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Comment by Ari Hulkkonen on March 29, 2013 at 3:58pm

I streamlined the struts with temporary v-shaped pieces made of foam, just duct taped them at the trailing edge.

Hard to say if there was any difference but at 5000rpm I was cruising at constant 95-100mph IAS over a big lake where the air was pretty smooth. In turbulence the IAS varies much and I believe the plane jumping up and down will not go as fast.. Before, it used to be around 90mph @ 5000rpm but no scientific comparison done.. My speedo is also too optimistic, the true speed is not that much, maybe 10-15mph less than indicated.

The yellow bird behind my plane, FK9, cruises well over 180km/h at 5000rpm (912ULS powered).

Over forest it was bouncy and I hit a thermal, which slammed my door open ripping it backwards about 5cm and bending the piano hinge. The door got stuck about 20cm open from the rear edge and bottom... So I cruised for about 20min the door partially open until landed and got the door pushed open.. Fortunately there were no major damage and the door works pretty well now. However, it opened two times after the incident so I may have to replace the hinge.

The door is quite a bit curved like airfoil and I believe at higher speeds there are quite strong forces pulling the door open.

Comment by Bob McDonald on March 29, 2013 at 1:17pm

Great picture.