Mickey's RV8 Site

Narco AT155 transponder for sale

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:39:35 +0200

Europeans are now requiring Mode-S transponders, so I need to sell my Narco AT155. It is brand new, never even powered up, and includes all mounting hardware. I don't exactly recall what I paid for it, but I believe it was around $1100 USD. I'll take $900 USD, and I'll ship it to you. Please contact me at the following address: This transponder has been sold. Thanks!

Some European Airspace Classifications

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 12:06:00 +0200

Here is an image of some European Airspace Classifications

Current Status

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:05:07 +0200

Just a quick couple of pictures to show the current status.

Eggenfellner Subaru STI for sale

Thu, 29 May 2008 21:04:03 +0200

I've decided to sell my Eggenfellner Subaru STI engine. It is a FWF package including an electric 3-blade MT prop with prop controller, RV8 engine mount, supercharger, intercooler, engine computer, dual fuel pumps, exhaust system, mufflers, and all accessories.

The reason I am selling it is because the package is not yet complete, and I would like to get my aircraft flying.

There are some people still doing development of the engine. The systems that will need work to make this FWF kit complete are:

New Gen III PSRU. The current Gen II supercharger that was shipped with the engine has been grounded due to several in-flight failures. I might be able to source one of these from another builder that has decided not to use his. A new Gen III is about USD 6000 from the Eggenfellner Aircraft.
Change out the supercharger for a turbocharger. The Gen III PSRU has a lower gear ratio, which allows the engine to rev higher, producing more power. A side effect is that the supercharger will spin faster than it was designed to. This can be resolved with a new supercharger pully, but I believe the best solution is to install a turbocharger.
Replace the Engine Computer. The ECU that is installed should be reliable, and many have found it works well. Some have had problems, and are switching to an SDS engine computer. I would recommend this change.

I really regret having to change this engine out for a traditional aircraft engine. I feel that the Subaru engine is an outstanding fit for aircraft, but I just don't have the time and resources to finish the development work on this package. The original supplier, Eggenfellner Aircraft, is no longer developing this package, having moved on to a 6 cylinder engine.

There is a yahoo list of about 25 other owners of the STI engine that are working together to finish the development of this engine, so I'm confident at some time in the future it will become a very viable powerplant for aircraft use. This list is called EggenfellnerSubaruSTI and is open to all STI owners. This is a good place to discuss this engine, and the development work being done from Australia to the US to Lithuania.

Please contact me if you have interest in this package (mick at rv8.ch, please include "eggenfellner" in the subject). If I don't sell it, I will pickle it, put it in the corner of the workshop, and when the development work is complete, I'll either put it on this RV8 or my next one! :)

Oil Pickup Screen

Mon, 12 May 2008 08:18:11 +0200

The Oil Pickup screen in the engine must be checked and cleaned regularly. Your Lycoming O-360 Operators Manual tells you to clean the screen every 100 hrs in Section 8. http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?p=222246 http://www.avweb.com/news/savvyaviator/savvy_aviator_57_making_metal_197700-1.html Here are the critical bits of info: Screen, P/N 70484 Gasket, STD-111 or AN900-16 Torque, 135 degrees rotation after full contact

Lower rudder tip - part 4

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:38:41 +0200

This is a continuation of this article: http://www.rv8.ch/article.php?story=20050902213147833 Here are some detailed shots of the rudder bottom attach strips.

