Thomas Parkes wrote:

Lancair ES N44AZ:  First Flights

First weight off the wheels flight:  18 Feb 2003.

    Three days short of six years since picking up the kit at Redmond,

OR.

Lifted off and flew 3000 feet down the runway at 10 Ft + or -.  Wanted

to

see coolant temp at end of flight.  Began flight at 180 degrees F, ended

at

182 degrees.  Engine running good, returned to hanger to check things

over.

Flight #2: 19 Feb.

    Climbed to 700 feet at 30 inches MAP.  Red light on GRT EIS flashed

to

warn of 1750 degree TIT.  Interesting but OK.  Coolant temp 217, warm

but

also OK.  Oops.  Coolant pressure reads Zero!  Not good, especially with
coolant at 217 degrees.  Is it real or spurious?  Don't know, but its
definitely time to get on the ground and find out.  Flight ended with

one

brief trip around the pattern.  All temps decreased rapidly as power was
reduced.  Airplane flew great!

    Question for cooling system engineers.  I've set my EIS to warn of
coolant temperatures above 220 degrees, but I don't believe I've seen

any

data on the actual boiling temperature of 50/50 water/gycol coolant

under 13

lbs pressure.  What would be a realistic red-line to use?

Tom Parkes
20B with Garrett TE-06

Good going Tom!
   I found that if the cooling system is not pressurized (open to
atmosphere), the engine will puke its coolant overboard very rapidly.  I
lost two quarts in about 5 minutes of flight when the coolant return valve
in the pressure cap malfunctioned.  This happened even though the coolant
had to pass through a 3/32" vent hole in my overflow bottle.
This is not at all like what happens in a car where the system can be left
open in a pinch, i.e, when you leave the cap loose to prevent a leaking hose
from loosing all the coolant.   The power level in an airplane is so much
higher that it acts completely different.

Tracy

 
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