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It's a picture of someone wearing a knitted outfit that goes head to toe. :D
Frost on the ground today! My Mom knit me a tricolored scarf, so I have a French flag to wrap around my face below the goggles.
Voltage regulator came in yesterday, so off to the airport today or tomorrow.
Hmm. I suspect I'm glad to not be able to see it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
:)
Hi Frank,Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
On the wheelies...once you've got the mains pinned, what is your procedure with regard to the tailwheel? Do you keep it up as long as possible? Do you fly it down? Let it drop on it's own as you slow?
Double post!
Landings are very short, and it doesn't take much to stick the wheels - the whole airplane is an exercise in drag - the tail drops pretty quickly and the second it touches I go full stick back. Indeed, I tend to wheel land with the tail a bit low, and the stick near neutral. The habit in a Champ of pinning the wheels by moving the stick forward is a no-go in the Nieuport.
One does NOT want the tail high at below stall speeds. The rudder will lose authority, and that's far too interesting for the pilot.
So the phrase "fly it down" is very appropriate. Looking at all my video, there's not so much a flare as a rounding out in my decent landings.
I have to also say it's a work in progress. There's a language to this aircraft that we're both learning, a conversation that's ongoing in the test flight phase. Originally I was taking the safest route with these really long, shallow approaches with a lot of power, taking advantage of the huge airstrip I have to work with. That was fine for figuring out stall speeds, handling transitions, and stuff like that. It's also pretty lazy and promotes a poor set of habits for me as a pilot.
So I've really shortened the pattern, gone to a half circle instead of two corners, steepened the approach, and started actually aiming for a landing point. In other words, acting like a pilot. Results: two greaser wheel landings with a short (less than 500 foot) landing, one bouncy bouncy throttle up try again bounce now you got it landing. Naturally (and thankfully) the only one with video is the "bad" one. Oh well, that's why the gear have bungees on them.
The "anti-shake" filter makes the gun look rubbery in the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHVmwuQfa5E
Here's a look over the tail, when I was still using the "long approach."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfaj7EDDVw0
The mail should deliver my wire, switch, and other minor goodies from AircraftSpruce in the next day or so, so I can go out and do some surgery on the charging system. As much as I hate adding complexity to the aircraft (that will raise the total number of switches, including the start button, to three on the panel), I think it's worth it. I still have to suss out why it's overcharging, of course, and solve the issue, but it will be nice to be able to deal with it in the air if it happens in flight.
Hi Frank,
Reason I ask about how you handle lowering the tail after the mains are pinned is that I found on my plane (RV-8) how you handle that makes the difference between a straight rollout vs some mad rudder pedal work the moment the tailwheel hits. On my plane (which I admit is radically different from yours) if I let the tailwheel touch too soon, I'm going quite fast and any deviation of the tailwheel from centered-up makes for a dash to the sidelines. If I keep the stick going forward until we've slowed down the tail drops gently of it's own accord and there's no swerving.
From wha tyou say, though, it seems you lose rudder authority before the point where the tail will lower itself. So some balance in between might be found.
I've come to say my plane will kill me in slow motion. ;)
My cruise speed is around 65 mph, pattern speed 50, and stall is around 35.
In the rear view video, there's more rudder than wheel as the springs kick in, so it looks exaggerated. But the rudder isn't doing anything back there at those speeds but swishing left and right.
The brain trust at my EAA chapter thinks my over charging problem is a bad regulator/rectifier, and that the Harley-Davidson part used is notoriously flaky. It was actually pretty funny - normally I get eye rolls and goofy looks when talking about the VW engine, but when I said I had finally ID'd the charging system parts as HD eyes lit up.
"Oh, this is a motorcycle issue, not a VW one. Yeah, it makes sense."
So in the next couple weeks one or more motorcycle gurus will come out to the airport and help suss this out.
Actually I was looking at the forward view of the landing over the gun.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
Oh, that's me bouncing the landing and making a general mess of things. :)
Landing was fine. I was thinking of the swerving I saw immediately after the tailwheel settled. I've experienced that :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
Two things usually at play, here. First, the tail settling down takes the rudder out of the direct airflow...the slipstream/prop blast is somewhat blanked by the fuselage itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saville
Second, the comparative "gearing" of the rudder control and the tailwheel control is likely different. That is to say, a ~1" displacement of the rudder pedal with the tailwheel off the ground and the rudder providing yaw control is different from what is produced when the tailwheel itself is firmly on the ground.
A good example of this is the original Fly Baby prototype, N500F. When I started flying it, I noticed the plane would tend to yaw as the tail came up on takeoff or as it settled down to the runway on landing.
