Larry Mednick
Forum Replies Created
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Actually, I believe even Airborne switched to 6 ply tires over the last few years on their M4 trikes. I could be wrong, but I think they were using Airtrac 600s. But those are much taller tires than the XT stock tires and will not fit under the wheel spats unless you modify the mounting system and raise them up for clearance
The other problem you are having is that your wheels are probably not tracking due to the axles not being true from normal use even. Some nice custom axles I think Ken Highfield is building may fix that issue which destroys any good tire. So you might try the same tires again with straight axles and get better results.
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Hi Jon, so first off, it really depends on what the airport manager wants. They may ask (require without actual authority) that 1 runway is in use at one time. If there is anything I have learned over the years, it’s try to please the airport management.
At our airport,we use 3 runways at the same time!!! They (tow and jump planes and gliders) use runway 1 to takeoff and 19 to land and then the rest of us use 5 or 23. The threshold of 19 and 23 are nearly touching.
It is very common for a jump plane to take off on 1 while I’m on my departure leg of 5. Radio communication is critical. I can turn out midfield on my Xwind to avoid the intersecting upwinds. It is also common for their final to intersect our downwind and final on 23. Making a 360 on the downwind towards the runway for spacing is a common call.
The bottom line is if everyone is on the radio and you can avoid and keep proper separation you can fly intersecting patterns. But if management doesn’t want you to, then don’t make a habit of it. Needing to land once to get down safely is a lot different than shooting the pattern for an hour on a different runway. ALWAYS do what you need to do to be safe, REGARDLESS of the rules.
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Hi Ishan, welcome to the group!
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Tough question… IF the cooling system is sufficient not to overheat the engine on the ground I would warm it up “extra long” because you don’t want a cold seizure. On the other hand IF it can over heat on the ground I’m not sure what to tell you. Outside temperature will play a big roll in in warm up time. I would be more concerned with over heating on climb out or a lean mixture and would pretty much never fly anything without temp gauges. A 4 stroke you don’t need EGT, a 2 stroke you really do. I know PPG guys don’t have gauges. Then again those guys seem to have an awful lot of engine failures.
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Hi Mark, I have requested your pin to be removed. The point of the pin is not to pin you exact hangar at your airport, but rather to let people know your general location. So if saying which airport is too telling, maybe your home address or just your town.
The truth is any thief knows there are aircraft in hangars at airports. They don’t need our map to locate airports. And furthermore any photos with your N number can be looked up on the FAA to get the owners information. Lastly if you fly your trike and keep it at the airport in your town, the odds are anyone who sees you flying can figure out which airport you most likely fly out of.
So please re-pin yourself to your town and not your Trike’s exact location of storage.
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No it didn’t link correctly. Try again and make sure you use the browser copied into the link and not the share link from YouTube.
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We fly the 12m on the 38 HP REVs. The climb at sea level is around 450 FPM. The 447 has more torque and a larger diameter prop, so your thrust is probably higher. In any case the trim is 37-40 MPH and does not like a nose pod at all. Also that wing does not work nearly as well on the ultralight as the one designed for the ultralight with smaller leading edges and the 600lb gross. But in either case they are Not X country wings.
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I think the real trick is to either find a wall to block wind from behind or make sure the wing has “some” positive AOA. I have seen trikes flip over while tied down when the nose of the wing is down and wind is coming from behind. Our wings DO NOT LIKE WIND FROM BEHIND!
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With a naturally aspirated engine, the horsepower reduces, very similarly to the reduction of resistance on the propeller. Meaning if you’re getting 5500 RPM at sea level you can expect to get very close, although it will be slightly lower, RPM at high altitude at WOT.
With an electric motor, the RPM is limited by the KV, or RPM per volt. So the reduction in drag on the prop at high altitude will have no bearing on the RPM. And sure, the amp draw will reduce significantly at high altitude, but it will simulate the same effect as a naturally aspirated motor at high altitude.
Much like a turbo charged engine you MUST either repitch the prop for high altitude or have a variable pitch prop to be able to even take advantage of the motor keeping its HP at high altitude.
So to sum in all up, an electric motor with a fixed pitch prop will give you a very similar reduction of thrust, the higher you go, to a regular combustion engine without a turbo.
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Hey Roger, the yarn should work. Have a look.
slipping turns
https://youtu.be/evPA1h6hXfkslipping turns
https://youtu.be/evPA1h6hXfk -
Ted, I assume you are referring to Reb’s fatal accident. In that case the student’s attempt to exit the maneuver was attempted just seconds before impact. I am pretty sure Reb was planning to pull out of the spiral at the last moment when the student in the front seat beat him to the punch by pushing the bar out.
What was clear from the NTSB report and the recorded dialogue, is the student was very scared and was even yelling profanities, the instructor was cool as a cucumber and enjoying the maneuver and the student wanted the spiral to stop and seemed helpless.
The moral of this story is if your student is scared for whatever reason they can lock up your controls and if the instructor doesn’t have enough time to get the aircraft away from the student, bad things will happen.
Reb’s last word was “IN” and I assume the student was pushing out at that last moment before impact. I believe if they had more time and altitude all could have been avoided.
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Hi Neil, climbing in turbulence is most definitely the hardest. Pitch control again is even more critical. Where I see people mess up is they pull back on the bar to lower the nose, but then they tend to hang on to the bar and then the trike speeds up and then they can’t let go without it pitching up. Remember, quick tugs (pull in fast and then immediately let out) are the key to lowering the nose. The faster the better. Pulling in slowly will cause the trike to speed up and then pitch up in many cases, so you can actually cause more harm than good in many cases.
Climb out at your proper speed of VY (medium speed usually) in the bumps. Going fast in bumps is a no-no and will beat you up and your equipment. If the bar is slightly behind trim (because you have a recommended slight back pressure) you will not stall. And remember, accelerated stalls are just stalls (with the bar way out) when flying at over 1 G (which is not related to climbing out, even steep climbs) Accelerated stalls will happen when you stall in a turn or comin out of a dive. But in all cases the bar must be pushed forward to critical AOA. The only time a trike can stall with the bar not all the way forward is when the nose is pitched up and you step off the gas and get a sharp nose down break as the trike runs out of airspeed. This is not an accelerated stall either. Just be careful not to come completely off the throttle with the nose at a very high nose up attitude.
Also a wet wing or frost on the wing or a spiral dive can allow the wing to stall before the bar makes it very far out. Otherwise you WILL NOT STALL with the bar neutral regardless of climb attitude.
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Hi Gino, I would suspect toe angle as the source of your problem. with toe in or out, you will shread the tread right off of whatever tire you put on there.
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A few tips:
1) Treat X wind landings like any other landing. The only difference is you stay in a crab and touch down crabbed.
2) you can add a touch of power in the flare to soften the touch. A soft touch is the key when on hard surface. In grass don’t even worry about it.
3) touch down on the “trailing” rear wheel. If the wind is coming from the right, touch on the right tire first. The right tire will slide, the left tire will bite.
Sliding for a 1/2 second will gently align the nose. Dropping the trike in a crab will make the tires bite on hard surface. Grass or dirt will ensure the tires slide.
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Hi Ted, I haven’t looked at the NTSB report on that one, but I have the whole video of what happened. Definitely a spiral, definitely used full power to try and exit. His trike responded 100% correct to the pilot input. Very sad…