To correctly diagnose the cause of a problem (i.e. heavy Left wing), it's best to adjust only ONE parameter at a time and test that change. That will take any ambiguity out of the equation. i.e. Was it the aileron adjustment or the prop adjustment. Also you might have started with the Left wing and measured the correct rigging on that side before adjusting the Right side. Of course you know the outcome is to have flying hands off, stick centered and the ball in the middle. Great job on the paintwork, landing away from the nest and the future formation work with the Glasair!! Haha.
Awesome- all the way around! First 'away' flight, corrected airspeed (seems to be closer to most Cruzers), and, she sure looks purdy in those colors, too!
I just posted my current IAS, TAS, and GS numbers on the Kitplane Enthusiast Facebook page. I flew the square pattern at 2600, 2700, and 2800 rpm. The speeds are good, but I think I can still add a degree or so to the prop.
Kitplane Enthusiast that means you are not using the AOA feature if you install the Dynon pitot like I have. AOA is probably over kill for the Cruzer but I am curious after flying in the Navy for a number of years and all the issues with 737Max. Thanks
I happened on your videos a while ago. I eventually saw you are from the Flint area. I fly out of Ann Arbor KARB so it's nice to see a local youtuber. I enjoy it. Great video.
Congrats on leaving the Nest. I know that's a good milestone. 🤠👍 On the prop pitch , calibrate to a level part reference on front of your engine. Pitch the blade to that. Don't get caught up in the degrees , as long as they are the same. Then just continue increasing pitch to your reference ,until you find your sweet spot. 🤓👍✈ You will also discover that a passenger will remove that heavy wing feel . So just keep more fuel in starboard wing and she will fly level. ✈👍 Great looking plane build Mark 😎👍👍
Rectifying a defect or snag requires patience and knowledge with experience. And regarding pitch of a propellers can only be optimised for performance in any of one either you speed up by coarse or cruise. And definitely your ROC will differ.
A couple of ideas. Why not get a small mechanical AS indicator? Just "T" into the pitot line going to your "Magic Box" - don't even need to put it in the panel. Tape it somewhere where you see it. You can just leave the static port vented to the cockpit (for a check). Or, run a plastic tube from a T in your Magic Box location up into the cockpit and hook it to the AS Indicator static port. Then compare what the Box says to what your mechanical AS Ind. says. Here can be a BIG problem: The static ports - where are they located? Must be in "still and undisturbed air." Yes, air will be rushing by them. Are they recessed? Flush is best. I've had to move their location from what the plans have shown. You might leave the static tube in the area near your Box - just laying in the fuselage cone. I've had problems with my static port locations in EAB planes - can really screw you up. While you are troubleshooting, just lay your "stuff" around - no installation. Be able to pull the static line off the AS indicator while flying. You will see some changes, for sure. I worked Acft. avionics for a long time, and even the "old school" systems give problems. (maybe a bug or something in your pitot or static line? ) Have a drain in that pitot line? Lots to look at. Good luck. My favorite plane is the Piper Arrow - but my old EROS Minimax flew well for over 750 hours. N-6395T (Now retired) p.s. Most folks I've flown with to get that "Hundred Dollar Hamburger," use Indicated AS as their reference. Will be using that figure coming and going into the pattern, landing, and taking off. TAS is used on a Flight Plan for the FAA, but if you look into the cockpits of planes using "steam gauges" for AS, engine, etc., you will see an IAS indicator. To calculate TAS, generally without a "Magic Box," requires you to jump through quite a few hoops. Don't need to do that.
Mark, to me, you sound like you're speaking a foreign language! But I enjoy listening to you talk about this stuff. Even though I'm not a pilot, it's very interesting and your knowledge is amazing!
