- Brace yourself!!! 2-cycle pipes and coupler material

[Woodward James R Civ 416 FLTS/TPS]

Hey Folks

 - Brace yourself!  Those of you that think the most expensive option for
equipment is best, you may want to sit down.  This weekend I flew my Phase
One with Webra 1.45 R and replaced my very expensive ES 2 cycle pipe with
0.9" inlet, with the less expensive Greve pipe.  On the ground, the engine
seemed to run up a little better.  This engine has about 300 flights on it.
In the air, it was acting like a new engine again!!!!!!!!!!  This was a VERY
pleasent surprise, as the power was 'not-what-it-used-to-be'
(understandably).  Still using the 17 x 12 APC (regular blade).
Additionally, the "hickup" that was present when throttleing from inverted
that was a pain with the ES setup, is now gone.  For instance, when pushing
around the bottom of the cuban 8 with 2/4, thottle is smooth without
hessitation.  Same with exit of the triangle loop, and exit of the 3 turn
spin. - very happy customer.  This was the same pipe I tried first on my
Advantage.  That setup, I used the "full-length" MACs header, 1/4 - 3/8"
gap, and the "full-length pipe".  That was about 1.5-2.0" longer than the
27.5" setup length on Piedmonts website.  Setup ran perfectly.  On the Phase
One setup, I used the 27.5" setting by cutting down the header, with equally
good performance.  I will attribute any extra performance on the Advantage
due to it's using the new Webra AAR.  The design of the pipe does not lend
to cutting anything from the pipe (... wouldn't recommend that approach).
The whole setup fit with some room to spare in the Phase One.  

 I'm getting away from a kick of reading rpm of reading on the ground (after
some reading about pipe theory).  Readings show that max "air" performance
is gained by getting the pipes peak performance on the ground, and
lengthening the setup to about 300 rpms less.  Then, it unloads in the air
and has more sustained power in the uplines.  

Header coupler material:  Tired of having your Aerotrend replacement
silicone tubing crack and break too quickly?  www.mcmaster.com has
"silicone" replacement tubing.  I ordered some off of Bob P.'s
recommendation.  I ordered 2' each of "clear-medical" silicone, and "red"
silicone tubing.  The material seems very good.  Total cost including
shipping was $18.00.  The red feels lighter.  Both seem durable and plyable
- similiar to the material that Macs headers come with.

Jim W.
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