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Airknocker
Joined: 26 Apr 2014
Posts: 6
Location: ND
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 Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:41 am Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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Well guys, we finally did it. Last Saturday I took Serenity to the airport and got to taxi her around a little. Found a couple of minor things to adjust, then test again.
Taxied around the ramp slowly, then went to the west end of the grass strip. At this point, I have to say pavement SUCKS!
The weather was warm and the breeze light and variable. Made several trips up and down the runway at varying speeds, getting braver with each pass. Got the tail up and was able to hold it there while keeping straight. No irregularities at all. Engine running well with temps in the right range.
A quick check of the radio, no other planes in the area, time to quit messing around.
Partial power up, tail up, glance at the windsock, limp and straight down the runway. More power, getting light and bouncy. Oops, not going straight anymore, glance at windsock, right crosswind, fed in some right aileron and left rudder. She feels ready to fly, oh, oh, runway light in the cross-hairs! More power and pull back, airborne well before edge of runway.
Holy CRAP! I'm airborne!
Left wing dropped, over corrected.
Nose came up, over corrected.
Nose went down, pulled off some power, got it level with elevator.
Crap, right wing went down, over corrected, but not as much.
Warning light on EIS, EGT or something out of whack.
Wings have a mind of their own, tail does too...
What the HE!! have I done? I won't die up here, it will be when I hit the ground out of control. Panic setting in! Every time I touch something, EVERYTHING changes. AAAGGGG!
Wait, calm down and just fly. Whew, that is better, where am I? Why is that warning light still on?
Let go of throttle to hit button on EIS. Throttle shuts down and nose comes up. HUH? Push nose down, grab throttle and start the PIO all over again. Wait, calm down and fly.
OK, not so bad, oops bumps in the air. Gee I must be above pattern altitude, can't see the altimeter because the EIS on the warning page. Looks like high EGT, but not too bad as I have the limits set kind of low.
Turn crosswind before I get out of gliding range. Left wing drops, fixed, not going the right way. Was that the plane or an air bubble? Mushed it around finally pointing the right way. Looked for traffic, none seen nor heard. OK more bumps and more PIO. Throttle up, down and everywhere in between.
YIKES, what have I done? Wait, calm down and fly. Whew, better, time to turn downwind. Glance at airspeed, somewhere north of 60, OK we probably won't stall and spin in a gentle turn. This one went better. On downwind leg, getting a grip and just flying.
Turned base leg, more bumps, more PIO. Recovery was smoother and faster. Got it around to final leg. Decided to just stay at that altitude, whatever it was and just fly around the patch one more time keeping the runway slightly off to my left so I can see if I am going straight.
Some guy on the ground calls me on the radio and says "is it rough up there or are you having problems?" WHAT? I am 90 seconds into my first flight and YOU want to talk about it, NOW? Are you planning on coming up to help? Found the transmit button and managed to squeak out "I think it's me". Managed to drop the button, oh-oh, this thing is flapping every which way but loose again!
OK, calm down and fly, OK better. Managed to get all the way around to base leg again and only had a few "burbles and PIO's". OK, plan on making a standard approach and fly the length of the runway, then go around and do it again. Radio calls, someone 5 miles out, headed my way. That is a Champ, he will be here before I can get out of the way.
On final now, wishing I could find that transmit button to let him know my intentions. Back off the throttle a little and push the nose down. Not so bad, holding 50 MPH. Keeping lined up, still 50. OK. Hey, I am pointed at the numbers, well, if there were numbers, that is where they would be. Still going 50, all is well. Champ is getting close, better just set it down and get out of the way.
Wait, what? Landing? Man, that runway got here fast, backed of the throttle and started to flair. How high am I? Where did the center of the runway go?
Still pointed straight, slowing down. How low do I put the nose? I don't want to nose over. I don't want to do a 3 point, do I flair anymore?
Didn't matter, Serenity decided for me. We did a 3 point landing on 2 wheels. Boing! One good hop of maybe 6", then all 3 wheels hit and stuck. Jerked the last of the throttle off and was stopped in the middle of the runway in seconds.
WOW! I am alive! Wow, I am still in the runway with traffic in the pattern, somewhere.
Powered up and taxied off the runway, just in time to hear the Champ on downwind for the runway I was on, no problems there. Just reaching the taxiway when something big and heavy with low wings comes screaming in on the main runway and touches down. Right about where I would have been if I had done a go around. If he used the radio, I certainly never heard it. It might have been a Cherokee or something like it, I only saw a flash.
That certainly was enough for me for the day. Looking at the windsock it was halfway out and crosswise to all runways, good time to hang it up. Found my transmit button and and announce "Down and clear". Taxiing back to the hangar, I heard the Champ on final and clear of the runway. Never did see that other plane again.
Man, will I EVER have nerve enough to do THAT again? Really, really unsure at this point.
My wife who had been watching from the edge of the runway finally gets back to the hangar and congratulates me. She didn't seem excited at all? She said it looked great, but then again, she usually can't tell the difference between a Cherokee and a Champ when they are in the air.....
Got Serenity folded up and put away. Gee, will I ever get an appetite again? Can I still drive? Should I just walk home? It is only 20 miles and walking is probably safer.
When I got home and looked at the videos my wife took, two things were obvious. One, my wife can't run a camera, LOTS of blue sky and engine sounds. Two, (she did manage to film the landing) my landing was not nearly as bad as I thought while I was doing it, and in my mind afterward.
Took two days of "digesting and analyzing" to begin to come to grips with what happened.
Lessons learned, or at least re-learned:
Flights rarely go according to plan, have options.
Basic instruction (if done right) is always with you, ie: calm down and fly, and cut your corrections in half. Thank you Mr. Thomas, all the way back to 1973.
If you didn't bend it, you did good.
I am now ready to do it again. Well, not again, better next time.
I tell this story partially for my own therapy, and for others to hopefully learn from. If nothing else, maybe it will entertain some of you.
One thing I have not been able to figure out, is why it veered right on take off.
Taxi testing showed no propensity to go anywhere but straight, so I don't think is a landing gear problem. My prop turns clockwise (as viewed from behind), so P-factor should turn it to the left. Dead bugs and oil droplets on the tail would indicate the air is hitting the left side of the vertical stabilizer more than the right side. That should push me left, not right. Maybe my old Chief training took over and I was applying right rudder without knowing it.
Only a re-try will tell for sure. Hopefully I will get some dead air time yet this fall.
Thanks for listening,
Stuart
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lcottrell
Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 1494
Location: Jordan Valley, Or
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| Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 9:10 am Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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Well you survived. You might want to reconsider the name- Serenity??????? Didn't sound too serene. It sounded more like my first flight. I took a nap after mine.Larry
On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 10:41 AM, Airknocker <airknocker(at)harnerfarm.net (airknocker(at)harnerfarm.net)> wrote:
| Quote: | --> Kolb-List message posted by: "Airknocker" <airknocker(at)harnerfarm.net (airknocker(at)harnerfarm.net)>
Well guys, we finally did it. Last Saturday I took Serenity to the airport and got to taxi her around a little. Found a couple of minor things to adjust, then test again.
