OUR MODS:

With Jean Grinvalds' agreement we carried out the following mods from the initial plans:

• A bulkhead to block the nose gear’s well and cut out a visit door on top of front fuselage to reach the battery housing.
• A bulkhead to block the back of the nose gear’s well   just behind the rudder bars to separate the fore fuselage from the cabin.
• A plywood bulkhead reinforced with fiberglass behind the engine trap doors.
• Building a sandwich foam-fiberglass on the top of the engine trap doors from the engine bulkhead to the inside of the fin to reinforce the top of the fuselage.
• Building a plywood plate reinforced fiberglass and laminated into the fuselage at the bottom of the fin to attach the support of rudder and stabilizer’s pulleys to avoid passing the bolts through the skin of the fuselage.
• Building a plywood rib reinforced Fiberglass at the wingtips.
• Building a plywood block reinforced fiberglass on the rear spar in order to support the back plate of the main landing gear to avoid having the bolts passing through the foam of the rear spar.
• Displacement of the fuel caps from the visit plate to the edge of the external tank bulkhead allowing to pass the capacity to135 liters.
• Changing the helicopter wheels n°4 for more traditional MATCO 500x5 and their three pistons brakes for a more effective braking action.

Modifications of the engine:

• Drilling the oil sump on front of the engine to place the injection servo there.
• Removal of the  aluminium turbine (beautiful piece at that!) and its ring for the extraction of hot air which was part of the cowling because it was ineffective and it caused vibrations = gain of more than 10kgs.
• While re-building the engine, replacement of the original starter by a lighter B&C, then by a Skytec .
• The starter ring  was passed from 149 teeth to 122.
• The alternator was replaced by a much lighter Nippodenso with a 60amps output.
• One magneto was replaced by a Klaus Savier electronic ignition and the corresponding sparkplugs by Nippodenso’s for motorbike (not the same price and more easily available). Considering the easiness of starting and the fuel savings, a second electronic ignition quickly came to replace the second magneto. The IO 360 is not known for its ease on hot start: it should not be missed!! With the Light Speed Engineering system, no more problems: hot, cold it doesn’t see the difference and on top of it, the engine runs smoother.
• The addition of a system of management: I.E.analizer (International Electronics) US-8A made it possible to manage all four cylinders temperatures and it particularly allows the exact adjustment of the leaning = fuel savings .

Various modifications:

•      The first propeller, a splendid MT Prop constant speed, having been destroyed in a taxi incident while taxying on a bad hole in the taxiway, it was temporarily replaced by a LEGER fixed pitch   propeller (which was only missing the variable pitch), then by an IVOPROP with electric variable pitch which was much less expensive than the original prop and which weighed only 7-8 Kgs instead of 21Kgs and at the rear, that made a great difference. On top of it, I am very happy with that prop.

                More on the prop:

• The original steel driveshaft was replaced by a carbon driveshaft of increased diameter and of lighter weight, manufactured by ACPT in California . This Shaft allows to pass all the engine power and has superior vibration dampening, reduced rotating weight, it eliminates harmonic whipping, it has greater fatigue life and has lower torsional spring rate with higher absorption qualities.
• The aft bearing cage was replaced by a cage with double bearings according to J.P David’s plans  and a flector was added between this cage and the shaft. So, that way, the engine, the shaft and the propeller are independents.
• The triangle of retraction of the nose gear was modified according to Bernard Bugnon’s plans to include a system of shock-absorber made of Belleville spring washers which functions marvellously well.
• The main gear retracting system was replaced by a tight bevel gearbox and the worm screws were replaced by ball rods.
• The box of manual retraction for the main gear in the cockpit was lengthened to reach it more easily and I also modified the length of the handle so I can maneuver from the front seats.
• The fuel lines were modified to get rid of the cables system by bringing the lines to the tank selector located on the central console.
• We adapted a Wassmer Atlantic control wheel support in order to lower the original setup  and to be able to distribute the "clocks" in a more traditional way on the instrument panel
• The addition of an electric heating, made by Bill Theeringer , makes it possible to have a more comfortable temperature in winter for Pat.

NEW

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  • • The installation of a VM1000C which displays and saves all the engine parameters.
  • In addition, it allows me to adjust the mixture in order to fly LOP (lean of peak) and thus at 65% of  power 2300 RPM / 23 MAP allows a fuel consumption of 27l / h. Very practical and economical
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  •      An AOA (Angle of attack) which allowed me to reduce the approach speed and which indicates the stall in all positions. In fact the instrument indicates the lift reserve and it is very reassuring:

  • 2 notches below alpha (between yellow and red) and it stalls.                                   
    

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  •    Recently I replaced the artificial horizon, the directional gyro, the vacuum pump and all the plumbing that goes with it with a G5 from Garmin

  • (I was probably one of the first to install it in France because it had just come out) which alone replaces 6 or 7 instruments: turn coordinator, artificial horizon, directional gyro, speed , altimeter, vertical speed, etc.

  • and on top, I paired it with my GPS.

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  • Of course, I changed my KING 97 radio for an ICOM 220T radio with 8.33 spacing.
    
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  •   We opted for Beringer wheels and brakes but since the nosewheel was vibrating and that we were unable to fix the problem,
  • so I re-installed the original nose wheel with which there was no problem.

  • The Club Orion having acquired a prop balancer, we took advantage of Olivier's expertise to see what it could change. 

  • And change......it did with no question possible: the engine ran smoother and with much less vibrations ! 

  • After that, we pushed the vice a little further and decided to balance the Flexidyne as well. And there, it did improve again. 

  • Before, I thought that I didn't have much vibrations but now I must recognize that it was worth the effort. 

  • I am sure that the airframe, the engine, the pilot and his passengers will appreciate too ! 
    

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