Published: 3.06.2017 by Martin Valley
Concentrated looks at a digital display, continuous looks at the watch and the countdown is ticking. But we are not at NASA, but at FVA and the goal of the propeller test was not to get it into an orbit, but to get it ready for certification by the LBA. In just about a week we could complete the 50 hours, only interrupted by noise- and weather breaks, nearly every day a FVAler sat at the test bed and monitored the current state.
After this test we can now state: our propeller is a dirty slob, because, after 50 hours running on the ground, dust and flies have covered the original white of the propeller. Now it will be dismounted, cleaned and examined, afterwards we can evaluate, whether the propeller is strong enough and still provide a comfortable cooling effect at high temperatures. If our power-to-noise-converter can also provide lift, we would be very pleased. Until then just a few steps are missing, but the completion of the propeller test is a huge one of them and we hope to celebrate the maiden flight of FVA 29 later this summer!
