Have started playing with Viking's data logging tool.  There's a LOT of data that it picks up. 

Here's a quick example (below) showing a few parameters from yesterday's test flight.  I'm just learning, and have a long ways to go, but it's a lot of fun...

Have also been experimenting with using old smartphones for in-flight data acquistion.

Patrick Hoyt

N63PZ

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Curious, is this all the sensors it reads and what is "phase" ?

No, it gathers a lot more data than what is shown here.  There are a lot of parameters that I have filtered out in this example, just to keep the volume of information from being overwhelming.

My intent was to just show an example of this to people who may have an interest in doing something similar.

- Pat

Cool! When I am ready to geek out, I know I can. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Patrick,

    I’m considering putting a 130 in my 601 HD. I am probably the first, at least that I know of....these are experimental airplanes afterall.   So I wonder if you know the total FWF weight with engine, radiator, coolant, propeller etc? Then if its feasible it would be fun to compare data that you are collecting in the XL vs HD.....

Thanks!

I didn't weigh my V130, but it feels like it's about the same as the Corvair, which is said to be around 224 lbs.  I didn't weigh my Corvair, either, so I don't know if that's accurate.  From a flying perspective, they feel the same, and from a total airframe W&B perspective, they're about the same.  I've seen 601HD's with Corvairs, so based on that I wouldn't hesitate to put a V130 in an 601HD if I owned one. 

I think its pretty fair to say, based on the evidence I see, that they weigh about the same amount, but the 20-30 more horsepower & thrust is a noticeable advantage in climb and cruze performance using the Viking instead. Soley based on other peoples and experience, not my own yet. I was seriously looking at Corvair, but no one could testify, even using a Corvair 120, that I would get awesome STOL performance. I have a 1966 Corvair Corsa and a VW that are both Corvair powered with engines I did, so I was heavily bias, but I haven't seen anything yet to change my mind from going Viking at this point.

Per Jan the entire FWF weight including propeller, spinner and all V-130 installation parts is 250 pounds.  The max for a 601HD is 265, so I’m good.  Therefore I went ahead and bought the 130 instead of the used 110 I was looking at, glad I did. 

Did you have to format the SD card for the data logger?

I don't recall that I HAD to format the SD card when it was brand-new, but I know that I have since then, just out of habit. 

The data files (for my short test flights of about 30 minutes) are quite small compared to the large size of the SD card, so I think I'll just let it keep logging.  I don't know what the actual maximum file size would be, but from a realistic perspective it's going to be limited to the length of time that the engine runs.

Each time the engine starts a new data file is created, and is named sequentially.  For example, if today's flight was written to "N63PZ_0000.DTD", then the next flight would be written to "N63PZ_0001.DTD", and the flight after that would be written to "N63PZ_0002.DTD", and so forth.

If you use a different SD card (or reformat your old one), then it would re-start the file name numbers back at the beginning - "N63PZ_0000.DTD" for example.  You can tell the data logger to name the files differently if you wanted to.  Not a big deal either way.

I think what I'll do going forward is just let it keep logging sequentially. If my quick calculations are correct, it'll take around 2200 hours of engine run time to fill up the 8Gb SD card (that comes with the logger) at the rate that I'm saving data to it.  I'm sure there are other considerations or limitations that would come into play long before the SD card is filled up.

Patrick Hoyt

N63PZ

Thank you Patrick.  Glad to know the SD card is sufficiently sized.

I'll probably do something similar with the base file name.

According to SCS Delta, FAT32 is what the format should be for the 8 gigabyte SD card.

Hey Patrick,
You are the only one I know of so far that's been using the data logger, and I've been having trouble getting it to work.  Would you mind calling me at your convince?  You can reach me at (907) 227-3825.
Regards,
Sam

This is what it looks like if anyone is curious.

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