Dave & Francines' Australia Trip Report, Was: Re: Tail w
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:34 pm
Oh, Man........can't take off for a few days without having Wayne checking up on us!
Heh heh, we did have a good time down under and had the chance to spend some time with Rick & Wendy and get up in their fine looking & working Rebel and to visit with Greg Gordon and have a look at his (just starting) Elite project, thanks a bundle for the hospitality Rick, Wendy & Greg, we really enjoyed visiting and talking Rebels & things.
If anyone gets the chance to go to Sydney then you should get in contact with these folks they made us feel right at home!,
We spent the best part of one day with Rick at the airport looking at the details of his Rebel, talking building, taking some pictures and doing a bit of flying and yes Wayne we have come back determined to spend more regular time with our project! Of course what we have to look forward to is sealing tanks but it has to get done sometime.....
We picked up some good ideas from Rick on things like reducing the oil-caning of the fuselage skins by attaching small right angle strips in an X with 2 sided foam tape and I really like what he has done making a glare shield/instrument panel cap. It brings the top of the panel back so it is more or less straight across so it shades the central part of the panel well and it looks more finished that way. He finished the edge off with some aluminum tubing covered with energy absorbing foam and then leather. Looks good and makes a good grab handle as well.
Rick also did his own spring gear, stall horn sensor, flap handle system, elevator & rudder tips and some neat see through inspection plates for the tail feather pivot bolts. There are lots of nice custom machined parts on the plane and it makes me wish Rick was closer by so I could come over & borrow his shop! Oh, yeah we had a good talk about the fun of doing wet tanks..... All and all, a good visit so thanks again for the hospitality.
Well, I had better move on to my questions of the night so for now,
G'dye mate
Dave R.
Rick and Wendy have a fine looking & working Rebel
"Wayne G. O'Shea" wrote:
Heh heh, we did have a good time down under and had the chance to spend some time with Rick & Wendy and get up in their fine looking & working Rebel and to visit with Greg Gordon and have a look at his (just starting) Elite project, thanks a bundle for the hospitality Rick, Wendy & Greg, we really enjoyed visiting and talking Rebels & things.
If anyone gets the chance to go to Sydney then you should get in contact with these folks they made us feel right at home!,
We spent the best part of one day with Rick at the airport looking at the details of his Rebel, talking building, taking some pictures and doing a bit of flying and yes Wayne we have come back determined to spend more regular time with our project! Of course what we have to look forward to is sealing tanks but it has to get done sometime.....
We picked up some good ideas from Rick on things like reducing the oil-caning of the fuselage skins by attaching small right angle strips in an X with 2 sided foam tape and I really like what he has done making a glare shield/instrument panel cap. It brings the top of the panel back so it is more or less straight across so it shades the central part of the panel well and it looks more finished that way. He finished the edge off with some aluminum tubing covered with energy absorbing foam and then leather. Looks good and makes a good grab handle as well.
Rick also did his own spring gear, stall horn sensor, flap handle system, elevator & rudder tips and some neat see through inspection plates for the tail feather pivot bolts. There are lots of nice custom machined parts on the plane and it makes me wish Rick was closer by so I could come over & borrow his shop! Oh, yeah we had a good talk about the fun of doing wet tanks..... All and all, a good visit so thanks again for the hospitality.
Well, I had better move on to my questions of the night so for now,
G'dye mate
Dave R.
Rick and Wendy have a fine looking & working Rebel
"Wayne G. O'Shea" wrote:
--Rick, the tailwheel when weighted should have a vertical pivot axis or more preferably slightly trailing. It's your leading pivot axis angle that is causing your tailwheel "fits"! Glad to hear Dave and Francine got a visit/flight in and a good kick in the butt to get back to work on their Elite!!! Cheers,Wayne----- Original Message -----
From:Rick Harper (rjwh@ozemail.com.au)
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com (murphy-rebel@dcsol.com)
Sent: Monday, November 04, 2002 3:28 AM
Subject: Re: R - Dave Fife's Hoerner wing tips
G'day Bob ! How much $$$ are we talking for these wizz bang tips ? and please elaborate on the "Angus McKenzie STOL Kit" thingies(I am VERY happy with our Rebel ... but anything that improves things is always worth looking at ! :-) I seem to remember that some have stated that the wing vortices generators have detracted from their Rebels' performance .... yes ?Are Angus' ones different / better ?Also ..... I have fitted a SCOTT 3400 tailwheel , which has improved ground handling immensely .... but I sometimes get HORRENDOUS tailwheel shimmy upon landing (mainly / always on tar) .... I suspect it has something to do with the angle of the wheel / pivot point in relation to the vertical (which it ISN'T ... as it is laying forward somewhat)I suspect that the pivot shaft should be more vertical , even, perhaps laid rearwards to stop this effect ... any ideas guys !?!?!What do you reckon Wayne ? Rick & Wendy Harper541R PS Dave & Francine Ricker are happy campers ..... I took 'em for a quick blatt in our REBEL last Friday ....there's talk of going home & getting stuck into their ELITE !----- Original Message -----
From:Bob Patterson (bob.patterson@canrem.com)
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com (murphy-rebel@dcsol.com)
Sent: Sunday, November 03, 2002 11:26 AM
Subject: R - Dave Fife's Hoerner wing tips
Hi everybody !
As most of you know, when Dave Fife made the first set of
his Hoerner wing tips for the Rebel, he and Curt Martin fitted them
to Curt's Rebel and did a thorough and scientific study of their
effects on performance. They flew a full series of tests, measuring
takeoff distance, speeds in 2 directions, checked with GPS, etc.
They then landed, changed to the new tips, added fuel to be the
same weight as the first tests, and flew them all over again.
They found a reduction in takeoff distance of more than 20%,
and a couple of mph increase in cruise, and a couple of mph reduction
in stall speed. The strongest comment was how much the tips improved
the low speed controllability and feel. Several Rebels near us
have reported similar results, as well as excellent quality and
good fit of the tips (combined with Dave's tail tips, a savings of
over 60 hours in build time was a nice bonus !)
--------------------------------------------
This is a very delayed, totally UN-scientific flight test
report on my Rebel with the Fife Hoerner tips installed. I put them
on over 2 months ago, and flew them out of a grass strip for the
first flight. Here are my comments and observations:
Wheeeeee !!! Yaaaaahooooooo !!!
She got light on her wheels MUCH sooner than before,
and climbed like the proverbial homesick angel !!! A VERY noticeable
improvement. The approach and landing showed a marked improvement
in speed control - it was easier to peg the speed exactly where
I wanted it. I like them !
---------------------------------------------
Well, that's it, so far. Next I'm going to add the
Angus McKenzie STOL kit (full length wing cuff & fences), on my
way to the ultimate hot-rod Rebel !! Should have her painted
soon, too - so she'll be all ready for the big Ramble next year.
Hope you can join us for at least part of the trip !!
.......bobp
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