After fixing a last minute fuel leak on the 4th (which somehow was missed during 3 other run-ups), the Bellanca finally went for a flight on Sunday. Finally! In general, things look really good. The airplane generally flew straight and level, although it still wants to drop the right wing a little bit. When I had the plane leveled, I forgot to check that the inclinometer (ie, the ball) was centered, so I need to do that to make sure the ball is set right in flight. Then some tail rigging will be in my future.

The EDM generally performed well, although the manifold pressure reading is a bit skittish. I talked to JPI today and they say that’s a common problem with the 900 series and that there are a couple of fixes we can try. I also am having some problems with the #5 cylinder. When I’m leaning, it just cuts out entirely right around peak EGT. It shouldn’t do that and hopefully is just a dirty fuel injector (which I’ll clean on Friday). Other options are spark plugs (unlikely, since it cuts off entirely, which would suggest two plugs went bad at the same time, which would be really unlucky.

Jeff took this picture of me on a (slightly high) final to 27 after the flight. Almost looks like I know what I’m doing…