I made my first flight today. June 6, 2014.

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Comment by Sherman F. Childers on June 8, 2014 at 10:22pm

Dan,

     The twisted belt could very well have been the source of smoke however you should have also had a strong smell of the belt wearing in it's unwanted position. Be sure to use all of your senses when trying to troubleshoot problems. Fly on!

                         Sherm

 

Comment by Patrick Hoyt on June 8, 2014 at 6:00pm
Congrats Dan! A truly monumental accomplishment.
Comment by Dan Dempsey on June 7, 2014 at 8:01pm

Thanks all for the congratulations.  The first flight was NOT a non-event.  The oil got hot and lost pressure on the climb.  I only got to 800 feet AGL, when smoke started filling the cabin.  I cut the flight short and put it down on the run way. So it was a very short flight, about 6 minutes.

I'm not sure what the cause was.  By the time I was back on the ground the smoke had cleared.  One thing I found when I pulled the cowl was that the belt on the new alternator was misaligned and was twisted sideways where it goes over the motor pulley.  Could the smoke have been from this twisted belt over heating?  To cure the low oil pressure I'm replacing the oil pump with a new high flow one.  I've checked the compression (looks good on all cylinders).

Once I've got the engine back in I'll do a longer Wide Open Throttle test.

Comment by Glenn Johnson on June 7, 2014 at 7:39pm

Congratulation Dan.  Great job.  I still tell people about you building in you house.  Keep us posted on how she flies.

Comment by Larry Abilla on June 7, 2014 at 6:25pm

What a tremendous accomplishment! You've done a beautiful job! ENJOY....

Comment by Sherman F. Childers on June 7, 2014 at 5:38pm

Congratulations Dan!

                              Blue side up,

                                                   Sherm

Comment by Dr. Edward L. Olds III on June 7, 2014 at 2:14pm

Congratulations, it is a great thrill!  Any issues on the first flight?

Comment by Ron Lendon on June 7, 2014 at 1:38pm
Congratulations Dan, hope it was a non event with many pleasant memories. Fly safe.
Comment by Del Clowes on June 7, 2014 at 1:36pm

Congrads.

Good job! How is the Corvair working for you? 

DAR inspectiocon my 750 next week.

Del

Comment by Daniel C Hall on June 7, 2014 at 1:17pm

Way to go Dan.  I'm finally putting together my building table today.  I figured I'd have it started by last thanksgiving.  That's a heck of an accomplishment mister.  I'm looking forward to my own first flight. 

Dan

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