There is a video on home built help You Tube on checking for pitot leaks .A syringe as a pump and a rubber tube on the pitot,pump a little pressure and then watch the airspeed needle .See if it holds the shown airspeed .Caution don't use much pressure the Dynon might depart this life .Save the syringe and drill out the end to take the empty Tube from a cheap ball point pen .glue it in .cut it to the length Matco recommend for a brake fluid level in the master cylinder. Remove the plastic screw in the cylinder fill the syringe with brake fluid and squeeze it in draw it out .perfect level every time .Hay ho brake fluid and pitot checked .
They should come out with a tool that stays at a right angle to the crank that could be referenced to in order to set the prop pitch. I will think on that! When are You going to move to Texas? I want to see that nice bird!
The sun, the flag, the ability to fly ............................... I used to jump out of planes but never had the imagination to fly, love from the UK :o)
I have followed most of your build since you had the Kitfox, the cruzer is amazing job. I can't find out what engine you used, just curious. I am planning to build a cruzer myself you and Dave with the Texxas Cruzer did amazing jobs. Both will be a hard act to follow for me, thanks
If your onboard electronics suite includes a GPS receiver with an RS-232 or other serial interface that outputs messages in NMEA format (1.83 or later), you can automatically log the information that you mentioned and not bother writing it down as you're flying.
USB port used for upgrade - just plug in and download all the flight data post flight. Can view raw in excel or via software such as cloudy ahoy. Check Dynon manual for data transfer instructions.
Should have got above the clouds.. it was smooth as glass yesterday...man if you would have put the Viking 130 in that cruiser you could have have airspeeds of 140mph😁😁😁
I saw your post on FB with the GPS speed: Unless you were planning to build the world's slowest CruZer, I would guess that you still have an issue, assuming your prop's pitch is at least in the ball park. Averaging your 4-way GPS speeds, you are just getting 102 mph at 2,600 rpm and 111 mph at 2,800 rpm. The factory CruZer does 117 mph with the 118 hp engine. I would think that you should see a top speed of well over 120 mph with the 130 hp ULPower engine, since Zenith claims a cruise of 118 mph in this configuration. I also heard that you are heaving issues with sudden engine failures. Is this true? Maybe this has to do with the poor performance!?
Yes. Flies hands off now, but if I add a passenger, that might make the right side slightly heavy. Most of my flying is usually solo so I'd rather have the trim adjusted for solo flight. My Cherokee 160 was the same way. It would fly level with one person, but with two people the right wing was slightly heavy.
I worked aircraft avionic instrument systems for 20 years, and my take from this is you performed maintenance on your P/S system and did not perform a leak and calibration check afterwards. Big mistake on your part. You'd have known right away the system was leaking and inaccurate had you done so.
A mad stick and powerlever arrangement on many Zeniths. For working the avionics you have to change hands on the stick. A joke would free your right hand and puts your airplane flying in your left hand where it belongs. Your right have of the brain will appreciate that!
NO. I wish it did. There's an infinite amount of settings and that makes it rather difficult to set. I have to use a digital level to get both blades the same.
Hahaha.. What it looks like not bouncing. Did you get same stall speeds?? Just woundering if it was an indication issue or a prop issue?? Now that I think of it the tube may have not leaked at lower speeds.. Anyway great plane cheers
I did the stall test card today. With full flaps the stall speed is 32 mph indicated. But with full flaps it doesn't really break, it just mushes along with a lot of banging from the turbulent air on the side of the fuselage. With no flaps, the buffet happens at 43 and the stall at 40. Those numbers are higher than when I originally did the stall tests. That data is out in the plane, but I think previously (with leaky pitot system) it stalled around 25 mph.
@@KitplaneEnthusiast No.Think about this, left heavy wing add a slight amount of right rudder! Your plane will first lift the left wing before turning.
Shouldn't your fancy glass cockpit have all the gizmos to record your flight parameters and do all that calculating you need to calibrate your airplane? Even a trip in the pattern should get enough information that you can correlate between your indicated airspeed and GPS coordinates.
