The Tool Shed (s/n 1013 rebuild)

[BRS]

For those interested in RevMaster engines. You might want to consider ordering the intakes un painted. Seems there is an adhesion problem with mine. Either that or this blue tape is some sort of new stripper product.

[Matt541]

Yes, my smoke oil tank can be removed, but not easily. I did not install it, but at some point I plan on converting it to a "quick disconnect" setup. (Or just remove it altogether.) But honestly, I'd steer ya in the direction of what Graeme did:
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=5812

On the Revmaster paint, ALL of the factory applied paint on mine is flaking in spots regardless of color or base material. Probably a combination of prep and the paint used. I think the Aerovee guys have the same issue if they paint the case (know I read it somewhere on here....) The anodized parts on both seem to hold up better.

[BRS]

The Revmaster R2300 is installed and running well. It takes a bit of getting used to the four ignition switches and the method of performing a "mag-check". Seems the procedure is to turn off the first three left switches at which point the engine will be running on two cylinders - rough. If the engine quits then one or more of those spark plugs are not firing. Next you turn on the switch next to it and turn off the one that was on. After doing this four times it will be very clear what does/doesn't work. Nice thing is if there is a fault then you'll already have it narrowed down to two plugs their coils and the specific stator winding involved. It's a bit weird but works.

Here is a picture of the completed panel.

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EarthX Battery and two alternators: The R2300 has two 20 amp alternators (see the panel top right). Unfortunely one of the two alternators was DOA which means I'll eventually have to remove the back of the engine and probably exchange or have the stator rewound. I expect RevMaster will make good on this. But for now I'm happy with the one working alternator. There has been a lot of discussion about these alternators and especially in relationship to the lithium batteries. However, so far my experience has been quite positive. After startup I idle at 1500 RPM and the alternator puts out 8amps for charging the battery. I let the battery charge as the engine warms up. As the battery voltage climbs toward 14.1v (regulator cutoff) the current draw decreases. In short order the battery stabilizes at 14-14.1volts and the charge current is 0-0.5 amps. The problem arrises when folks start their engine and quickly increases rpm where the alternator tries to produce more current than it is capable of doing.

So now I'm down to cowl work. Looks like a daunting task but I believe in the end it will turn out just fine. Here are a few pictures of the holes that have been needed so that the carburator clears.

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I couldn't resist starting the engine this morning and going for a quick taxi around the apron. My first Sonex taxi experience.

[BRS]

This project (last winter's 'winter-project) is almost complete. Finally the changes to the cowl are complete and it is ready for paint. As you can see, the RevMaster's lower carb and cooler created quite a bit of work. Also the longer crank flange made it necessary to modify the snout to meet the flange. I learned a lot about fiberglass work doing all this.

Foam form for the snout lengthening

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With a bit of paint this might look alright

[Bryan Cotton]

Nice work! I've been doing a lot of glass work on my Hobie Cat so I can appreciate it!

[BRS]

The Tool Shed is almost ready for flight. The cowl is modded and primed (see below), aircraft weighed yesterday (654#s), fuel flow test accomplished. I have one nagging, but not really all that important, question.

Q. Should I install the elevator bungee or not?
The previous owner never installed it and he said it trimmed just fine. How ever the purest in me realizes that if there is a lot of trim deflection then there is increased drag (admittedly, not much). The bungee reduces the amount of required trim deflection.

Cowl: So the RevMaster cowl mod is nearly finished. It's done enough for flight, with just cosmetic clean up and paint left. I like the look of the extended snout but it sure makes lower cowl installation more difficult as it will no longer hinge up from the firewall and clear the prop. Here are some pics.

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[BRS]

The Tool Shed flies!

Yesterday after a lengthy renovation Sonex 1013 flew, it was a first Sonex flight for the pilot as well. There are some bugs and procedures to refine but all in all it was a good first flight. Videos below...

[984dm]

Congrats on the first flight of your remodeled plane. Looked and sounded great! Fly safe!
Dave Misner

[BRS]

My first flight confirmed that there was a lot of work left to be done on the RevMaster baffles. Speaking to Joe he was adamant that I needed to install the cylinder wraps like in his manual. So I did and the before/after pics are below. The plane has not yet flown since the change.

Q. My pressure baffles started out as an Aerovee kit. there were no cylinder wraps included and I've not seen pictures of cylinder wraps on other Aerovee engines. So what treatment, if any, are the Aerovee drivers using besides the basic pressure baffles?

-Click the image-
Top: shows the RevMaster cylinder wraps in place.
Bottom: just the Aerovee pressure baffles.

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[karmarepair]

My installation has automotive "Super Cool Tins" on the UNDERSIDE of the barrels, which are serving SOME of the same function as the Revmaster cylinder wraps: holding the cooling air against the barrel fins on it's passage from the upper plenum to the outlet. At least on my installation (by others...) there were numerous gaps between the AeroVee baffling and the "Super Cool Tins", which I've bridged with "bandages" of two layers of the thinnest fiberglass drywall tape, wetted out with high temp silicone, on a piece of aluminum foil. We'll see how they hold up, but the idea is again to keep the air flowing THROUGH the fins. I've also fabricated deflectors that go in between the two sections of the heads, much like the Revmaster setup - on a car that passage is blocked BELOW the heads, by a deflector that is almost never included with new heads, and is omitted by far too many aviation conversions.

Look at the cooling tins on a car - both the heads and the barrels are enveloped on the TOP and BOTTOM, so the cooling air flows AROUND and THROUGH the head and barrel fins, all the way around them, before it exits. The inlet from the fan is a relatively narrow slot centered on the barrels and heads.

I think you're doing right, me. But my installation hasn't flown, and there are a lot of AeroVee out there FLYING without the steps you or I have taken.