Taxied around the ramp slowly, then went to the west end of the grass strip. At this point, I have to say pavement SUCKS!
The weather was warm and the breeze light and variable. Made several trips up and down the runway at varying speeds, getting braver with each pass. Got the tail up and was able to hold it there while keeping straight. No irregularities at all. Engine running well with temps in the right range.
A quick check of the radio, no other planes in the area, time to quit messing around.
Partial power up, tail up, glance at the windsock, limp and straight down the runway. More power, getting light and bouncy. Oops, not going straight anymore, glance at windsock, right crosswind, fed in some right aileron and left rudder. She feels ready to fly, oh, oh, runway light in the cross-hairs! More power and pull back, airborne well before edge of runway.
Holy CRAP! I'm airborne!
Left wing dropped, over corrected.
Nose came up, over corrected.
Nose went down, pulled off some power, got it level with elevator.
Crap, right wing went down, over corrected, but not as much.
Warning light on EIS, EGT or something out of whack.
Wings have a mind of their own, tail does too...
What the HE!! have I done? I won't die up here, it will be when I hit the ground out of control. Panic setting in! Every time I touch something, EVERYTHING changes. AAAGGGG!
Wait, calm down and just fly. Whew, that is better, where am I? Why is that warning light still on?
Let go of throttle to hit button on EIS. Throttle shuts down and nose comes up. HUH? Push nose down, grab throttle and start the PIO all over again. Wait, calm down and fly.
OK, not so bad, oops bumps in the air. Gee I must be above pattern altitude, can't see the altimeter because the EIS on the warning page. Looks like high EGT, but not too bad as I have the limits set kind of low.
Turn crosswind before I get out of gliding range. Left wing drops, fixed, not going the right way. Was that the plane or an air bubble? Mushed it around finally pointing the right way. Looked for traffic, none seen nor heard. OK more bumps and more PIO. Throttle up, down and everywhere in between.
YIKES, what have I done? Wait, calm down and fly. Whew, better, time to turn downwind. Glance at airspeed, somewhere north of 60, OK we probably won't stall and spin in a gentle turn. This one went better. On downwind leg, getting a grip and just flying.
Turned base leg, more bumps, more PIO. Recovery was smoother and faster. Got it around to final leg. Decided to just stay at that altitude, whatever it was and just fly around the patch one more time keeping the runway slightly off to my left so I can see if I am going straight.
Some guy on the ground calls me on the radio and says "is it rough up there or are you having problems?" WHAT? I am 90 seconds into my first flight and YOU want to talk about it, NOW? Are you planning on coming up to help? Found the transmit button and managed to squeak out "I think it's me". Managed to drop the button, oh-oh, this thing is flapping every which way but loose again!
OK, calm down and fly, OK better. Managed to get all the way around to base leg again and only had a few "burbles and PIO's". OK, plan on making a standard approach and fly the length of the runway, then go around and do it again. Radio calls, someone 5 miles out, headed my way. That is a Champ, he will be here before I can get out of the way.
On final now, wishing I could find that transmit button to let him know my intentions. Back off the throttle a little and push the nose down. Not so bad, holding 50 MPH. Keeping lined up, still 50. OK. Hey, I am pointed at the numbers, well, if there were numbers, that is where they would be. Still going 50, all is well. Champ is getting close, better just set it down and get out of the way.
Wait, what? Landing? Man, that runway got here fast, backed of the throttle and started to flair. How high am I? Where did the center of the runway go?
Still pointed straight, slowing down. How low do I put the nose? I don't want to nose over. I don't want to do a 3 point, do I flair anymore?
Didn't matter, Serenity decided for me. We did a 3 point landing on 2 wheels. Boing! One good hop of maybe 6", then all 3 wheels hit and stuck. Jerked the last of the throttle off and was stopped in the middle of the runway in seconds.
WOW! I am alive! Wow, I am still in the runway with traffic in the pattern, somewhere.
Powered up and taxied off the runway, just in time to hear the Champ on downwind for the runway I was on, no problems there. Just reaching the taxiway when something big and heavy with low wings comes screaming in on the main runway and touches down. Right about where I would have been if I had done a go around. If he used the radio, I certainly never heard it. It might have been a Cherokee or something like it, I only saw a flash.
That certainly was enough for me for the day. Looking at the windsock it was halfway out and crosswise to all runways, good time to hang it up. Found my transmit button and and announce "Down and clear". Taxiing back to the hangar, I heard the Champ on final and clear of the runway. Never did see that other plane again.
Man, will I EVER have nerve enough to do THAT again? Really, really unsure at this point.
My wife who had been watching from the edge of the runway finally gets back to the hangar and congratulates me. She didn't seem excited at all? She said it looked great, but then again, she usually can't tell the difference between a Cherokee and a Champ when they are in the air.....
Got Serenity folded up and put away. Gee, will I ever get an appetite again? Can I still drive? Should I just walk home? It is only 20 miles and walking is probably safer.
When I got home and looked at the videos my wife took, two things were obvious. One, my wife can't run a camera, LOTS of blue sky and engine sounds. Two, (she did manage to film the landing) my landing was not nearly as bad as I thought while I was doing it, and in my mind afterward.
Took two days of "digesting and analyzing" to begin to come to grips with what happened.
Lessons learned, or at least re-learned:
Flights rarely go according to plan, have options.
Basic instruction (if done right) is always with you, ie: calm down and fly, and cut your corrections in half. Thank you Mr. Thomas, all the way back to 1973.
If you didn't bend it, you did good.
I am now ready to do it again. Well, not again, better next time.
I tell this story partially for my own therapy, and for others to hopefully learn from. If nothing else, maybe it will entertain some of you.
One thing I have not been able to figure out, is why it veered right on take off.
Taxi testing showed no propensity to go anywhere but straight, so I don't think is a landing gear problem. My prop turns clockwise (as viewed from behind), so P-factor should turn it to the left. Dead bugs and oil droplets on the tail would indicate the air is hitting the left side of the vertical stabilizer more than the right side. That should push me left, not right. Maybe my old Chief training took over and I was applying right rudder without knowing it.
Only a re-try will tell for sure. Hopefully I will get some dead air time yet this fall.
Thanks for listening,
Stuart
--------
"I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me" - Josh Wedon
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=432479#432479
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pc.king(at)comcast.net
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| Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 12:07 pm Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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Perhaps you should have let Wash make the first flight.
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rowedenny
Joined: 09 Mar 2008
Posts: 338
Location: Western PA
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| Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 2:17 pm Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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Two stoke powered Kolbs turn right at full power , use the left rudder pedal.
Glad all ended well.
Dennis "Skid" Rowe
Mk3, Rotax 670,
Leechburg, PA
| Quote: | On Oct 29, 2014, at 12:41 PM, "Airknocker" <airknocker(at)harnerfarm.net> wrote:
Well guys, we finally did it. Last Saturday I took Serenity to the airport and got to taxi her around a little. Found a couple of minor things to adjust, then test again.
Taxied around the ramp slowly, then went to the west end of the grass strip. At this point, I have to say pavement SUCKS!
