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Serenity Flies, Take 2

 
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stuart(at)harnerfarm.net
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 5:32 pm    Post subject: Serenity Flies, Take 2 Reply with quote

Well, Mother Nature provided a small window of “calmness” this afternoon.  Forecast was for 5 to 8 MPH down the grass strip. 

When I got to the airport, the windsock was indicating that the forecast was correct.  I decided that if nothing else, I would go taxi around a little.  While unfolding and doing the preflight, an RV was doing touch and goes on the grass strip, no one else around.  By the time I got warmed up and strapped in, the RV was headed to the hangar.  Taxied past the windsock, it was completely limp.  There was a cloud bank moving in from the west, good, no sunshine in my eyes, visibility should be better, or at least easier.

Lined up, and throttled up. Tail up, speed coming up.  A little push/pull on the stick confirmed that I had elevator authority. Added more throttle, it felt light, but was able to keep the nose from going down. Added more throttle, and was airborne!  No real warning, just in the air and flying.  Took the throttle to full and held the nose up, YAY!

Indicated speed was at 55, and climbing, so I started adding back pressure, and we were climbing smooth and straight.  Again, YAY!  Held it at 60 and just climbed away.

No wing rocking, no changes in pitch or throttle, just steady and smooth.  I don’t know my rate of climb as I had a different page up on the EIS keeping an eye on engine temps and altitude.

At about 400’, rolled in some left rudder and aileron, normal turn, not real steep, roll back to level seemed “normal”. Kept climbing and got out of the pattern. Didn’t go very far but got up to 2000’ AGL.  Backed the throttle down to 6000 and was able to hold 60 MPH, but I think I was still slowly climbing.  Had I been able to reach the panel, I would have changed the EIS to show rate of climb.

Did some shallow turns, left and right, checked the aileron/rudder co-ordination.  Slowed to 50 and did the same turns.  Slowed to 40 and did it again. Nothing seemed weird, so went on with the plan.

Backed off on the throttle and slowed to about 35 and all of a sudden the nose dropped.  I had stalled and it stayed straight and level, just tucked the nose.  So, instinct took over and I added throttle and pushed the nose down.  Oops, that made it worse.  This time instead of backing off the throttle and pulling back, I just pulled back.  OK, that was better, did not take long to be back up at 60 MPH, but it still seemed like I was “pointed down”.  Managed to get everything stabilized and headed back to the airport, as the cloud cover was getting thicker and it was starting to get kind of dark.

Made a powered descent towards the airport. Flew around and entered the pattern at 800’.  Made my turns and got lined up on final, but it seemed kind of high.  Backed off the throttle some more and pushed the nose down to maintain 60 MPH.  Well, that did not work too well, as I was still high when I passed mid field.  No problem, added power, picked up the nose and went around.

This time, I flew the pattern a couple of hundred feet lower and kind of overshot my base to final turn. Knowing that this was a really bad situation to be in, I was extra careful about keeping the speed up until  I was lined up , then backed off and held  50 on final.  Problem was, I was going to land about mid-field, where I had been warned that the intersection with the concrete was kind of rough.  Decided to add some power and just fly it across the intersection as there was still lots of room to land, or to go around.

All was going well until I got close to the intersection, which is the high point of the grass strip, I made the mistake of pulling up to clear it instead of adding power.  I did not realize just how slow I had gotten and ran out of airspeed  before touching down.  That was kind of a surprise, and it hit a little harder than I would have liked.  One good bounce and then the next time we touched, it didn’t bounce any more, although I felt the gear flexing a little.  Stick all the way back and we quickly came to taxi speed.

A quick check, everything looks and feels OK.  I can steer just fine, so taxied back to the hangar.  Closer inspection indicated no damage done.

So, all in all, a very good flight.  By the time the hangar door was closing, there was mist in the air, so we squeezed all the flight time out that we could have today.  It was good to “get back on the horse”.

Things proven today:
The plane flies just fine, except it may need a little left rudder trim tab.  This seem to be common to the plane/engine combination.
The PIO experienced on the first flight was a combination of turbulence and pilot ham fistedness.

Lessons learned:
Fireflies like to fly, they don’t like to descend, kind of like the Chief.
A light touch is all that is needed, and when used, you can actually feel the feedback.
Anything but perfect straight ahead flight brings wind around the windshield and hits me in the face. Sometimes makes my eyes water or takes my breath away. Need different headgear/clothing.
60 MPH is not enough to take the kink out of the piece of yarn my wife gave me for a yaw string. J
There is no warning before the stall.  This one kind of surprises me, I cannot think of another plane I have flown that did not give some kind of warning.  The old Chief got mushy on the controls then had a definite “shudder”, during which if you relaxed the back pressure, you could avoid the stall. If you wanted to stall, you had to hold back pressure through the shudder to get there.
Level flight visibility is WAY nose lower than I expected.  This will take some getting used to, but will be necessary to be able to accurately judge approach and landing.

