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John Hauck
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)
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 Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:04 pm Post subject: Firestar II HKS Conversion |
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| The engine never missed a beat. I started with 9 gallons of gas,
and finished with 2.5 gallons and 2:30 minutes of flying time. Iâ?Tll
probably hardly ever go above 10,000 feet, but it is nice to know the
engine can do it.
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| Dave Bigelow
Dave:
Great performance.
Glad to hear the engine is doing good.
There are a lot of people out there that are waiting on a good 4
stroke replacement for the 2 strokes. This may be the one.
Before I made the big jump to an HKS though, I'd get a greater
sampling than from one engine and airframe, and one pilot.
john h
mkIII
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_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama |
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possums(at)bellsouth.net
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| Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:35 pm Post subject: Firestar II HKS Conversion |
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At 08:40 PM 3/22/2007, you wrote:
| Quote: | --> Kolb-List message posted by: "Dave Bigelow" <up_country(at)hotmail.com>
I flew my HKS powered Firestar II this morning, so decided to bundle up and see how high I could climb.
I took off and set the throttle at 5,800 RPM, the maximum continuous setting for the engine. Climb was pretty robust up to 10,000 feet (20 minutes from 4,000 feet), but then the RPM stared falling off. I progressively leaned the mixture using the EGT as a guide, and had to keep advancing the throttle to maintain 5,800 RPM. I cheated a bit and found an area where weak mountain wave lift was working. It took about 45 minutes from 10,000 feet to top out at 17,200 feet.
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Dave Bigelow |
I think that has to be close to a record for a FireStar. I've been to 13+
& I know that Will has been close to 16 or 17? I also know that it's friggin cold up there even if
it's 80%F on the ground. I don't really think you have the time up to experience the oxygen
deportation - what ever - lack of oxygen, you know what I mean.
We have a "Girl" that I'm ashamed to say is the "president" of our club (sorry about that Beauford).
She also has had a HKS on her machine for about 3 years now. It actually seems to work after a
few minor start up problems.
Whatever you do, don't let your wife read this.
http://www.maine2keys.com/ [quote][b]
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Dave Bigelow
Joined: 29 Jan 2006
Posts: 103
Location: Kamuela, Hawaii
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| Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 6:23 pm Post subject: Re: Firestar II HKS Conversion |
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Flew the HKS Firestar again this morning. This time, I went down to the coast and did some whale watching and buzzed some outrigger canoe paddlers. The engine is running great, and is a real performer at 1,000 feet density altitude. When I returned home, I did some landings and take offs at my home strip for the camera.
I’m not doing too well keeping the oil temperature in the optimum operating range because of the wide range of altitudes and temperatures I operate in here on the “Big Island”. I am going to install a thermostat in the oil system when I do the first oil change.
John Hauck is right about operating experience with this engine/airframe combo being needed before making a final judgment. I’ll periodically update this thread as I get more time on the engine. I highly recommend that anyone who decides to do the conversion contact Jerry Olenick of GreenSky Adventures for the mounting kit he is going to produce. He’s a great guy, and has been available for help during every step of the project.
The whole conversion was done without cutting or drilling a single part of the Firestar frame. It’s a bolt-on conversion.
http://www.greenskyadventures.com/EnginePricing/HKS/home.htm
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| Description: |
| Landing on 600 foot pasture strip at 4,000 level of west slope of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island |
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43.4 KB |
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| Landing on 600 foot pasture strip at 4,000 level of west slope of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island |
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| Take off from 600 foot pasture strip at 4,000 level of west slope of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island |
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| Take off from 600 foot pasture strip at 4,000 level of west slope of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island |
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| Take off from 600 foot pasture strip at 4,000 level of west slope of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island |
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| Take off from 600 foot pasture strip at 4,000 level of west slope of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island |
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| Take off from 600 foot pasture strip at 4,000 level of west slope of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island |
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| Take off from 600 foot pasture strip at 4,000 level of west slope of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island |
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_________________
Dave Bigelow
Kamuela, Hawaii
FS2, HKS 700E |
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Dave Bigelow
Joined: 29 Jan 2006
Posts: 103
Location: Kamuela, Hawaii
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| Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:26 pm Post subject: Re: Firestar II HKS Conversion |
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This is an update on the HKS powered Firestar. I’ve been flying it regularly, and nothing to report but good. It’s smooth, powerful, starts immediately, and hasn’t missed a beat. I’ve been going over it very carefully after every flight, and everything is solid, with no sign of anything wanting to shake off or come loose.
Fuel consumption is between 2.4 and 2.5 gallons per hour over the broad range of flying. You could probably do a bit better than that in steady cruise.
The only thing I am going to change is to add an oil thermostat. I fly over such a broad range of altitude and temperature that it is difficult to regulate oil temperature by partially blocking the cooler airflow.
Here are a couple of hints for anyone contemplating using this engine:
1. The ignition is hot from the battery/rectifier. It has to have 12 volt DC to run. It is very important to have a good grounding system. If not, it is easy to blow an ignition module or worse.
2. Get the HKS tachometer. It is the best small tachometer I’ve every used, and has a warning light built in that comes on if you exceed maximum RPM.
Here is link to YouTube to a short video clip I posted of operations from my pasture strip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbrTNuS9yVY
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Dave Bigelow
Kamuela, Hawaii
FS2, HKS 700E |
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JetPilot
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 1246
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| Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:06 am Post subject: Re: Firestar II HKS Conversion |
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Neat video !! I just went to Sun and Fun and saw the the HKS is being used on a lot of very small planes, mostly weight shift trikes... The HKS is getting a reputation for being a reliable, smooth running, light engine. The HKS looks like the perfect engine for the Firestar, and its not that much more expensive than a new 503 and gearbox....
Mike
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_________________
"NO FEAR" - If you have no fear you did not go as fast as you could have !!!
Kolb MK-III Xtra, 912-S |
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captainron1(at)cox.net
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 8:15 am Post subject: Firestar II HKS Conversion |
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Very nice video, and nice flying on your part.
Ron (Arizona)
==
---- Dave Bigelow <up_country(at)hotmail.com> wrote:
=============
This is an update on the HKS powered Firestar. I’ve been flying it regularly, and nothing to report but good. It’s smooth, powerful, starts immediately, and hasn’t missed a beat. I’ve been going over it very carefully after every flight, and everything is solid, with no sign of anything wanting to shake off or come loose.
Fuel consumption is between 2.4 and 2.5 gallons per hour over the broad range of flying. You could probably do a bit better than that in steady cruise
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