More fun flying The Predator.

[WaspAir]

Sikorsky always said it was more sensible to stop and land rather than land first and then need to stop.

 

[Vance]

I love the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) and I belong to several chapters. I try to make the monthly meetings and I have made a lot of friends there. I have also learned a lot over the years.

One of the chapters I belong to is EAA 170 in San Luis Obispo (SBP). They often have great speakers talking about aviation. At the last meeting I attended our hard working chapter president (John S) asked me if I would give a talk.

I am the only gyroplane in the chapter so I was concerned about holding the interest of a lot of fixed wing pilots for a half hour and I find giving a talk to people I barely know intimidating. I still have some speech irregularities (aphasia) from a traumatic brain injury from a motorcycle mishap at Bonneville.

As I did my daily dig through my emails I saw an email from EAA chapter 70 that said “Vance will be talking about his career and if the weather cooperates will bring his aircraft.” with a picture of my gyroplane (The Predator). The meeting was going to be a week late because of the air show at SMX (The Santa Maria Public airport).

At first I felt relief because I figured the turnout would be low and then my trepidation blossomed as I contemplated talking about my career in front of people, some with very impressive aviation careers. I have always chased my dreams and seem to change how I make a living every 17 years.

It was too late to change the subject of the talk so I worked at putting together a presentation on my computer expecting fog in the morning would keep me from flying to the meeting. I wrote about how the FAA felt about a one eyed, brain injured commercial pilot and flight instructor because I hypothesized that some of the older pilots there are concerned about keeping their medical.

John S agreed to bring a projector to enhance my presentation.

As luck would have it the sun was shining and after trying unsuccessfully to find a way to secure my computer in The Predator I left it in the hangar with my notes.

I checked the weather and winds for my return to SMX were expected to be 280 degrees at 20kts gusting to 30kts with similar winds at SBP (San Luis Obispo).

As I waited for my takeoff clearance at the hold short line my apprehension about my talk without my computer for distraction grew. Most of our speakers have been well organized with meaningful pictures.

As I lifted off and climbed out I found as things on the ground grew smaller so did my trepidation.

I love to fly and I enjoy hearing talks given by people with passion and my passion began to replace my misgivings.

My climb out was as nice as could be and I aimed the Predator direct toward SBP. My communications were good and I was able to report conflicting traffic remaining south of the centerline. I asked ATC (air traffic control) for a long landing and it was approved. My confidence grew as The Predator caressed the runway.

ATC told me to hover taxi to fuel thinking that because I had a rotor I must be a helicopter despite my always using Gyroplane 142 Mike Golf as my identifier and tail number.

As I pulled up in front of the hangar where the EAA meeting would be I was relieved to see only three friends as I began my shut down, filled out my log book and secured the aircraft.

Soon a flow of people was established through the gate and I hurried to get ready before any more showed up.

I asked John and the ten people that had gathered if they would prefer I talked about special issuance medicals, how I got started, being a flight instructor or the peculiarities of flying a gyroplane. As I looked at each face and then at John he said quietly “they all sound good Vance.”

Two hours later I had not lost anyone and John wrapped up the meeting with an offer to pick up anyone who wanted to fly with me to SMX.

Matt; a tall young man in the back raised his hand and volunteered. I asked Matt about his aviation experience and found he was a recently minted private pilot. I told him the pre-flight would take at least 45 minutes and several people asked to watch.

I had Matt read the items on the list and I explained the reasons for checking them and what I was looking for. Some people watching asked some good questions and I felt it was forty five minutes well spent.

The winds had come up and the tower approved my early left cross wind. SBP is in a valley so the winds can be a little unpredictable so I did not give Matt the controls untill we had cleared the ridge. Several times he demonstrated that he had a very good flight instructor and had learned well.

He did as well as anyone without gyroplane experience I have flown with and when I would offer guidance I only had to tell him once. He was a pleasure to fly with.

