Today was a LONG day. This entry will have several pics, so follow along. The day started by realizing that my scoop would not clear the tank vents. A small bummer. I chose to clear out the last 1" of the tank vent airfoil which did the trick. I then installed the cowling and "loosely" attached the 2-3/8" hose to the new scoop and TB. I went flying.... First thing I noticed was 2350rpm rolling down the strip. That's 100rpm better than before. Then I climb out I was doing 2400rpm and 1000ft. per minute. Sweet. Then I opened her up and WOW. Rpm went to 2910 and I was doing 163kts IAS and 176kts True at 4500ft. Fastest this bird has gone at that altitude. My oil temps were climbing as well so it was a bittersweet moment. I decided to turn back and did with a smile. After landing, I went home with a plan for a long day of work. The scoop needed to be separate from the cowl and my oil cooler naca NEEDED a ghetto fix till I can make my exit plenum. I added a 3 ply Carbon lip to the scoop as well as nutplates. I then made a quick scoop out of yellow scrap foam and riveted it to the belly. Tomorrow I should be able to test fly again and see how affective the cooler scoop will be. I'm also going to be tightly installing the intake hose for even more MP baby! right now I've added .58 MP which is expected for ram air at those speeds. The scoop is a huge success. However, I really need more air going through that cooler. Pronto.