The weather was warm and the breeze light and variable. Made several trips up and down the runway at varying speeds, getting braver with each pass. Got the tail up and was able to hold it there while keeping straight. No irregularities at all. Engine running well with temps in the right range.
A quick check of the radio, no other planes in the area, time to quit messing around.
Partial power up, tail up, glance at the windsock, limp and straight down the runway. More power, getting light and bouncy. Oops, not going straight anymore, glance at windsock, right crosswind, fed in some right aileron and left rudder. She feels ready to fly, oh, oh, runway light in the cross-hairs! More power and pull back, airborne well before edge of runway.
Holy CRAP! I'm airborne!
Left wing dropped, over corrected.
Nose came up, over corrected.
Nose went down, pulled off some power, got it level with elevator.
Crap, right wing went down, over corrected, but not as much.
Warning light on EIS, EGT or something out of whack.
Wings have a mind of their own, tail does too...
What the HE!! have I done? I won't die up here, it will be when I hit the ground out of control. Panic setting in! Every time I touch something, EVERYTHING changes. AAAGGGG!
Wait, calm down and just fly. Whew, that is better, where am I? Why is that warning light still on?
Let go of throttle to hit button on EIS. Throttle shuts down and nose comes up. HUH? Push nose down, grab throttle and start the PIO all over again. Wait, calm down and fly.
OK, not so bad, oops bumps in the air. Gee I must be above pattern altitude, can't see the altimeter because the EIS on the warning page. Looks like high EGT, but not too bad as I have the limits set kind of low.
Turn crosswind before I get out of gliding range. Left wing drops, fixed, not going the right way. Was that the plane or an air bubble? Mushed it around finally pointing the right way. Looked for traffic, none seen nor heard. OK more bumps and more PIO. Throttle up, down and everywhere in between.
YIKES, what have I done? Wait, calm down and fly. Whew, better, time to turn downwind. Glance at airspeed, somewhere north of 60, OK we probably won't stall and spin in a gentle turn. This one went better. On downwind leg, getting a grip and just flying.
Turned base leg, more bumps, more PIO. Recovery was smoother and faster. Got it around to final leg. Decided to just stay at that altitude, whatever it was and just fly around the patch one more time keeping the runway slightly off to my left so I can see if I am going straight.
Some guy on the ground calls me on the radio and says "is it rough up there or are you having problems?" WHAT? I am 90 seconds into my first flight and YOU want to talk about it, NOW? Are you planning on coming up to help? Found the transmit button and managed to squeak out "I think it's me". Managed to drop the button, oh-oh, this thing is flapping every which way but loose again!
OK, calm down and fly, OK better. Managed to get all the way around to base leg again and only had a few "burbles and PIO's". OK, plan on making a standard approach and fly the length of the runway, then go around and do it again. Radio calls, someone 5 miles out, headed my way. That is a Champ, he will be here before I can get out of the way.
On final now, wishing I could find that transmit button to let him know my intentions. Back off the throttle a little and push the nose down. Not so bad, holding 50 MPH. Keeping lined up, still 50. OK. Hey, I am pointed at the numbers, well, if there were numbers, that is where they would be. Still going 50, all is well. Champ is getting close, better just set it down and get out of the way.
Wait, what? Landing? Man, that runway got here fast, backed of the throttle and started to flair. How high am I? Where did the center of the runway go?
Still pointed straight, slowing down. How low do I put the nose? I don't want to nose over. I don't want to do a 3 point, do I flair anymore?
Didn't matter, Serenity decided for me. We did a 3 point landing on 2 wheels. Boing! One good hop of maybe 6", then all 3 wheels hit and stuck. Jerked the last of the throttle off and was stopped in the middle of the runway in seconds.
WOW! I am alive! Wow, I am still in the runway with traffic in the pattern, somewhere.
Powered up and taxied off the runway, just in time to hear the Champ on downwind for the runway I was on, no problems there. Just reaching the taxiway when something big and heavy with low wings comes screaming in on the main runway and touches down. Right about where I would have been if I had done a go around. If he used the radio, I certainly never heard it. It might have been a Cherokee or something like it, I only saw a flash.
That certainly was enough for me for the day. Looking at the windsock it was halfway out and crosswise to all runways, good time to hang it up. Found my transmit button and and announce "Down and clear". Taxiing back to the hangar, I heard the Champ on final and clear of the runway. Never did see that other plane again.
Man, will I EVER have nerve enough to do THAT again? Really, really unsure at this point.
My wife who had been watching from the edge of the runway finally gets back to the hangar and congratulates me. She didn't seem excited at all? She said it looked great, but then again, she usually can't tell the difference between a Cherokee and a Champ when they are in the air.....
Got Serenity folded up and put away. Gee, will I ever get an appetite again? Can I still drive? Should I just walk home? It is only 20 miles and walking is probably safer.
When I got home and looked at the videos my wife took, two things were obvious. One, my wife can't run a camera, LOTS of blue sky and engine sounds. Two, (she did manage to film the landing) my landing was not nearly as bad as I thought while I was doing it, and in my mind afterward.
Took two days of "digesting and analyzing" to begin to come to grips with what happened.
Lessons learned, or at least re-learned:
Flights rarely go according to plan, have options.
Basic instruction (if done right) is always with you, ie: calm down and fly, and cut your corrections in half. Thank you Mr. Thomas, all the way back to 1973.
If you didn't bend it, you did good.
I am now ready to do it again. Well, not again, better next time.
I tell this story partially for my own therapy, and for others to hopefully learn from. If nothing else, maybe it will entertain some of you.
One thing I have not been able to figure out, is why it veered right on take off.
Taxi testing showed no propensity to go anywhere but straight, so I don't think is a landing gear problem. My prop turns clockwise (as viewed from behind), so P-factor should turn it to the left. Dead bugs and oil droplets on the tail would indicate the air is hitting the left side of the vertical stabilizer more than the right side. That should push me left, not right. Maybe my old Chief training took over and I was applying right rudder without knowing it.
Only a re-try will tell for sure. Hopefully I will get some dead air time yet this fall.
Thanks for listening,
Stuart
--------
"I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me" - Josh Wedon
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=432479#432479
|
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russk50(at)gmail.com
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 3:00 pm Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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Dennis, cant help but be curious. Why the right turn?
On Oct 29, 2014, at 6:12 PM, Dennis Rowe wrote:
| Quote: |
Two stoke powered Kolbs turn right at full power , use the left rudder pedal.
Glad all ended well.
Dennis "Skid" Rowe
Mk3, Rotax 670,
Leechburg, PA
> On Oct 29, 2014, at 12:41 PM, "Airknocker" <airknocker(at)harnerfarm.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> Well guys, we finally did it. Last Saturday I took Serenity to the airport and got to taxi her around a little. Found a couple of minor things to adjust, then test again.
>
> Taxied around the ramp slowly, then went to the west end of the grass strip. At this point, I have to say pavement SUCKS!
>
> The weather was warm and the breeze light and variable. Made several trips up and down the runway at varying speeds, getting braver with each pass. Got the tail up and was able to hold it there while keeping straight. No irregularities at all. Engine running well with temps in the right range.
