2-7-07 Finally all the compsite work is complete! I should be happy about putting the first coat of filler on the seams but the thought of the next month of sanding is making me sick.
If Blue Mountain Avionics would send me thier new system I have been waiting on for 5 months I can finish the new panel and fire it up. Still need to work out exhaust issues created by extending the engine forward but we are getting very close.

We are Relentess!!!

10-2-06 Repairs are complete and bottom has been worked and primed for paint. We just flipped her back over and we are well under way preparing the new tail section for installation. I suppose it will appear to move along slow from here on out but there are many items I really want to take some time to dial in rather than race to race!!!!! A few items I am looking forward to re-doing:

Smooth and repaint outer wheel wells
Resin seal and touch up inner gear bays
Re-install wiring harness to tail so it is more uniform
Install new trim system Jon Sharp has completed for kit
Install newest Blue Mountain system upgrades
Install new engine cowling system that comes with new kits
Mount new lights and strobes in wing tips


Of course there is much more work to complete to prep for another Mike and Mike special paint job but we have until Feb. for that. This past 5 months have been really hard to get motivated after the accident but I watched the video of Relentless ripping me around on Utube again and I feel the past two weeks have sparked the fire to get er done!. What a cool machine!!!!



Final conclusion for cause of accident: NTSB is going to say no specific cause was found and is leaning towards the crank case vent tube icing up. I can not believe it, the vent tube is right behind the exhaust and the engine compartment was hot from 2 hours of flying. I installed the Christen Eagle inverted oil separator because of its volume to keep the oil from dripping down the bottom of the aircraft. One item I did not consider is this separator has a check valve to stop oil from running overboard when inverted. I doubt anyone has installed this on a turbo charged engine because few people do aerobatics with turbos. I believe that because I was pushing around 36 inches of manifold pressure at the time I hit the sever turbulence the check valve came up to its seat and the pressure in the crank case kept it there. The crank case built up pressure fast with no where to go and the seal blew out.



For additional information about the accident and to keep up date on the NXT project please check out SLOAIR.com and Relentlessairracing.com for info.



Thanks for our interest and keep those tee shirt orders comin?!



We are Relentless!!!