Yooper Rocketman

I had fun flying with you this summer. We'll do it again after paint and interior! Tom

It IS a multi fuel engine but it's recommended to only run Jet A through it. Tom

The heading has always been off about 10 degrees, but the flight plan imports from the G3X so it will give me the right flight plan headings to continue in the event of main PFD / MFD failure. I have to be honest though, never looked at the instrument much to notice the attitude seeming to indicate climb? Will look into that so thanks for the sharp eye! I really need to fly with my local instructor on that instrument only so I'm comfortable with it. Out of 178 hours, I might have 1.5 hours of IMC and no night flight. With the safety record of this bird, I'm avoiding as much IMC as I can until I'm completely up to speed. I REALLY wish the G5 would have been available when I built my panel. It was introduced about a year after the panel was completed. Tom

Had a couple interesting moments in 10 hours of flying this weekend with controllers. I got my clearance to Spruce Creek (south of Daytona Beach) on the ramp at KOSU (Ohio State University Airport, just outside Columbus OH). I had filed FL270 and was given 3,000', expect 270 in 10 minutes. After I thought about it a minute, I called the ground controller back at OSU and asked "how long before I will get higher, I will be to 3,000' in about a minute?" He responds that will be up to Columbus Approach, but I believe I planted the seed. The Lancair is on steroids in colder weather, and to get the gear in the wells before passing 120 knots, the climb angle looks like a rocket (initially about 4,000' a minute). I got handed over the departure before crossing the end of the runway. Coming out of Spruce yesterday, they will never give you your clearance (or allow you into their Class C airspace) until you have flown out from under the ring (under 1200' no less). Anyway, I finally call them when I'm climbing just west of their precious Class C and get my filed ROYES CRG KOSU route as filed, but radar vectors to Royes. I'm climbing pretty fast, which helps get them moving handing me off to the next controller. I got the north DAB approach controller for just a minute or two and then was handed off to JAX center. Reporting up JAX Center says "cleared to destination, via Ann Arbor.... KOSU" (Ann Arbor is a long ways north of Columbus OH). I look at my passenger (Joe) and said "what did he say?" He heard the same thing so I call back and ask him to repeat the "intermediate way point to me". He laughs and says, Ann Arbor, then KOSU.......GO BLUE!!! After a few laughs I verify I can go direct to KOSU and report, I'm actually a Michigander, I'm dropping an Ohio State guy off before going home. BTW, this is the morning after the OSU / Wisconsin Big 10 championship game. When he handed me off 10 minutes later I heard "GO BLUE" one more time and a laugh. He must be from up north. Good thing I didn't tell him I'm a MSU fan (Lansing)!! I would have got KOSU via Atlantic City. Nice to see a controller having fun. Tom

Yes he does. He's still partners in his Grumman Tiger too. He needs to finish his IVPT soon though! Tom

The friend I took with me to Florida (Joe) this weekend got a text from the pilot with a couple pictures. He is friends with the owner/ pilot. Looked like great airmanship and no real damage to the plane. It appeared to be in a farm field and within 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the airport. Joe was told last night they would be assessing the situation today. I dropped him off at KOSU around noon today and haven't heard any more news. Tom

Well, I did a trip to Florida this weekend and was able to get a feel for the level of improvement from my speed mods. It appears the oil cooler door was not worth the work. It must close off the air good, as I can only close it 70% at altitude, even when -41 degrees C, without taking the oil temp out of the green. Even closed 100% (which takes about 15 minutes for the oil temp to climb) I'm lucky if I gained a knot. The flap closures were another issue though. My average TAS appears to be 3-5 knots faster. I recorded my highest True Air Speeds ever in 180 hours. Taking my highest and lowest, averaging them, it appears I will be able to bump my filed speed to 305 knots. I think I'll wait for a few more flights, but I saw all ends of my normal flight parameters (altitude, outside air temp, etc) flying from the U.P. to central Florida. For a TKS equipped Lancair, I am definitely in the higher end of the performance envelope and am clearly happy with it. And yes, my camera works for both the tailwind flights and the HEAD WIND flights. In another month I'll be a full blown Mooniac again though. The Lancair will be going for paint and the Rocket will get the cobwebs dusted off it, using it for several Florida trips this winter. Tom

