When renting and there was a strange noise, my first thought was, “ I’m gonna die!” Now owning and there is a strange noise, my first thought is, “ how much is it gonna cost?”
One thought, you were not sure it was engine related. In hindsight, to be safe, I would suggest letting the tower know that you had an unknown issue and proceeding to fly a pattern (immediately) as if you had no power from that point forward (high, room for further performance degradation, prepared to zig-zag to kill altitude if necessary). If it was engine related or, for example, that panel came off and somehow blocked induction airflow and you lost power on base or final, you would have crashed well short of the runway. This is NOT GOOD. You had the altitude to ensure a safe pattern even with an engine failure and a windmilling prop when you called the tower. That sound could have been anything. It’s good to get in this habit and be familiar with your airplane's performance as it degrades dramatically if the prop stops. More than you can simulate. I don’t mean to criticize you but have experienced a similar situation and would not have made the runway in my case without a mindset of flying the pattern as if the engine was going to stop. Since then I fly 1 of every 5 or so practice patterns dead stick from outside the pattern (3-5 miles) and stay sharp on dead stick performance of various airplanes I fly (Glasair, Diamond, Lancair, Piper, etc). As soon as you can I suggest using that huge runway and practicing some dead stick approaches. Thanks for the videos and good luck!
Please, Please, Please practice some power off landings just in case. I really want you to succeed and be able to fly this plane myself someday, but don’t want it to take longer if you have problems and end up landing short some day....
Nice job on dealing with the issue. My only suggestion would have been to let the tower know when you requested the approach to right base WHY you were doing so. That way, if things went south, you would have less to explain to the controller when in the midst of dealing with whatever had gone wrong. Doesn't hurt at all to let them know, and it could help...just in case.
Nice job in handling the problem. By the way, the “E” in the word emergency stands for, Easy.” If in doubt, don’t be afraid or hesitate to declare an emergency. It makes it easy for ATC to give you priority handling with out having to explain or apologize. It clarifies back to the pilot that they are being proactive and can do whatever it takes to handle the situation. You can temper the communication according to circumstances. In your case in this video, you could have said,”Mayday, mayday mayday, Raptor Tango Delta has a strange vibration of unknown origin, request priority handling for return for landing.” ATC will ask souls on board, fuel on board and if you need ARF,(fire equipment.) If the tower hadn’t given you the clearance you requested, extended your pattern for traffic or sent you around, your comfort level would have been degraded and distraction increased. Nobody needs that nor should they have to experience it when the solution is easily at hand. Many pilots are afraid of declaring emergencies and suffer because of it. Running out of fuel, not getting assistance, whatever. A simple NASA report will cover your posterior if push comes to shove. As long as the act is not one of willful violation, it’s no big deal. Great job of keeping cool, not getting distracted and aviating above all else. That said, try hangar flying other what if’s. Engine power degradation, coolant leak, whatever. Knowing you best L/D might be a good thing. Maybe think about defining the flight envelope a little more now that cooling is in hand.
Have you considered putting a second radiator in the nose, left side? If you use the opening for the nose gear as an exit for the warm air, you could use the landing gear doors to regulate cooling (you may have to shorten the nose gear doors). This would also clean up the looks a bit.
Peter - “it’s not going to be performing as well... as a fast RV” - the RV10 spec is 175kts at 75% power ~8,000 feet. Are you saying that in production you expect the Raptor to be SLOWER than that? What KTAS do you expect for FL180?
And open himself up to all the armchair engineers, designers, aviators, marketers, production specialists, and self declared experts that have plagued almost his every step in this process?!? He gets a gut full of that with his presentations thus far, asking for that diatribe probably won't happen. His transparency in his processes to date have been remarkable, giving the detractors visibility to those steps isn't something I see him doing.
Building from scratch there are so many thing that may not have been 100% perfect, good job on diagnosis of the noise . . . It will take time to iron EVERYTHING out!
Car radiators are almost ALWAYS under sized anyways so I'd size it up. I actually have a 3 row radiator sitting in my garage right now to replace the weak 1 core stock one on my current car.
Check out how Mike Patey did his parachute tracks here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tKtlJJxHa3U.html&ab_channel=MikePatey. Might be worth incorporating similar design into production. His test fire is here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jz9NoMPrH-I.html&ab_channel=MikePatey. Starts at about 38:00.
Yep! I enjoyed Mike's video on the parachute and the test fire. I hope to see Mike and Peter getting their heads together and engineering something different up for aviation. No telling what those two could dream up and build. The 3L Audi TDI aviation propulsion and who knows? Diesel engines on a private aircraft makes more and more sense in my book. 1/2 the fuel flow for the same amount of power.
Red Green would be proud. Keep the bandages coming. That's some amazing vedeo editing. It was up and down there for a while, I wasn't sure how it was goona end.
One day it will be "the purpose of this flight was just to enjoy flying"... because all the kinks will have been worked out! All the good work will have paid off.
Try reducing the outlet cowling vents, to reduce the inlet vacuum pressure. It may be that these side outlet vents need to be variable like the inlet on the roof.
Michael, With camera technology today we could install a security system that watches 15 or more different views on one screen. That gives me an idea 💡🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🎦🤣🤣🤣
true it sounds like a pressure release, but that's just because it's breaking the squelch on the mike. there's a strong rattle in the background though. glad he found it
Great job Peter in keeping your wits about you while trying to determine just what the HELL is going on and creating this unnerving noise inside the engine bay!! You handled it very well and then to identify the culprit through your camera amazed me.. Kudos Peter! Cheers Peter and can’t wait to see just how well the cooling is doing after all of this. Cheers Peter!
