On that last run, he said he did not bring the power back until after rotation. I am guessing that was full power. You do expect acceleration to taper with fixed output power. Your guess of 150KIAS might be pretty good, we'll see.

I am no test pilot, or raptor engineer wizard. But if the fuel imbalance is that big of a deal why not just add a few gallons to the side that is low?

Hey Stuart,
I think of my Dad, when he wasted a couple hours watching the OJ Simpson white Bronco. He watched the whole thing waiting to see a bullet come through the roof of the bronco from inside. He was hopping mad when they put the cuffs on him, I heard him yell from the next room "OJ YOU COWARD"

That last PIO 3 days ago...

Cabin heat being increased to 90F to improve engine cooling margins.

Here in Arizona, that's considered air conditioning

I was rather confused by the brakes not holding this time, and attributing it to "cooler air making more power", even though Valdosta still is generally in the 70s.

I think Occam's Razor would point to something going on with the brakes like glazing again...

And EDIT: I'm sure there's a short-field takeoff procedure joke in there somewhere.

Yeah, I was thinking the same about the brakes slipping. Either they're inadequate or something's wrong with them. It ain't an over abundance of horsepower.

As to the cooling issue, can someone tell me why he doesn't just slap a radiator fan from Autozone on it?

He's threatening to fly it. I'm thinking it could be the next video. Rocky I think you need to go camp out for a few days!

this is taken from the website of the guy doing the kits to put an LS into a murphy moose. At face value it looks like a nice setup for cooling.

I don’t get the obsession with ground cooling


I have never owned a plane that can stay cool while full throttle on the ground for very long. Planes are not designed to make full power with no air flow.

He obviously has enough power to get airborne and not melt down. That part would be the least of my worries.

I would be more worried about some aero problem he can not solve once in the air. The chances of water and oil temp being the main issue is really low.

Plus his max temps are not that high. A pressurized cooling system with coolant and water mix should handle 270 degrees before problems.

And synthetic oil can get to 300 and be fine, especially for short intervals.

Again I think he is worried about the wrong things.

Mike

I worry that he will attempt to fly on Oct 6th.

That’s the day that I will be Canonball’ing from Detroit to Cape Canaveral for the Delta 4 Heavy launch (attempt). A precautionary landing on I-75 could cost me valuable time!

Actually, he's rather proud of the fact that he has not one, not two, but THREE electric fans already installed in his various conglomeration of intercoolers and radiators. One of his many videos shows those electric fans, as well as his interesting ducting and airflow management devices. Note that part of his procedure is to now run the cabin heater to help with heat dissipation.....

Wow. That's even worse. With that kind of forced airflow that thing should be running cool as a cucumber. I'm thinking that something's wrong with his ducting and it's not able to get enough airflow. He may well be thinking the same thing. I know that what he's worried about is not being able to control the coolant temperature after he's in the air.