My Sonex Project

[WesRagle]

Hey Matt,

Congrats!! Great job resurrecting 541.

Enjoy the moment :-)

Wes

[Bryan Cotton]

Well done!

[Matt541]

Thanks guys!

Google photos reminded me that I picked it up one year ago today:

541, is that you?!

Crazy to see the difference now.

[Sonex1517]

Congratulations Matt!

[Matt541]

I've been taking a moment to reflect on everything this past year brought us. For all the negatives, there was A LOT of positives. Things I didn't think were possible now are. And of course, the one that pertains to this forum is aircraft ownership. Although I purchased it in 2019, that dream became a reality in 2020. It just took a little patience and a whole lot of "sweat equity."



I'm certainly not done "rehabbing" 541, but it is a flying airframe once again. Debating how much I'll keep posting in this thread though versus starting a new one, but what's next?

1. More flight time feeling it out before taking it on cross countries. This is the big one.

2. Some more finishing, including refitting the wheel pants and sealing the wing root. The RV rubber strips I had weren't working too well.

3. More vinyl graphics. I had a whole scheme picked out that I never I finished, although it does look pretty good as is.

4. More polishing. Sitting outside for a couple months made a mockery of all the time spent on it in my garage. As they say, you're never done polishing.

5. Continuing to monitor the charging system as this can be a common problem on the Revmasters.

[BRS]

@Matt541
Thanks for the nicely done video. You are quite the story teller.
Your saga is close to my heart as I have (as second owner) 1013 and am in the middle of a complete restoration. I've a Revmaster on order but it has be covid-delayed. I understand that there is an EAA fella in TwinOaks orgeon who has made improve ignition electronics for the back of the engine. I havent followed up on the lead since mine is a new engine and I'm not yet familiar with Revmasters.

Since you have the same engine and prop as I do, I would be interested in your performance and pattern numbers. If you feel so inclined to post them. BTW - What is that tank in the baggage compartment?

[Matt541]

Thanks @BRS and congrats on taking the project plunge! Things will take longer than you'd like to, but stick with it.

The way I understand it, the guy who makes the better CDI boards is now under contract with Revmaster to make them only for Revmaster. Good news for you in that you shouldn't have to worry about it, bad news for the rest of us who just want to upgrade. When you get it, the CDI board should be purple in color and look like it was purpose made for the application instead of a random section of breadboard like mine.

Be sure to visit the "Revmaster Flyers" Facebook group to connect with other owners as well.

I honestly haven't flown mine enough to accurately quote performance #s, but that is something that is requested quite often. Never fear, I will put out a video once I have good repeatable data. I'm expecting my numbers to be on the lower end as I have 80hp instead of 85, bigger tires without pants on, and no wing root seals to speak of.

The tank in the baggage compartment is for my smoke system:



It works pretty well on the ground, have yet to try it in the air. I probably wouldn't have done that if I built it, but for now it's just a fun bonus feature. Others have had good luck installing an auxiliary fuel tank back there. (Look up Jake Logan.) But I think I'd rather just have the open space.

So what's the story with 1013? What all needs to be done with it?

[Matt541]

Side note, if you wanted to install a smoke system, you're better off following Graeme's example here:

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=5812&p=44035&hilit=smoke+system#p44035

[BRS]

Thanks @BRS and congrats on taking the project plunge! Things will take longer than you'd like to, but stick with it....
So what's the story with 1013? What all needs to be done with it?

Matt,
I believe that instead of hijacking this tread it will be better if I just start a new one for my build. I'll Call it "The Tool Shed"...

[Matt541]

Howdy everyone! I know, it's been a while since I posted anything, but I think that's going to improve for at least a few months. I just put out a channel update vid as well with some new footage of 541.



I finally flew it again this past week after not doing so for a while, all pointed out in the video.

541 june landing.jpg (154.83 KiB) Viewed 3215 times

Like some others have said, I think my first flight was better than that one. 30ish hours in 2 weeks in a Cessna had me overcontrolling it a bit, but I settled down in 5-10 minutes. Just gotta keep flying it!

I just did a few laps around the pattern and landed, but it helped to just feel it out again. For those who have been wondering, I was seeing 130 mph indicated (and up) during that time @ 3000 RPM. But I need to get out and stretch it's legs before posting any real figures.

One of my squawks and headaches have been my Hegar master cylinder. I wanted to rebuild it, but their e-commerce plugin(?) has been down for a while. Couldn't reach anyone either. But I did find that for at least the primary O-ring, all you need is one of these from you local hardware store:

IMG_20210327_152555873_small.jpg (70.29 KiB) Viewed 3213 times

I have not found a replacement for the secondary o-ring yet, but I hope this helps someone else with Hegar setup. I considered replacing the cylinder with a Black Max unit, but it uses a different sized tubing and fittings. Anyway, the Hegar is stopping and holding just fine now.