Dave Leonard told me he was going to Reno this
past week with his turbo RV6 for the 2011 PYLON RACING SEMINAR.
http://n4vy.rotaryroster.net/
How did it go Dave?
Paul Lamar
Hey Paul,
I had a great time! Qualified as a pilot for the races in Sept. Plane
did really well, except I was leaking some combustion gasses slowly
into
the coolant and had to cool and burp the system between every flight.
I mostly didn't push the plane too hard. Fastest lap that I timed was
217 mph. That was 40 inches MAP and about 6700 RPM. Another lap was
212 mph at 38 in MAP and 6500 RPM. I figure that I will push it up as
high as 45 inches in Sept.
In comparison, a 180 hp RV-8 (faster airframe) with a c/s prop was
running about 192 mph around the course at WOT and 2600 rpm. The F1
Rockets and Super-6/Super-8 were running between 230 and 245 mph
(O-540 CI
[250 to 300 HP] or similar engines with usually shorter wings).
Awesome experience.
Bob Mills did a better write up:
http://www.vansairforce.com/__community/showthread.php?t=__73286
<http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=73286>
--
David Leonard
Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY
http://N4VY.RotaryRoster.net <http://n4vy.rotaryroster.net/>
http://RotaryRoster.net <http://rotaryroster.net/>
Wonderful news Dave. Not bad for an RV as the relatively low aspect RV
wings
creat more drag in a high G turn. It is over 5000 feet up there so
I am sure your turbo helped a lot.
If it is leaking coolant you may have a broken tension bolt. Perry Mick
and I found that out the hard way out in Palm Springs.
If you don't find a broken bolt you can always go up a size to 1/2 inch
from 10 MM. Mazdatricks has a new jig for doing it.
Dave Garber was running 45 inches on his 12A's in the huff and puff.
We almost got the 4 ready to run. The fuel drains were missing (new
ones
ordered) and I have one battery with another on the way. The wings
are on
(of
course) and the tail is mostly on. I have a new girl mechanic. 5 feet
tall,
36-18-36, with small hands to help get the tail on :)
Paul
Quote
"I have a new girl mechanic. 5 feet tall,
36-18-36, with small hands to help get the tail on :)"
End of quote.
And you post pictures of Perry ? Shame on you Paul :)
Dave this is great news. This is how to make people sit up and take
notice
of rotary installations in aircraft. The history of air racing bears
this
out.
Is there any way we could collectively help you out Dave ? There are
enough
people here with a vested interest, perhaps there is something that
will net
a couple of extra knots that might otherwise be a stretch for you.
John
Well, I'm not sure that the uninformed will be very impressed. They
will only notice that I am in last place. A few knots are not going to
help much. During race week I will probably go to 45" for at least the
qualifying run, and post a qualifying time above 220, maybe as much as
230mph. But either way, I will probably be dead last and a few more
knots are not going to matter much one way or another.
But the informed observer might take note. I was much closer to the
speed of the super-6 than to the RV-8.
I have been kicking around the idea of installing an ADI system. Or
maybe a water spray bar for the intercooler. I was seeing 55 deg C
during the race, which is not too bad but I would feel better if I got
it down some. Does anyone have experience with ADI?