SWAP THE PROP – July 24, 2020
This part of the process involves a balancing act between the Switchblade prop pitch setting, the turbo boost setting, and the engine cooling, to get the best overall setup for flight testing. Here Sean Bliss is changing the prop pitch setting.
At the request of our test pilot, we are not powering the wheels for take-off, like we would normally do. He wants to be able to fully perceive the transition as the prototype goes airborne. Not having wheel assisted takeoff means the engine is working harder by pushing the propeller at maximum horsepower for longer periods of time than you would typically do.
We’re also producing more heat that we would normally have to deal with on a take-off. As a result, we have had to change the cooling system just for this first bit of testing.