>
> A quick check of the radio, no other planes in the area, time to quit messing around.
>
> Partial power up, tail up, glance at the windsock, limp and straight down the runway. More power, getting light and bouncy. Oops, not going straight anymore, glance at windsock, right crosswind, fed in some right aileron and left rudder. She feels ready to fly, oh, oh, runway light in the cross-hairs! More power and pull back, airborne well before edge of runway.
>
> Holy CRAP! I'm airborne!
>
> Left wing dropped, over corrected.
> Nose came up, over corrected.
> Nose went down, pulled off some power, got it level with elevator.
> Crap, right wing went down, over corrected, but not as much.
> Warning light on EIS, EGT or something out of whack.
> Wings have a mind of their own, tail does too...
>
> What the HE!! have I done? I won't die up here, it will be when I hit the ground out of control. Panic setting in! Every time I touch something, EVERYTHING changes. AAAGGGG!
>
> Wait, calm down and just fly. Whew, that is better, where am I? Why is that warning light still on?
>
> Let go of throttle to hit button on EIS. Throttle shuts down and nose comes up. HUH? Push nose down, grab throttle and start the PIO all over again. Wait, calm down and fly.
>
> OK, not so bad, oops bumps in the air. Gee I must be above pattern altitude, can't see the altimeter because the EIS on the warning page. Looks like high EGT, but not too bad as I have the limits set kind of low.
>
> Turn crosswind before I get out of gliding range. Left wing drops, fixed, not going the right way. Was that the plane or an air bubble? Mushed it around finally pointing the right way. Looked for traffic, none seen nor heard. OK more bumps and more PIO. Throttle up, down and everywhere in between.
>
> YIKES, what have I done? Wait, calm down and fly. Whew, better, time to turn downwind. Glance at airspeed, somewhere north of 60, OK we probably won't stall and spin in a gentle turn. This one went better. On downwind leg, getting a grip and just flying.
>
> Turned base leg, more bumps, more PIO. Recovery was smoother and faster. Got it around to final leg. Decided to just stay at that altitude, whatever it was and just fly around the patch one more time keeping the runway slightly off to my left so I can see if I am going straight.
>
> Some guy on the ground calls me on the radio and says "is it rough up there or are you having problems?" WHAT? I am 90 seconds into my first flight and YOU want to talk about it, NOW? Are you planning on coming up to help? Found the transmit button and managed to squeak out "I think it's me". Managed to drop the button, oh-oh, this thing is flapping every which way but loose again!
>
> OK, calm down and fly, OK better. Managed to get all the way around to base leg again and only had a few "burbles and PIO's". OK, plan on making a standard approach and fly the length of the runway, then go around and do it again. Radio calls, someone 5 miles out, headed my way. That is a Champ, he will be here before I can get out of the way.
>
> On final now, wishing I could find that transmit button to let him know my intentions. Back off the throttle a little and push the nose down. Not so bad, holding 50 MPH. Keeping lined up, still 50. OK. Hey, I am pointed at the numbers, well, if there were numbers, that is where they would be. Still going 50, all is well. Champ is getting close, better just set it down and get out of the way.
>
> Wait, what? Landing? Man, that runway got here fast, backed of the throttle and started to flair. How high am I? Where did the center of the runway go?
>
> Still pointed straight, slowing down. How low do I put the nose? I don't want to nose over. I don't want to do a 3 point, do I flair anymore?
>
> Didn't matter, Serenity decided for me. We did a 3 point landing on 2 wheels. Boing! One good hop of maybe 6", then all 3 wheels hit and stuck. Jerked the last of the throttle off and was stopped in the middle of the runway in seconds.
>
> WOW! I am alive! Wow, I am still in the runway with traffic in the pattern, somewhere.
>
> Powered up and taxied off the runway, just in time to hear the Champ on downwind for the runway I was on, no problems there. Just reaching the taxiway when something big and heavy with low wings comes screaming in on the main runway and touches down. Right about where I would have been if I had done a go around. If he used the radio, I certainly never heard it. It might have been a Cherokee or something like it, I only saw a flash.
>
> That certainly was enough for me for the day. Looking at the windsock it was halfway out and crosswise to all runways, good time to hang it up. Found my transmit button and and announce "Down and clear". Taxiing back to the hangar, I heard the Champ on final and clear of the runway. Never did see that other plane again.
>
> Man, will I EVER have nerve enough to do THAT again? Really, really unsure at this point.
>
> My wife who had been watching from the edge of the runway finally gets back to the hangar and congratulates me. She didn't seem excited at all? She said it looked great, but then again, she usually can't tell the difference between a Cherokee and a Champ when they are in the air.....
>
> Got Serenity folded up and put away. Gee, will I ever get an appetite again? Can I still drive? Should I just walk home? It is only 20 miles and walking is probably safer.
>
> When I got home and looked at the videos my wife took, two things were obvious. One, my wife can't run a camera, LOTS of blue sky and engine sounds. Two, (she did manage to film the landing) my landing was not nearly as bad as I thought while I was doing it, and in my mind afterward.
>
> Took two days of "digesting and analyzing" to begin to come to grips with what happened.
>
> Lessons learned, or at least re-learned:
>
> Flights rarely go according to plan, have options.
>
> Basic instruction (if done right) is always with you, ie: calm down and fly, and cut your corrections in half. Thank you Mr. Thomas, all the way back to 1973.
>
> If you didn't bend it, you did good.
>
> I am now ready to do it again. Well, not again, better next time.
>
> I tell this story partially for my own therapy, and for others to hopefully learn from. If nothing else, maybe it will entertain some of you.
>
> One thing I have not been able to figure out, is why it veered right on take off.
>
> Taxi testing showed no propensity to go anywhere but straight, so I don't think is a landing gear problem. My prop turns clockwise (as viewed from behind), so P-factor should turn it to the left. Dead bugs and oil droplets on the tail would indicate the air is hitting the left side of the vertical stabilizer more than the right side. That should push me left, not right. Maybe my old Chief training took over and I was applying right rudder without knowing it.
>
> Only a re-try will tell for sure. Hopefully I will get some dead air time yet this fall.
>
> Thanks for listening,
>
> Stuart
>
> --------
> "I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me" - Josh Wedon
>
>
>
>
> Read this topic online here:
>
> http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=432479#432479
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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stuart(at)harnerfarm.net
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 3:02 pm Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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|
Ha! I thought of that, but he was on the other side of the 'verse and I
couldn't get a wave through to him. Probably helping Mal misbehave
somewhere.....
S
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stuart(at)harnerfarm.net
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 3:02 pm Post subject: Serenity flies! |
|
|
Yeah, that will take some getting used to. It must be air forces on tail,
not P-factor.
I surprised me mostly because I did not notice it on my tail up taxi tests,
and it went against the logic of the P-factor effect of a clockwise prop.