I exceeded EGT again while using partial throttle.  At one point I saw 1267°F on the back cylinder.  It did not last too long, as I throttled up and cooled it down, but it happened when I did not really want more throttle.  I think 30 seconds at this temp didn’t do any harm, but would like to not do that again.

The same things that always require practice in other airplanes are present here too:
Slow flight
Stalls, of all kinds, at altitude of course
Approaches
Slips
Flaps
Landing speed and attitude

Practice, practice, practice.

Even if the weather keeps me grounded until spring, at least I won’t get to my next flight and be terrified of it.  My self-confidence and confidence in the plane took a big leap today.  I needed that!

Sorry this got so long, but again, I tell my story for my own therapy and to document these experiences so maybe they will help someone else.

Thanks everyone for listening and special thanks to Bryan at Kolb for doing such an awesome job on this kit, and Travis for the great support.

Stuart and Serenity






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lcottrell



Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 1494
Location: Jordan Valley, Or

PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 6:52 pm    Post subject: Serenity Flies, Take 2 Reply with quote

 
I exceeded EGT again while using partial throttle.  At one point I saw 1267°F on the back cylinder.  It did not last too long, as I throttled up and cooled it down, but it happened when I did not really want more throttle.  I think 30 seconds at this temp didn’t do any harm, but would like to not do that again.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Until you get your jets straightened out keep in mind that if you pull the enrichner circuit on, it will lower the egt's .
Much better, perhaps Serenity isn't such a bad name after all. Smile
Larry
On Tue, Nov 4, 2014 at 6:32 PM, Stuart Harner <stuart(at)harnerfarm.net (stuart(at)harnerfarm.net)> wrote:
Quote:

Well, Mother Nature provided a small window of “calmness” this afternoon.  Forecast was for 5 to 8 MPH down the grass strip. 
 
When I got to the airport, the windsock was indicating that the forecast was correct.  I decided that if nothing else, I would go taxi around a little.  While unfolding and doing the preflight, an RV was doing touch and goes on the grass strip, no one else around.  By the time I got warmed up and strapped in, the RV was headed to the hangar.  Taxied past the windsock, it was completely limp.  There was a cloud bank moving in from the west, good, no sunshine in my eyes, visibility should be better, or at least easier.
 
Lined up, and throttled up. Tail up, speed coming up.  A little push/pull on the stick confirmed that I had elevator authority. Added more throttle, it felt light, but was able to keep the nose from going down. Added more throttle, and was airborne!  No real warning, just in the air and flying.  Took the throttle to full and held the nose up, YAY!
 
Indicated speed was at 55, and climbing, so I started adding back pressure, and we were climbing smooth and straight.  Again, YAY!  Held it at 60 and just climbed away.
 
No wing rocking, no changes in pitch or throttle, just steady and smooth.  I don’t know my rate of climb as I had a different page up on the EIS keeping an eye on engine temps and altitude.
 
At about 400’, rolled in some left rudder and aileron, normal turn, not real steep, roll back to level seemed “normal”. Kept climbing and got out of the pattern. Didn’t go very far but got up to 2000’ AGL.  Backed the throttle down to 6000 and was able to hold 60 MPH, but I think I was still slowly climbing.  Had I been able to reach the panel, I would have changed the EIS to show rate of climb.
 
Did some shallow turns, left and right, checked the aileron/rudder co-ordination.  Slowed to 50 and did the same turns.  Slowed to 40 and did it again. Nothing seemed weird, so went on with the plan.
 
Backed off on the throttle and slowed to about 35 and all of a sudden the nose dropped.  I had stalled and it stayed straight and level, just tucked the nose.  So, instinct took over and I added throttle and pushed the nose down.  Oops, that made it worse.  This time instead of backing off the throttle and pulling back, I just pulled back.  OK, that was better, did not take long to be back up at 60 MPH, but it still seemed like I was “pointed down”.  Managed to get everything stabilized and headed back to the airport, as the cloud cover was getting thicker and it was starting to get kind of dark.
 
Made a powered descent towards the airport. Flew around and entered the pattern at 800’.  Made my turns and got lined up on final, but it seemed kind of high.  Backed off the throttle some more and pushed the nose down to maintain 60 MPH.  Well, that did not work too well, as I was still high when I passed mid field.  No problem, added power, picked up the nose and went around.
 