Love the plane and love the clear and concise way you explain everything. But one thing struck me as you were speaking. It’s something I’ve noticed before about the restrictive regulations you have in the USA. Where I live, in flight adjustable props are legal. There is no top speed restriction and retractable undercarriage is legal and very common. But the downside is, that getting a Sport Licence (not PPL) takes a minimum of 45 hours.
Al Bergan In the USA yes. That was my point, that’s probably why you have such restrictions around LSA/experiential. Where I live in New Zealand there is NO top speed, in flight adjustable props are legal as is retractable undercarriage.
Steve Broomfield I suspect not having any high air traffic density areas helps a lot in that regard. Most of our restrictions arose from issues around high activity airports of which we have many. Unfortunately, those same rules extend everywhere even where they make no sense.
Damn! Missed choreography opportunity! Next time replay your rough landing (with audio) zoomed right in, straight after it plays at normal distance. Neat UA-cam trick. UA-cam audiences like content creators that can take the piss out of themselves.
Worked great. If your left wing is heavy, think of it as the right wing creating slightly more lift than the left wing. Raising the trailing edge of the right aileron lowers the angle of attack of the right wing, which creates less lift. Keep in mind though-like Dave pointed out, when I fly with a passenger I may have a slightly heavy right wing now with the increased weight on the right side. But 90% of my normal flying is solo so I'm good with that.
@@KitplaneEnthusiast Adjusting the one aileron typically doesn't help much if any. The two ailerons will just compensate and aerodynamically balance each other out and all you have done is move the control stick off of center a bit. You will also just add or subtract some overall airfoil camber depending on which direction you adjusted the aileron.
To correctly diagnose the cause of a problem (i.e. heavy Left wing), it's best to adjust only ONE parameter at a time and test that change. That will take any ambiguity out of the equation. i.e. Was it the aileron adjustment or the prop adjustment. Also you might have started with the Left wing and measured the correct rigging on that side before adjusting the Right side. Of course you know the outcome is to have flying hands off, stick centered and the ball in the middle. Great job on the paintwork, landing away from the nest and the future formation work with the Glasair!! Haha.
Enjoyed the landing the most. Nice to see someone else do that. Enjoy your work!
You must have noticed a huge discrepancy between the old indicated airspeed and then GPS ground speed before fixing the loose pitot line
Stoked that you figured out the speed discrepancies. I wish you continued success!
Solving a problem is especially rewarding - congratulations on your first flight outside of home base.
Awesome- all the way around! First 'away' flight, corrected airspeed (seems to be closer to most Cruzers), and, she sure looks purdy in those colors, too!
"This is what the cruiser looks like when it's not bouncing"... OOOh savage!
Love the look of that plane. You did a great job on it.
That’s a beautiful looking aeroplane. Congratulations!
Beautiful aircraft! You should be proud of her.
Great video! Love the build! I'll be interested to see you put a couple hundred hours on that engine. Should be a great combo with that airframe!
It takes a real man to publish their less than perfect landing... Good job on the plane... GREAT finding all that speed with simple fixes.
BEAUTIFUL LINES TO THIS PLANE.
Your smile is getting bigger definitely worth the work !!!!
Need a complete look at the panel !
I have the same Dynon system with the Dynon pitot static tube. I have had to calibrate mine a couple of times as well.
I just posted my current IAS, TAS, and GS numbers on the Kitplane Enthusiast Facebook page. I flew the square pattern at 2600, 2700, and 2800 rpm. The speeds are good, but I think I can still add a degree or so to the prop.
Kitplane Enthusiast Mark, where did you locate the static port on your Cruzer? I’m building one and will have the same Dynon avionics. Thanks, Jim Rea
@@jamesrea8454 I'm using the stock pitot tube that came with the kit and the static port is on the same pitot tube.
Kitplane Enthusiast that means you are not using the AOA feature if you install the Dynon pitot like I have. AOA is probably over kill for the Cruzer but I am curious after flying in the Navy for a number of years and all the issues with 737Max. Thanks
I happened on your videos a while ago. I eventually saw you are from the Flint area. I fly out of Ann Arbor KARB so it's nice to see a local youtuber. I enjoy it. Great video.