My first instructor (the previously mentioned Mr. Thomas) used to make me
take off while he ran the throttle. Full throttle until tail up, then he
would back it off to just enough to keep the tail up. I would have to steer
the whole length of the 2600' grass strip. Then at the last moment he would
firewall it and we would take off. Go around and do it again. After I
FINALLY got the hang of that, the rest of the buildup to solo was fairly
easy. When turning a pre-war Chief, always lead with your feet.
Time to switch feet. 
Thanks,
Stuart
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rowedenny
Joined: 09 Mar 2008
Posts: 338
Location: Western PA
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 3:18 pm Post subject: Serenity flies! |
|
|
Most folks agree it's the prop wash swirling against the tail,
912 powered Kolbs need right rudder just like GA birds.
The right turn at full power nearly bit my buddy Dave Lewis on his first Slingshot flight too, I had added a rudder trim tab to my Mk-3 before his familiarization rides with me so it didn't prepare him for the opposite rudder required in a Kolb compared to his Cessna ppl training.
As a group, we need to do a better job of reminding new Kolb pilots of this little surprise.
Dennis "Skid" Rowe
Mk3, Rotax 670,
Leechburg, PA
| Quote: | On Oct 29, 2014, at 6:59 PM, kinne russ <russk50(at)gmail.com> wrote:
Dennis, cant help but be curious. Why the right turn?
> On Oct 29, 2014, at 6:12 PM, Dennis Rowe wrote:
>
>
>
> Two stoke powered Kolbs turn right at full power , use the left rudder pedal.
> Glad all ended well.
>
> Dennis "Skid" Rowe
> Mk3, Rotax 670,
> Leechburg, PA
>
>
>
>> On Oct 29, 2014, at 12:41 PM, "Airknocker" <airknocker(at)harnerfarm.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> Well guys, we finally did it. Last Saturday I took Serenity to the airport and got to taxi her around a little. Found a couple of minor things to adjust, then test again.
>>
>> Taxied around the ramp slowly, then went to the west end of the grass strip. At this point, I have to say pavement SUCKS!
>>
>> The weather was warm and the breeze light and variable. Made several trips up and down the runway at varying speeds, getting braver with each pass. Got the tail up and was able to hold it there while keeping straight. No irregularities at all. Engine running well with temps in the right range.
>>
>> A quick check of the radio, no other planes in the area, time to quit messing around.
>>
>> Partial power up, tail up, glance at the windsock, limp and straight down the runway. More power, getting light and bouncy. Oops, not going straight anymore, glance at windsock, right crosswind, fed in some right aileron and left rudder. She feels ready to fly, oh, oh, runway light in the cross-hairs! More power and pull back, airborne well before edge of runway.
>>
>> Holy CRAP! I'm airborne!
>>
>> Left wing dropped, over corrected.
>> Nose came up, over corrected.
>> Nose went down, pulled off some power, got it level with elevator.
>> Crap, right wing went down, over corrected, but not as much.
>> Warning light on EIS, EGT or something out of whack.
>> Wings have a mind of their own, tail does too...
>>
Dennis, cant help but be curious. Why the right turn?
> On Oct 29, 2014, at 6:12 PM, Dennis Rowe wrote:
>
>
>
> Two stoke powered Kolbs turn right at full power , use the left rudder pedal.
> Glad all ended well.
>
> Dennis "Skid" Rowe
> Mk3, Rotax 670,
> Leechburg, PA
>
>
>
>> On Oct 29, 2014, at 12:41 PM, "Airknocker" <airknocker(at)harnerfarm.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> Well guys, we finally did it. Last Saturday I took Serenity to the airport and got to taxi her around a little. Found a couple of minor things to adjust, then test again.
>>
>> Taxied around the ramp slowly, then went to the west end of the grass strip. At this point, I have to say pavement SUCKS!
>>
>> The weather was warm and the breeze light and variable. Made several trips up and down the runway at varying speeds, getting braver with each pass. Got the tail up and was able to hold it there while keeping straight. No irregularities at all. Engine running well with temps in the right range.
>>
>> A quick check of the radio, no other planes in the area, time to quit messing around.
>>
>> Partial power up, tail up, glance at the windsock, limp and straight down the runway. More power, getting light and bouncy. Oops, not going straight anymore, glance at windsock, right crosswind, fed in some right aileron and left rudder. She feels ready to fly, oh, oh, runway light in the cross-hairs! More power and pull back, airborne well before edge of runway.
>>
>> Holy CRAP! I'm airborne!
>>
>> Left wing dropped, over corrected.
>> Nose came up, over corrected.
>> Nose went down, pulled off some power, got it level with elevator.
>> Crap, right wing went down, over corrected, but not as much.
>> Warning light on EIS, EGT or something out of whack.
>> Wings have a mind of their own, tail does too...
>>
>> What the HE!! have I done? I won't die up here, it will be when I hit the ground out of control. Panic setting in! Every time I touch something, EVERYTHING changes. AAAGGGG!
>>
>> Wait, calm down and just fly. Whew, that is better, where am I? Why is that warning light still on?
>>
>> Let go of throttle to hit button on EIS. Throttle shuts down and nose comes up. HUH? Push nose down, grab throttle and start the PIO all over again. Wait, calm down and fly.
>>
>> OK, not so bad, oops bumps in the air. Gee I must be above pattern altitude, can't see the altimeter because the EIS on the warning page. Looks like high EGT, but not too bad as I have the limits set kind of low.
>>
>> Turn crosswind before I get out of gliding range. Left wing drops, fixed, not going the right way. Was that the plane or an air bubble? Mushed it around finally pointing the right way. Looked for traffic, none seen nor heard. OK more bumps and more PIO. Throttle up, down and everywhere in between.
>>
>> YIKES, what have I done? Wait, calm down and fly. Whew, better, time to turn downwind. Glance at airspeed, somewhere north of 60, OK we probably won't stall and spin in a gentle turn. This one went better. On downwind leg, getting a grip and just flying.
>>
>> Turned base leg, more bumps, more PIO. Recovery was smoother and faster. Got it around to final leg. Decided to just stay at that altitude, whatever it was and just fly around the patch one more time keeping the runway slightly off to my left so I can see if I am going straight.
>>
>> Some guy on the ground calls me on the radio and says "is it rough up there or are you having problems?" WHAT? I am 90 seconds into my first flight and YOU want to talk about it, NOW? Are you planning on coming up to help? Found the transmit button and managed to squeak out "I think it's me". Managed to drop the button, oh-oh, this thing is flapping every which way but loose again!
>>
>> OK, calm down and fly, OK better. Managed to get all the way around to base leg again and only had a few "burbles and PIO's". OK, plan on making a standard approach and fly the length of the runway, then go around and do it again. Radio calls, someone 5 miles out, headed my way. That is a Champ, he will be here before I can get out of the way.
>>
>> On final now, wishing I could find that transmit button to let him know my intentions. Back off the throttle a little and push the nose down. Not so bad, holding 50 MPH. Keeping lined up, still 50. OK. Hey, I am pointed at the numbers, well, if there were numbers, that is where they would be. Still going 50, all is well. Champ is getting close, better just set it down and get out of the way.
>>
>> Wait, what? Landing? Man, that runway got here fast, backed of the throttle and started to flair. How high am I? Where did the center of the runway go?
