I had the chance to sneak out of the house and spend 2 more hours at the airport getting this bird ready to fly. I installed the new pipes first thing and carefully set them in position to be right in the center of the exit holes on the cowling. I torqued them all to 10nm per the manual, and then installed the balance master, then my old Hercules Prop. I wanted to fire her up to check for any new leaks and to make sure all systems were a go for next week's test flight. As soon as I fired her up I knew I was going to go deaf at full throttle. She ran smoother than the first run, but I also had no idea if the Hercules was out of balance since it was sanded down and probably was. The balance master helped a little I'm sure. After oil temps reached 105deg. I checked throttle response which was faster and smoother than the 390iS. Almost like a specially tuned sport bike. This was a welcome surprise. I then slowly advanced the throttle all the way up to full and can't remember anything louder in my life other than a top fuel dragster competition I went to as a kid. WOW. I then looked down at the tach and saw her running at 3010 static rpm. WHOA... The 390iS pushed this prop to 2350-2400 static. This means that I'm getting a solid 600+ rpm increase over the 390iS. I was able to test so many props that I can guess where they would be with the new engine. I remember Gary's 65x76 only spinning up to 1900rpm several years ago, which means I will most likely see around 2500 static with that prop on this engine which could be PERFECT for the RPM range I have. If not, he also makes a 65x80 for the 160hp Lycoming engines that may help keep me under redline. Lots of conjecture at this point though and the 60x76 Catto could really be a sweet spot until Gary gets back from England. First flight next week!