The wind at Santa Maria was 270 degrees at 20kts gusting to 29kts. I typically don’t give flight instruction in more than a 17kts wind; Matt was doing so well I asked if he wanted to try the landing with just the cyclic if I talked him through it. When he agreed I explained I may have to take the controls quickly and would just say my aircraft without waiting for a response instead of the normal three step exchange of controls. For a learners first landing I typically have the throttle and the rudder pedals so they can focus on keeping the gyroplane over the centerline and managing the flare.

Matt was drifting a little right from a gust so I was set to manage that when the gust went away and we made a less than elegant landing. I explained that it was my fault; I should have corrected it with power or an aggressive pull on the cyclic. Landing is one of the things I had been talking about as a magic moment in a gyroplane so I asked Matt if he would like to try that again. When Matt said yes I asked ATC for a taxi back and the controller approved and gave me a gratuitous wind check, 270 degrees at 20kst gusting to 28kts.

I managed the pre-rotation and then gave Matt all the controls for the takeoff. He did great and followed my directions for the rotorcraft pattern. I briefly took the controls to demonstrate the three steps to making a turn and Matt’s turn to final looked great, we got a little fast and Matt fixed it as soon as I mentioned it with smooth control inputs.

We touched down very gently with less than five knots of ground speed and headed for the hanger and the debrief. I had trouble downloading the video so I promised to mail it to him on USB flash drive so we could get John on his way.

John has done offered this service several times before with me coming back from our EAA meetings and it has always been a delight. I usually bring an extra helmet/headset to EAA meetings for just this reason.

 

[Resasi]

Great job Vance.

Inspirational.

 

[Vance]

A perfect flight to San Luis Obispo in The Predator.

70 degrees F and clear, wind calm; how could I resist?

I had canceled a training flight at Camarillo Saturday seventy nine nautical miles east south east of Santa Maria because of winds gusting to 40kts. Sunday was forecast to be the same. I did not expect winds to be calm at Santa Maria Sunday.

There is something magic about watching the gate to the Santa Maria Public airport opening the world of aviation to me simply by waving my wallet at it.

I get so excited I have to keep repeating “never hurry aviation” as I work my way through the preflight check list to ensure she is airworthy and check that my tools are all in their place.

I resisted the temptation to say “Blue Skies, let’s go flying!” and called flight services for a proper weather briefing for the flight from Santa Maria (SMX) to San Luis Obispo (SBP) and the outlook for my return flight.

Despite sitting around for a week The Predator came alive with the slightest prodding and quickly settled into an even idle as I leaned for taxi and checked the ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information System).

The years of flying have not reduced my excitement at hearing the magic words; “Gyroplane One Four Two Mike Golf, runway three zero clear for takeoff with a slight right departure to the northwest” that denotes the beginning of another flying adventure.

I read back the clearance, engaged the pre-rotator and began my takeoff roll. 180 rotor rpm and full power, her nose came up gently and I balanced on the mains till she lifted off as nice as could be. The lack of wind made it feel like I was at a different airport and lengthened my takeoff roll. 2,450 engine rpm gave me a 900 foot per minute climb at 60kts indicated air speed. I reduced power at seven hundred fifty feet mean sea level (MSL) and leveled off nicely at the rotorcraft pattern altitude of eight hundred feet.

I marveled at the serenity I felt as I climbed into the sky and the Santa Maria Valley expanded beneath me.

As I flew over the fields along the edge of Santa Maria I waved at people in their back yards having barbeques and many waved back.

Over Nipomo I checked the San Luis Obispo ATIS and it was information Zulu, runway 29 was in use. Pattern work and opposite direction traffic were prohibited because of staffing shortages.

When I reached Arroyo Grande I called SBP air traffic control (ATC): “ San Luis Obispo Tower, Experimental Gyroplane one four two Mike Golf ten miles to the south west at one thousand two hundred feet inbound to land with Zulu.”

I had to call them twice as my fist transmission was stepped on.

ATC responded; “Gyroplane Two Mike Golf, runway two nine clear to land.”

I cleared the ridge and descended into the Edna Valley leveling off at seven hundred feet MSL marveling at the beauty that surrounded me.

