At home on the Ice here in NWT! '90 Christen A-1
- Thread starter RamBuster
- Start date
windriver flyer
Member
Get all the heater mods.
belloypilot
Active Member
Nice! Hopefully we get to meet up some time. Your town is one of my favorite flying destinations. I’m hoping for a trip NE of Yellowknife to Baker Lake and points beyond this summer. Looks like you have the MT 205 prop - which is nice. One of the first things you’ll hear about are the soft gear stops that Thomas sells. Everyone seems to love them, for good reason. Beyond that there’s a career worth of free advice on this board 
. Enjoy!
Oh, almost forgot. Don’t land in a peat bog. Just sayin
. Enjoy!Oh, almost forgot. Don’t land in a peat bog. Just sayin
Ak Kurt
Well-Known Member
Welcome RB! Looks like that airplane is set up nicely for some up north flying. As far as advice, read the threads in this forum, a lot of great info.
If you dont already do so, try running over square, it works great especially with that MT prop. 1900-2200 RPM and 20-25 inches of MP is a great range. Slow RPM and higher MP burns a lot less gas. Dont forget to lean.
Also, Aero LED landing lights are well worth the investment, they are super bright and last forever, you will never need to mess with all the screws replacing bulbs and you can leave them on all the time to help with collision avoidance.
The Powerflow exhaust is a good especially for up north, it produces a lot more cabin heat. I did not notice the big performance improvements advertised but I did notice a little improvement, what I really noticed was the extra cabin and carb heat. Make sure to get the metal eyeball heat vents because the stock plastic vents will melt with the additional heat. Also get the Challenger (K&N) air filter if you get the Powerflow exhaust.
Those are just a few tid bits for now, read thru old posts and you will become much better educated on your fantastic airplane.
Kurt
PS where do you live in the NWT? Im originally from Alaska.
If you dont already do so, try running over square, it works great especially with that MT prop. 1900-2200 RPM and 20-25 inches of MP is a great range. Slow RPM and higher MP burns a lot less gas. Dont forget to lean.
Also, Aero LED landing lights are well worth the investment, they are super bright and last forever, you will never need to mess with all the screws replacing bulbs and you can leave them on all the time to help with collision avoidance.
The Powerflow exhaust is a good especially for up north, it produces a lot more cabin heat. I did not notice the big performance improvements advertised but I did notice a little improvement, what I really noticed was the extra cabin and carb heat. Make sure to get the metal eyeball heat vents because the stock plastic vents will melt with the additional heat. Also get the Challenger (K&N) air filter if you get the Powerflow exhaust.
Those are just a few tid bits for now, read thru old posts and you will become much better educated on your fantastic airplane.
Kurt
PS where do you live in the NWT? Im originally from Alaska.
Yep to Kurt’s power settings! High power cruise for me is 2150x23”. Don’t gain anything burning more fuel than that. Unless I am on a mission I usually go around at quite a bit less than that.
Lean to highest egt always at those settings is the way I interpet the lycoming book (200hp engine) gives me 5.5-7.5 gph depending on altitude. What do you do Kurt?
Lean to highest egt always at those settings is the way I interpet the lycoming book (200hp engine) gives me 5.5-7.5 gph depending on altitude. What do you do Kurt?
RamBuster
Member
Thanks Mike! Feel free to drop me a line if your every in Yellowknife! The machine actually has the soft gear stops, and that couple with tundra tires has made for an excellent ride so far!Nice! Hopefully we get to meet up some time. Your town is one of my favorite flying destinations. I’m hoping for a trip NE of Yellowknife to Baker Lake and points beyond this summer. Looks like you have the MT 205 prop - which is nice. One of the first things you’ll hear about are the soft gear stops that Thomas sells. Everyone seems to love them, for good reason. Beyond that there’s a career worth of free advice on this board
Oh, almost forgot. Don’t land in a peat bog. Just sayin
Ill avoid the bogs, but no promises! Cheers
RamBuster
Member
Hi Oryx,
#1135 on this one, under the Christen name.
If your ever in the Canadian north drop me a line!
Mason
RamBuster
Member
Hi Kurt,
Thanks for the advice on power settings, still very much in the stage of figuring out what works best. On the ferry up from Alberta ran at 23 squared and was not overally impressed with the fuel burn, will try the suggested settings and see what I come up with!