This time, I flew the pattern a couple of hundred feet lower and kind of overshot my base to final turn. Knowing that this was a really bad situation to be in, I was extra careful about keeping the speed up until  I was lined up , then backed off and held  50 on final.  Problem was, I was going to land about mid-field, where I had been warned that the intersection with the concrete was kind of rough.  Decided to add some power and just fly it across the intersection as there was still lots of room to land, or to go around.
 
All was going well until I got close to the intersection, which is the high point of the grass strip, I made the mistake of pulling up to clear it instead of adding power.  I did not realize just how slow I had gotten and ran out of airspeed  before touching down.  That was kind of a surprise, and it hit a little harder than I would have liked.  One good bounce and then the next time we touched, it didn’t bounce any more, although I felt the gear flexing a little.  Stick all the way back and we quickly came to taxi speed.
 
A quick check, everything looks and feels OK.  I can steer just fine, so taxied back to the hangar.  Closer inspection indicated no damage done.
 
So, all in all, a very good flight.  By the time the hangar door was closing, there was mist in the air, so we squeezed all the flight time out that we could have today.  It was good to “get back on the horse”.
 
Things proven today:
The plane flies just fine, except it may need a little left rudder trim tab.  This seem to be common to the plane/engine combination.
The PIO experienced on the first flight was a combination of turbulence and pilot ham fistedness.
 
Lessons learned:
Fireflies like to fly, they don’t like to descend, kind of like the Chief.
A light touch is all that is needed, and when used, you can actually feel the feedback.
Anything but perfect straight ahead flight brings wind around the windshield and hits me in the face. Sometimes makes my eyes water or takes my breath away. Need different headgear/clothing.
60 MPH is not enough to take the kink out of the piece of yarn my wife gave me for a yaw string. J
There is no warning before the stall.  This one kind of surprises me, I cannot think of another plane I have flown that did not give some kind of warning.  The old Chief got mushy on the controls then had a definite “shudder”, during which if you relaxed the back pressure, you could avoid the stall. If you wanted to stall, you had to hold back pressure through the shudder to get there.
Level flight visibility is WAY nose lower than I expected.  This will take some getting used to, but will be necessary to be able to accurately judge approach and landing.
 
I exceeded EGT again while using partial throttle.  At one point I saw 1267°F on the back cylinder.  It did not last too long, as I throttled up and cooled it down, but it happened when I did not really want more throttle.  I think 30 seconds at this temp didn’t do any harm, but would like to not do that again.
 
The same things that always require practice in other airplanes are present here too:
Slow flight
Stalls, of all kinds, at altitude of course
Approaches
Slips
Flaps
Landing speed and attitude
 
Practice, practice, practice.
 
Even if the weather keeps me grounded until spring, at least I won’t get to my next flight and be terrified of it.  My self-confidence and confidence in the plane took a big leap today.  I needed that!
 
Sorry this got so long, but again, I tell my story for my own therapy and to document these experiences so maybe they will help someone else.
 
Thanks everyone for listening and special thanks to Bryan at Kolb for doing such an awesome job on this kit, and Travis for the great support.
 
Stuart and Serenity
 
 
 
 
 
 
Quote:


_blank">www.aeroelectric.com
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="_blank">www.mypilotstore.com
ank">www.mrrace.com
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get="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List
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stuart(at)harnerfarm.net
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 8:35 pm    Post subject: Serenity Flies, Take 2 Reply with quote

Larry,

Thanks.  I had discovered the enricher trick during the ground runs, and was reaching for it, when I realized I was in the landing pattern and really did not want to make a change that might cause it to stumble or quit.  Of course, frying a piston and quitting is worse, so I opted for the additional throttle.  This of course, contributed to a higher speed, which lead to the sloppy pattern and overshoot.  Everything has consequences….

Wide open throttle at what I think was level flight was showing about 6350 RPM.  Not sure if I should dial out a little pitch on the prop or leave it be.  Also, the temps run perfectly below about 4500 and above about 5500.  I am not sure if I should try raising the needle one notch or try a different needle or jet.  More flying experience will tell me if I can operate outside of this lean range or if I need to try and correct it.  Y19 has a field elevation of 1940’, but it was cooler than standard today, so without doing the real math, my guess is that DA was under 1000’.

More things to test after I get some more stick time.

Yes, MUCH better this time.  I am now confident that we can continue on with a normal learning curve and flight testing.

Thanks to everyone who gave examples, advice and encouragement. It really DID help.  This time I am anxious to get back up there for more.

