In the last few weeks, it has been a very busy time for the Stagger EZ. I know from experience how important it is to have a balanced propeller. James recommended Aero Tech Services in Addison, Texas. I called the owner, Pat Pennington and spoke to him about the fact that my carbon fiber spinner was not yet clear coated. He said that I would have to get the spinner clear coated first before getting the propeller dynamically balanced. I was a little surprised that the balance would be that close. Pat volunteered to have it clear coated by an aircraft painter at the airport. I agreed thinking it would save me time. I dropped off my spinner and picked it up later that same week. Then it was time to remount the prop. The prop mounting system I have uses two pairs of belleville washers on each bolt. Belleville washers compress. So I used a spreadsheet to arrive at the correct number of turns and the total compression needed to ensure the bolts are putting sufficient pounds of force against the prop. That being done, I remounted the now very pretty carbon fiber spinner.
Time to fly the EZ to Addison airport. That went better than expected, as the initial check revealed that my prop was at “0.05”. That’s darn near perfect! No further balance was needed. So I buttoned every thing up and taxied out to the end of the runway, did my customary run-up and found a problem with the ignition system. I Had to taxi back for diagnosis. It turned out to be a bad ignition coil which was replaced. I actually replaced both ignition coils even though the other one was just fine. Pat was very nice to loan me a truck for the duration. (Thanks Pat). My son flew with me back to McKinney National.
The following Saturday, I participated in a flying event called “Young Eagles”. Pilots donate a flight for high school students to allow them to experience flying for the first time. The Stagger EZ is a faster flying airplane than most which caused landing clearence issues when trying to land. It was a very busy time in the pattern. The control tower requested my plane make a 360 degree turn left for spacing and then on final approach make a “go around” in order come back around to have the proper room to land. All to the delight of the student, “AJ”. He said he really enjoyed the flight. I did too. I only regretted not being able to fly a couple more students. Another fun day, this time flying a guest that had not flown before.