Global warming caused by conduction, not radiation

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 15:46:47 +0200

I regularly listen to a podcast from Australia's ABC Radio National called Occam's Razor. One particular episode, featuring Professor Emeritus Duncan Brown from the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, has stuck in my mind, and I'd like to include some of it here. The link for the entire podcast with transcripts is: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/stories/2005/1497147.htm Here is what I found particularly interesting - the rest of this post is a long quote from Dr. Brown: In this talk I shall try to put the environmental problems that we face into some sort of perspective. Serious environmental problems are widely acknowledged. They are mostly identified as specific challenges, such as deforestation, soil and water degradation, loss of biodiversity, and of course, global warming. The essence of my argument is that all of these challenges, while very serious, are actually symptoms of a much more dangerous predicament, a human population that is too large and too dependent on technology to be sustainable. But let me begin with some comments on global warming, the symptom that currently seems to receive most attention and is discussed almost entirely in the context of the 'greenhouse effect'. This is an interesting example of widespread acceptance of a conventional wisdom while other more significant factors are largely overlooked or ignored. To simplify: the earth's average atmospheric temperature is estimated to have risen by about 0.6 degrees Celsius over the past century. This heating is attributed predominantly to absorption by carbon dioxide of infrared radiation. The current average atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is estimated to be 372 parts per million, thought to be the highest for at least 420,000 years. But water also absorbs infrared radiation, and there is much more of that in the atmosphere than there is of carbon dioxide. Many factors have contributed to heating the atmosphere since the advent of agriculture. They include major changes to the earth's surface, especially deforestation with its associated loss of cooling by 'evapotranspiration'; the growth of cities, which are recognised as 'urban heat islands'; an increase in the total biomass of mammals; and most significantly, the heat produced by enormous increases in rates of combustion. The quantity of so-called 'fossil' carbon burnt in 2003 amounted to some 6 Giga tonnes. Fossil carbon occurs in a wide range of substances which are not identified in that statistic; but to oversimplify and assume for example that it was distributed equally among anthracite coal and three significant components of motor fuel: pentane, hexane and decane, the heat produced amounted to 74 billion Giga calories for the year. Ignoring a range of atmospheric variables which are virtually impossible to quantify, that amount of heat has the capacity to raise atmospheric temperature by 0.06 degrees Celsius annually. Variables or not, that would seem to be enough to make a very substantial contribution to an increase of 0.6 degrees Celsius over a century. And that takes no account of other significant types of combustion, such as bushfires. One of the curious aspects of the overwhelming focus on carbon dioxide and the 'greenhouse effect' is that it attributes the heating process entirely to radiation and ignores direct heating by contact and conduction. Of course primary solar heating occurs by radiation and heat is lost from the planet by radiation. But much, and indeed probably most of the heat transfer within the planet's boundaries involves conduction. Carbon dioxide at its present concentration is irrelevant to direct heating of the atmosphere in that way. The focus on greenhouse gases would not matter at a practical level if it led to a reduction in overall combustion. But if it provokes chemical binding of carbon dioxide, or its geosequestration, which amounts to burying it underground, or the use of alternative fuels such as hydrogen, the primary heating problem will not be addressed and there will certainly be a range of disturbing, unintended consequences.

Laser cut panel - vs. water jet cut panel

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 21:15:25 +0200

I had my panel laser cut by a guy in Idaho recommended by the epanelbuilder.com website. I believe the price was pretty good, around USD 100. The problem is that the laser seems to do quite a bit of burning through the aluminum. I've attached some photos. I'd recommend going with a company that does water jet cutting instead of the laser.

Battery Rack in the tail, part 2.

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:30:59 +0100

This is part two of the battery rack in the tail story. When I went to put in the baggage floors and sides, which go in front of and on top of the area where I put the battery, I was rather disappointed to find that my beautiful battery mounts were interfering with the forward vertical part of the baggage skins. It seems I have mounted my batteries too far forward. Ugh! To fix it I needed to simply move the batteries back about 2 inches, so that's what I did. Here's what it looked like when I started: Here is the old battery rack with the new one. The green is the old one. I was able to reuse the angle for the new one. Notice that I've moved the battery contactors back. Here is the final result. Several hours of work, and now the batteries are just a bit further back. That should help with C of G issues, at least.

Trio Avionics EZ-1 EZ-2 EZ-3 altitude hold servo installation

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 21:06:00 +0200

Just getting started with the installation of the Trio Avionics EZ-1/EZ-2/EZ-3 altitude hold servo. http://www.trioavionics.com/ The reason I listed all three current models because I don't yet know which version I plan to use. I have only purchased the servo so far, which is basically the same for all of the models. Actually, there is an optional automatic trim adjustment system that you can get for the servo, and I have this option - just in case. Installing the servo is normally extremely easy, but since I installed my batteries just behind the baggage compartment, the perfect location for the trim servo is gone. So, I need to find another place for it. There really is only one place that can work, just behind the elevator belcrank. There is plenty of room there, but there is no supporting structure to mount the servo. I'll need to make something. Here is my first attempt at some structure for the servo. The problem with this configuration is that the bulkhead where I was planning to attach this is too flexible. Everything back there is very flexible, and you really don't want the servo to move at all, for two reasons. 1) the servo will not be as precise, since it has to try to figure out how much the structure is moving in addition to the elevator. Not good. 2) any kind of flexing of the bulkhead will eventually cause stress fractures. Also not good. The only thing I could figure out to do is to extend the angle that is used to create the belcrank mount. Here's what I've got so far. This is fabricated from a piece of 0.125x1x1.25 aluminium angle. Of course, I had to drill out the original angle. That was not too difficult physically, but mentally it felt strange removing something that had been installed as part of the quickbuild. I believe this will be a good solution, and it is actually lighter than my original idea, with the lightening holes. I'll try to get this installed next weekend and see what we've got. It might be a bit long, so I may want to shorten it.