Stuart

From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Larry Cottrell
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2014 8:52 PM
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
Subject: Re: Serenity Flies, Take 2


I exceeded EGT again while using partial throttle. At one point I saw 1267°F on the back cylinder. It did not last too long, as I throttled up and cooled it down, but it happened when I did not really want more throttle. I think 30 seconds at this temp didn’t do any harm, but would like to not do that again.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Until you get your jets straightened out keep in mind that if you pull the enrichner circuit on, it will lower the egt's .



Much better, perhaps Serenity isn't such a bad name after all. Smile

Larry





On Tue, Nov 4, 2014 at 6:32 PM, Stuart Harner <stuart(at)harnerfarm.net (stuart(at)harnerfarm.net)> wrote:
Well, Mother Nature provided a small window of “calmness” this afternoon. Forecast was for 5 to 8 MPH down the grass strip.

When I got to the airport, the windsock was indicating that the forecast was correct. I decided that if nothing else, I would go taxi around a little. While unfolding and doing the preflight, an RV was doing touch and goes on the grass strip, no one else around. By the time I got warmed up and strapped in, the RV was headed to the hangar. Taxied past the windsock, it was completely limp. There was a cloud bank moving in from the west, good, no sunshine in my eyes, visibility should be better, or at least easier.

Lined up, and throttled up. Tail up, speed coming up. A little push/pull on the stick confirmed that I had elevator authority. Added more throttle, it felt light, but was able to keep the nose from going down. Added more throttle, and was airborne! No real warning, just in the air and flying. Took the throttle to full and held the nose up, YAY!

Indicated speed was at 55, and climbing, so I started adding back pressure, and we were climbing smooth and straight. Again, YAY! Held it at 60 and just climbed away.

No wing rocking, no changes in pitch or throttle, just steady and smooth. I don’t know my rate of climb as I had a different page up on the EIS keeping an eye on engine temps and altitude.

At about 400’, rolled in some left rudder and aileron, normal turn, not real steep, roll back to level seemed “normal”. Kept climbing and got out of the pattern. Didn’t go very far but got up to 2000’ AGL. Backed the throttle down to 6000 and was able to hold 60 MPH, but I think I was still slowly climbing. Had I been able to reach the panel, I would have changed the EIS to show rate of climb.

Did some shallow turns, left and right, checked the aileron/rudder co-ordination. Slowed to 50 and did the same turns. Slowed to 40 and did it again. Nothing seemed weird, so went on with the plan.

Backed off on the throttle and slowed to about 35 and all of a sudden the nose dropped. I had stalled and it stayed straight and level, just tucked the nose. So, instinct took over and I added throttle and pushed the nose down. Oops, that made it worse. This time instead of backing off the throttle and pulling back, I just pulled back. OK, that was better, did not take long to be back up at 60 MPH, but it still seemed like I was “pointed down”. Managed to get everything stabilized and headed back to the airport, as the cloud cover was getting thicker and it was starting to get kind of dark.

Made a powered descent towards the airport. Flew around and entered the pattern at 800’. Made my turns and got lined up on final, but it seemed kind of high. Backed off the throttle some more and pushed the nose down to maintain 60 MPH. Well, that did not work too well, as I was still high when I passed mid field. No problem, added power, picked up the nose and went around.

This time, I flew the pattern a couple of hundred feet lower and kind of overshot my base to final turn. Knowing that this was a really bad situation to be in, I was extra careful about keeping the speed up until I was lined up , then backed off and held 50 on final. Problem was, I was going to land about mid-field, where I had been warned that the intersection with the concrete was kind of rough. Decided to add some power and just fly it across the intersection as there was still lots of room to land, or to go around.

All was going well until I got close to the intersection, which is the high point of the grass strip, I made the mistake of pulling up to clear it instead of adding power. I did not realize just how slow I had gotten and ran out of airspeed before touching down. That was kind of a surprise, and it hit a little harder than I would have liked. One good bounce and then the next time we touched, it didn’t bounce any more, although I felt the gear flexing a little. Stick all the way back and we quickly came to taxi speed.

A quick check, everything looks and feels OK. I can steer just fine, so taxied back to the hangar. Closer inspection indicated no damage done.

So, all in all, a very good flight. By the time the hangar door was closing, there was mist in the air, so we squeezed all the flight time out that we could have today. It was good to “get back on the horse”.

Things proven today:
The plane flies just fine, except it may need a little left rudder trim tab. This seem to be common to the plane/engine combination.
The PIO experienced on the first flight was a combination of turbulence and pilot ham fistedness.