Is it possible to make a low pressure release valve on the side of the cowling so when the pressure gets to a certain amount the spring causes the pressure to drop or raise
I've been watching this series since just before wings on. Went and looked at earlier ones too. Watching the problem solving you've been doing on a new design prototype, pushing on past that one time about half a year(?) ago... The nose gear shimmy that took a while, all those high speed runs... Thank you for doing what you're doing, Peter. It's interesting to see how you're solving this or that, discovering this or that, and all the while I'm learning things, which is always a good thing! Keep it up!
Automatic Variable inlet ...... good find . Those vids do come in handy. You could try a high grade GE silicone...it will bond stay flexible enough at cold temps and hot temps. Yet you can remove it if needed. Use a lot of it for 33 years on a large jet . 500+ mph high and low alts . You wouldn't believe what all we bonded with it . Mil-s-46146 or equivalent. Cheers.
@@rodgerhecht3623 , I built a 17'6" bass boat with carbon fiber in 2003. I was experienced working with fiberglass which weighed in at 640 pounds and over built my first unit. Though it was 120 pounds lighter than the fiberglass units we had popped 1996 we discovered how tough carbon fiber actually was and the next unit we got done just under 340 pounds. Everyone overbuilds with carbon fiber the first time out. Even the big boys like Beechcraft and many others! As more people are catching on in developing composite construction techniques the community is growing with skilled craftsmen that are capable of even shaving 50 pounds and more off what we did in 2003. Glider manufacturers have been on the leading edge of carbon fiber aircraft production. Lighter, faster, stronger and durability is the goal.
Peter covered that about 2 videos ago (I think) when he had the “eureka moment” regarding the thermostat. It can be opened passively when the coolant reaches a certain temp, OR can be arbitrarily activated by the ECU. He’s currently set the ECU to open the thermostat when the coolant hits ~185F (IIRC). So yes, the thermostat can be opened at a cooler temp, but Peter’s still working through other variables first 👍🏻
@@formhubfar watch the video. This Audi V6 diesel has a hybrid thermostat. Surprised me too. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-330xALMfg3k.html
Great work, Peter. My first thought was the cracked window behind the door on the passenger side. Unless it has already been replaced, but I missed that episode?
@@bin_chicken80 , Yep! Probably paid trolls from some corporate folks that feel threatened. 24,000 views in 24 hours for a specific aviation market is an attention getter to the money people.
@Sonny Wheelock , Thanks for the slap. I'm learning to like the grumpy people too. I'm thinking what Peter said was that "Raptor wasn't a rocket ship yet at this point." "It's like a long range comfortable cruiser." Raptor isn't slow to my way of thinking. Peter has already demonstrated (170 Kts over 195 MPH) Laminar flow wings are naturally fast in cruise decent. With the concept prototype being built like a tank he is able to demonstrate close to gross weight without sandbags or extra fuel. A very positive way to test a concept prototype with proving an experimental aviation propulsion conversion in my book. I'm sure the production prototype will be close to the targeted weight. Everyone overbuilds with carbon fiber on the first attempt. Load an SR-22 up to full load capacity and see how fast it climbs out and watch the fuel flow at 30 gallons per hour below 4000 feet MSL with the Continental IO-550-N $75 ~ $50K engine. It's not quite a rocket ship either on climb-out but cruise decent it's still fast but still more fuel burn than what Raptor is. Raptor is proving to be very efficient and I believe will be competitive. Besides all that it looks very nice. Not your everyday airplane. It's not conspiracy when it's the truth! 🤣🤣🤣 Many prominent aviation people are watching this project. It can be a game changer.
@Sonny Wheelock , I feel certain that he can shed over a 1/2 ton (weight of 5 people is 900 pounds average) on the production prototype. Since most of the experimental testing is single pilot, I think it's a good scenario. Sand bags with abrupt maneuvers are known to create problems. He can add fuel to adjust his flight times. I think his initial test started with 10 gallons of fuel and he is adding slowly to the wing tanks, noting performance. So basically we are gaining empirical data performance of a fully loaded unit. I've learned that with gliders they use water ballast to smooth out the ride and achieve higher speeds while racing. Then they can dump the water if the thermals quit and when coming in to land.
@Sonny Wheelock , Like I said earlier everyone over builds with carbon fiber the first time working with it. I know I did till I learned with the boat hulls. For a concept porotype I think they did a fine job with the assembly. I'm sure it wasn't intentional to end up 1,000 pounds over the target weight however it's flying comfortably and the community is learning. Making the best of the way it is. I always preferer to get the whole picture when I can. It's proving to me that the Audi 3L TDI aircraft engine conversion is worth further development for the experimental GA market. It's operating very efficiently fuel wise, proving to me the application with The Raptor project is spot on. In my view it would be silly nonsense to scrap the project or the concept prototype just because it was over the intended target weight. It's just part of the learning curve. He only uses 6 gallons of fuel for a 40 minute flight below 4,000 MSL @ $2.40 a gallon for diesel fuel. A very thrifty proposition comparatively with 100 LL petrol aircraft engines of a quarter lesser HP. Cheers
