On the weekend of April 18th, many major milestones were accomplished. With the help of Bill Lillis, who owns a set of car scales plus know-how, we completed the weight and balance measurements for N14KR. It involves getting the plane perfectly level, then rolling onto scales.
It was also a good time to calibrate the fuel tank gauges since the plane was already perfectly leveled. I carefully filled the plane with fuel in each wing, either 1 or 2 gallons at a time (from 5 gallon jugs), while Bill marked the fuel amounts into the G3X system. We discovered a leak at the fuel selector gauge based on my incomplete previous tightening, but again Bill was a huge help. He used a crow wrench on the right tank connection, then found his homemade wrench that was perfect for tightening the left tank connection much easier.
Once fuel tank levels were calibrated, it was convenient to test the fuel flow. The objective is to prove that the fuel pump can supply 150% or more of the needed fuel to the engine during flight and take off. In my build, Lycoming states I need 20 gallons per minute during critical phases of flight (essentially take off and climb at full power). The test needed to confirm that the fuel pump provides at least 30 gal/min. It was accomplished by running the fuel pump and setting a timer to see how long it took to fill a gallon. The EFIS also has a fuel flow calculator that’s a good, secondary indication. Between my own measurements and also the EFIS fuel flow indication, the fuel pump achieved 60+ gallons/hour flow! I did use a beefier fuel pump, but was still very happy with the performance. The test was repeated by lifting the nose to a take off attitude using an engine hoist. T
Since fuel system checked out perfectly, I decided to do the pre-start run up procedure that checks to ensure oil pressure builds after cranking the propellor. The process is to to take a spark plug out of each cylinder, ensure adequate oil is in the engine, then cycle the prop for up to 15 seconds, up to 6 times, with 30 second breaks between so the starter doesn’t overheat. You are looking for oil to build up to a minimum of 20psi, with no sudden drops. This occurred on my 2nd prop cycle and pressure built up to 50 psi successfully! You then do one more time to ensure, again, that there are no pressure drops.
Lycoming recommends that the engine be started within a 3-hour window of doing the oil pressure test procedure. With that in mind, I decided to take the plunge and attempt the first engine start, accompanied by a ground crew of fellow pilots and friends at the airport.
With Mike Wilson on the radio with me and Mike Elias on standby with fire extinguisher, I proceeded after careful review and re-review of the first start procedure. She started right away, and the white smoke was expected as residual perservative oil burns off.
The procedure is to run for 3 minutes at 1000 rpm. The only sensor anomaly I had was my RPM sensor, which showed high. I ran it by ear and realized after its because my RPM sensors settings have to be changed for my PMags versus traditional magneto – which means RPM will be measured half of what was shown to me. Regardless, she ran great and onto final preparations for inspection by a Designated Air Worthiness Representative of the FAA to obtain an Air Worthiness Certificate!
After shut down, the trusty ground crew did a detailed inspection to help look for any potential issues, leaks, etc. All looked well. There was some exhaust lube from the slip joints that seemed to spray out a bit, but I was very generous with the application of it during construction.
I was able to take the logs from the avionics and import into flyGarmin.com to see the data re-visualized. It’s very cool to see the data at 1 second intervals and review the first engine start. It was a bit windy and the system was showing the wind speed in the speed tape
I need to finish configuring all the avionics and that will be done ahead of the DAR inspection.