Just for fun, I flew my Savannah VGW/XL from Erie, CO (KEIK) to Longs Peak located inside the Rocky Mountain National Park in November 2011. The plane has a 100 hp Rotax 912 and flight weight was about 1150 lbs(523 kg). Longs Peak is only about 40 miles from Erie but it is 14,259 feet (4,346 m) high. Erie’s elevation is 5130 feet. The winds were calm and the temperature was 50F (10C) when I departed. It was a beautiful day for flying.
I had a great idea of documenting the airplane performance by taking pictures of the gages during the flight. Shortly after takeoff, I realized I could make the pictures show just about anything just by choosing the instant to click the picture. So, to believe the pictures, you are going to have to have a little trust. I really did try to snap pictures when the gages were showing “fair” numbers.
I used wide open throttle all the way up to 16,000 feet. The tach started at 5400 rpm (during climb) and gradually decreased to 5200 at 16,000’. I climbed at about 65 mph (105 kph) indicated. This yielded a climb rate of about 700 fpm at 5500 feet and about 100 fpm at 16,000 feet. Cruise speed at 16,000 feet (temp was 18F or -8C) was about 68 mph indicated and about 90 true.
Now for the fun part(suggested by John Gilpin), after circling the mountain, I headed back to Erie, still at 16,000’. Power slowly to idle, let the engine cool awhile, mags off, slow to 50 mph and the prop stops. Instance silence and better yet the plane does not fall out of the sky. Erie was about 15 miles away when I shutdown the engine. I descended at about 60 mph and around 600 fpm. I arrived over the airport at ~8000’ feet, made three 360’s and slipped about 500’ to land on the first half of the runway. I logged about 20 minutes of prop-stopped time. Absolutely exhilarating. I cannot seem to get this big smile off my face.