Lucky for me it came with the LED's. which have already show to be great. Great to know on the powerflow, ill add it to the list of to do's (especially when the stock exhaust comes up for repairs in the future.
I am based in Yellowknife, but will be spending a fair amount of time in the mackenzies hunting during the summers and then bombing around to local cabins on 2000's in the winter.
Cheers,
Mason
belloypilot
Active Member
I've seen that airplane before but can't quite place it. Mind telling us where in Alberta it used to be based? Cooking Lake maybe?
RamBuster
Member
Cooking Lake is correct! Matheson F. was the previous owner, and based on the log book she didn't collect much dust down there...
belloypilot
Active Member
Right. Now I remember. Last time I was there this past August I was picking up a passenger for a trip to Uranium City and there was 25-30 knot surface winds. That airplane was in the circuit and you could hear the 's#*t eating grin from the pilot over the radio thrilled with the 25' landing and take-off rolls
. Pretty funny. Each circuit was about 2 minutes, 1:45 of which was creeping down short final.Kurt's advice regarding power settings is spot on. I'm able to consistently get 95-100 KTAS on 6.5-7 gph at 22-23"/2000 RPM and aggressively leaned. That's a whole lot of Oregon Aero time on 50 gallons of fuel, and makes for 250-300 nm return trips to wilderness destinations practical. That turned out to be the most pleasant surprise of all for me. These things have an impressive range of capabilities. Enjoy!
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jkalus
Active Member
I get 102 KNOTS true with 19.0” and 2000 rpm at 5.8 gph. but I have 8:50 tires…
Whatever you decide to do with regard to mods, your first priority should be to keep it as light as possible. If it’s in the budget, SB-13 should get serious consideration; it bumps up your legal useful load and you will do it with an already lightweight plane.
Whatever you decide to do with regard to mods, your first priority should be to keep it as light as possible. If it’s in the budget, SB-13 should get serious consideration; it bumps up your legal useful load and you will do it with an already lightweight plane.
RamBuster, keep in mind that the PowerFlow exhaust comes with some issues. Take a look at the following threads: https://flyhusky.com/forum/index.php?threads/powerflow-exhaust-cracks.2884/#post-29460
I ended up going back to the stock exhaust for the following reasons:
1. The PowerFlow design/construction is prone to cracking
2. At every annual, the exhaust system is required to be removed from the engine, then the individual header tubes removed to clean the slip joints. It is not a huge job by any means, but is just a little more work every year that does little to solve the PowerFlow's cracking problem.
3. The factory blames the cracking problem on engine vibration; however, contrary to what the factory says, engines that are dynamically balanced still have the problems with the PowerFlow cracking.
4. The PowerFlow exhaust weighs a bit more than the stock system.
If you really need more cabin heat than the stock muffler can be configured to put out more heat, take a look at https://flyhusky.com/forum/index.ph...ailblazer-2-blade-composite-prop.1536/page-12 posts #208 through #221
I ended up going back to the stock exhaust for the following reasons:
1. The PowerFlow design/construction is prone to cracking
2. At every annual, the exhaust system is required to be removed from the engine, then the individual header tubes removed to clean the slip joints. It is not a huge job by any means, but is just a little more work every year that does little to solve the PowerFlow's cracking problem.
3. The factory blames the cracking problem on engine vibration; however, contrary to what the factory says, engines that are dynamically balanced still have the problems with the PowerFlow cracking.
4. The PowerFlow exhaust weighs a bit more than the stock system.
If you really need more cabin heat than the stock muffler can be configured to put out more heat, take a look at https://flyhusky.com/forum/index.ph...ailblazer-2-blade-composite-prop.1536/page-12 posts #208 through #221
Oryx
Active Member
Is 1890 through SB-13 the maximum weight increase on an A1?
Are there any other modifications to make an A1 haul more weight legally?
harry harper
Active Member
Snowbird's ski STC will give the A-1, A1A legal 1980#. Contact him.
belloypilot
Active Member
That’s impressive. What would typical altitudes and OAT be to get those numbers?
Snowbirdxx
Well-Known Member
Befor we discuss speeds again, check the accuracy of the statip ports by the described procedure. Set Altimeter to an even indication on takeoff, do an low pass over the takeoff oposition, then read the altitiude, it should be slightly higher that when sitting on the ground.