I just finished tweaking the Seabee to correct the glitches discovered on Saturday. And a few other problems were spotted and corrected.

1) I realised I hadn't balanced the prop (!) but when I put it in the
balancer the balance was actually perfect.

2) The fast-idle problem was caused by the throttle pushrod/arm binding
on the inside of the cowl. This not only prevented the carburetor
from closing properly, it prevented it from opening properly too.
Fixed, so now it should run slower *and*faster* too! :-)

3) The exhaust pressure-line was touching the edge of the cowl. In only
one flight, it had almost cut through the line. Ground a curve into
the cowl to allow the pressure line to avoid contact.

4) The fuel line to the carb was touching the inside surface of the cowl,
and had started to abrade slightly. It would have taken much longer,
but eventually would have perforated. Shortened the line so it didn't
arch up so much.

5) Elevator set for level flight required full UP trim. Centered the
trims and readjusted the elevator at the servo arm and clevis.

Weather permitting, I'll try her tomorrow.



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þ Synchronet þ Made of wood and glue, but mostly glue!

Re: Seabee tweaks
By: Angus Mcleod to Digital Man on Tue Jul 05 2005 01:00 pm

3) The exhaust pressure-line was touching the edge of the cowl. In only
one flight, it had almost cut through the line. Ground a curve into
the cowl to allow the pressure line to avoid contact.

4) The fuel line to the carb was touching the inside surface of the cowl,
and had started to abrade slightly. It would have taken much longer,
but eventually would have perforated. Shortened the line so it didn't
arch up so much.

This cowl sounds like a pain in the arse. Is it just for cosmetics (it does *look* nice) or does it actually serve a purpose?

Weather permitting, I'll try her tomorrow.

Good luck with that! :-)

digital man

Snapple "Real Fact" #150:
The first sport to be filmed was boxing in 1894.

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Re: Seabee tweaks
By: Digital Man to Angus Mcleod on Tue Jul 05 2005 11:47:00

3) The exhaust pressure-line was touching the edge of the cowl. In only
one flight, it had almost cut through the line. Ground a curve into
the cowl to allow the pressure line to avoid contact.

4) The fuel line to the carb was touching the inside surface of the cowl
and had started to abrade slightly. It would have taken much longer,
but eventually would have perforated. Shortened the line so it didn'
arch up so much.

This cowl sounds like a pain in the arse. Is it just for cosmetics (it does *look* nice) or does it actually serve a purpose?

Well, yes, cowls can be a real pain. But they do look nice and they streamline the front of the fuselage. More speeed! :-)

The problem is that the cowl is not made with any particular engine in
mind, nor any particular position (front-to-back) of the engine on the
mount. As a result, you have to cut the cowl to accommodate all the bits
that unfortunately, stick out. This is almost always a process that has
to be done in small steps, or you'll ruin the cowl. A new cowl for the
Seabee costs only $12, but!

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þ Synchronet þ Made of wood and glue, but mostly glue!