for the start of wiring and work to begin on the canopy. I have no illusions ? the remaining airframe work (without systems) could easily take up to a year of part-time work. We had sort of been talking about getting serious about an engine and prop sometime in the spring of next year ? and could probably stay completely busy until then without either of them. So naturally, in the last two weeks here on VAF, we found deals on just what we needed.
What did we need? Well I?ll be the first to admit that we are ?going to school? on Randy Lervold?s landmark RV-3B. Randy not only builds a great airplane, he does a good job of laying out his rationale and the data behind his choices. And as I read through his engine and propeller research, I realized that we were all on the exact same page. A 160 HP Io-320 is as much engine as I think is rational for the airframe in its current configuration and for our purposes. We could certainly squeeze a -360 in there, but I think that would tend towards the excessive and require some airframe mods that I?d rather not pioneer. Since we will eventually be living at a higher altitude, a little more horsepower ? and a prop that can use it ? made sense, so we are following Randy in to the world of the Whirlwind 151. Light, constant speed ? and yeah, those three blades do look a little bit mean, don?t they? I know?the two-blade would be a little faster, but this thing is LIGHT ? an important consideration out there on the nose of a small airplane.
With those two choices made, we always keep an eye on the classifieds ? and what should appear a couple of weeks ago? A WW 151 with about 100 hours on it, with governor for a really good price. It was configured with the original aluminum-feruled blades, which meant that it has a 250 hour inspection life. (If we were putting it on a 360, it would have to be serviced every 100 hours). Since we tend to fly a lot, this really wouldn?t be very convenient, since it has to go to Ohio or Redding (CA) for that service. Putting the new steel ferrule blades on, we?d get back to a 350 hour service interval (they expect that to go up, just like the stock market), and with some special pricing on the upgrade, it was hard to pass up. We wanted the prop to go for service based on time anyway, so I arranged for the seller to ship it to Whirlwind and have the WW guys getting a set of blades ready for us. We?ll end up with an almost new prop, governor ? and a completed spinner (one of life?s little pleasures) for a significant savings over buying new. It?ll take a month or two, but I can stand the wait?.
Then last week, Mahlon Russell of Mattituck posted a special on some O-320?s he had sitting around, waiting to be built ? all new TMX engines, configurable as we wished for a significant discount! Again, how could we pass it up? The kitchen remodel project is coming in under budget, you see?.
Roller tappets, Red-gold package, fuel injected ? and after much discussion, we have decided to go with P-Mags this time around. They certainly have had their growing pains, and perhaps I have been selfish in staying out of the fray until they were worked out ? but hey, I put my test time in on avionics! While still much, much newer than mags, a goodly number of folks whom I respect in the RV world have now been running the later models without issues. Of all the EI options available, I personally like the concept behind them ? electronic ignition which you can simple slip in to replace mags (or, of course, which can be replaced with mags should they misbehave sufficiently?). I am very conservative when it comes to engine systems, and have paid close attention to the difficulties folks have had. I have researched the fixes put in place for those issues, and think that they are ready to try ? at least they are for me. So in another month or so, we should have a nice power plant to bolt on ? which means we have lots of building to do without stopping for big components.
Louise asked ?so, that means we have the airframe, avionics, engine, prop, and interior paid for ? right? We must be close to done with expenses!? Well?sure. But FWF always seems to have a bunch of little stuff that adds up. Electrical, exhaust, - those bloody expensive high pressure fuel pumps ? I started a spreadsheet shopping list. Sure we?re almost done, let?s see, by my calculations, we only have to spend another?..Oh, let?s just keep that to ourselves right now?.
Paul
Louise and I don?t actually have a real schedule for building and finishing the -3 project. We have two well-maintained and operational RV?s right now, and use them a lot. Back when I was building my -8, my trusty old Yankee was exceedingly long in the tooth, and I knew that I needed to build quickly or end up without flyable wings. The -8 came out in just 18 months. But the -3, well, we have the luxury of time. The wings are nearly finished in their racks (no use riveting on those lower skins until we have to?), the tail is complete, and the fuselage is almost ready for the start of wiring and work to begin on the canopy. I have no illusions ? the remaining airframe work (without systems) could easily take up to a year of part-time work. We had sort of been talking about getting serious about an engine and prop sometime in the spring of next year ? and could probably stay completely busy until then without either of them. So naturally, in the last two weeks here on VAF, we found deals on just what we needed.
What did we need? Well I?ll be the first to admit that we are ?going to school? on Randy Lervold?s landmark RV-3B. Randy not only builds a great airplane, he does a good job of laying out his rationale and the data behind his choices. And as I read through his engine and propeller research, I realized that we were all on the exact same page. A 160 HP Io-320 is as much engine as I think is rational for the airframe in its current configuration and for our purposes. We could certainly squeeze a -360 in there, but I think that would tend towards the excessive and require some airframe mods that I?d rather not pioneer. Since we will eventually be living at a higher altitude, a little more horsepower ? and a prop that can use it ? made sense, so we are following Randy in to the world of the Whirlwind 151. Light, constant speed ? and yeah, those three blades do look a little bit mean, don?t they? I know?the two-blade would be a little faster, but this thing is LIGHT ? an important consideration out there on the nose of a small airplane.
With those two choices made, we always keep an eye on the classifieds ? and what should appear a couple of weeks ago? A WW 151 with about 100 hours on it, with governor for a really good price. It was configured with the original aluminum-feruled blades, which meant that it has a 250 hour inspection life. (If we were putting it on a 360, it would have to be serviced every 100 hours). Since we tend to fly a lot, this really wouldn?t be very convenient, since it has to go to Ohio or Redding (CA) for that service. Putting the new steel ferrule blades on, we?d get back to a 350 hour service interval (they expect that to go up, just like the stock market), and with some special pricing on the upgrade, it was hard to pass up. We wanted the prop to go for service based on time anyway, so I arranged for the seller to ship it to Whirlwind and have the WW guys getting a set of blades ready for us. We?ll end up with an almost new prop, governor ? and a completed spinner (one of life?s little pleasures) for a significant savings over buying new. It?ll take a month or two, but I can stand the wait?.
Then last week, Mahlon Russell of Mattituck posted a special on some O-320?s he had sitting around, waiting to be built ? all new TMX engines, configurable as we wished for a significant discount! Again, how could we pass it up? The kitchen remodel project is coming in under budget, you see?.
Roller tappets, Red-gold package, fuel injected ? and after much discussion, we have decided to go with P-Mags this time around. They certainly have had their growing pains, and perhaps I have been selfish in staying out of the fray until they were worked out ? but hey, I put my test time in on avionics! While still much, much newer than mags, a goodly number of folks whom I respect in the RV world have now been running the later models without issues. Of all the EI options available, I personally like the concept behind them ? electronic ignition which you can simple slip in to replace mags (or, of course, which can be replaced with mags should they misbehave sufficiently?). I am very conservative when it comes to engine systems, and have paid close attention to the difficulties folks have had. I have researched the fixes put in place for those issues, and think that they are ready to try ? at least they are for me. So in another month or so, we should have a nice power plant to bolt on ? which means we have lots of building to do without stopping for big components.Louise asked ?so, that means we have the airframe, avionics, engine, prop, and interior paid for ? right? We must be close to done with expenses!? Well?sure. But FWF always seems to have a bunch of little stuff that adds up. Electrical, exhaust, - those bloody expensive high pressure fuel pumps ? I started a spreadsheet shopping list. Sure we?re almost done, let?s see, by my calculations, we only have to spend another?..Oh, let?s just keep that to ourselves right now?.
Paul
