---------------------------------------------------------- Lightning-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Thu 12/20/07: 8 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 09:48 AM - Re: Almost there (Amber Wilson) 2. 05:20 PM - Re: Almost there (rickss) 3. 05:25 PM - Re: Almost there (N1BZRich@AOL.COM) 4. 05:35 PM - Re: Almost there (N1BZRich@aol.com) 5. 06:56 PM - Two year flight report on 31BZ - long read (N1BZRich@aol.com) 6. 07:35 PM - Re: Two year flight report on 31BZ - long read (Brian Whittingham) 7. 07:51 PM - Re: Almost there (Jim Langley) 8. 10:27 PM - Re: Two year flight report on 31BZ - long read (Peter and Jan Disher) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 09:48:08 AM PST US From: Amber Wilson Subject: Re: Lightning-List: Almost there Beautiful.=0A =0AJP Instruments =0AAmber Wilson =0AFAA STC Administrator =0A=0AJPIAmber@yahoo.com =0A800-945-4574 X204=0A=0A=0A=0A----- Original Me ssage ----=0AFrom: Jim Langley =0ATo: lightning-list@m atronics.com=0ASent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 4:07:31 PM=0ASubject: Lig htning-List: Almost there=0A=0A=0AI just wanted to update you all to the fa ct that I am in the home stretch. Thanks to Ryan and the Green Landings cr ew for being patient with me being away for a little bit because of work co mmitments. Things are rolling now. We are wiring the panel and engine and putting the finishing touches on things like brakes, controls, and paintin g the wings.=0AI included a pic of my fuse with a representation of the vin yl number on the side. And the Lightning logo on the fin. (That is not the color of the logo=85)=0A(funny how I ended up with orange huh?)=0AI guess it=92s the Oriole fan in me=85=0ACheers=0AJim=0AN730AL=0Awww.jimslightning. com=0A<<...>>=0A=0A=0A _______________________________________________ _____________________________________=0ALooking for last minute shopping de newsearch/category.php?category=shopping ________________________________ Message 2 _____________________________________ Time: 05:20:06 PM PST US Subject: Lightning-List: Re: Almost there From: "rickss" Very nice, Jim...very nice, indeed! -Rick pequeajim wrote: > I just wanted to update you all to the fact that I am in the home stretch. Thanks to Ryan and the Green Landings crew for being patient with me being away for a little bit because of work commitments. Things are rolling now. We are wiring the panel and engine and putting the finishing touches on things like brakes, controls, and painting the wings. > I included a pic of my fuse with a representation of the vinyl number on the side. And the Lightning logo on the fin. (That is not the color of the logo) > (funny how I ended up with orange huh?) > I guess its the Oriole fan in me > Cheers > Jim > N730AL > www.jimslightning.com (http://www.jimslightning.com/) > -------- Cherokee driver, but feeling the need for speed! Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=153413#153413 ________________________________ Message 3 _____________________________________ Time: 05:25:37 PM PST US From: N1BZRich@AOL.COM Subject: Re: Lightning-List: Almost there **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) ________________________________ Message 4 _____________________________________ Time: 05:35:15 PM PST US From: N1BZRich@aol.com Subject: Re: Lightning-List: Almost there Looking good Jim. Soon you will be "slipping the surely bonds". I hope to see you at Sun-N-Fun and then Oshkosh. Blue Skies, Buz **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) ________________________________ Message 5 _____________________________________ Time: 06:56:45 PM PST US From: N1BZRich@aol.com Subject: Lightning-List: Two year flight report on 31BZ - long read All Lightning (and Esqual) listers, Just to provide some possible discussion topics and perhaps get some more message traffic flowing, I offer the following information after flying N31BZ for exactly two years. I will cover some engine and some airframe comments, since my Esqual has lots of Lightning mods installed. I have been flying my highly modified Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff with Jabiru 3300) for exactly two years now (finishing up the 2nd annual today) and I have exactly 405 hours on the engine and airframe. In that 405 hours I have had absolutely no problems with the engine and I run it hard, as many of you know. Only standard maintenance has been required and accomplished. I change oil and filter every 25 to 35 hours, replace the plugs at 100 hours (heck, they are only around $2.00 each so why clean them), accomplish head torques and valve adjustments on schedule, and replaced caps and rotors at 250 hours (I think the book calls for that to be done at 200). Compressions this year varied between 70 and 73 for all 6 cylinders - in fact two were 70, two were 