I flew down to Florida for the service for John. I stopped at KOSU (Ohio State University airport) to pick up a fellow Lancair builder on Friday and dropped him off this morning on the way back to the U.P. We stayed at my Spruce Creek home and flew over to Deland on Saturday morning for the service. Had a student pilot pull on to the runway, just after announcing I was on short final. I called immediately telling him I was on short final, expecting he would stop and let me land.........Nope, he slowed for a second and fire-walled his 172, expecting he would "beat me out". He wasn't 100' down the runway when I flew over him at 125 knots climbing back out on an aborted landing. I LOVE flying in Florida!! Anyway, only one other turbine Lancair showed, and looked pretty sweet. The owner came over later as he was about to leave, shook my hand and introduced himself (he was a good friend of John's). Bill Elliot, the retired NASCAR driver. Took a shot of him in the plane just before he closed the door and left. Got to be a pretty stand up guy to fly down for John's service! Tom

I almost fell out of my chair laughing on that one!!!! Tom

That's awesome news, Joe. Get everything back current and chalk this one up as "experience". If nothing else, you reminded us all to watch ourselves a bit closer! Tom

That is friggin crazy!

My IPhone works in headwinds. I've just never seen the same level of tailwinds as I've seen of headwinds. Here's one of each. Tom

Pretty much.....yes. We don't expect any more issues, and repaired the spots I had with a pretty sure fire fix. It might be more for my painter to buy some time before I drop it off. I have plenty of little items I can address before dropping it off for paint anyway. And I sure don't mind having to fly it some more. Tom

As Jim noted, it's a Walters 601D / 724 HP

Well, if I would have had a child when first married and in the U.S. Army, that child would now be 42. Carrying the same scenario forward, my grand child could be 23, with my great grand child being 4................................yet I am under the lowest Social Security retirement age (for another month anyway). Tom

I found out this afternoon the GURU of Lancair Turbine airplanes died this weekend from brain tumor/ cancer. John Cook, my engine builder, Lancair building mentor, test pilot and flight instructor passed on Saturday, leaving a huge hole of experience and knowledge of Walters Engines in Lancair's. I doubt any other aviator could have left me with more knowledge and wise judgment in flying this very challenging airplane. I spent 15 hours with John in transition training last fall/winter. And that was after 2 intense days of inspections prepping for first flight and a pile of time working through build issues and my engine build before that. RIP John. I will always hear you squawking in my ear to "keep the ball centered" as I fly my Lancair Turbine until the day I retire my wings!!!! This loss is nearly as tough as my fathers two years ago. Tom

By the time I was ready for final Primer I was taking allergy meds to get through it. There definitely will not be a second composite build!!! My next airplane project will be restoring a PA-16 Piper Clipper, a tube and fabric 1949 airplane my best friend/ cousin was working on when he died at 48 years old. Will be a great plane to fly "low and slow" with for local pancake breakfasts and fish boils / hamburger socials with my grandson!!! Tom

