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In a message dated 2/16/01 6:35:37 AM Central Standard Time,
rjwh@ozemail.com.au writes:

WHAT THE HELL IS THE TURN RELEASE MOD?

Rick&Wendy
GET the full swiveling mod no ifs and or buts about it! It takes a green acre
to turn around if you don't have it. And puts a lot more stress on you're
tail wheel spring and control horn. With the full swiveling tail wheel it
stays locked in [ full rudder motion] but will break loose if you need to
turn more, like taxiing when you need to lock up one brake and turn on one
wheel. It will actually turn around in 360 deg. on one wheel
Then when you straighten out and pull forward a bit it will swivel back and
lock back in to [ full rudder motion only]. You wont know it's there in
landing. Unless you ground loop it real bad and then it might just save some
damage on the tail wheel assembly. Never really found landings a problem.
Phil&Lisa Smith #460 N414D

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In a message dated 2/16/01 6:35:37 AM Central Standard Time,
rjwh@ozemail.com.au writes:

WHAT THE HELL IS THE TURN RELEASE MOD?

Rick&Wendy
The tail wheel option is a full swiveling tail wheel that stays in a locked
controllable range of motion [ full rudder movement] then when you need to
lock up one brake to turn on one wheel it will break loose and turn freely so
you're tail can swing right around. When you straighten out you're direction
of travel and move forward a little it will swing back and lock back in
place. IT"S A NEED TO HAVE OPTION! Shouldn't be an option should be standard
equipment.
Phil&Lisa Smith #469 N414D

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G'day Rick+Wendy I don't know where I got the term turn release mod. It's
full swivel and it allows the tailwheel to turn full circle if you apply
full rudder and one brake. It also lets the wheel turn backwards so you can
push the plane back without having to constantly steer the tailwheel. The
kit is available from murphy. Theres also a service bulletin on the
tailwheel bolt you should check. For ground handling I just tie a 6' peice
of rope to the tailspring and pull on it.
Drew

At 11:32 PM 2/16/01 +1100, you wrote:

G'day everyone from sunny Oz & Wendy Harper here with our Rebel looking
like taking to the skies around We just received our December issue of
the Rebel Rouser magazine which has prompted the following questions:
WHO is going to take over and continue the running of the Rebel Rouser
& opinions very useful during our construction (items I might add quite
often never heard of on the internet). What is the general consensus
from all you flying Rebels out there in regards to ground handling? We
would love to know YOUR opinions. I did the return release mod. and
it works absolutely great for me". WHAT THE HELL IS THE TURN RELEASE MOD?
All opinions and advice gratefully received. & Wendy Harper...Rebel
541R Steve Sloan 536R asked in the Rouser if anyone had fitted a
tailwheel and spring I'll send you some pic's as soon as I find WHERE I
put 'em !

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Jim,

I had the same thing with MAM tailwheel with tight
tailwheel springs. When I set the tailwheel springs
looser the wheel broke loose easy. (I don't know why)

Chuck Bailey
R176 N225PC


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Hi Rick & Wendy

On the N. W. Rebel Experimental Aircraft site we are collecting some of the
pictures for the upcoming article on the airframe cleanup. On the in flight
photo you can see the the work that has been done on the tail wheel to date.

Look forward to seeing your pictures.

Steve Sloan 536R
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Hello from frozen Canada !

1. Didn't get the last issue - sounds like Rich wants to pass
the magazine on to someone else ....

2. The most important thing is: DO <NOT> try to move the Rebel
around by grabbing the stabilizer !! It is just bad practice for ANY
aircraft, but I see Cessna drivers laying on the stabs & pushing too !!
I guess nobody taught them that it's not very smart to unduly stress
flight surfaces !!

Keith Kinden, at Montana Float Company also makes a nice set
of retracting handles. Murphy Aircraft Mfg. actually SELLS a tow-bar
that fits into the tailwheel - this is a pretty good solution. One
might want to design something that clamps onto the tail spring,
so you can lift, as well as pull ...

3. This is also called the "kick-out tailwheel" or "full swivel"
mod. I believe it is now standard on all Rebels. It is certainly a
very "Good Thing"(tm) ;-) It allows the tailwheel to 'unlock',
and swivel right around, if it gets a sufficiently large side load,
for short radius turns, and to prevent damage to the tailwheel.
If you don't have it - get it !

......bobp

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Hi Jim !

It's not unusual to take quite a while to break in the Scott
tailwheels - it's not just the hours, it's the number of times it
gets 'cycled' ... but it could take up to 100 hrs to really loosen
up.