I requested a long landing and it was approved.

I reduced the power to eighteen hundred rpm and began a gentle five hundred foot per minute descent aiming for my touchdown point just before taxiway Mike a mile down the runway.

I always feel a little pressure landing long because if I am a little too long I cannot exit to the left and have to talk to ground to taxi back and cross runway two nine to get to self serve or our EAA meeting.

The touchdown was as nice as could be with plenty of room to exit at taxiway Mike.

I taxied to the EAA hangar, shut down and sat in the afterglow reliving the magic moments of the flight.

Because I didn’t have a client I debriefed myself on my flight preparation, radio work, takeoff and climb out, pilotage, altitude control, airspeed control, approach, landing and the taxi to the hangar. I followed protocol and remarked about the things I did well and was pleased when I got to the “what can I do better?” and had nothing to say. This is not typical of my flights as there is always room for improvement. The aircraft had performed flawlessly and I was giddy with excitement.

The Pictures

• Looking across the Santa Maria Valley from eight hundred feet.
• Flying North West across the Santa Maria Valley
• Crossing the Santa Maria River into San Luis Obispo county.
• Arroyo Grande
• A glance out toward Pismo Beach and the Avilla Bay.
• The Edna Valley just over the hill flying at at one thousand two hundred feet.
• Final for Runway Two Nine at the San Luis Obispo airport.
• The hangar we use for our EAA meetings.

 

[Vance]

A bright future is secure with Sam.

My guess is the average age of the San Luis Obispo EAA Chapter is the far side of 65, I am 73. I often hear old people talk about how young people are simply not as good in any number of ways compared to us.

Twenty six year old Sam was the speaker at our EAA meeting and he is on the edge of becoming an airline transport pilot (ATP) having worked up to that by giving flight instruction at a local flight school.

I have met some of his clients and in my opinion Sam is a very good flight instructor.

Sam was just back from Australia Sunday morning and severally sleep deprived. He still gave an engaging cogent talk about his path to ATP and the current shortage of airline transport pilots.

After the meeting I did an abbreviated preflight inspection and filled The Predator up with 100 LL.

Winds had come up a little but skies were still blue and the sun was shining warmly.

I was pleased when I read the somewhat complex taxi instructions back to San Luis Obispo ground correctly.

The magneto check went well and I worked my way through the pre-takeoff check list.

After letting the tower know I was ready for departure I heard the magic words; “Gyroplane One Four Two Mike Golf, runway 29 clear for takeoff for a left downwind departure to the south, early left turn approved”.

There was a little more wind than reported by the ATIS and I was off in about 300 feet.

The Predator effortlessly climbed out of the Edna Valley and we made our way along the Pacific Coast Highway catching a little lift along the ridge from the onshore breeze.

The afternoon sun was shining silver off the azure blue Pacific Ocean and the shadows decorated the hillside.

I felt overcome with the joy and beauty of this simple flight.

I usually wander along solo at sixty knots; over Nipomo I cranked her up to 85kts just to hear the Lycoming IO-320 sing and feel her power. The Predator seems to go from happy go lucky to purposeful as the airspeed increases.

I made my initial radio call and was to make right traffic for runway three zero and report midfield.

The extra speed changed my perspective a little and made my base and final turns much steeper.

I pulled her to idle and dropped out of the sky at 1,400 feet per minute touching down as nice as could be at taxiway Alpha Four.

I was to taxi Alpha to Mike and monitor ground.

I sat in the afterglow for a half hour reliving each moment of the flight.

My personal debrief and post flight walk around went well and I locked up the hangar and headed for home.

What used to be a half hour drive is now about twelve minutes to our new to us house and I found joy in that.

• Sam giving his talk.
• Climbing out of the Edna Valley
• The silver on the Pacific Ocean.
• South along California 101.
• Over the 101
• The City of Santa Maria
• The City of Santa Maria
• The Santa Maria Public Airport

 

[Vance]

A special adventure.

