Phase I 40 Hours

[jiott]

What do I have to do to officially end my 40 hour Phase I flyoff? It appears to me that I only need to do the proper log book entry. Do I need to send anything to the FAA? I'm not there yet, but just looking ahead.

Jim

[Dave S]

Jim,

No requirement to notify the FAA. It is your responsibility to have the necessary information entered in the aircraft logbook that the requirements of phase 1 have been met. Then go fly

Normally the DAR will provide the requirements and procedure when issuing limitations following his/her inspection prior to Phase 1.

Sincerely,

Dave S
KF 7 Trigear
912ULS Warp Drive

St Paul, MN

[AirFox]

Jim, Congradulations!

I'm ready for a ride!

Scott

[tommg13780]

Jiot,
Your question brings up an associated question from me regarding what's necessary to be named mechanic after finishing up the phase 1 flyoff. As I understand it a trip to the FSDO is required. Could someone who has been through the process verify. Also as I understand it the local methods and proceedures can be somewhat variable from one district to another.

[jiott]

Thanks for the reply. My DAR gave no info on ending the 40 hour flyoff.

Scott, don't get too excited yet. My post said I am not there yet, just looking ahead. I now have 14 hours in Phase I, and weather is starting to slow me down quite a bit.

After 9 flights and quite a few tests the airplane and engine is running quite well. Results so far on my SS7:

• Tweaked the wing washout to eliminate nearly all left turning tendency (there is still a small amount remaining but I suspect it will disappear when I carry a passenger).
• Tweaked the pitch trim adjustment to give some more nose up trim for hands off approach speed. Have plenty of nose down trim.
• Added 6" of wedge shaped wood moulding to the rudder trailing edge to give some right rudder trim and keep the ball centered.
• Stall speeds, both power off and on, are right where the factory specs say they should be.
• All engine temps are within limits under all conditions of sustained climbs (full power) and descents (idle) at the full range of speeds.
• Still seeing fuel pressure indicate over the full range of acceptable pressures, but the engine does not miss a beat even when pressure is at the low limit of 2.2 psi. Will be verifying my cockpit readout with a mechanical gauge soon.
• All other engine parameters are consistently good.
• Am working still on calibrating my airspeed indications. They are close but up to about 2 mph off at some speeds.
• Did an oil and filter change and cut open the filter for inspection-all looked good.
• Swung my magnetic compasses (both ADHRS and whiskey) to line up with the airport compass rose.
• Calibrated my pitch angle readout to match actual flight level.
• Will soon be starting tests to establish Vx and Vy, but first need to decide whether my ground adjustable prop pitch is where I want it. Right now it is optimised more for cruise than climb. Climb seems pretty good at about 1000 fpm (at 2000' altitude and 63F) with just me onboard, but I know it could be better because I am only getting 5350 rpm on full power climb.
• Some days I can't seem to get in the testing mode, so I just fly around and enjoy the experience.

I will post further results as I get them.

Jim

[jiott]

I just went thru the repairman process. You don't need to wait for completion of the 40 hour flyoff. When the DAR signs you off for the AW certificate he will give you (if you ask) a form for the repairman's certificate. You wait a few days until his AW paperwork gets recorded, then take that form to your local FSDO and they will help you fill it out properly (they are very fussy about this) and submit it. They issue you a temporary certificate on the spot and the permanent one comes later in the mail. They may or may not want to see your builder's log and photos to verify you did 51% of the work. That's all there was to it.

My FSDO is in Hillsboro Oregon. Its possible other FSDO's may have slightly different procedures.

Jim

[t j]

These rules seem to change frequently and every FSDO and every DAR in each FSDO seem to have a different interpretation of the Rules. Anyhow, in my operating limitations, there is specific wording to use when signing off the phase one test completion.

This wording includes: ...Vso, Vx, and Vy, and weight, and CG location, at which they were obtained.

My point in this is the "Weight" you record in the aircraft log book needs to be 1320 or less if you want it to be legal to fly under Sport pilot rules.