Service

In February I flew over to West Wales to visit UL Power UK's (Metal Seagulls) new hangar and get a service and annual inspection done.

I had for some reason thought that my compressions were down and so ordered 3 new cylinder heads to replace the same as I did previously with cylinder number 3 when it's exhaust valve/seat was leaking.

As it turns out I needn't have worried as a compression test (when warm) revealed that the compressions were all good - virtually the same as they were at 200 hrs.

So I did the service myself and Jonathan Porter of UL Power UK did the annual inspection.

There were strong winds aloft as we had a series of storms during February, this made for a slow trip over but a rapid one home with a ground speed of 171 knots at 7,650ft.

Passing Talybont Reservoir - which we walked to in July 21 from our rented
canal boat nearby.

Pendine Sands. Location of the World Land Speed record in the 1920's.

At Metal Seagulls, UK UL Power agents. First things first a compression test
while the engine is still warm.

The results, which are virtually identical to that at 200 hrs. All is well.

Hooning back at great speed. 171 knots!

New battery

 I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a Lithium battery.

The best and safest choice is an EarthX, which is built to aviation standards and has good self protection.

The model to go for is the ETX900. It has the required amp hours in case of Alternator failure with the UL engine the battery is then the only thing providing a spark to the engine (through the coils), so it must have a decent capacity to enable you to get back on the ground in 20 mins or so before the voltage drops too low.

The price is a bit eye watering but the weight savings are great. Roughly £100 per kg saved! The old battery was 7kg and the new one is just 2.2kg.

Just as well I changed my battery as the old one was weeping. See pics below.

The old battery was the one I bought in Toronto, Canada in July of 2017 so it has served me well and was due for replacement anyway.

I noticed that the new battery holds its' charge much better when the engine is at idle - when coming back into the circuit and setting up for landing.

The dimensions were only slightly different in one axis to the old battery so I took up the space with blue foam.

Old battery - located under the baggage tray in a special recess I made.

Weeping from the old battery, just as well I changed it.

New battery in place with the blue foam as spacers so it doesn't move about
with the cover on.

AERO Friedrichshafen video

Sergio - of UL Power Spain made a short video about my plane at AERO. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/08_ESnOHPIg