I haven’t flown for a while and it was airport day at the Santa Ynez Airport/Kunkle Field (IZA) from 10:00 to 4:00. IZA is a very special airport in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley surrounded by magnificent homes and wineries.

They keep the airport clean and inviting and I love to spend time there. It is one of the airports I use for the cross country for my primary learners.

At 9:00 as I headed down to the Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) fog blanketed the Santa Maria Valley. I went through a very careful preflight because things can go wrong even when an aircraft is just sitting.

I feel currency is an important part of aviation safety so I checked myself carefully as well.

There are some taxiway closures so I needed become familiar with the limitations. Takeoff would be from Alpha Six instead of Alpha Eight and I still had 6,120 feet of runway.

I checked the weather at 10:00 and it was 800 over cast with three miles visibility and a temperature-dew point spread of 1 degree. I went back to working on the hangar and searching for patches of blue sky.

Eleven o’clock and SMX had gone just gone visual flight rules with a thirteen hundred foot ceiling and ten miles visibility. The temperature-dew point spread was three degrees and my minimum in this area is four degrees so I did some pattern work staying close to the airport.

I checked the weather at IZA and it the ceiling was 800 feet with a one degree temperature-dew point spread.

My very first takeoff at SMX was magic. I overshot pattern altitude by 50 feet on climb out and vowed to do better. As I worked the pattern I refined my level off and my turns. From the beginning my landings were as nice as could be. I love the elements of flight so much I was laughing madly as I felt each part of the pattern become more refined. As silly as it reads I take joy in just knowing how to do this aviation stuff and I learn from every part of flight. There is joy in it for me.

After five landings I pulled in for gas and checked the weather. The temperature-dew point spread was now 6 degrees at SMX and four degrees at IZA with the ceiling being 1,300 feet at IZA. I checked in with flight services and the weather on my route looked great with no temporary flight restrictions and the unmanned aerial systems were all off my route of flight.

I called the tower for a right down wind to the east and it was approved as requested. I was to remain clear of the approach corridor because of a line of inbound aircraft. The flying adventure had begun.

I climbed over the nearby hills to about 2,000 feet and took some pictures. With several weeks of no rain the rich green has mostly turned to gold on the hills. The mustard is still blooming for delightful sprinkles of bright yellow.

I made my ten mile radio call at 2,000 feet over California highway 101. Just past Buellton I turned east at the quarry and made a five mile radio call. There were six aircraft in the pattern with some pilots sounding a little anxious. I could hear my friend Bob in the pattern giving young eagle rides in his experimental light sport fixed wing aircraft without a clue I would be at the controls in four hours.

As I drew closer I worked to assemble the pattern in my mind and fit in. I had four aircraft in sight and was missing two. Most were giving good radio and I had the ones in sight who were not. I had a Piper on my six o clock and made him aware that I was slow moving at 75kts. He said he had the gyroplane on downwind in sight. It appeared from the wind sock there was about a 13kt direct cross for runway 26. I settled in as nice as could be right at the taxiway and cleared the runway quickly working my way to the transient parking. I was pleased with the crowd control as I taxied to parking. People are not used to rotors or pusher props so people are always a concern.

It was time to enjoy the event.

I had no idea I would be spending the night at Santa Ynez at the home of one of my learners. I will write about the event and my aircraft challenges tomorrow. I have some work to do that will keep me busy till tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Vance]

The Santa Ynez/Kunkle Field Airport Day was exactly what I feel an airport day should be. People, families, pilots, friends and aviation stuff.

Since I was late to the party first was lunch; some volunteers were cranking out some great hotdogs and Burgers on a BBQ with soft drinks on ice and tables and chairs in the shade of several large tents all at no charge.

After lunch as I made my way toward the event I passed a young lady getting her face painted in another tent. She looked to be having a lot of fun.

I came upon a beautiful red pre-war Davis that belonged my friend Shy who was a flight instructor long before I became interested in aircraft.

My friend captain Bob was there with his Arion Lightening built in Tennessee and that is Ed behind him with his blue Mooney Mite from Lompoc.