Thanks Chuck-I’m just south of Flint at 9G2.
Wow...I love that airplane...it looks like something from the 50s and yet modern...
Congrats on leaving the Nest. I know that's a good milestone. 🤠👍
On the prop pitch , calibrate to a level part reference on front of your engine. Pitch the blade to that. Don't get caught up in the degrees , as long as they are the same. Then just continue increasing pitch to your reference ,until you find your sweet spot. 🤓👍✈
You will also discover that a passenger will remove that heavy wing feel . So just keep more fuel in starboard wing and she will fly level. ✈👍
Great looking plane build Mark 😎👍👍
It's flies hands off now, but I think you're right-with a passenger I will now have a "heavy" right wing!
Rectifying a defect or snag requires patience and knowledge with experience. And regarding pitch of a propellers can only be optimised for performance in any of one either you speed up by coarse or cruise. And definitely your ROC will differ.
A couple of ideas. Why not get a small mechanical AS indicator? Just "T" into the pitot line going to your "Magic Box" - don't even need to put it in the panel. Tape it somewhere where you see it. You can just leave the static port vented to the cockpit (for a check). Or, run a plastic tube from a T in your Magic Box location up into the cockpit and hook it to the AS Indicator static port. Then compare what the Box says to what your mechanical AS Ind. says. Here can be a BIG problem: The static ports - where are they located? Must be in "still and undisturbed air." Yes, air will be rushing by them. Are they recessed? Flush is best. I've had to move their location from what the plans have shown.
You might leave the static tube in the area near your Box - just laying in the fuselage cone. I've had problems with my static port locations in EAB planes - can really screw you up. While you are troubleshooting, just lay your "stuff" around - no installation. Be able to pull the static line off the AS indicator while flying. You will see some changes, for sure. I worked Acft. avionics for a long time, and even the "old school" systems give problems. (maybe a bug or something in your pitot or static line? ) Have a drain in that pitot line? Lots to look at. Good luck.
My favorite plane is the Piper Arrow - but my old EROS Minimax flew well for over 750 hours. N-6395T (Now retired) p.s. Most folks I've flown with to get that "Hundred Dollar Hamburger," use Indicated AS as their reference. Will be using that figure coming and going into the pattern, landing, and taking off. TAS is used on a Flight Plan for the FAA, but if you look into the cockpits of planes using "steam gauges" for AS, engine, etc., you will see an IAS indicator. To calculate TAS, generally without a "Magic Box," requires you to jump through quite a few hoops. Don't need to do that.
Nice colour scheme great video thank you
Sweet!!!! Great info keep it coming!!!
Nice plane love all the windows 👍
Mark, to me, you sound like you're speaking a foreign language! But I enjoy listening to you talk about this stuff. Even though I'm not a pilot, it's very interesting and your knowledge is amazing!
Nice flight to Owasso. 👍
• Cheers from Mettetal Airport. Canton - Plymouth Michigan ✈️
trainroomgary I had a hangar there when I had my RANS S-6!
There is a video on home built help You Tube on checking for pitot leaks .A syringe as a pump and a rubber tube on the pitot,pump a little pressure and then watch the airspeed needle .See if it holds the shown airspeed .Caution don't use much pressure the Dynon might depart this life .Save the syringe and drill out the end to take the empty Tube from a cheap ball point pen .glue it in .cut it to the length Matco recommend for a brake fluid level in the master cylinder. Remove the plastic screw in the cylinder fill the syringe with brake fluid and squeeze it in draw it out .perfect level every time .Hay ho brake fluid and pitot checked .
Nice plane. Would like to have one, just not in the cards. Use to fly Cherokee 140.
I had a nice Cherokee 160 for a few years.
The speed is the same as before. The indication changed, it’s precise now!
Exactly!