>>
>> Still pointed straight, slowing down. How low do I put the nose? I don't want to nose over. I don't want to do a 3 point, do I flair anymore?
>>
>> Didn't matter, Serenity decided for me. We did a 3 point landing on 2 wheels. Boing! One good hop of maybe 6", then all 3 wheels hit and stuck. Jerked the last of the throttle off and was stopped in the middle of the runway in seconds.
>>
>> WOW! I am alive! Wow, I am still in the runway with traffic in the pattern, somewhere.
>>
>> Powered up and taxied off the runway, just in time to hear the Champ on downwind for the runway I was on, no problems there. Just reaching the taxiway when something big and heavy with low wings comes screaming in on the main runway and touches down. Right about where I would have been if I had done a go around. If he used the radio, I certainly never heard it. It might have been a Cherokee or something like it, I only saw a flash.
>>
>> That certainly was enough for me for the day. Looking at the windsock it was halfway out and crosswise to all runways, good time to hang it up. Found my transmit button and and announce "Down and clear". Taxiing back to the hangar, I heard the Champ on final and clear of the runway. Never did see that other plane again.
>>
>> Man, will I EVER have nerve enough to do THAT again? Really, really unsure at this point.
>>
>> My wife who had been watching from the edge of the runway finally gets back to the hangar and congratulates me. She didn't seem excited at all? She said it looked great, but then again, she usually can't tell the difference between a Cherokee and a Champ when they are in the air.....
>>
>> Got Serenity folded up and put away. Gee, will I ever get an appetite again? Can I still drive? Should I just walk home? It is only 20 miles and walking is probably safer.
>>
>> When I got home and looked at the videos my wife took, two things were obvious. One, my wife can't run a camera, LOTS of blue sky and engine sounds. Two, (she did manage to film the landing) my landing was not nearly as bad as I thought while I was doing it, and in my mind afterward.
>>
>> Took two days of "digesting and analyzing" to begin to come to grips with what happened.
>>
>> Lessons learned, or at least re-learned:
>>
>> Flights rarely go according to plan, have options.
>>
>> Basic instruction (if done right) is always with you, ie: calm down and fly, and cut your corrections in half. Thank you Mr. Thomas, all the way back to 1973.
>>
>> If you didn't bend it, you did good.
>>
>> I am now ready to do it again. Well, not again, better next time.
>>
>> I tell this story partially for my own therapy, and for others to hopefully learn from. If nothing else, maybe it will entertain some of you.
>>
>> One thing I have not been able to figure out, is why it veered right on take off.
>>
>> Taxi testing showed no propensity to go anywhere but straight, so I don't think is a landing gear problem. My prop turns clockwise (as viewed from behind), so P-factor should turn it to the left. Dead bugs and oil droplets on the tail would indicate the air is hitting the left side of the vertical stabilizer more than the right side. That should push me left, not right. Maybe my old Chief training took over and I was applying right rudder without knowing it.
>>
>> Only a re-try will tell for sure. Hopefully I will get some dead air time yet this fall.
>>
>> Thanks for listening,
>>
>> Stuart
>>
>> --------
>> "I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me" - Josh Wedon
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Read this topic online here:
>>
>> http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=432479#432479
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
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zeprep251(at)aol.com
Guest
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 4:41 am Post subject: Serenity flies! |
|
|
Congratulations on your first flight! Just a thought on first flights if I may.Make it a long flight,getting the feel at slower speeds
Sent from my iPhone
| Quote: | On Oct 29, 2014, at 12:41 PM, "Airknocker" <airknocker(at)harnerfarm.net> wrote:
Well guys, we finally did it. Last Saturday I took Serenity to the airport and got to taxi her around a little. Found a couple of minor things to adjust, then test again.
Taxied around the ramp slowly, then went to the west end of the grass strip. At this point, I have to say pavement SUCKS!
The weather was warm and the breeze light and variable. Made several trips up and down the runway at varying speeds, getting braver with each pass. Got the tail up and was able to hold it there while keeping straight. No irregularities at all. Engine running well with temps in the right range.
A quick check of the radio, no other planes in the area, time to quit messing around.
Partial power up, tail up, glance at the windsock, limp and straight down the runway. More power, getting light and bouncy. Oops, not going straight anymore, glance at windsock, right crosswind, fed in some right aileron and left rudder. She feels ready to fly, oh, oh, runway light in the cross-hairs! More power and pull back, airborne well before edge of runway.
Holy CRAP! I'm airborne!
Left wing dropped, over corrected.
Nose came up, over corrected.
Nose went down, pulled off some power, got it level with elevator.
Crap, right wing went down, over corrected, but not as much.
Warning light on EIS, EGT or something out of whack.
Wings have a mind of their own, tail does too...
What the HE!! have I done? I won't die up here, it will be when I hit the ground out of control. Panic setting in! Every time I touch something, EVERYTHING changes. AAAGGGG!
Wait, calm down and just fly. Whew, that is better, where am I? Why is that warning light still on?
Let go of throttle to hit button on EIS. Throttle shuts down and nose comes up. HUH? Push nose down, grab throttle and start the PIO all over again. Wait, calm down and fly.
OK, not so bad, oops bumps in the air. Gee I must be above pattern altitude, can't see the altimeter because the EIS on the warning page. Looks like high EGT, but not too bad as I have the limits set kind of low.
Turn crosswind before I get out of gliding range. Left wing drops, fixed, not going the right way. Was that the plane or an air bubble? Mushed it around finally pointing the right way. Looked for traffic, none seen nor heard. OK more bumps and more PIO. Throttle up, down and everywhere in between.
YIKES, what have I done? Wait, calm down and fly. Whew, better, time to turn downwind. Glance at airspeed, somewhere north of 60, OK we probably won't stall and spin in a gentle turn. This one went better. On downwind leg, getting a grip and just flying.
Turned base leg, more bumps, more PIO. Recovery was smoother and faster. Got it around to final leg. Decided to just stay at that altitude, whatever it was and just fly around the patch one more time keeping the runway slightly off to my left so I can see if I am going straight.
Some guy on the ground calls me on the radio and says "is it rough up there or are you having problems?" WHAT? I am 90 seconds into my first flight and YOU want to talk about it, NOW? Are you planning on coming up to help? Found the transmit button and managed to squeak out "I think it's me". Managed to drop the button, oh-oh, this thing is flapping every which way but loose again!
OK, calm down and fly, OK better. Managed to get all the way around to base leg again and only had a few "burbles and PIO's". OK, plan on making a standard approach and fly the length of the runway, then go around and do it again. Radio calls, someone 5 miles out, headed my way. That is a Champ, he will be here before I can get out of the way.
On final now, wishing I could find that transmit button to let him know my intentions. Back off the throttle a little and push the nose down. Not so bad, holding 50 MPH. Keeping lined up, still 50. OK. Hey, I am pointed at the numbers, well, if there were numbers, that is where they would be. Still going 50, all is well. Champ is getting close, better just set it down and get out of the way.
Wait, what? Landing? Man, that runway got here fast, backed of the throttle and started to flair. How high am I? Where did the center of the runway go?
