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More flight time on N84KF

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Posted

    Not much wind this evening, so 84KF got another 1.1 hrs in the air.

The engine purrs when at 4,000, 4,500 rpm and is performing great. I'm starting to trust it more now, and getting use to the high rpm noise, although at 4,000 rpm it now sounds no more annoying then the the Lycomings and Continentals at 2100-2200 rpm. I'm amazed at how smooth the engine is through out the entire rpm range.

  Only one landing today, on pavement, but I know now to make sure the stick is ALL the way back when the ground and tires meet. With 1st notch of flaps...stall at 38-40 indicated.

39.1 total time.

I'm including a Stearman pic for Leni.

steve

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Posted

Keep it up Steve... you will find me on your doorstep begging, pleading and crying...... :beerchug:

now tell us the story about why you learned to keep the stick in your lap.. she get a but squirrely on ya?

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Posted

Because the Series 5 sits at such a nose high attitude on the ground, getting it to achieve this position just prior to the 3-point landing requires that the stick be way back when it touches down.  Now, that's the norm for any taildragger, but being so light, with such a slow stall speed, makes it critical in 84KF.

  Here's the physics of a botched 3-point landing.....

  Normal approach, when over the numbers start to round out, level off, and keep pitching nose up to flare. If the speed is a bit to fast yet, hold that nose high attitude and bleed the speed off. With speed now decreasing, more back pressure is required to "hold" that landing attitude.  Now the fun.

If the mains touch first, with the tail still up, the downward momentum of the tail forces it to continue down, increasing the angle-of attack, you get increased lift again and plane shoots up again What many pilot refer to as a "bounced" landing is actually the result of the plane getting a quick burst of "new" lift from the rapid increase of angle-of-attack when the tail continues down (quickly) when the mains are on the ground acting as the pivot point.

I guess my point is ...  have the airspeed and attitude correct at the moment of ground contact or the plane will "bounce", and to get it in the correct nose-high attitude requires that , at the time of stall, the stick be ALL the way back. If it's not, and the mains contact the ground with excess airspeed, (then momentium moves the tail down) it will balloon back up.

I won't get into "wheel landings" right now. But that's why the timing of touchdown on the mains and simultaneous forward stick pressure is necessary in that situation.

Here's another teaser picture.  I like to refer to this hanger as my "toy box", although they are not my toys.  But then again doesnt the mechanic really own the plane and just let's the pilots fly them?????

steve

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Posted

They're starting my training right out on a taildragger next month so I guess that's the only way I'll know to land. It took a little search to find a place that would do that. Figured I might as well start on what I'll be flying & get that endorsement right off. I live in Colorado but will just take a truckload (I'm in the trucking biz) out to Ohio and they say I can camp there in my sleeper and fly twice a day for as long as it takes. I've got a bunch of time reserved on their Aronca Champ. So that'll be my vacation. ;D

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Posted

sounds like a great way to vacation.. Good luck on the training.  The champ is a piece of cake to fly and landings are a no brainer in it... you want something that will keep you on your toes try a pacer in a good cross wind!  Speed management is the key to a good landing.  Get you speeds set up on approach dont come in fast then try to bleed it off right at the end as you will float way down the runway.  If the plane stalls at say 40 then my approach would not be over 45 when I cross the numbers.  A quick flare to arrest sink rate and you are on the ground with the stick in your lap!  Most of the strips I fly into do not allow you to be floating down the runway.  you have one shot at it and if you are too high or fast, you better get the power in now and go around or you will be cutting trees at the end or swimming in the river..

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