They should come out with a tool that stays at a right angle to the crank that could be referenced to in order to set the prop pitch. I will think on that! When are You going to move to Texas? I want to see that nice bird!
Doug I have a video half done where I answer a bunch of questions-one of them being about my move to TX.
The sun, the flag, the ability to fly ............................... I used to jump out of planes but never had the imagination to fly, love from the UK :o)
Great video.
I have followed most of your build since you had the Kitfox, the cruzer is amazing job. I can't find out what engine you used, just curious. I am planning to build a cruzer myself you and Dave with the Texxas Cruzer did amazing jobs. Both will be a hard act to follow for me, thanks
Douglas Cloud Thank you. I have the UL Power 350iS.
Great looking plane!
Darn, I missed you flying into Owosso! Maybe next time.
We are flying out there tomorrow morning for breakfast.
Kitplane Enthusiast I’ll be there!
If your onboard electronics suite includes a GPS receiver with an RS-232 or other serial interface that outputs messages in NMEA format (1.83 or later), you can automatically log the information that you mentioned and not bother writing it down as you're flying.
I do believe that all the data can be downloaded from the Dynon. I guess that would be an easier way to do it!
USB port used for upgrade - just plug in and download all the flight data post flight. Can view raw in excel or via software such as cloudy ahoy. Check Dynon manual for data transfer instructions.
Great Video, Your good at trouble shooting
How did the aileron adjustment work out? My 750 stol has a slightly heavy left wing as well I was considering adding a trim tab
Should have got above the clouds.. it was smooth as glass yesterday...man if you would have put the Viking 130 in that cruiser you could have have airspeeds of 140mph😁😁😁
I used to know where your build website was? Would you kindly post it here? Thanks!
www.zenithowner.com. Note that I stopped making entries when I started the UA-cam channel.
Oooooo big bump on landing i bet you felt that'
I saw your post on FB with the GPS speed: Unless you were planning to build the world's slowest CruZer, I would guess that you still have an issue, assuming your prop's pitch is at least in the ball park. Averaging your 4-way GPS speeds, you are just getting 102 mph at 2,600 rpm and 111 mph at 2,800 rpm. The factory CruZer does 117 mph with the 118 hp engine. I would think that you should see a top speed of well over 120 mph with the 130 hp ULPower engine, since Zenith claims a cruise of 118 mph in this configuration.
I also heard that you are heaving issues with sudden engine failures. Is this true? Maybe this has to do with the poor performance!?
Mark did the adjustment fix the heavy left wing
Yes. Flies hands off now, but if I add a passenger, that might make the right side slightly heavy. Most of my flying is usually solo so I'd rather have the trim adjusted for solo flight. My Cherokee 160 was the same way. It would fly level with one person, but with two people the right wing was slightly heavy.
@@KitplaneEnthusiast thanks Mark
"I hope you didn't film that landing."...."Which one?" :)
I worked aircraft avionic instrument systems for 20 years, and my take from this is you performed maintenance on your P/S system and did not perform a leak and calibration check afterwards. Big mistake on your part. You'd have known right away the system was leaking and inaccurate had you done so.
The solution is now posted on the main page
Owasso? Were you flying into Gundy's?
A mad stick and powerlever arrangement on many Zeniths. For working the avionics you have to change hands on the stick. A joke would free your right hand and puts your airplane flying in your left hand where it belongs. Your right have of the brain will appreciate that!
I think that's officially know as a "Prang". 😁
You look like Wayne Carey!
Do the props come with detent adjustments?
NO. I wish it did. There's an infinite amount of settings and that makes it rather difficult to set. I have to use a digital level to get both blades the same.
Is it going faster ? or reading faster because of sketchy instruments?
Hahaha.. What it looks like not bouncing.