72, and two were 73. Pete says that is right in the ball park for an engine with between 300 to 500 hours. To say I am pleased with the engine would be an understatement. All of my previous airplanes have been powered with Continentals and Lycomings, but I must say this engine is just as reliable and easy to work on as either of those. In fact the Jabiru 3300 kind of reminds me of the 6 cylinder O-300 Continental the way it is designed and goes together. By the way, I highly recommend the engine seminar at Jabiru USA in Tennessee. Now some airframe comments: First off, I still don't have the best prop for the clean airframe that is represented by my airplane and of course all Lightnings. I am currently running a fixed pitch Sensenich 64ZK56 and I can still over speed the engine at 5000 feet by something between 150 to 200 rpm above the max of 3300. At 5,000 feet I am showing something just over 185 mph tas at 3300 rpm with the current prop. Since I live at sea level, I see just over 200 indicated down the runway when holding the engine at 3300. Nick and I have discussed this issue and run many test profiles with different props on 31BZ and on both the prototype and demo Lightnings and we expect to have a better prop sometime early next year - hopefully by Sun-N-Fun. I expect to have a slightly shorter prop (62 inches) but go all the way up to 60 inches in pitch. Also, the blade profile will be more simitar shaped. The goal is not primarily to up the top speed, but instead to up the cruise speed at cruise rpm and lower the fuel burn - great cruise speed with efficiency is really what we are looking for. I have had no real airframe issues during the past two years. The only thing I plan to change, when I get the time, will be to do some experiments on the main gear legs to try to get rid of the sometime gear leg shimmy. I may go the "broom stick" mod that the RV guys do, but before doing that I want to try an easier fix by using a small "V" angle aluminum strip (say 1/8" thick by 1/2" on the angles, by what ever length the gear leg is) that will be clamped to the trailing edge of the gear leg. All I need is the time. I already have the parts. This shimmy occurs on landing roll out on hard surface as you are slowing down through about 22 mph. It does not happen on grass. Tire pressure definitely has an effect, with lower pressure being better. I normally air my mains up to 25 PSI and then re-air them when they look low. That low look seems to be about 15 to 18 PSI. I will let you all know the results when I get the time to do the experiments. Other than that, the only other thing to mention is that my trim bungees needed to be tightened at about the 1&1/2 year point. They just lost some of their elasticity so I replaced them instead of re-tying the loops to a smaller size. Oh yes, something to consider while you are building - or an after the fact change. The NACA duct cockpit vents are very effective. In the summer when you have them open you can actually pressurize the cockpit. I see the canopy sides of the Esqual bow out slightly. So you need to think about some way for the air to flow through the cockpit. I have added two 3" diameter vents in the baggage bulkhead, but two are not enough. I will add two more when I get the time. As a side note, and just for grins, I offer the following information and calculations: My Esqual easily cruises at 150 mph indicated at low to medium altitude burning less than 5 gallons per hour. At altitude (8 to 10 thousand feet) on a long cross country I can expect to see 170 MPH TAS burning about 5.8 gallons per hour. Therefore, 405 hours at a conservative average speed of 150 mph equals 60,750 miles, or damn near 2.44 times around the world at the equator. Aren't you impressed? However, since it took me 2 years to do that 60,750 miles, my average speed for 2.4 times around the world in two years works out to a speedy 3.467 mph. Way slower than Earl's record run. Blue Skies and a Merry Christmas to all, Buz **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) ________________________________ Message 6 _____________________________________ Time: 07:35:12 PM PST US From: Brian Whittingham Subject: RE: Lightning-List: Two year flight report on 31BZ - long read Wow, 2 years already Buz? Seems like just yesterday that I was in the hang ar conversating with you about why your Esqual did not look like the other Esquals that I had seen/flown. I'd just have to echo the same kinds of thi ngs that you said. As we all kind of knew back when I was flying the Light ning, the prop is a limiting factor. It's fine and the plane performs as e xpected, but a better prop would definately give a higher cruise or same cr uise with a decreased fuel burn. The gear leg vibration issue is an easy f ix and I have flown some of the kits that seem to have next to no vibration