Update October 20, 2013. We've seen temps into the high 20's. The thermal blanket is working well. A 60 watt light bulb works well, along with the 25 watt heat pad in the oil cooler plenum. At 25F OAT temps are, oil 59F, engine EGT/CHT 45F, airbox/cowl temp is 51F. My experience has been that engine/oil temps over 45F, the engine will start quickly.

I'm going to order a 50 watt heat pad, that is a better size for this climate. More data later.

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Another flying season…

I'm reposting this for those of you that don't have a canopy safety lock. There are other options, don't choose, none of the above.

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We had this discussion a year or so ago, I installed a temporary solution until I was able to come up with a simple solution. The potential problem had been the canopy opening in flight, not a good thing. Like many of you, I wanted to add a Lock/latch/pin that was engaged after closing the canopy and engaging the…

Update June 16, 2012. I've managed a couple of flights since installing the sound insulation. The first flight was after some Bing carb adjustments and it seemed like the engine was running smoother. Later I realized it was the sound insulation, duh.

Just completed another flight and the Thermo-Tec Suppressor mat has reduced the engine and dual exhaust significantly.

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I've been meaning to add a barrier under the cabin floor to deal…

Weather finally cooperated and was able to do some flight testing with the new oil cooler assembly. Now that temps are under control, I can push the airplane. Using a Sensenich wood W64ZK-51 cruise prop.

WOT, 3,140 rpm, 143mph, 130knots, 6,370'. Oil temp 177F, hottest CHT 275F. My EGT's continue to run hot, hmm.

That run was after I had leveled off. Next…

I've wanted to change the seat bottom 6B18-6 from a curved piece to an angle so my two piece seat cushions would fit better. It would also allow for the use of a booster cushion under the seats if necessary.

Thought about using a hinge after cutting the seat bottom in two pieces, but the solution was much easier. On my XL the distance to the top of the rear gear channel is 147mm. After removing the seat bottom, I noticed the the midpoint on the curve was 140mm. The co-pilot seat…

On my flight from Idaho to Prineville, my #3 CHT was running high. I had modified the system for diverting air, the left side was running well, so I went back to my original system on the right side. Still need to do some tweaking, but I'm happy with the numbers. The original diverters were made of fiberglass and I'm trying to recreate using aluminum to increase…

The day finally came to move the airplane. Flight testing was completed in November 2010, but I had been unable to find a hangar in Astoria, OR. We moved to Bend, OR in March and I finally found a hangar in Prineville, 45 minutes from the house. It's not easy working on an airplane when it is 6-10 hours away. I was averaging 120mph ground speed running the engine about 2,650 rpm. Total mileage was right at 300 miles at 6,500' to 8,000'. I'll get better numbers now that I have easy access to…

Went in for my flight physical on June 27th and passed. All my data was current with the FAA and I was issued a temporary Third Class Medical Certificate valid until the FAA sent a letter with the requirements to maintain the Special Issuance.

The letter arrived yesterday and I have been granted a 6 year Authorization for Special Issuance of Medical Certification, expires 2017. They have also changed my requirement to submit data to every 24 months to coincide with the flight…

Finally got around to applying for my Repairman Certificate. My XL is an EAB, Experimental Amateur Built. I applied last year when I received my Airworthiness, but it was kicked back by the Salt Lake City FSDO. You are required to apply in person, Boise and Portland have the same requirement.

I had been using my plans as my building log, writing the date on the pages that section was completed. There were many pictures stored on my laptop. And I sent the link to my Blog page here at…