Did you get same stall speeds?? Just woundering if it was an indication issue or a prop issue?? Now that I think of it the tube may have not leaked at lower speeds.. Anyway great plane cheers
I did the stall test card today. With full flaps the stall speed is 32 mph indicated. But with full flaps it doesn't really break, it just mushes along with a lot of banging from the turbulent air on the side of the fuselage. With no flaps, the buffet happens at 43 and the stall at 40. Those numbers are higher than when I originally did the stall tests. That data is out in the plane, but I think previously (with leaky pitot system) it stalled around 25 mph.
@@KitplaneEnthusiast definitely answer the question of a leaky line.. Thanks for the feed back. Cheers
Maybe I will be able to keep up with someone in the neighborhood now.
We are prob about the same speed!
das rite, skyking!
I wanted to be the #44 like..... darn....... so now I'm 45. Wish I could press the button a dozen times. Have a great day.
Mark how tall are you, I’m 6’7 and interested in the 750 but afraid that I’m too tall to fly a plane like this. Thanks.
6'1". I still have plenty of head room. You may be able to make the bottom seat cushion thinner too if needed.
Kitplane Enthusiast thank you.
Heavy wing, adjust rudder trim!
And then just fly with the ball uncentered?
@@KitplaneEnthusiast No.Think about this, left heavy wing add a slight amount of right rudder! Your plane will first lift the left wing before turning.
Do this to find out the TAS. www.kitplanes.com/flight-testing-finding-tas-from-gps-data/
👍
You should checkout Texas 750 Cruiser on Facebook he just got a constant speed prop on his cruiser
Actually it's the Viking INFLIGHT propeller system, not a constant speed. Although that is an option if desired.
So generally you aren't going faster just getting a more accurate reading.
Yes. The airplane is flying the same speed as before (or maybe slightly different because I changed the prop setting) but now the speeds are accurate.
Kitplane Enthusiast you might have some reduced drag as well after adjusting the pushrod.
Shouldn't your fancy glass cockpit have all the gizmos to record your flight parameters and do all that calculating you need to calibrate your airplane? Even a trip in the pattern should get enough information that you can correlate between your indicated airspeed and GPS coordinates.
Love the plane and love the clear and concise way you explain everything. But one thing struck me as you were speaking. It’s something I’ve noticed before about the restrictive regulations you have in the USA. Where I live, in flight adjustable props are legal. There is no top speed restriction and retractable undercarriage is legal and very common. But the downside is, that getting a Sport Licence (not PPL) takes a minimum of 45 hours.
Sport Pilot is not 45 hrs, 20
Al Bergan In the USA yes. That was my point, that’s probably why you have such restrictions around LSA/experiential. Where I live in New Zealand there is NO top speed, in flight adjustable props are legal as is retractable undercarriage.
Steve Broomfield I suspect not having any high air traffic density areas helps a lot in that regard. Most of our restrictions arose from issues around high activity airports of which we have many. Unfortunately, those same rules extend everywhere even where they make no sense.
Damn! Missed choreography opportunity! Next time replay your rough landing (with audio) zoomed right in, straight after it plays at normal distance. Neat UA-cam trick. UA-cam audiences like content creators that can take the piss out of themselves.
You buy me the zoom lens and I'll film it.
Better yet, buy me the lens, because I'll be the one filming it!
Remove the gaudy paint job and watch the drag for down 0.017%.
How did the aileron adjustment work out? My 750 stol has a slightly heavy left wing as well I was considering adding a trim tab
Worked great. If your left wing is heavy, think of it as the right wing creating slightly more lift than the left wing. Raising the trailing edge of the right aileron lowers the angle of attack of the right wing, which creates less lift. Keep in mind though-like Dave pointed out, when I fly with a passenger I may have a slightly heavy right wing now with the increased weight on the right side. But 90% of my normal flying is solo so I'm good with that.
@@KitplaneEnthusiast Adjusting the one aileron typically doesn't help much if any. The two ailerons will just compensate and aerodynamically balance each other out and all you have done is move the control stick off of center a bit. You will also just add or subtract some overall airfoil camber depending on which direction you adjusted the aileron.