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victorbravo(at)sbcglobal.
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 Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 8:30 pm Post subject: Kolb Firestar and 20 ft. container hangar - possible? |
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The main parameter for the flight characteristics being discussed is called "Tail Volume". This is expressed as area times moment arm, where area is the square footage area of the tail surface in question, and moment arm is the distance between the aircrft center pf gravity and the center of the square footage "area" of the tail.
It's like a child's "teeter totter": You can have a heavier person that is close to the pivot point,a nd a ligh ter person that is further away form the pivot point,a nd it can still balance.
So ALL OTHER THINGS EQUAL, on a "NORMAL" aircraft, if you need to shorten the tail then you can increase the size (area) of the tail and still achioeve the same "Tail Volume".
Let's say that your fin and rudder together add up to ten square feet (no idea if this is what the Kolb fin/rudder area is), and the center of this area is 13 feet from the aircraft's center of gravity (I think the Kolb tailbooms are 13 feet long). The "Tail Volume" of this is a value of 130.
If you needed o shorten the tailboom length down to 10 feet (to fit in your container), then in order to achieve the same tail volume (and flight characteristics) you need to increase the size of the fin and rudder until the area is 13 square feet. In THEORY, and according to the textbooks, the airplane SHOULD fly exactly the same as it did with the old tail.
Now there are exceptions tot his "theory" and a whole l ot of other things that can affect the actual result. On a Kolb side by side aircraft, the wide fuselage and all those sharp awkward angles behind the widest point, will almost certainly create a bunch of separated and jumbled upa irflow behind it. So if you go really short on the tailboom, like 7 or 8 feet, you will probably have a strange or unsafe flying airplane no matter how large you make the tail.
But shortening a 13 foot tailboom down to 11.5 or 12 feet will PROBABLY be just fine if you increase the size of the tail to the corresponding correct area. Before you take a hacksaw to a Kolb tailboom, PLEASE check with a REAL trained aerodynamics guy who can figure out all these numbers, and verify or disprove what I said about the tail volume.
Shortening the wings slightly is a l ot easier and a lot lower risk. There are several factory versions of the Kolb with shorter wingspans (and shorter tails) than the Firestar, and those aircraft have been shown to fl y well, safely, etc.
Essentially, If you only need to make the airplane a foot or less shorter to fit in the container, then I believe you can consult with a proper trained aero guy, increase the fin/rudder and stabilizer/elevator areas by a small amount, shorten the tailboom, make smaller wingtips,a nd have a safe and reasonable airplane.
Bill Berle
www.ezflaphandle.com - safety & performance upgrade for light aircraft
www.grantstar.net - winning proposals for non-profit and for-profit entities
--------------------------------------------
On Sat, 7/29/17, Richard Pike <thegreybaron(at)charter.net> wrote:
Subject: Re: Kolb Firestar and 20’ container hangar - possible?
To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
Date: Saturday, July 29, 2017, 7:44 AM
Pike" <thegreybaron(at)charter.net>
According to the Kolb web site, the
FSII SS is 22' long. There is no point in removing the nose
cone because the rudder pedals & nose wheel will still
be out there. You might gain a few inches by making the
front of the nose cone quick detach.
You would need to shorten the wings a
bit as well as make the rudder quick disconnect because when
folded, the wing tips typically come back to the end of the
rudder. The trailing edges of the elevators are still going
to stick bak out there though.
Search the archives for info on
shortening the tail boom, several people have done that in
the past and were not real happy with the results, but I
don't remember the details, that is an old topic. It might
be possible to shorten it just a little, but from what I
remember, not very much or things go wonky.
Maybe it would be easier to buy four 8'
pieces of scrap steel 2' wide, cut one end of the container
off, weld in the 2' wide pieces of steel and make the
container longer? A decent welding shop ought to be able to
knock that out in a day.
--------
Richard Pike
Kolb MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
Kingsport, TN 3TN0
Forgiving is tough. Being forgiven is
wonderful.
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Richard Pike
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 1671
Location: Blountville, Tennessee
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 4:53 am Post subject: Re: Kolb Firestar and 20 ft. container hangar - possible? |
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Found the old thread:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?t=16762082&highlight=shorter+tail+boom
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Richard Pike
Kolb MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
Kingsport, TN 3TN0
Forgiving is tough, being forgiven is wonderful, and God's grace really is amazing. |
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