without doing the broomstick fix. Indeed the cabin will pressurize on Esq uals and Lightning's alike. I took Rick's airplane out to 200mph and as th at speed increases, so does the pressure inside the cabin. Makes your eard rums switch sides. Also, flying in Gregg's plane on the way out to Arizona we had the canopy come unlatched on one side. (different kind of latch th an stock, not as effective either!) Greg held the canopy down as much as p ossible for about 25 minutes. You can physically see the canopy pull up an d out when you increase speeds, and if you don't have the rubber seals on y ou can start to see daylight. I would recommend to any builders or buyers to get the aluminum spinner. T hat thing is a work of art, just beautiful! Also the weight savings and ro tational weights of the fixed pitch props over the ground adjustable, in my opinion, make them superior. The only caveat is that the new blade design needs to be finalized for that and then you'll get the rpms, power, and fu el efficiency like you wouldn't believe. I belived that we managed a fligh t from Shelbyville, TN to Jonesboro, AR (other side of Memphis airspace) in about an hour 15 to 1.5 hours. It takes me 5 hours to drive it. It takes a full tank of gas in my old car at about $40, and took about 8-9 gallons in the Lightning, but the jetting was off when we went. Still, say $4/gall on for fuel and we made out better than in my vehicle! Really missed being in TN, especially this past fall time. Miss getting to fly the Lightning and Jabiru aircraft. Brian W. From: N1BZRich@aol.comDate: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 21:55:18 -0500Subject: Lightni ng-List: Two year flight report on 31BZ - long readTo: lightning-list@matro nics.com All Lightning (and Esqual) listers, Just to provide some possible discussion topics and perhaps get some mo re message traffic flowing, I offer the following information after flying N31BZ for exactly two years. I will cover some engine and some airframe co mments, since my Esqual has lots of Lightning mods installed. I have been flying my highly modified Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff with J abiru 3300) for exactly two years now (finishing up the 2nd annual today) a nd I have exactly 405 hours on the engine and airframe. In that 405 hours I have had absolutely no problems with the engine and I run it hard, as man y of you know. Only standard maintenance has been required and accomplishe d. I change oil and filter every 25 to 35 hours, replace the plugs at 100 hours (heck, they are only around $2.00 each so why clean them), accomplish head torques and valve adjustments on schedule, and replaced caps and roto rs at 250 hours (I think the book calls for that to be done at 200). Compr essions this year varied between 70 and 73 for all 6 cylinders - in fact tw o were 70, two were 72, and two were 73. Pete says that is right in the ba ll park for an engine with between 300 to 500 hours. To say I am pleased w ith the engine would be an understatement. All of my previous airplanes ha ve been powered with Continentals and Lycomings, but I must say this engine is just as reliable and easy to work on as either of those. In fact the J abiru 3300 kind of reminds me of the 6 cylinder O-300 Continental the way i t is designed and goes together. By the way, I highly recommend the engine seminar at Jabiru USA in Tennessee. Now some airframe comments: First off, I still don't have the best prop for the clean airframe that is represented by my airplane and of course all Lightnings. I am currentl y running a fixed pitch Sensenich 64ZK56 and I can still over speed the eng ine at 5000 feet by something between 150 to 200 rpm above the max of 3300. At 5,000 feet I am showing something just over 185 mph tas at 3300 rpm wi th the current prop. Since I live at sea level, I see just over 200 indica ted down the runway when holding the engine at 3300. Nick and I have discu ssed this issue and run many test profiles with different props on 31BZ and on both the prototype and demo Lightnings and we expect to have a better p rop sometime early next year - hopefully by Sun-N-Fun. I expect to have a slightly shorter prop (62 inches) but go all the way up to 60 inches in pit ch. Also, the blade profile will be more simitar shaped. The goal is not primarily to up the top speed, but instead to up the cruise speed at cruise rpm and lower the fuel burn - great cruise speed with efficiency is really what we are looking for. I have had no real airframe issues during the past two years. The only thing I plan to change, when I get the time, will be to do some experiment s on the main gear legs to try to get rid of the sometime gear leg shimmy. I may go the "broom stick" mod that the RV guys do, but before doing that I want to try an easier fix by using a small "V" angle aluminum