Maybe you should take it off & clamp it in a vise to break
it loose several times to wear it a bit. It <does> sound a bit
tougher than usual, though. Is the support shaft completely vertical ??
Are you using the springs that Scott supply ? They do seem to
work better if the springs are a bit loose ... It might be that the
internal spring that locks it is a bit too strong - is there a
friendly AME you could have check it out ??

......bobp

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Rick,

I have handles on the rear fuselage, just forward of the horizontal
stabilizer, of my Kitfox and they are the only way to go. Man handling the
tail is a must IMHO, like lifting the tail to swing or move the plane around.
You can't "LIFT" and swing the tail with a bar attached to the tail wheel.
Handles are well worth their weight.

Bruce 357R

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Rick&Wendy,

If you haven't purchased a tail wheel yet you should consider a Scott 3200,
8" nematic. They are the Caddilac of tail wheels. They are best for off
airport type landings.

Bruce 357R
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I've been having a swiveling tailwheel problem too, but not with Murphy's tailwheel. I have a new Scott 3200, which has been pretty reluctant to break loose and swivel ever since I installed it. I've had the same model tailwheel on three previous planes, with no such problem. These all had quite a few hours on them before I got the planes, so I was hoping the new one would "break in" or loosen up after a few hours. I have 25 hours and still have to crawl out and shove the plane around to get into tight spots. (The ground handling is great for straight taxiing, take off and landing). I've tried low temp. grease, adjusting the tension on the springs, etc, but the thing still just turns to the steerable limits and skids unless you physically kick it loose. I'm sure this is probably putting the kind of side loads on the tail section that have been causing cracks & wrinkles. I did double up on the (Fus.30?) tail wrap, and don't see any signs of stress yet. I don't see anything in the parts diagram that indicates any kind of internal adjustment.

I'd appreciate any suggestions from anybody that's run into this problem before

Thanks

Jim Callahan
Rebel #180R




Rick Harper wrote:

G'day everyone from sunny Oz
Rick & Wendy Harper here with our Rebel looking like taking to the skies around
April(ish). We just received our December issue of the Rebel Rouser magazine
which has prompted the following questions:
1. WHO is going to take over and continue the running of the Rebel Rouser
magazine? I really feel this is a vital service to many builders and personally have found many tips, points & opinions very useful during our construction (items I might add quite often never heard of on the internet).

2. What is the general consensus from all you flying Rebels out there in regards to ground handling?
IE: What's the best way to go. Do we fit some of Gordon Mohr's recessing handles into the tail section or do we make up some sort of clamping steering handle for the tailwheel? We would love to know YOUR opinions.

3. Drew Dalgleish states in his letter "I use the MAM stock tailwheel with my Rebel which I have heard a lot of people criticise. I did the return release mod. and it works absolutely great for me".
WHAT THE HELL IS THE TURN RELEASE MOD?

All opinions and advice gratefully received.

Rick & Wendy Harper...Rebel 541R

PS: Steve Sloan 536R asked in the Rouser if anyone had fitted a tailwheel and spring
fairing...we have. I'll send you some pic's as soon as I find WHERE I put 'em !

They are priced like Cadillacs also!

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G'day everyone from sunny Oz
Rick & Wendy Harper here with our Rebel looking like taking to the skies around
April(ish). We just received our December issue of the Rebel Rouser magazine
which has prompted the following questions:
1. WHO is going to take over and continue the running of the Rebel Rouser
magazine? I really feel this is a vital service to many builders and personally have found many tips, points & opinions very useful during our construction (items I might add quite often never heard of on the internet).

2. What is the general consensus from all you flying Rebels out there in regards to ground handling?
IE: What's the best way to go. Do we fit some of Gordon Mohr's recessing handles into the tail section or do we make up some sort of clamping steering handle for the tailwheel? We would love to know YOUR opinions.

3. Drew Dalgleish states in his letter "I use the MAM stock tailwheel with my Rebel which I have heard a lot of people criticise. I did the return release mod. and it works absolutely great for me".
WHAT THE HELL IS THE TURN RELEASE MOD?

All opinions and advice gratefully received.

Rick & Wendy Harper...Rebel 541R

PS: Steve Sloan 536R asked in the Rouser if anyone had fitted a tailwheel and spring
fairing...we have. I'll send you some pic's as soon as I find WHERE I put 'em !

Jim,

I've never had the problem you described with a Scott tail wheel but I bet a
call the manufacturer would clear up any confusion on an adjustment to the
"brake out" on the swivel. I have adjusted the same on a Maule but sorry to
say, I can't help you with the Scott.

Bruce 357R

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G'day to All from sunny but COLD OZ!

I'm a happy vegemite again.....we're back in the air, with a few more hours under our wings.
I fitted Wayne's firewall mods and have the new oil cooler in place :-)

I have a few questions which I'm hoping some of you long time flyers can help us out with.

We have an 0-235 Lycoming with a standard firewall...IE: NOT shortened.
I also took good notice of Bob and Wayne and we have 28' of UP elevator on tap.

The C of G range as advised by MAM is 276 mm to 459 mm aft of the Datum Line.

Our EMPTY C of G is 197 mm ( nearly 8 " ) aft of the datum line (front of the wing / gear leg)

After doing several loading charts...I came to the realisation that it is virtually impossible to get
the Rebel out of its C of G range...the only real limiting factor here being the all up MTOW of
1650 Lbs (750 Kgs)........do you guys agree with this ?

With just "little ol' me" , 130 Kgs (just under 290 lbs) and a half a tank of gas ..120 Lts / 30 US gallons (we went out one more rib with the tank and have 240 litres space !)...I seem to run out
of FLARE ...SUDDENLY.......at the last second !?!....(which is probably just under 40 knots ..
with no flaps)

Is this normal Rebel stuff ?...........
or should I perhaps stick 5 to 10 lbs of weight down in the tail to move my empty C of G
back a bit ?................( I'm thinking this might help the last few seconds of roundout / flare )


Also, could someone out there offer some advice on the engine side of things :

As I said before , we have an 0-235 Lycoming ..which I rebuilt myself ( marine engineer )
I fitted new "J" model pistons ( the 9.7:1 variety )...and cylinders ..."cleaned up" the ports a
fair bit (got rid of the dags and misalignments in the castings etc , fully balanced the engine
throughout..propeller extension as well , made up a 2" stainless crossover exhaust system
and replaced one magneto with one of Klaus Xavier's LSE crank fired ignition systems...which
is supposed to give a 4% boost to the power as well........all in all, I'm expecting this sucker
to put out 130 H.P. without having done any major mod's.

I'm getting 2200 - 2300 STATIC full power RPM and flat out in straight and level flight she
hits 2500ish RPM.....and with no reflex on the flaperons is hitting around 100 knots .....
(it's rather hard to tell at this point as its been BLOODY WINDY here every day since we've
been back in the air)

Do these figures sound about right to you guys...or should I be repitching the Warp Drive
to get more RPM ?....


The plane flys beautifully and is an absolute joy.....can't wait to take up the list of people
on my "waiting list" :-)


Rick & Wendy Harper
541 R....FLYING !

Hi Rick !

Glad you're back in the air again !!!

Wow ! You've got the furthest forward C of G of ANY flying
Rebel I know - sounds like a few pounds in the back might be a good
idea. (I usually carry a tool kit in the baggage area - solves the
weight problem, and the tools come in handy ! ;-) )
(My CofG is at 8.1" aft of datum - these days, MAM suggests 12")
This is one reason several builders have chosen to use the Scott 3200
tailwheel - it adds a few pounds 'way back there. ;-)

You're absolutely right - it IS impossible to load the Rebel
outside of limits without bumping into gross !!! Isn't that a really
NEAT feature !!??? How many airplanes can claim THAT ??!!!

The weight in back will help the flair. FWIW - I <ALWAYS>
take off AND land with FULL flapperons. The Rebel was designed to
use the flapperons to reduce stall speed and improve performance
on BOTH ends of the flight - so I USE them !! Bleed down to
second notch of flapperon after climbing to about 50 ft. or so -
this gives best climb. Play with yours - one notch <might> work
better ...

To use the full position safely, I approach at about 75+ mph,
which gives a very steep approach, cutting through wind gradients
without any risk, then break the glide at about 20 feet, eventually
levelling out about a foot above the ground. I let it float there
while I get to the "right" attitude for touchdown. The speed bleeds
off VERY quickly once level, so get the tail DOWN. Do not try to
approach below 65 mph until you are VERY familiar with the Rebel -
it will develop a very high sink rate, while still having full
control. This often fools people into thinking they are flairing,
when they are really descending over 1,500 feet/min. !!! This usually
results in a bent bird ! :-(

The O-235-L2C really LIKES to rev. - cruise should be at
about 2,450 or more, so it sounds like you need to back off a bit
on the pitch. Your engine is "new", so you don't want to lug it
while breaking in - normall procedure is full throttle until the
rings seat (about 2 hours or so ...) Peak RPM on some L2C's I've
flown was 2,700 ! If you get over 120 hp., you should add another
notch of negative flapperon - it will pull it. With one notch neg.,
you should get about 112-115 mph, and the second notch will give
another 3 mph, and a smoother ride in turbulence ! Always use
negative for cruise - it unloads the wing, making it more gust-
resistant.

Glad you're enjoying the Rebel - welcome to the club !!!
We're the guys with the BIG smiles !!! ;-)

Keep building guys - it REALLY <IS> worth it !!!

......bobp

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