Still pointed straight, slowing down. How low do I put the nose? I don't want to nose over. I don't want to do a 3 point, do I flair anymore?
Didn't matter, Serenity decided for me. We did a 3 point landing on 2 wheels. Boing! One good hop of maybe 6", then all 3 wheels hit and stuck. Jerked the last of the throttle off and was stopped in the middle of the runway in seconds.
WOW! I am alive! Wow, I am still in the runway with traffic in the pattern, somewhere.
Powered up and taxied off the runway, just in time to hear the Champ on downwind for the runway I was on, no problems there. Just reaching the taxiway when something big and heavy with low wings comes screaming in on the main runway and touches down. Right about where I would have been if I had done a go around. If he used the radio, I certainly never heard it. It might have been a Cherokee or something like it, I only saw a flash.
That certainly was enough for me for the day. Looking at the windsock it was halfway out and crosswise to all runways, good time to hang it up. Found my transmit button and and announce "Down and clear". Taxiing back to the hangar, I heard the Champ on final and clear of the runway. Never did see that other plane again.
Man, will I EVER have nerve enough to do THAT again? Really, really unsure at this point.
My wife who had been watching from the edge of the runway finally gets back to the hangar and congratulates me. She didn't seem excited at all? She said it looked great, but then again, she usually can't tell the difference between a Cherokee and a Champ when they are in the air.....
Got Serenity folded up and put away. Gee, will I ever get an appetite again? Can I still drive? Should I just walk home? It is only 20 miles and walking is probably safer.
When I got home and looked at the videos my wife took, two things were obvious. One, my wife can't run a camera, LOTS of blue sky and engine sounds. Two, (she did manage to film the landing) my landing was not nearly as bad as I thought while I was doing it, and in my mind afterward.
Took two days of "digesting and analyzing" to begin to come to grips with what happened.
Lessons learned, or at least re-learned:
Flights rarely go according to plan, have options.
Basic instruction (if done right) is always with you, ie: calm down and fly, and cut your corrections in half. Thank you Mr. Thomas, all the way back to 1973.
If you didn't bend it, you did good.
I am now ready to do it again. Well, not again, better next time.
I tell this story partially for my own therapy, and for others to hopefully learn from. If nothing else, maybe it will entertain some of you.
One thing I have not been able to figure out, is why it veered right on take off.
Taxi testing showed no propensity to go anywhere but straight, so I don't think is a landing gear problem. My prop turns clockwise (as viewed from behind), so P-factor should turn it to the left. Dead bugs and oil droplets on the tail would indicate the air is hitting the left side of the vertical stabilizer more than the right side. That should push me left, not right. Maybe my old Chief training took over and I was applying right rudder without knowing it.
Only a re-try will tell for sure. Hopefully I will get some dead air time yet this fall.
Thanks for listening,
Stuart
--------
"I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me" - Josh Wedon
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=432479#432479
|
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lmorgan100(at)charter.net
Guest
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 5:15 am Post subject: Serenity flies! |
|
|
Stuart,
I had to laugh at this, it sounded like several of my first flights in a newly rebuilt plane.
It seems like no matter how thorough you are, there is always something that needs tweaking
to get it trimmed correctly and then add the fact that it may be an aircraft that you have never flown.
Every plane that I have had was a rebuild so I have done this several times.
My last one was going from a CGS Hawk trike gear with a 532 Rotax water cooled to a Twinstar MKII with a 503 Rotax air cooled with oil injection.
This was my first oil injection motor. Well I did not get all of the air out of the injection line. On my first flight with the Twinstar, I seized the engine and had to land in a real bad field and I had all of the thoughts that you expressed in your flight and I may have added a few more new swear words. On my landing, I bent one landing gear and the tail wheel. Before the flight, on the ground my engine temps were fine, the problem did not show up until I had lifted up. All is ok with it now, I removed the injection and have it trimmed out pretty good. Anyway thanks for a good story and I hope your next flights are less exciting.
Lee
Quicksilver mx, Vector, Goldwing, CGS Hawk, Twinstar MKII
[quote][b]
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Richard Pike
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 1671
Location: Blountville, Tennessee
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 6:08 am Post subject: Re: Serenity flies! |
|
|
| lmorgan100(at)charter.net wrote: | Stuart,
<snip>
My last one was going from a CGS Hawk trike gear with a 532 Rotax water cooled to a Twinstar MKII with a 503 Rotax air cooled with oil injection.
This was my first oil injection motor. Well I did not get all of the air out of the injection line. On my first flight with the Twinstar, I seized the engine
<snip> |
This brings up something else that would be good to pass along, a 2-stroke oil injection system can be easily purged by rigging up a little spacer or clip that will hold the oil pump lever at max. (Adding a little oil to the fuel can't hurt during this time, just in case.) Tie the airplane down, bring it up to about 3,500 rpm and let it sit and run for a while. It will smoke like crazy, but after 10 minutes or so you can be confident that you have safely purged all the air out of the lines.
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Richard Pike
Kolb MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
Kingsport, TN 3TN0
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stuart(at)harnerfarm.net
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| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 6:24 am Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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Thanks, my original intent was to climb up and out of the way of the traffic
pattern and stay in close to the airport. Use the radio at least once per
circuit to announce where I was and my intentions.
Having the PPT button come loose and "disappear " on me, incoming traffic
and my difficulty in controlling myself, and the airplane caused me to go to
plan B, which was get down and out of the way.
On my next flight, after proving I can fly calmly, I will move out of the
area and climb up for the real test flying that needs to be done.
Having a new to me slightly used engine that I have only run for a little
over 2 hours, makes it seem prudent to stick close to a very nice grass
strip at the airport. Wish I could close the airport for an hour or so.
After getting my head wrapped around what happened, I am sure the EIS
warning was because I backed off the throttle and was operating in the
mid-range which runs slightly lean, causing high EGT's. I saw this during
the engine break in routine. My cure on the ground was to open the enricher
a little bit to cool it down. Unfortunately, I didn't think of that in the
air. Going to more throttle would have gotten me out of that RPM range as
well. Lesson learned.
During these windy days, I will fix the PPT button mounting and reset the
limits of the EIS slightly closer to the numbers in the Rotax manual. I had
purposely set them low for break in so that I would have time to evaluate
what was going on. Now that I am more familiar with the engine and the EIS,
I can set the limits up a little. I have already tightened the throttle
lever so it should stay put next time.
As I said, after reflection and watching the video of the landing, it really
wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time. On some advice from a friend, I
will try putting my elbow on my leg and fly with my fingertips. That should
help with the PIO problem. Of course, self-control is the most important
one to get a handle on.
Now that some time has passed, I am looking forward to the next flight. I
really do think this Firefly is going to be a lot of fun, once I get to know
it better.
Stuart
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John Hauck
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)
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| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 7:00 am Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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Did you have a problem with PIO when flying the Aeronca? If not, you
shouldn't have a problem with the FF.
You didn't mention stall speed. Way back in the Ultrastar Instruction
Manual, Homer recommended, on first flight, climb to at least 1,000 feet
AGL, check to see where the airplane stalls. Not safe to fly if one does
not know the stall speed.