strip (say 1/8" thick by 1/2" on the angles, by what ever length the gear leg is) that will be clamped to the trailing edge of the gear leg. All I need is the t ime. I already have the parts. This shimmy occurs on landing roll out on hard surface as you are slowing down through about 22 mph. It does not hap pen on grass. Tire pressure definitely has an effect, with lower pressure being better. I normally air my mains up to 25 PSI and then re-air them wh en they look low. That low look seems to be about 15 to 18 PSI. I will le t you all know the results when I get the time to do the experiments. Other than that, the only other thing to mention is that my trim bungee s needed to be tightened at about the 1&1/2 year point. They just lost som e of their elasticity so I replaced them instead of re-tying the loops to a smaller size. Oh yes, something to consider while you are building - or an after the fact change. The NACA duct cockpit vents are very effective. In the summe r when you have them open you can actually pressurize the cockpit. I see t he canopy sides of the Esqual bow out slightly. So you need to think about some way for the air to flow through the cockpit. I have added two 3" dia meter vents in the baggage bulkhead, but two are not enough. I will add tw o more when I get the time. As a side note, and just for grins, I offer the following information a nd calculations: My Esqual easily cruises at 150 mph indicated at low to m edium altitude burning less than 5 gallons per hour. At altitude (8 to 10 thousand feet) on a long cross country I can expect to see 170 MPH TAS burn ing about 5.8 gallons per hour. Therefore, 405 hours at a conservative ave rage speed of 150 mph equals 60,750 miles, or damn near 2.44 times around t he world at the equator. Aren't you impressed? However, since it took me 2 years to do that 60,750 miles, my average speed for 2.4 times around the world in two years works out to a speedy 3.467 mph. Way slower than Earl's record run. Blue Skies and a Merry Christmas to all, Buz See AOL's top rated recipes and easy ways to stay in shape for winter. _________________________________________________________________ The best games are on Xbox 360. Click here for a special offer on an Xbox 360 Console. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/wheretobuy/ ________________________________ Message 7 _____________________________________ Time: 07:51:42 PM PST US From: "Jim Langley" Subject: RE: Lightning-List: Almost there Thanks all, for the encouragement and the help during the building process. The nice thing about this groups is that everyone pitches in. That's a BIG motivator to aspiring builders! Jim! _____ From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of N1BZRich@aol.com Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 8:26 PM Subject: Re: Lightning-List: Almost there Looking good Jim. Soon you will be "slipping the surely bonds". I hope to see you at Sun-N-Fun and then Oshkosh. Blue Skies, Buz _____ See AOL's top rated recipes and easy ways to stay in shape for winter. ________________________________ Message 8 _____________________________________ Time: 10:27:50 PM PST US From: "Peter and Jan Disher" Subject: Re: Lightning-List: Two year flight report on 31BZ - long read Hi Buz, Pete Disher here from OZ, Wonderfull report Buz, your emails over the past 18 months have always given me a lot of confidence in this aircraft. One point I've been meaning to ask you about is the carburettor, I am considering changing the Bing for a Revflow carb. I believe it has several advantages over the Bing like idle cut off and mixture control and is a far more simple carburettor could this be worth doing ? Enjoyed meeting you at OSH as brief as it was. Don't stop reporting Many thanks, Pete Disher OZ ----- Original Message ----- From: N1BZRich@aol.com To: lightning-list@matronics.com Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 1:55 PM Subject: Lightning-List: Two year flight report on 31BZ - long read All Lightning (and Esqual) listers, Just to provide some possible discussion topics and perhaps get some more message traffic flowing, I offer the following information after flying N31BZ for exactly two years. I will cover some engine and some airframe comments, since my Esqual has lots of Lightning mods installed. I have been flying my highly modified Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff with Jabiru 3300) for exactly two years now (finishing up the 2nd annual today) and I have exactly 405 hours on the engine and airframe. In that 405 hours I have had absolutely no problems with the engine and I run it hard, as many of you know. Only standard maintenance has been required and accomplished. I change oil and filter every 25 to 35 hours, replace the plugs at 100 hours (heck, they are only around $2.00 each so why clean