Thank you to David Shultz ( who ever you are?!?! ) for getting this picture!

The invitable comparision between a 701 and... an RV-10?!?

Vashon Municipal Airport

Certainly one of the cuter airports I have been to, and never would go with a 150.

Flew off the remaining 1.9 hours of Phase 1 testing on Saturday, staying close to AWO due to weather. Performed and oil change with a new filter and did an engine inspection. Found that the radiator was rubbing the cowling a bit, so I installed some corking. Removed the NACA vent to the oil cooler and aluminum taped off the cooler to help with low oil temps. Also taped off part of the radiator to help with low CHTs.

Tried out the new "16" grass runway. Winds were 120@8kts to 120@10kts. Also finally tried the plane in the rain. All performed as expected.

PIREP: Grass

I finally took the 701 on the grass on Saturday and Sunday. The WX cooperated by providing mostly dry grass and limp windsocks over the weekend. The 701 of course is designed for these sorts of operations with large turf tires, direct linkage steering on the nose, a large rudder and a very centered CG.

After much discussion I decided not to use a full stick back technique for takeoff, nor pulling the stick full after after landing due to possibility of over rotation. Flaps were not used as they cause a “heavy” elevator, greatly increase sink rate and increase the pressure on the nose wheel.

I started with about 10 takeoffs and landings on the pavement to warm up and practice softfield technique. Then I transitioned to about a half dozen takeoffs on the grass with landings on the pavement, then finally approached the grass.

The first several landings were T&Gs so I could get a feel for the surface without committing the full weight of the aircraft to the strip. It also gave me a good initial idea of how much strip I would require. The current grass strip at AWO is 1500 feet. After 4 T&Gs I brought the plane to a full stop and taxied back by the pavement, then progressed to stop & gos. Overall I did 30 landings on Saturday

I found that with no wind on slightly wet grass I currently need about 500 feet from touchdown to get to a full stop solo. Takeoff run from a stop appears to be about 300 feet. Overall I prefer pavement takeoffs due to the 50% less space required. They are faster and just more fun.

After almost 40 hours in my 701 I think landing it on the grass is preferable despite the increased roll distance. The impact is softer and the slipperiness of the surface makes it feel more forgiving. The nose bounces a bit due to the bungee cord without a shock\dampener, but prop clearance did not look to be an issue and you do not feel it in the cockpit, although the video makes it look like I was tossed around.

After a few hours of landings at AWO I ventured south, when down the valley then across Bellevue to BFI for some pattern work. Like with the 150 I requested early bases and added early cross winds. By altitude the crosswinds were not early, but given where I was I still made sure they were OK. Once again the BFI guys are the friendliest ATCs around and even recognized my voice and commented on the plane’s performance.

In addition I tried a David Clark ENC headset. What a world of difference. This is the first active headset I have tried that does not produce an uncomfortable pressure on my ears. It also does not produce an irritating humming sound when on. The active “reduction” is very noticeable and allows me to hear myself without turning on the intercom while on takeoff.

Combined on Saturday I got 4.1 hours in.

The current grass runway at KAWO is on the West side of the hold short line, just north of the skirt and south of the A2 taxiway. There is a new grass runway that will be officially opened soon.

Saturday’s Video:

Sunday I played on the grass more and then ventured out. I ended up at JeffCo to have lunch where I just missed another 701 builder. Then it was out towards Sequim until clouds stopped me, up over Whidbey with a transition, then over Cypress to Bellingham, to Skagit and finally back to AWO.

The video does not really show it well, but saplings really do cover the old Cypress strip. The catch them on film them I would have to get much closer than I was.

Sunday was 3.4 hours in the air. That leaves 1.9 hours left of the 40 hour test period.

Sunday's Video:

Sunday Cypress Island Fly Over:

Hopping around the San Juans again in late October:

With clean fuel filters, I started to test again. Everything is running great, except the plane seems harder to get really slow on approach. This may be a combination of the slightly reflexed flaps and the VGs. Sometime soon I will attempt to move the VGs aft. The weather was lucky enough to provide a nice 8kt cross wind

On Sunday I was going to fly over to Bremerton from AWO, but I ended up getting some more important obligations the meant I would have to be back in Seattle around 1-2pm. After flying for 1.5 in the morning I found out that those plans had been canceled, so I installed some VGs that I had been wanting to test on the elevator, fueled up ( and yes, I tested the fuel at all three sumps ) and went back to flying.

My normal routine for testing out a change like this is to follow the valley and fields Northwest from AWO towards Stanwood and then try turns, stalls, ect at high altitude then return back to AWO to try landings and then more landings to make sure I like the change.

After about 54 minutes of trying out the VGs I hit a problem.

Halfway through a downwind leg at cruise power\attitude I hit an unexpected loss of power.

The engine became rough and power dropped down to an almost stopped state, then came back up gradually, went back down gradually a few seconds later, came back up gradually a few seconds later, went back down, came back up. The loss of power lasted about 45 seconds to a minute. Carb ice crossed my mind while doing the landing. It was similar to the symptoms of carb ice in an O-200, but my installation has constant carb-heat.

At the first sign of the drop I had already started pitching for glide and called out the mayday. There were two planes on final and one on base. The two on final went around, but the pilot in the tow-plane still turned final and did not abort, turn or otherwise react. Several other people on the radio chimed in in an effort to get him to react.

With the 701 I fly my downwind and base no more than ¼ mile out. I turned base just a little North of the numbers and landed the numbers with better than idle power.

Sadly the on board camera had run out of battery and 1) did not catch the engine event 2) did not catch the emergency landing with a HAPL approach that I hope would have made my flight adviser proud.

Up to that point I had put on 2.5 hours alone that day. There was plenty of fuel and I was hallway finished with my downwind at cruise power, so even a failed fuel pump should have not caused this.

After landing I did do a full run up, and everything was fine. It made full power, mags grounded, ect.

The loss-of-power event was caused by a clog that collected in the fuel filter. My morning preflight showed no issues at the gascolator or in the fuel filter. My theory is that debris that had not been swished out of the tanks, along with debris introduced by auto-fuel and some small amounts of sealant collected in the gascolator on the forward edge. Earlier in the morning I performed a test were I wanted to see how far I could taxi with the fuel valve shutoff ( this was due to several accidents this year were some Cessnas had enough fuel to start takeoff with the valve shutoff ). The intentional fuel starvation most likely caused suction in the fuel lines causing the clog to dislodge and move up the fuel line to the filter.

As a result I will be cleaning the filter and gascolator every 20 hours or so.



Video of a short landing:





Video of flap testing\very consistent landings: