G'day again Dave ;
Very pertinent points you make !
I HAVE flown the Rebel with two BIG guys on board, LOTS of fuel & heaps of
luggage ... and on a bloody windy & turbulent day to boot ..... it never
even noticed the difference in flight !
(actually flew more stable ... DUH ! ... and sunk a bit faster on landing
... still VERY controllable)
BUT, .... By the fact that I had originally declared the "legal" weight on
the identification placard at 750 Kgs ... we were technically flying
"Illegally"
So, the whole gist of this question (about MTOW), was to find out what
weights the Rebel was comfortably & SAFELY able to handle .... So I can
re - declare my MTOW to something that will legally allow me to do the same
again without fear of retribution from OUR aircraft nazis down here ...
called CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority)
I did some calc's today, and I've decided to declare our Rebel at 925 Kgs
MTOW. (2035 Lbs)
Please note : The vast majority of the time, the Rebel will be flying with
1 to 2 people on board, about 5 hrs fuel and minimal baggage ... and won't
even be up to 750 Kgs !
BUT ... "once in a blue moon", when you NEED to do a BIG trip, carry enough
fuel to go big distances, (because of lack of availability in out outback),
and carry all your camping gear too, .... You NEED to be able to carry
"THAT" amount of weight.
My reasoning is simple :
1) 2 "Normal" sized people 180 Kgs (396 Lbs)
2) 230 Lts of fuel (with FULL tanks) 161 Kgs (354 Lbs)
3) a DECENT amount of baggage , say ... 100 ish Kgs (220 Lbs)
(and an empty weight of 480 Kgs (1056 Lbs)
This all adds up to a tad over 2000 lbs .... Which the Rebel can obviously
handle safely !
Now, ... Can someone PLEASE tell me what difference I can expect to find
when I load her up to 2050 Lbs & go redo my stall tests, flare, etc, etc ???
Many Thanks to all who gave their two cents worth !
It's nice to know that even though us shmucks are thousands of miles away,
we can still get a hold of all the relevant info we need to carry on doing
what we love best ... FLYING ! :)
Rick & Wendy Harper
16 Tor Road
Dee Why
NSW 2099
Australia
Home (02) 9971 7889
Mobile 0416 041 007
-----Original Message-----
From:
mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:
mike.davis@dcsol.com]On Behalf Of Dave
King
Sent: Tuesday, 24 February 2004 1:21 PM
To:
murphy-rebel@dcsol.com
Subject: Re: REBEL MTOW
The questioned raised was if it was legal to fly at the higher rates not
if it was smart to. At 3000lbs you are going to really be out on a branch
but as the builder/owner that is his responsibility. You can analyze flight
qualities
at the different weights before trying it out and you can see if it will be
a pig.
I think the gear and its attach structure are just one of the weak points
on a Rebel.
At 3000 on wheels I'd be worried about the lack of a deep crush space in
the structure
more than anything. However the Rebel holds up quite nicely and flies like
a 182 around
2000lbs. That is going to around the practical limit. At least you can fly
off with two guys,
full fuel and more than a tooth brush legally at that weight. It then
becomes more than the
single seater (with spare seat) if you registered at 1650.
The structural mods were incorporated to bring back the useful life of the
airframe so that
you wouldn't have a 500-1000 airframe at 3000lbs. As I mentioned the
structure will handle
3000 (sort of) and 200 easily but at the expense of reduced airframe life.
Problems may
show up in fittings, certain structures, never ending smoking rivets etc
but if you as the
owner are willing to increase your inspections to look for any problems it
still can
be structurally sound to fly. 150-180hp is fine for 2000, but at 3000 you
are going to need
230+.
The weak point on the Rebel has always been the gear and it carry
structure. Don't
forget the gear is not designed for the same load levels as flight loads.
Your gear will
be designed for 3-4G's with some of that load compensated for by offsetting
the lift
component. The airframe can easily be 2 times stronger than the gear.
Anyway it boils down to if it was legal at the higher weights, and if
flying at the higher
weights would void insurance etc. If the builder has registered at the
higher auw, and
performed his climb test his insurance is valid. The guy who got sucked
into 1650
and goes out and flies with a buddy and full fuel and gets into the 1800
range does
not have insurance if the insurance company finds out. Guess which one gets
screwed
over if something happens.
Dave
I don't want to go with you at 3000lbs and especially still be along for
the
landing. Them alum gear legs ain't going to take 3000lbs for very long...
with even smooth landings, let alone some that I've made and managed to
roll
away from ....or others that some (and myself) have walked away from (with
the airplane sitting a little closer to the ground!). Let alone the
airframe
strength when you consider the substantial wing structure differences to
get
the first SR to 3000lb gross safely. (ie double stringer thickness, 60%
thicker leading edge skin, approx 6 times the thickness for front pickup
fittings, lift strut reinforced with internal square 1/8" wall tube x 2 per
side, etc, etc)
Wayne
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