I cannot remember the name of the fellow lounging in the shade of the wing of his beautifully painted T34 trainer out of Santa Barbara.

There was a smattering of helicopters at the far end.

I came upon a very pretty ultralight that belonged to Kirk.

Don had his lovely Pitts S1 on display.

There were three Gyroplanes there, Peter; a flight instructor with his Kallithea, James; A Rotax expert with his Calidus and me; a flight instructor with The Predator.

I do not have the words to describe the magic of such an aviation event with so many people coming together and exercising their passion. This sort of event is a great way to put off the local anti airport people.

I had no sense of the impending challenge as I said my goodbyes and headed to transient parking.

 

[Vance]

If I had arrived earlier at the Santa Ynez Airport Day I would have been part of the event with letting kids sit in The Predator to get their picture taken and pretend to fly her. I usually have a line of them waiting for their chance to sit in an open aircraft and I often talk them through the takeoff. Most are not able to keep their fingers off the switches and I carefully check them after each sitting.

I suspect that is what happened despite being in transient parking and not being around to give permission.

Two rows of toggle switches are all in the down position when not flying.

When I returned to the aircraft two of the toggle switches were up. The master and the alternator. The master activates a relay and the alternator switch activates the field coils in the alternator. Both drain the battery when The Predator is not running. I have a battery about the size of the one in most motorcycles and when I went to fire he up after four hours she showed eleven volts. That is just enough to make noise but not enough to turn the engine over. Like many aircraft the battery is buried and hard to get to. It is possible to jump her but the hook ups are very near the propeller. I have jumper cables with a plug just for that but they are large, heavy and not something I haul around.

My friend; Captain Bob is less afraid of the propeller then I am and we tried to jump her unsuccessfully. Upon failure and being a man on a mission he was kind enough to fly me back to Santa Maria to pick up my jumper cables in his wonderfully quiet, smooth Avion Lightening. Bob is a flight instructor and let me fly her for a while. She has a control stick so the controls felt natural to me. I gave him back the controls for the landing and takeoff.

When we returned from our fifty two nautical mile flight for some as yet undetermined reason we were not successful with my jumper cables either. If we had anticipated this we would have brought my special Odessy Battery charger with its special plug.

By some miracle Bob had a battery trickle charger with the same kind of plug I used so we pushed The Predator over to an outlet and with the airport manager’s permission left her there for the night. A typical trickle charger will not bring an Odessy Battery to full charge so we hoped for the best.

Another local pilot loaned me a set of chocks incase the wind came up. There were no tie downs near the outlet.

Bob’s aircraft is not night legal so he was going to drive me the 30 miles to Santa Maria, and perhaps even pick me up the next morning if my wife, Ed couldn’t.

While driving back to Bob’s hanger I spotted John, a client and friend of mine and asked if I could stay in his hangar. He had let Peter park his gyroplane in the hangar so he could be on time to the event. The last time I had seen his hangar there was a complete apartment with a bed and shower on the mezzanine. He is remodeling his hangar and there were no facilities so he offered to put me up at his “ranch” that was just a couple of miles away.

We picked up some sandwiches on the way.

John’s ranch is spectacular, sprawling and private.

I felt privileged to share such a wonderful environment as we wandered around.

First we needed to move and feed the horses and feed the dogs.

In the morning after again tending to the horses, dogs and chickens we headed off to a nice breakfast outdoors and watched the sky for signs of blue.

We returned to the airport around 9:30 and the volt meter was showing a solid 12 volts. I didn’t want to try to start her till we had good flying conditions and there was a lot of question if the overnight trickle charge would be enough to start her even once.

I performed a careful preflight and then headed over to the pilot’s lounge and the airport manager refused to charge me for overnight parking.

As the skies cleared over Santa Ynez (IZA) around 10:00 it was still instrument flight rules at SMX with an eight hundred foot ceiling but good visibility. The temperature/dew point spread was less than four degrees so I needed to wait with the “will she start?” question weighing heavily on my mind. If I waited too long my wife Ed would be off to work and I would have to again impose on my friends at IZA. Bob was headed for Arizona.

