QUEST update

[John Ferrell]

"The first failure was on the ground, while tethered. Full rpm on engine start."
I am glad you had it tethered, it could have been bloody or even fatal.

"11 minutes of full bore flying later it ran out of gas."
When I had this failure the plane had about 20% throttle. It took 28 minutes to run out of fuel. My big worry? I wonder how long the batteries will last. That is why I never let my batteries get to the "one more flight" point!"

I am getting kind of hungry for a Quest.


John Ferrell 
6241 Phillippi Rd
Julian NC 27283
Phone: (336)685-9606  
johnferrell at earthlink.net
Dixie Competition Products
NSRCA 479 AMA 4190  W8CCW
"My Competition is Not My Enemy"

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Henderson,Eric 
  To: discussion at nsrca.org 
  Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 11:07 PM
  Subject: QUEST update


   The Quest continues to be put through the wringer!

  With 38 more flights on it I have only had to tighten the tailwheel wire in the rudder. A few drops of Zap did the trick.

  The throttle hook up has not been very well behaved. Against my better judgement I used an EZ connector at the throttle arm end. The first failure was on the ground, while tethered. Full rpm on engine start. Saved the day by backing out the needle until the engine quit. The black keeper washer had come off. Fitted a new one. 12 flights later the darn thing came off in the air. The brass part must have also been worn, 

  11 minutes of full bore flying later it ran out of gas.

  All I could do was fly large horizontal figure 8's until tank empty status occurred. Boy does that tire you out! You dare not gain height nor can you roll much at that speed.

  Good news is that the plane held together at a faster than I would ever fly it speed. Two bits of trim began to peel but will be re-ironed tonight. Wing and fuse and elevator/ rudder all behaved flawlessly during the un-planned  "stress-test".  Pilot was not so firm afterwards.

  Throttle wire hook up will be replaced with my own system tomorrow.

  I am currently flying the plane with all controls 40% below the minimum recommended and it will roll and snap and spin in a very happy manner, No KE or down line mixes have been found to be necessary. One cool thing is that the plane will do real square KE loops. On the down line you go to full rudder and blip the gas and there you are flying level. To much fun for one guy!

  Regards,

  Eric. 
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