Let's talk SPEED?

[scubarider2]

Ok, I know that there are faster planes out there and speed is not the reason to buy a Highlander/Escapade.  But, I love to travel in this little jewel and would like to eeek out as much speed as possible for those long trips.  Ideas?
Right now I have a static prop pitch at 5,300rpms.  Should I go lower?  Troy says yes, try at 5,000rpm static.  I have a three blade Warp Drive 70in custom twisted for cruise.
I have some landing lights attached to the bottom, Troy says to cut them off....hmmmm  worth it?  They are mounted to the forward landing gear bracket and are the standard expensive running lights you can get for a auto.
How about wheel pants???  Worth the trouble and expense for speed???
How about the bungee situation under the plane....another way of doing it to cut the drag?
I am running at 90-95 mph indicated right now at 5,400rpms on my Rotax 912uls.
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
Dennis

[Johnny C!]

Dennis,
 Here is my list of speed mods, so far.

1) I have the male plugs almost finish sanded
for the mains, and I have to scale that profile
down for the nosewheel. I have the mounting
brackets bent & drilled, mains only. I'm not
sure how I'm going to mount the pant to the
nose wheel bracket...More head scratching &
questions to you veteran builders for that...

I did think far enough ahead to streamline
the trailing edge of my gear struts...

2) Fill the gaps between the flaps & the
turtle deck. This will be very easy with the
type of turtle deck that Gary has on his plane.

3) Make covers for the exposed flap & aileron
pulleys.

4) I was planning to streamline the exposed
landing gear mounts, so since I didn't get to
work on sinking landing lights into the leading
edge tips, I think I'll work on mounting some round
lights where you did, but glass a shape that
encompasses the lights & sweeps back to cover
the rear mount.

5) Make fairing for the struts to spar connections.

6) Eventually change the tail flying wires out  for
the streamlined formed shapes that someone had
a thread link here, at one time...

7) Streamline the nose gear strut. That's for me &
Dennis Only!

8 ) Streamline the bungee covers.

It seems like there are a couple of other things.
Most of what I have listed are things that I will
plan on doing one at a time after I get it in the
air, and back home.

Let me know if I'm missing anything!

John

[scubarider2]

Sounds like some good advice....   What wheel pants did you get and do you have some pics???
Dennis

[Johnny C!]

I made my own from blue styrofoam.

Laminated 1" & 1/2" to get the thickness
I wanted, cut an outline out on cardboard
to give 1" clearance around the tire. I made
some offset brackets to mount to the axles
in the back that allows me to enclose the
caliper. I will make a standoff support for
the outboard side, as well.

It took me about 45 minutes shape them
with a rasp file.  I haven't glassed them
yet. I have several glass experts up here
that I will enlist when I get closer.

Later.

John

[Dave Krall CFII SEL SES]

We faired in the 2 big landing lights on the belly with Lexan.
Did not use streamline rod instead of flying wires on tail because Troy said the design is made to have some flex in it, which the rods do not provide enough of.

[scubarider2]

Anyone have an idea on how much more speed one would get using wheelpants on an Escapade?  
Dennis

[Roger]

Dennis:
At the flying club that I taught at for many years, we used to take the wheel pants off of the C-152's all the time, especially in the winter because they fill up with slush and we were afraid we'd have someone go fly and come back with the wheels frozen up which means the same thing as landing with the brakes on. Not good. Anyhow I realize your not worried about that down in Georgia, but the point I'm making is that in removing the wheel pants from a C-152 only ment loosing around 2-3 Knots.  I've seen that you don't do rough fields, but that's another point. All the planes I've flown,  had cracked  wheel pants whenever we used them on rough fields. They just seem to shake themselves apart on a rough field.
By the way, I have a set of three fiberglass wheel pants off of a 1965 C-182 in my basement, if anyone is intrested in them. I'd sell them worth the money.

Roger

[Johnny C!]

It is my understanding that the wheel pants
may not add that much speed. I'm making
them as an excerise as much as anything,
and I hope they will look good, too. The
good thing about my proposed mods, as
I mentioned, is that I can do them, one at
a time, after I get her in the air...

The other rule of thumb from when I
owned part of a Cherokee, was that
for production aircraft, it cost about
$1k per knot...

Later!

John

[scubarider2]

Thanks guys.  If the wheel pants don't add that much speed I may just forget them.  The airstrip I fly out of is grass.  It is not all that smooth and I would fear that the problems I would have with them would outway the 2-3 knots in speed.  The other mods look pretty simple.  I will give them a try as well.
Dennis

[Johnny C!]

One nice thing about making my own
pant plugs, is that I can make exactly
to my desired config. I intentionally
left the bottom surface relatively high
in relation to the axle center line
compared to most store bought
pants. To give me a little more
ground clearance and better access
to the air valve to eliminate the need
for a door...

But I must admit, it's a big challenge
for me as I have never made anything
like that (except for some small glass
RC parts). I figure I will have some time
and a little money in them for materials,
so if they don't work out, I won't be too
upset...  This is supposed to be educational,
right?