Subject: Rotary Cross Country Report
From: Rotary Engine
Date: 10/30/2007, 8:47 AM
To: AARotary Engine

I just finished a most excellent cross country in my [Turbocharged] Rotary RV-6 and
wanted to share the stats and the adventure.  I visited family in
Boulder, CO, friends in Pensacola, and spent a week in Orlando including
watching the shuttle launch and going to the rotary round up in Bell,
Fl.  I also delivered a prop to its buyer in Austin TX and traversed the
country westbound in a single day.

Best leg (Strong tailwinds fading in the end):  K88-82J,  601 NM and 2.9
hrs on the hobbs.  23.6 gallons of MOGAS burned that I bought at K88 for
$2.74/gal.  That works out to 207 Knots [236 MPH] Ground speed at 8.1 gal/hr.  Yee
ha! [29 MPG]

Of course, the winds play the deciding factor.  I had a mix of winds
over the course of the trip here are the overall stats:
4224 kn miles traveled
240 gallons burned
$3.35 average fuel price (I had to buy 100LL on 2 occasions which
brought up the average a little)
$24 worth of 2-stroke oil burned. ($830 total paid for fuel and oil)
26.0 hrs on the hobbs
That works out to:
Average speed= 162 KTS [186 MPH]
Average Fuel Burn= 9.2 gal/hr [20 MPG]
Average cost/mile= $0.19

Those are GPS point to point  numbers and include climb, taxi and
heading variations.  The other way to look at fuel burn/Cruise speed is
to use a calibrated ASI and Fuel Flow instrument.  I spent a couple
hundred miles testing various settings after getting the fuel flow
computer fully calibrated.  Here are my data points taken in cruise, all
were done > 100 LOP [Lean Of Peak EGT] (more power available with richer mixtures
or closure of the wastegate - not attempted this trip).  Slight climbs or
descents and changes in mixture probably account for the variations.
(RV is hard to truly keep level especially when looking at other numbers
and trying to write) (Redline is 7000 RPM)

150 KTAS @ 13.5k and 8.0 gal/hr
154 KTAS @ 15.5k and 8.3 gal/hr (5100 RPM)
160 KTAS @ 11.5k and 9.1 gal/hr
161 KTAS @ 15.5k and 8.7 gal/hr
162 KTAS @ 13.5k and 9.2 gal/hr
165 KTAS @ 13.5k and 10 gal/hr (5600 RPM)
172 KTAS @ 15.5k and 10.7 gal/hr (5600 RPM)
179 KTAS @ 15.5k and 12.0 gal/hr (5900 RPM)
181 KTAS @ 15.5k and 11.8 gal/hr
183 KTAS @ 13.5k and 12.3 gal/hr
185 KTAS @ 17.5k and 13.5 gal/hr (6000 RPM)  - WOT
189 KTAS @ 17.5k and 13.4 gal/hr (6000 RPM)  - WOT
193 KTAS @ 13.5k and 13.6 gal/hr (6100 RPM)  - WOT

Clearly not the same fuel economy as most Lycoming installations, but
not out of the ballpark either.  After considering the lower price of
MOGAS the hourly cost of flying is [lower?].

No issues encountered with the engine.  Tracy noted that my [PSRU] gear lash
seemed to be slightly larger than normal, and it increased during the
trip home.  So next weekend the drive is coming off for inspection and
likely replacement of the snubbers.


-- 
David Leonard

Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY
http://N4VY.RotaryRoster.net
http://RotaryRoster.net <http://RotaryRoster.net>

Thanks for the report Dave. What were the manifold pressure numbers,
and coolant temperatures?
-- 
Paul Lamar ...No rotor no motor.

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