Turns out this was due to a quirk in N500F's tailwheel control system. On a Fly Baby, the rudder pedals are connected directly to a flat rudder horn. At the bottom of the rudder is a second horn, which connects to the tailwheel horns via springs. Here's a rough sketch:
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/tailwheel_horn.jpg
N500F had that system....but, at the time the plane had been converted to floats, the lower horn on the rudder had been extended ~2-3" per side to provide better control for the water rudder. When the plane had last been restored (about three years prior to my joining the club), the TAILWHEEL springs were connected to these extended attach points. Which gave the tailwheel more effectiveness.
I swapped the tailwheel control springs to the upper pair of holes, and it was a lot better.....
Ron Wanttaja
Another factor is the location of the aircraft CG when the tailwheel is on the ground. If the CG shifts aft a considerable amount, the "heavy" tail will certainly try to wag the dog more than a more forward CG. Aircraft with relatively tall gear such as our WWI wannabes are subject to considerable CG shift when the tail hits the ground. One remedy is aggressive rudder immediately after the tail touches down before the rudder loses aerodynamic authority. I will sometimes use full rudder for a second or two to catch a swerve before it can develop.
This is a matter of pilot proficiency and acclimation to the particular aircraft and improves with practice. Fly often. :)
Yep, it's affectionately called "The Nieuport Stomp" in our circle.
In the case of the video, that's all me. I was off line to the left, corrected right, and was slow adjusting back left...so gave it a bit too much. Then it was a matter of working the pedal to the wheel to stay on the runway and simultaneously keeping the wing tip off the pavement.
:)
The grooved pavement of my runway can be challenging, as it's very sticky and rough at the same time. Landing on smooth pavement is easier for some reason. I haven't landed on grass with her yet.
On charging, I may not have a problem at all. Digging into Harley-Davidson forums, it should be putting out 14.5 to 15 volts at RPM, which is what I'm indicating. So it's likely that my last voltage regulator wasn't working properly at all and I was running off battery most of the time! Most of my flights have been pretty short, and charging the battery was pretty common for me. I wrote it off to the plane sitting for a month, but that might not have been the case.
Frank, do you have a backup power source for your ignition? I see a lot of accidents (~2 per year) caused by power issues to engine ignition/control boxes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
Ron Wanttaja
Nope. If the battery goes to zero the big fan stops.
Hmmm. Wonder if you could put in an emergency backup capability using alkaline batteries. Put in one of those covered switches so that the normal battery is connected in the "off" position, but the battery pack goes to the ignition system if the cover in thrown back and switch is thrown.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
Might be able to get by with AA batteries; Amazon sells an 8-cell holder for $7. Don't know how much time it'll give you, but even a minute is worth it, sometimes. Test it at each Conditional inspection and replace with fresh batteries.
Ron Wanttaja
And now, in the category of "of all the dippy sh*t," I may not have a problem at all.
The previous voltage rectifier/regulator was clearly flaky, either putting out a bunch of charge or none at all. So I replaced it.
Now I'm showing between 14 and 15 volts when the engine is running, topping out about 15 at full RPM. So I got to digging around the Harley-Davidson forums (since I finally figured out the whole system is HD), and guess what? The system should be throwing around 14.5 to 15 volts, depending on RPM and battery charge. It could be doing what it was supposed to all along.
I wigged out, naturally, since I haven't seen voltage go up like that before, and the aircraft I've flown previously didn't have a voltage gauge. Plus I smoked a battery in the hangar with the old rectifier/regulator.
Since the bog standard automotive voltage gauge isn't exactly a precision instrument, I'm going out Wednesday morning with a proper volt meter to see just what it's pumping across the terminals. Any less than 15 volts at RPM's means all is well and I'm a Nervous Nelly. But I'm still glad I put a switch on it.
It also means I'm an idiot, as it means that previously I'd been flying off just the battery and not noticing the voltage go down and down. The short duration of my flights thus far were the saving grace. What I chalked up to a small battery sitting for a month and needed a charge wasn't that - it was low because I ran it down. Indeed, on the day where I saw the battery charge go down it was on the second flight - she'd already been up for a solid hour, back down and sat for another hour. And even then it didn't start noticeably dropping until I was up and had flown away from the airport.
Pretty interesting decision tree at that point.
I'm about six or seven miles (which, easy math, is about six or seven minutes) from the airport at around 2,500 feet AGL. I have a working engine at 11.5 volts indicated and slowly dropping. So point the airplane back at the airport, go into a gentle climb with a minor bump of the throttle (the coils are going to suck the same amount of juice pretty much the same between 2,500 RPM's and 2,700 RPM's), and keep a look at what's below. Reduce throttle when I'm at the glide to the airport, about two miles out, bring it close to the strip at pattern altitude, shadow it, and do the short half circle to the end to a bouncy landing (yep, that "flight after repair" was my sort of cautionary landing). If she'd of gone dead at any point I'd of made the field, though it would have been with a tail wind (oh, no, the horrors of a two mile an hour tail wind! Could I have survived?). She had a little over ten volts when I taxied up to the hangar.