10:51 I called the Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) for the current weather and we were good to go with ceilings scattered at thirteen hundred feet and a four degree temperature/ dew point spread.

At about 11:20 I was ready to give her a try and she started right up to cheers all around and after a careful warm up I announced my intentions to take off and soon felt at home in the skies.

I turned to 210 degrees for noise abatement and climbed to two thousand feet before turning to a heading of 310 for the 26 nautical mile flight to SMX.

The cool air felt good on my face as I took some pictures and offset slightly to stay out of the inbound corridor.

I picked up the current weather (ATIS) and called the tower inbound with information Charlie.

Air Traffic Control came back with: “Experimental 142 Mike Golf, make a straight in for runway three zero and report a two mile final.” At three miles I heard; “Experimental 142 Mike Golf, runway three zero clear to land.”

I took my last picture on short final and focused on the landing. It was delightful as she floated gently to the ground. I was to exit at Alpha 4, taxi to parking via taxi way Alpha and monitor ground. It all seemed automatic as I read the clearance back and worked my way to the hangar. After a through post flight inspection and filling out my log book I secured the rotor, rolled her inside and put her on the charger before heading home barely making my 1:00 appointment with my departing tenants to inspect the apartment and return their security deposit.

All the challenges felt like a great adventure and the help of my friends was such a precious gift. I worked through the rest of the day with my aviation afterglow. It felt good to have my wife in my arms again when she got home from work at midnight. Life treats me well.

Writing about it reinvigorates the magic as I share the fun with my friends. Thank you for coming along.

 

[loftus]

Great story and description as always Vance. Just a suggestion, you may want to get a compact lithium jump starter pack to keep in the airplane

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bestfordriver.com

 

[WaspAir]

Amazon usually has 12v versions available for as little as $39.95. I have a cheap one in each if my cars, used mostly to help out others who left lights on or other such troubles, and they work extremely well while taking very little space.

I keep a cart style big bruiser in my hangar for my 28v helicopter; curiously, one good brand is Stark, same as my last name.

 

[Tyger]

Amazon usually has 12v versions available for as little as $39.95. I have a cheap one in each if my cars, used mostly to help out others who left lights on or other such troubles, and they work extremely well while taking very little space.

I keep a cart style big bruiser in my hangar for my 28v helicopter; curiously, one good brand is Stark, same as my last name.

I guess you always have to make stark choices, then.

 

[GyrOZprey]

GREAT gyro adventures as usual Vance!
I had to miss my EAA Chapter 88 monthly meeting ...a fly-in to Highpoint airpark for Saturday lunch ...one of my favorite local May events!

I had got behind on preparing for my week long trip to Texas ...and having limited time & energy ...trip-prep was paramount!

On Sunday I drove my rig (Truck+40ft toyhauler) down to Craig McP's gyro center near Blum TX ...I ONLY do the Ft Worth section of I 35 on Sunday traffic ...so the plan was down Sunday & back next Sunday ! GOAL ...collect my White TAG (2018 with 160 hrs)...INVENTORY machine FOR SALE ....after it had an engine upgrade to the Aussie StevePaulete mod to 912ULS adding turbo ,intercooler & other internal mods to bring it up to a140HP turbo engine.

after a final tweak and ground tests checking the EG's are spot-on ...I'll rotor up and put on another 10hrs in Phase one before offering for sale again!
Tim who owns our last TAG import with this engine mod absolutely LOVES his machine with great power!

Tim & Craig have installed 3 of these special kit mods under SteveP's guidance on Craig's & 2 other ...giving US customers another option for gyro engine HP boost to around the 140 HP zone.

 

[Brent Smith]

If I had arrived earlier at the Santa Ynez Airport Day I would have been part of the event with letting kids sit in The Predator to get their picture taken and pretend to fly her. I usually have a line of them waiting for their chance to sit in an open aircraft and I often talk them through the takeoff. Most are not able to keep their fingers off the switches and I carefully check them after each sitting.

