Drove the bomber over to Spencer Aircraft to do the Transponder check and a basic Pitot / Static Check.
The transponder check took about 10 minutes and everything worked perfectly. The Pitot / Static didn't go so well. Because they typically do certified planes, they really don't have the right connectors for hooking to the static ports or the new style pitot / static tubing. It took over an hour just to get things connected without leaks just so we could see if I had a leak. Well after all that it appears that I did have a leak, so we decided it would be better for me to fix it on my own instead of paying them $75 per hour.
I'd seen this homemade Manometer before so I decided to make one. It not only tests for leaks but also has a calibrated scale for airspeed. Pretty simple really, a bunch of tubing and some water colored with food coloring. You can easily move the scale from one side of the tube to the other for pressure of vacuum. I easily found my leaks. At both the altimeter and airspeed indicator, the connectors were both just finger tight. Ooops, my bad. Couple turns of a wrench and everthing sealed right up.
With vacuum applied to the static system...
the altimeter goes up as well as the airspeed. (This is because there is more pressure on the pitot then the static.) Note the 120Knots indicated on both the Dynon and the Van's airspeed indicators.
With pressure on the pitot...
the airspeed goes up but the altitude stays at the field elevation.
This Trojan just showed up to the maintenance shop behind my hangar. Cool!
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