I'd concentrate more on flying the aircraft than all those flashing lights,
EIS, radio communication, etc. From your msgs, seems you are having
difficulty flying. The only instrument I'd really be concerned with is the
ASI and stall speed, once you have determined what it is. Keep you work
load small as you can until you feel like you can fly the airplane
comfortably. Keep your eyes out of the cockpit toward the horizon. This
should help prevent over controlling the FF until you can fly by sight and
feel. The FF flies like the Aeronca, or any other small airplane, but a bit
more responsive to control input.
The above are my thoughts and how I'd approach the situation. I'm not
recommending you follow them.
john h
mkIII
Titus, Alabama
As I said, after reflection and watching the video of the landing, it really
wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time. On some advice from a friend, I
will try putting my elbow on my leg and fly with my fingertips. That should
help with the PIO problem. Of course, self-control is the most important
one to get a handle on.
Now that some time has passed, I am looking forward to the next flight. I
really do think this Firefly is going to be a lot of fun, once I get to know
it better.
Stuart
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John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama |
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Herbgh(at)nctc.com
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 8:04 am Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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That reminds me....We broke that engine in per the instructions...One
hour at the various speeds...all the time watching the temps...
After the break in...my buddy hopped from his wheel chair into the
trike and took off...The plan was to circle where I could see him in
case of trouble...for he was helpless on the ground...paraplegic..
Wouldn't you know...hard head Fred...took off and went out of
sight...to the point where I heard no engine noise....10 anxious minutes
later...he came for a flyby and disappeared for good. Now what do I
do?? Worried , I headed for the county airport about 5 miles away in
the hopes that some of our buddies could mount a search if necessary...
or fly to the strip, circle the area or see if he had come back...
Another 15 anxious minutes...and here he came ..on final at the
county airport...all smiles...no mention of the original plan to play it
safe...
thinking back...guess when your main parachute does not open and the
back up tangles with the main...and you hit the ground hard hard enough
to be in a wheel chair from 1969 til 2012...playing it safe is not in
the cards...so I forgave him...76 years old and having the time of his
life.. (he was supposed to cut the main chute away...! )
Ironically...the following spring he called a bud to meet him at the
airport..when he landed said to call 911...that he was having a heart
attack... he died a few hours later at the Cookeville Tenn hosp...
Herb
On 10/30/2014 09:24 AM, Stuart Harner wrote:
[quote]
Thanks, my original intent was to climb up and out of the way of the traffic
pattern and stay in close to the airport. Use the radio at least once per
circuit to announce where I was and my intentions.
Having the PPT button come loose and "disappear " on me, incoming traffic
and my difficulty in controlling myself, and the airplane caused me to go to
plan B, which was get down and out of the way.
On my next flight, after proving I can fly calmly, I will move out of the
area and climb up for the real test flying that needs to be done.
Having a new to me slightly used engine that I have only run for a little
over 2 hours, makes it seem prudent to stick close to a very nice grass
strip at the airport. Wish I could close the airport for an hour or so.
After getting my head wrapped around what happened, I am sure the EIS
warning was because I backed off the throttle and was operating in the
mid-range which runs slightly lean, causing high EGT's. I saw this during
the engine break in routine. My cure on the ground was to open the enricher
a little bit to cool it down. Unfortunately, I didn't think of that in the
air. Going to more throttle would have gotten me out of that RPM range as
well. Lesson learned.
During these windy days, I will fix the PPT button mounting and reset the
limits of the EIS slightly closer to the numbers in the Rotax manual. I had
purposely set them low for break in so that I would have time to evaluate
what was going on. Now that I am more familiar with the engine and the EIS,
I can set the limits up a little. I have already tightened the throttle
lever so it should stay put next time.
As I said, after reflection and watching the video of the landing, it really
wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time. On some advice from a friend, I
will try putting my elbow on my leg and fly with my fingertips. That should
help with the PIO problem. Of course, self-control is the most important
one to get a handle on.
Now that some time has passed, I am looking forward to the next flight. I
really do think this Firefly is going to be a lot of fun, once I get to know
it better.
Stuart
--
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stuart(at)harnerfarm.net
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 8:55 am Post subject: Serenity flies! |
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John,
No, the Chief and I got along just fine for many years. While the Chief and
the FF fly similarly, the FF is SOOOO much lighter on the controls. I
"Knew" it would be lighter, but I was not prepared for how much lighter,
thus the PIO. Not helping any, I think I was at the altitude where the
shear turbulence was. It was light, but when you only weight 500#, it does
not take much.
In the Chief, you led with some rudder, rolled in some aileron and there was
definite "push back" from the controls, as well as a bit of a lag before
anything happened. With the FF, there seemed (at least in my heightened
state of mind) that there were NO forces on the controls, and everything I
did happened instantly.
My friend with the elbow on the leg and fly with your fingertips advice said
it is probably like flying a helicopter, you don't move the controls, you
hold them and think about moving them, then you go where you were thinking
about. I have never flown a helicopter and he has never flown a FF, so it
is nothing more than advice offered in helpfulness.
If I left the impression that I was "head in the cockpit", please rest
assured that was not the case. I think I only saw the ASI twice in flight,
once in my first turn and then again on my final descent, I watched it
fairly closely. The rest of the time I was trying to fly straight and level
and figure out pitch and power.
My references to the EIS were no more than fleeting glimpses, thus I was not
exactly sure what it was telling me. I had looked to see what my altitude
was, but it was on the warning page and the one time I did look closely
enough, I saw EGT at 1229. I have the limit set at 1200 but know that 1250
is the redline.
In retrospect, I am fairly confident the plane is just fine, although I may
need to put a trim tab on somewhere, it was just my nerves that tried to get
the better of me a couple of times. There were some moments when we flew
straight and level with no problems. The fact that I was able to regain
control of myself and the airplane is a testament to my primary instructor.
Since I have to be student, test pilot, and instructor all at the same time
I have to rely on past training and experience as well as the words (and
videos) of others.
As for stall speed, agreed, I really need to do that learning ASAP, but not
at the expense of keeping the shiny side up. I am sure that will come on
the next flight, and would have on the last one, if I had stayed up like I
had planned.
This reminds me of an online discussion several years back. A fellow was
learning to fly a trike of some kind and could not get the hang of landings.
He asked at what speed I landed the Chief. My reply was, "I have no idea,
but somewhere under 40". I explained that once I crossed the fence, my eyes
are outside, divided between down the runway, and between the wheel and the
nose. Down the runway gives me direction and horizon, between the wheel and
nose gives me height. The hands and feet do what they need to. Repetition
makes the training. Readings on gauges have never been as important to me as
the readings I take with my backside. Well, except when doing instrument
work, but there is nothing to look out at anyway.
I very much appreciate the comments, advice, anecdotes, stories, etc. They
all go into the memory bank, hopefully to be recalled when needed.
I guess it is appropriate that I scared myself a little, after all it is
nearly Halloween!
Someone please send me some calm air, so I can try again.
Thanks,
Stuart
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