I suspect that is what happened despite being in transient parking and not being around to give permission.

Two rows of toggle switches are all in the down position when not flying.

When I returned to the aircraft two of the toggle switches were up. The master and the alternator. The master activates a relay and the alternator switch activates the field coils in the alternator. Both drain the battery when The Predator is not running. I have a battery about the size of the one in most motorcycles and when I went to fire he up after four hours she showed eleven volts. That is just enough to make noise but not enough to turn the engine over. Like many aircraft the battery is buried and hard to get to. It is possible to jump her but the hook ups are very near the propeller. I have jumper cables with a plug just for that but they are large, heavy and not something I haul around.

My master is a keyed switch for exactly this reason. I love that folks want to look at my airplane; not so big on their poking their fingers into things. I remove the key when not with the airplane.

 

[Vance]

My master is a keyed switch for exactly this reason. I love that folks want to look at my airplane; not so big on their poking their fingers into things. I remove the key when not with the airplane.

Probably a good idea Brent. This is the first time this has happened in fifteen years and over 2,250 hours of flying. I usually am there to monitor little fingers. I suspect it was not a pilot who thought it was ok for him to put his child in the aircraft without permission. The challenge only escalated because The Predator is hard to jump start or hand prop. It was a great excuse for an adventure and a test of my attitude. It all turned out great and makes a good story.

 

[Tyger]

Ya, when things don't go according to plan, one usually at least has a good story to tell !
If you have a lithium battery, things get a lot more complicated when it dies. Ask me how I know...
I too have an Odyssey battery, now. Nearly five years and in the winter months it mostly just sits in the cold, not on a charger. It is still going strong.

 

[loftus]

Ya, when things don't go according to plan, one usually at least has a good story to tell !
If you have a lithium battery, things get a lot more complicated when it dies. Ask me how I know...
I too have an Odyssey battery, now. Nearly five years and in the winter months it mostly just sits in the cold, not on a charger. It is still going strong.

Interested to know your Lithium Battery story. Very happy with my EarthX lithium so far.

 

[Tyger]

Interested to know your Lithium Battery story. Very happy with my EarthX lithium so far.

Apologies to Vance in adVance for the diversion from his main topic.

My lithium battery was not an EarthX, it was an "Avio", made in Italy. I am not sure why it died, but its simple construction did not allow the possiblity of charging its individual cells. As you probably know, unlike with a lead-acid battery, one cannot merely hook up a trickle charger to each end of a pack (4 cells). So it was toast.
In attempting to order a replacement from Italy, I found that it held too many amp-hours to go by air. This meant it would have had to come by sea, which looked to be a wait of quite a few weeks (at best). It's a good thing it didn't die on me away from home!
So... I found that I could fit an Odyssey Extreme (TPPL/AGM) PC310 in my battery tray with very minor modifications. I ordered one online, and it came within a few days. It weighs six pounds. My Avio weighed three. This was a no-brainer solution for me. As mentioned, it's now nearly five years old and still in good shape, despite being left uncharged, in extreme cold, multiple times, for months at a stretch. It is inexpensive, relatively speaking, and a piece of cake to recharge (or to replace) if necessary. All for the price of three pounds added weight, or about half a gallon – six minutes worth – of fuel.

Why did my LiFePO4 battery die in the first place? It's possible that, as in Vance's case, my master switch got left on when I was on the ground, although I never actually saw this. OR, it's possible my regulator wasn't providing the just-right in-flight voltage. I am no electrical engineer, but my son is (he works for SpaceX, yay (no relation to EarthX )) and he tells me that each cell of the lithium battery needs 3.5V to charge (or 14V for four cells). According to my engine monitor, I top out at about 13.9V, at flight revs. Which is perhaps just a tiny bit low, so over the long haul... Also, if one cell starts to go bad, there it likely to be a problem charging the other cells using the engine (bear in mind also that any overcharge voltage (>3.65V/cell) will damage the cells fairly quickly).

