Late June

Here are some shots of the first time the plane has been assembled painted.  I was doing a preliminary weight and balance.  The plane came in at 1134 pounds dry (no oil or fuel).

The last day in June and we fire the engine for the first time on the plane.  The Ballistic Batteries battery did a fantastic job.  Primed the fuel system the day before along with spinning the motor over to test the starter then started the motor cold and hot today without missing a beat and having power to spare.  The engine fired straight away probably the result of having two impulse couple mags and a SlickStart.  I see the Diamonds seem to use the SlickStart connected to both mags.  I need to check with Champion to see if I can do the same.  The engine was smooth, very smooth.  Throttle response was much stronger than the Extra's certified engine and much less vibration.  The lack of vibration was particularly impressive given that very stiff carbon planes typically pass along every little hint of vibration.

The oil pressure was high and the right mag grounding switch does not work but otherwise the event went off without a hitch. 

It's inspection time as this bird needs an airworthiness certificate!