them), accomplish head torques and valve adjustments on schedule, and replaced caps and rotors at 250 hours (I think the book calls for that to be done at 200). Compressions this year varied between 70 and 73 for all 6 cylinders - in fact two were 70, two were 72, and two were 73. Pete says that is right in the ball park for an engine with between 300 to 500 hours. To say I am pleased with the engine would be an understatement. All of my previous airplanes have been powered with Continentals and Lycomings, but I must say this engine is just as reliable and easy to work on as either of those. In fact the Jabiru 3300 kind of reminds me of the 6 cylinder O-300 Continental the way it is designed and goes together. By the way, I highly recommend the engine seminar at Jabiru USA in Tennessee. Now some airframe comments: First off, I still don't have the best prop for the clean airframe that is represented by my airplane and of course all Lightnings. I am currently running a fixed pitch Sensenich 64ZK56 and I can still over speed the engine at 5000 feet by something between 150 to 200 rpm above the max of 3300. At 5,000 feet I am showing something just over 185 mph tas at 3300 rpm with the current prop. Since I live at sea level, I see just over 200 indicated down the runway when holding the engine at 3300. Nick and I have discussed this issue and run many test profiles with different props on 31BZ and on both the prototype and demo Lightnings and we expect to have a better prop sometime early next year - hopefully by Sun-N-Fun. I expect to have a slightly shorter prop (62 inches) but go all the way up to 60 inches in pitch. Also, the blade profile will be more simitar shaped. The goal is not primarily to up the top speed, but instead to up the cruise speed at cruise rpm and lower the fuel burn - great cruise speed with efficiency is really what we are looking for. I have had no real airframe issues during the past two years. The only thing I plan to change, when I get the time, will be to do some experiments on the main gear legs to try to get rid of the sometime gear leg shimmy. I may go the "broom stick" mod that the RV guys do, but before doing that I want to try an easier fix by using a small "V" angle aluminum strip (say 1/8" thick by 1/2" on the angles, by what ever length the gear leg is) that will be clamped to the trailing edge of the gear leg. All I need is the time. I already have the parts. This shimmy occurs on landing roll out on hard surface as you are slowing down through about 22 mph. It does not happen on grass. Tire pressure definitely has an effect, with lower pressure being better. I normally air my mains up to 25 PSI and then re-air them when they look low. That low look seems to be about 15 to 18 PSI. I will let you all know the results when I get the time to do the experiments. Other than that, the only other thing to mention is that my trim bungees needed to be tightened at about the 1&1/2 year point. They just lost some of their elasticity so I replaced them instead of re-tying the loops to a smaller size. Oh yes, something to consider while you are building - or an after the fact change. The NACA duct cockpit vents are very effective. In the summer when you have them open you can actually pressurize the cockpit. I see the canopy sides of the Esqual bow out slightly. So you need to think about some way for the air to flow through the cockpit. I have added two 3" diameter vents in the baggage bulkhead, but two are not enough. I will add two more when I get the time. As a side note, and just for grins, I offer the following information and calculations: My Esqual easily cruises at 150 mph indicated at low to medium altitude burning less than 5 gallons per hour. At altitude (8 to 10 thousand feet) on a long cross country I can expect to see 170 MPH TAS burning about 5.8 gallons per hour. Therefore, 405 hours at a conservative average speed of 150 mph equals 60,750 miles, or damn near 2.44 times around the world at the equator. Aren't you impressed? However, since it took me 2 years to do that 60,750 miles, my average speed for 2.4 times around the world in two years works out to a speedy 3.467 mph. Way slower than Earl's record run. Blue Skies and a Merry Christmas to all, Buz ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- See AOL's top rated recipes and easy ways to stay in shape for winter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 20/12/2007 2:14 PM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Matronics Email List Services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message lightning-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/Lightning-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/lightning-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/lightning-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.