Final Bodywork for Paint Prep by Tom Sullivan » Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:37 am Well, I just completed an almost 2 month stretch of intense bodywork, prepping the plane for some serious time in Brad Simmon's shop sometime this winter. I had a lot of stuff crop up in the first 165 hours, sooooo glad I did not go into paint right away, as I was able to address these things before final paint. Just completed a major portion of Brad and my squawk list yesterday and flew for the first time since September. Tom ATTACHMENTS LE of the baggage door was "PROUD", after fitting perfectly before flying. Brad said the flanges needed beefing up, more CF, but I also tried to install a bit less curve to the LE while installing 4 bids on the flange. In the end, realized the gas strut (added during the test flight hours) was the culprit in the door edge coming out .040". Will be looking for a weaker strut when I get some time, but it's fitting really nice now. The door fit was perfect before initial flights. We suspect pressurization cycles, baking in the sun, and one incident with the door left open in Florida for 1.5 hours when sunny and hot, the door tweaked by about .050" at the center making it proud at the LE. I noticed when trying to depart after the Florida incident, the forward latches were sticking (sign of movement). Luckily I had been required to add micro and a top one ply of CF to get the door to match the fuselage after installing the FB door assy. I sanded that out until it was .010" low (so I could reinstall the CF). After doing the front door edge and getting it looking great, the back edge at .025" looked bad, so did the same on that edge. Glass inset on both wing fairings to deal with pressurization derived cracks from fuselage pushing outward during every cycle. Cracks were addressed first before glass was inset. This is a really fun area to bodywork with a pretty complex set of curves (three compounds to work with). Flaps with cracks at TE addressed and refit of gap to TE of wing. We had two issues here. Flap gap to wings was perfect when completed in my shop, but that was with wing supported at outboard edge. After wings hung and fuel added, the inboard and outboard edges of the wing to flap fit where actually TOUCHING. We suspected this was from a slight wing droop once the wings were no longer supported at the tips like they were during initial bodywork. Also, crack showed up along the TE of the flaps. This I suspect was from flexing at the seam of the top to bottom flap skin mating area. My flaps were closed at the factory during the builder assist, but (I believe) without adding a layer of carbon over the seam. I studied my build manual, and see no work on the flaps other than bodywork after the builders assist. The glass I added now should correct this issue. Also seen in this picture are the initial cracks in the wing fairing being addressed, as well as the chicken plate depressions along the rear bulkhead. Flaps with Fiberglass reinforcement at TE where cracks had shown up. Had to sand down .006" recess to accept the glass with .001" micro over top for final finish. The glass is hard to see, being transparent, and having a thin layer of micro over it. Flaps finally in WLS Primer Flap Gap at .055" to .060" consistent along entire flap. Cracks in both elevators in micro. Sanded down to carbon to verify nothing structural. Found micro a bit thick at the outboard 18" to get the elevators looking good. Installed new micro and then added glass reinforcement. Elevators with .005" fiberglass reinforcement over previous crack area. Had to sand down .006" for glass so final bodywork had reinforcement within .001" of finished surface. Did same to both elevators. Glass bid has peel ply over it in this picture. Elevators finally in WLS Primer Chicken plate screws had depressions, even though hard points were made at every hole. Filled and WLS primed. Screws and holes in cowl are for my TKS (deice system) spray bar and deflector fairing. Screws installed for pressurization. John Cook said during initial pressurization flights (after we found this area losing pressurization) this was serving as my windshield "heating system". Door jamb, added some fill to aft area for best door seal fit, down to thousands all the way around on seal before inflation. Also had pinholes that were filled for better appearance. Sanded out with contrast primer, ready for WLS Sanded out with contrast primer, ready for WLS Tom Sullivan Posts: 298 Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2014 6:08 am Location: Iron Mountain, MI (U.P.)

Sorry, that must be a recent change. I've viewed the forum many times in the past without being logged in, but just tried now and it requires the same for me. Sorry. I'll pull the link and work on posting more photos here. Tom I was able to cut and copy my post from the Lancair forum. See next post.......

For a few of you with some interest in the project, I posted quite a bit more info and pictures here; Removed link as recent change to Lancair forum now requires a log in and password. WIll work on adding more photos here. Tom

I'm pretty sure he's looking for 2 hours of dual to get his insurance. He mentioned his OTHER option is enough time in make and model himself to meet the insurance minimum, which he is working towards sans insurance is what I understood. Should be someone in the Chicago area that can help him. Another option is head straight north to KIMT and Bruce, our local CFII and Mooney owner, can get him his dual. Tom

Well I missed my one year anniversary of first flight, with the plane down for almost 2 months for final bodywork before sending to my painter in Tennessee. He now wants a couple long trips on it and then bring it down to him. My poor wife spent another period of me doing ridiculous hours trying to get it flying again. This is NOT a plane you want periods of time not flying. I was definitely not as comfortable today as I was when flying 20 hours a month. No flight photos but a few shots of the areas needing work after 165 hours of mostly pressurized flights at Mach ".53". The flap gap seals and NACA scoop servo controlled door are new "speed mods". Tom

Congrats!!!! The IFR Rating is one of, if not, THE toughest pilot ratings. You SHOULD be proud! Tom

Did a mercy flight today, picking up an elderly woman in Rochester MN, flying her to Sawyer (Marquette). A/P heading mode went T.U., sending the plane the opposite way every time during vectors to 3 different ILS Approaches. My hand flying skills got a work out today. I've been on a intense 2 month push getting final bodywork done on the Lancair so only a couple Mooney flights in that time. I kept trying to call the Bonanza either a Lancair or a Mooney. Anyone listening had to have been laughing. Saw some really interesting clouds on the way to Sawyer. They had different twists to them, almost looking like fiber. Tom

I have a IVPT builder friend down in Columbus OH that transitioned this past spring from a Tiger to a Mooney. I can PM you his contact info if you want it. Tom