Trip #2 - 1

After an uneventful flight to Minneapolis, and a great first night (and Italian dinner) with John Schmidt, it was time to get to work.

I started by inventorying the odds and ends that Joel had left in a box in the hangar to find all the hardware and parts that I would need for WIX-SB-001. As I was working on this, Keith arrived. Keith and I (together with some help from Mike Skinner) disconnected my Aerovee 2002 engine and placed it in my rental car. We left the accessory case on the airframe.

Keith and I then began removing the empennage of W0014 to allow us to do the modifications necessary to comply with WIX-SB-001. Fortunately, I found that all the necessary hardware and parts necessary were in Joel's boxes.

I should mention that it was hellishly hot in Minneapolis at this time. Keith and I could only work for a few hours before we were worn out. When we quit, we had most, but not all, of the bolts removed that hold the empennage on the fuselage. There are lots of bolts, and had resolved to not cut an access panel in the fuselage. It was slow work with a lot of reaching using improvised wrench extensions and magnets. We left the hangar to have a Coke at the FBO, and talked about Keith's impressions of the Aerovee.

Regarding the engine: After my discussion with Keith, I decided to have the Great Plains Force One Prop Hub and Main Bearing installed in my engine. Given the history of crank failures on VW-derivatives with shrink-fit hubs, it seemed like a prudent thing to do, particularly because I intend to fly aerobatics occasionally. We also talked about removing the oil restrictor plug to the #1 bearing, the subject of an optional AeroConversions SB (ACV-SB-081409). I left the airport with my engine and a list of things that I wanted Further Performance either have a look at, or do.

Great Plains Force One Prop Hub and Main Bearing

Arriving at Further Performance, I unloaded the engine and talked to Tristan. It became immediately apparent that the work I had in mind was pretty aircraft-specific and way different than what they normally do to a street engine. Tristan suggested that I talk to Dick Burns, a machinist who does the bulk of their engine building for them. I left the engine with Tristan and departed for home (John's place) with Dick's number.

My phone call with Dick was enlightening. Dick has been racing behind VW engines since the 60's and flying behind them since the 90's in a Zodiac 601HDS that he built from plans. He has built many VW aircraft engines and said that it would be no problem for him to do the machining necessary to adapt my case to the Force One Hub.