I understand that EarthX (unlike Avio) provides a pretty sophisticated recharger, which is able to monitor the charge of each individual cell and top them up separately, as required. But is this actually possible in flight? Do you hook your battery up to a plug-in charger between flights? Do you take one with you on long trips? What do you find to be the great benefit of a lithium battery?
It seems to me that they are just not worth the extra trouble – at least in this application – for the amount of weight saved.

 

[loftus]

Apologies to Vance in adVance for the diversion from his main topic.

My lithium battery was not an EarthX, it was an "Avio", made in Italy. I am not sure why it died, but its simple construction did not allow the possiblity of charging its individual cells. As you probably know, unlike with a lead-acid battery, one cannot merely hook up a trickle charger to each end of a pack (4 cells). So it was toast.
In attempting to order a replacement from Italy, I found that it held too many amp-hours to go by air. This meant it would have had to come by sea, which looked to be a wait of quite a few weeks (at best). It's a good thing it didn't die on me away from home!
So... I found that I could fit an Odyssey Extreme (TPPL/AGM) PC310 in my battery tray with very minor modifications. I ordered one online, and it came within a few days. It weighs six pounds. My Avio weighed three. This was a no-brainer solution for me. As mentioned, it's now 5 years old and still in good shape, despite being left uncharged, in extreme cold, multiple times, for months at a stretch. It is inexpensive, relatively speaking, and a piece of cake to recharge (or to replace) if necessary. All for the price of three pounds added weight, or about half a gallon – six minutes worth – of fuel.

Why did my LiFePO4 battery die in the first place? It's possible, that, as in Vance's case, my master switch got left on when I was on the ground, although I never actually saw this. OR, it's possible my regulator wasn't providing the just-right in-flight voltage. I am no electrical engineer, but my son is (he works for SpaceX, yay (no relation to EarthX )) and he tells me that each cell of the lithium battery needs 3.5V to charge (or 14V for four cells). According to my engine monitor, I top out at about 13.9V, at flight revs. Which is perhaps just a tiny bit low, so over the long haul... Also, if one cell starts to go bad, there it likely to be a problem charging the other cells using the engine (bear in mind also that any overcharge voltage (>3.65V/cell) will damage the cells fairly quickly).

I understand that EarthX (unlike Avio) provides a pretty sophisticated recharger, which is able to monitor the charge of each individual cell and top them up separately, as required. But is this actually possible in flight? Do you hook your battery up to a plug-in charger between flights? Do you take one with you on long trips? What do you find to be the great benefit of a lithium battery?
It seems to me that they are just not worth the extra trouble – at least in this application – for the amount of weight saved.

Thanks for the detailed reply and I echo apologies to Vance, but I guess the topic is dead batteries at the moment. The EarthX does appear to be more sophisticated with a built in electronic brain that monitors charging and battery health with a warning light to monitor any battery problems, excessive discharge etc. As I have electronic fuel injection, battery issues are a major concern. I feel pretty comfortable that should my warning light notify me of a battery discharge or charging problem in flight, I should have 45-60 minutes to land before my fuel pumps will not function. I was having an issue where I was concerned voltage during flight was not climbing enough but that has now been corrected. (Long story)
Now charging voltage during flights sits at about 14.2V as it is supposed to do. Yes the Optimate charger is preferred for the Earth X, it's likely before my next long trip I'll acquire the solar powered one that they sell to travel with. One can use other chargers, just not any charger.
For me the main attraction of the lithium is the starting punch they provide, particularly when the aircraft has been standing a while or it's cold.
No doubt the Odyssey would be my first choice after the EarthX. I did have a few battery issues over the years which prompted the change to lithium, but never used the Odyssey.

 

[Tyger]

You did not say what sort of engine you have (if AirCam, I assume Rotax) but I'm a bit surprised if your EFI engine needs more electrons to get started than my old-school "choked" carb one, especially when it's cold and been sitting... is it because two engines?
I am pretty sure mine sits longer in colder than yours ever does, haha.

 

[Vance]

Apologies to Vance in adVance for the diversion from his main topic.

I see what you did there.

No need to apologize.

I am learning too.