One would think there'd be a manual for all this stuff, but there ain't none. Not knowing how much charge should be showing with the system running could have really hurt me - and I didn't know that I didn't know. I just assumed that the little volt meter would be nice and steady in the upright 12v position the whole time, like it does in a car (well, with a little nudge to the right).
I've got a message into Valley Engineering on what the voltage meter should read in flight and at RPM; I was too ignorant before to ask the correct (if obvious) question on the matter.
Frank, the Legal Eagle guys who run total-loss systems with the 1/2 VW can usually run the battery down to about 7.5v before the distributor starts to mis-fire. They have a volt meter in the panel to monitor battery voltage ("fuel range") and can get about four hours endurance on a fully-charged battery that is probably smaller than the one you are using. The full VW will probably drain the battery quicker than the 1/2 VW but there is still a surprising amount of time available for flight. But monitoring voltage is the key. You might try some tests to see how low the voltage can drop and still get reliable spark from the coil.
Actual volt meter shows 14.5 to 14.75 volts charging at RPM, so it's doing what it's supposed to do within the tolerance levels specified by the manufacturer.
But hey, now I know far more about electrical systems than I cared to know.
Weather was criminally good this morning (mid fifties temps, zero wind, etc.), so I went up to the airport. One of my EAA brothers arrived at the same time for the same reason, and he whipped out his phone to take some pictures and video of my flying.
I did the typical low pass flyby stuff down the runway (he drove down to be right off of it) and really made an interesting landing. That's what I get for trying to impress for the cameras...but at least I didn't drag a wing on the pavement.
But it was all fun!
I finally got some photographs of my airplane in flight!
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nie...n_air_m001.jpg
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nie...n_air_m003.jpg
Another fellow out there took some video as well, and is going to upload it for me in the next couple days, so I'll have some sexy stuff to show (after serious editing).
Nische pics
Attachment 6782
Next up is replacing my fuel float corks, which don't, and slowly start to think about adjusting the brakes. Right now they're more a comforting thought than actual brakes.
I'll fly around a bit and pull the lever to get the shoes wore down to the drums better and then think about tightening them up.
Here's a video of my not-so-great landing!
A few notes:
1) Still perfecting my half circle drop to the end of the runway. Throttling up there was because I was dropping like a rock!
2) Bounce doesn't look bad, but it felt like 20 feet.
3) A bit too much rudder before I dropped the tail. Swishy swish skid!
4) The tail swish after that was entirely for effect. I had the aircraft and was being funny.
5) A few folks in other forums said I had some "anti-hedral" on the top wing based on the inflight photos, which I said was an optical illusion. Note that when I come up to the camera and turn, the wings are level all the way across.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=792KjA03pRA
Everybody seems to post the good stuff and never the times they nearly screw up (other than the KC Dawn Patrol), but I take pride in being a very yeoman quality builder and pilot.
This can be surprisingly awkward. Here's what happened to me, long ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/corker.html
Gasoline has a different specific gravity than water, so testing it in water doesn't necessarily prove anything.
In the Fly Baby world, there's always been discussion as to what (if anything) to coat the cork with. I re-coated mine with shellac this summer. Actually suspended the gas cap above the shellac can, dipped the entire cork, then slid it out and let it dry in place.
Wing sweep will do that....IIRC, the stock Nieuport had something like 5 degrees, and I believe some replica builders are up to 10.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
Ron Wanttaja
I replaced my fuel float cork with plastic floats made for Ford Model A's. I used two of them on the wire:
http://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/gauge-float-only
Here is the 'double cork' float system I've used with success on two aircraft:
Attachment 6784
The corks were painted with a thin coat of proseal tank sealant that had been thinned with MEK so it could be applied with an acid brush. The Model A float looks like a great solution, too.
Frank, in regard to your landing, it always feels worse than it looks. :)
The following video ends with a mid-field overhead break to a landing on the last 1/4 of the runway in the D.VII. This is a fun and efficient way to arrive if there is no conflict with traffic (can also be great practice for an unplanned landing if done at engine idle):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geF_rpS8y4U
Thanks for the link on the corks; I had the same from Aircraft Spruce, but they were a tad bit more expensive. I made the mistake of narrowing them up a little and not shellacking them, so they're soaked through.
Sam, besides being a beautiful flight, it was very instructive.
I think I'm way too tight in my half circle, just dropping her into the runway too aggressively to where I'm not giving myself enough to round it out - your approach is a lot more gentle.