Lessons learned:
Fireflies like to fly, they don’t like to descend, kind of like the Chief.
A light touch is all that is needed, and when used, you can actually feel the feedback.
Anything but perfect straight ahead flight brings wind around the windshield and hits me in the face. Sometimes makes my eyes water or takes my breath away. Need different headgear/clothing.
60 MPH is not enough to take the kink out of the piece of yarn my wife gave me for a yaw string. J
There is no warning before the stall. This one kind of surprises me, I cannot think of another plane I have flown that did not give some kind of warning. The old Chief got mushy on the controls then had a definite “shudder”, during which if you relaxed the back pressure, you could avoid the stall. If you wanted to stall, you had to hold back pressure through the shudder to get there.
Level flight visibility is WAY nose lower than I expected. This will take some getting used to, but will be necessary to be able to accurately judge approach and landing.

I exceeded EGT again while using partial throttle. At one point I saw 1267°F on the back cylinder. It did not last too long, as I throttled up and cooled it down, but it happened when I did not really want more throttle. I think 30 seconds at this temp didn’t do any harm, but would like to not do that again.

The same things that always require practice in other airplanes are present here too:
Slow flight
Stalls, of all kinds, at altitude of course
Approaches
Slips
Flaps
Landing speed and attitude

Practice, practice, practice.

Even if the weather keeps me grounded until spring, at least I won’t get to my next flight and be terrified of it. My self-confidence and confidence in the plane took a big leap today. I needed that!

Sorry this got so long, but again, I tell my story for my own therapy and to document these experiences so maybe they will help someone else.

Thanks everyone for listening and special thanks to Bryan at Kolb for doing such an awesome job on this kit, and Travis for the great support.

Stuart and Serenity






Quote:
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west1m



Joined: 19 Apr 2014
Posts: 155
Location: Hastings, MN

PostPosted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 5:32 pm    Post subject: Re: Serenity Flies, Take 2 Reply with quote

Great write up! Having a Firefly I have not flown yet, your article is excellent information on what to expect. I tried taxing up and down the runway with a 90* crosswind the other day just see what to expect. It was a wild ride!

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undoctor



Joined: 21 Oct 2008
Posts: 212
Location: Bethelhem, PA

PostPosted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 2:24 pm    Post subject: Serenity Flies, Take 2 Reply with quote

Hi Westy,

When I read this post from you I thought I may be able to give you some
action enhanced insight.

I met a man who was interested in the FireFly and we arranged to meet at
the strip where I had mine so he could check it out. The day turned out
to be very windy with crosswind gusts to at least 18 mph - the wind sock
was straight out at times. I wasn't aware of it at the time but he took
numerous videos and pix, two videos which I uploaded on youtube.

With a gusting crosswind I wanted to get off the ground as quickly as
possible and this is what dancing with the rudder pedals looks like in
real time. The landing wasn't as busy because you descend down between
trees and touch down at the end of the stand of trees on the left. Take
off downhill and land uphill. You know how light the FF is and is at
the mercy of the wind, but they are like little sports cars and there is
lots of control.

On the landing you can also see the evidence of ground effect. Landing
uphill you kind of fly into the hill and flair once you're through
ground effect and flying parallel with the up grade, which is kind of
trick because when you begin to ascend you lose airspeed rather
quickly. Ground effect, according to the flight instructor I had, is as
high above the surface as the wing span of the aircraft you're flying.

So if you want to watch a FF doing what it does best (in spite of the
pilot) go to youtube.com/undoctor Click on the video tab and
for the takeoff video open the one labeled Kolb FlagFly FireFly taking
off with crosswind gusting. For the landing video open the one
labeled FireFly landing 8.11.11 in gusty crosswind...

These two videos should give you some idea of how the FF does in less
than perfect flying conditions. Hope they do you some good. You're
gonna LOVE your FireFly!!

Dave Kulp
Bethlehem, PA

Do Not Archive
On 11/5/2014 8:32 PM, west1m wrote:
Quote:


Great write up! Having a Firefly I have not flown yet, your article is excellent information on what to expect. I tried taxing up and down the runway with a 90* crosswind the other day just see what to expect. It was a wild ride!

--------
West1m
Hastings, MN


Read this topic online here:

http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=432983#432983



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west1m



Joined: 19 Apr 2014
Posts: 155
Location: Hastings, MN

PostPosted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:06 pm    Post subject: Re: Serenity Flies, Take 2 Reply with quote

Thanks for the link to your videos. You make it look easy. I used up a lot more of the runway the other day and I was just trying to motor down the runway straight.

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West1m
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