The Bag Pipes Arrive

This week I received a wonderful package from AircraftExhaust.net. Inside I found my newly minted exhaust system. I went with a 4 in 1 job which is marketed to help performance of the engine and leave the pilots side exit open for vents, drains etc. These guys do great work. I kept wondering if I should just hang it on the wall and get a cheapo for the real airplane.

The P Factor

A wonderful day for taking delivery of the new MT propeller. this is the 12b version 3 blade of course with hyrdraulic, constant speed control. A wonderful looking piece of German craftmanship. Very easy to install. Just bolt on and fly.

Garmin Who?

I recently started my Garmin 530 up and got the dreaded low internal battery indication on the panel. Rather than sit there and keep entering my defaults which now disappear each time I start up, I decided to change the battery - myself. I understand the Garmin folks charge about $800 for this service. When I realized the battery is a $10 item, I decided against helping my dealer buy his next BMW. I did not draft up the actual steps, but there's no rocket science involved. Some careful handling of components and making sure the pins line up on the connnectors when you decide to push them back together.

The great mock-up

There is no such thing as a pre-made exhaust for a Legacy with an IO-375. Think I'm kidding? Go try to find one. Whatta-ya do? Make one. In this segment I have completed a mock up using an Aircraft Exhaust mock-up kit. AE provides the exhaust port connectors and collector. You provide the 1 1/2 PVC from the aircraft department at Home Depot. What you'll get is an exhaust you and your airplane can live with and perhaps a bit more performance than an old 2 x 2 port stock type exhaust. You have one more bit of fun telling people how long the pvc will last in flight.

Cheers

Model EI / Plenum Installation

While sorting through Sun N' Fun memorabilia, I came across a really clean installation of a plenum and a dual Lightspeed ignition completed by the Glasair folks up in beautiful Arlington, WA. I hope mine turns out half this nice.

More EI Connections

The Lightspeed ignition is a big step outside the box of traditional airplane ignitions. Lightspeed is sensitive to public awareness and is therefore very conservative in it's installation. Lightspeed would like to see both units wired directly to the battery such that the module is the last thing standing when you go down. I have adopted a near battery setup which I feel will too be very reliable. I am also considering a second battery as a backup. Shown are the firewall and internal fused link connections. The ignition modules are controlled from two switched circuit breakers on the panel.

Lightspeed tribulations

Attempting to discover a better mouse trap I decided to go with a dual Plasma III ignition from Lightspeed. The system is very simple to install but requires some TLC on the part of hooking up connections and securing leads to coil packs etc. There is a neat Simpson display option which I am installing and will display later. Information, electronically at your finger tips. One of the big advanatages of EI is the fuel savings /hr of cruise. With dual EI one may expect 1-2 gal/hr and 2-4% increase in horsepower. Good Stuff. Shown are pics of the unit and it's various attach points.