Either that or put my landing point further down from what I've been picking. ;)
Indeed, I'm doing a lot more "pilot" stuff with my Bebe, having established she's safe to fly. I think of it as the "meat" of the flight testing, now that I've established stall and best climb speeds. And figured out take-offs, which was surprisingly nuanced.
I'm actually pleasantly surprised just how well she performs in the air. Figure 8's and tight circles are crisp with very little real effort keeping her at altitude and airspeed. She's responsive to throttle inputs, which is really nice. Not the least bit twitchy, though.
I can also tell that I have a full fuel tank. Still well within the CG range, it's at the forward end of it, and I can feel the extra weight in how she climbs.
I made an "instructive" video breaking down a good bounce landing:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5AFfcI4uG2Q
:P
Finally a video where the aircraft makes me look good!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G56aQDupV6I
Billy Bishop goes to war!
A few additional notes:
1) There isn't a "run-up" before takeoff. Single ignition, so to check that would be a helluva RPM drop. Carb heat is "automatic," which is Valley Engineering's euphemism for "always on." I do a control check and adjust the altimeter at start up. Normally I slow to a near standstill before the runway for a traffic check, but on this day I had spotters as well and I was all alone.
2) I usually feature screw ups, as they are both informative and entertaining. Based on some comments in other forums, I guess I should show good landings as well. But the little short coupled N11 is capable of such quality fun it's hard to resist.
Yesterday went up for an hour during a break in the weather and greased the landing.
To my surprise, Brian (who took the other video) was on the field, saw it, and said, "I thought about recording it, but I'm glad I didn't. People would think it was faked."
;)
With snow on the ground, temperature hovering around freezing, and a ten mile an hour wind (though going down the runway), who can resist a bit of flying?
Mike was on hand and, as become something of a hobby, drove down to the runway to catch me bounce or skid on the landing. I don't usually do those things, but when I do it's worth watching.
I couldn't tell if he was happy or disappointed to catch this:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2g-g6cCVF1Y
The windscreen does a good job; looking around it was certainly very brisk! I was in full winter garb, though, so no chance of freezing.
Looks good Frank! Light airplanes like ours certainly get chipper when the weather turns cold.
Called my position on the radio on a winter's day a couple of years back, and someone came back: "Fly Baby? Isn't that an open cockpit airplane?"
I replied, "Just a minute...I'll check." [wait five seconds] "Hey, you're right!"
Ron "Not a sarcastic SOB only on the forum" Wanttaja
'9.8'
Nobody gets a '10'....... ;)
The VW sounds happy. :)
She pretended that it was cold and took three tries to start!
Next up: Figuring out why my handheld Icom radio is squealing when I transmit.
It's not the antenna. Even with the rubber duck antenna on the radio and everything away from the aircraft, the darn thing squeals. I tried other headsets, same.
I think maybe the wires in the attachment to hook a headset to it have a short in them somewhere - because sometimes I can get it to not squeal, but it's random....and is in the vast minority of times.
Oh, and bundling up is an art in the winter. Thankfully I had the honor of riding in the back of the open hatch of an M113 APC in German winters, and knew just what to do:
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nie...inter_wear.jpg
There is a known squealing issue with some models of ICOM handhelds. I've encountered it on an ICOM A5, but it doesn't occur on my A14 even with the same headset.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
There is a set of toroids ("chokes") that the mike cable wraps around, and it supposedly will help with the squealing. They're $5.35 from Aircraft Spruce:
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal.../icoma6a24.php
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/cache...s/11-09346.jpg
(If the link doesn't work, look up "ICOM A6 / A24 HEADSET NOISE MODIFICATION FERRITE CORE".)
Mind you, I've tried endless variations of these, and it doesn't help my A5. But buy a couple and try combinations of wraps.
One thing you MIGHT try is to reduce the sidetone volume on the radio. On my A5, you push the transmit button, then turn down the normal volume knob/button.
Folks should also understand one other key point: When you use a headset adapter on an ICOM handheld, you MUST have a separate push-to-talk switch. If you push the "transmit" button on the radio itself, it uses the built-in microphone.
Ron Wanttaja
Yes, the Icom has a horrible problem with RF feedback causing squealing. There are a few things you can do. One, all wires including the PTT switch should be shielded. Use the ferrite chokes as described about (I used the one that came on the AC charger, but you can buy new ones). Third, get the antenna as far away as possible from the radio. On my Kolb I used the original rubber duck antenna on the end of a cable under the plane pointing down, on my Fisher it was a wire antenna on top of the upper wing root.
If you are trying to power this radio off the airplanes power supply you will get a squeal. I-com speaks about this. There is a fix and the fix is not what is mentioned here.
I did have a part break on my setup and it caused a squeal. The cable needed repaired or replaced. I sent said cable to Icom and they repaired it.