Hi Rick
Just a note on the hangar for the exhaust system. I took the concept
directly from Tony Bingelis. I justed 1/8" flat bar with many lightening
holes & 3/4" water hose bolted to it, (AN3 bolts). The steel portion is not
continuous so that the hose of course supplies the vibration isolation
requirements. So far so good, but we should always keep our eyes open to
any tell tale signs of problems. I think you can find this either the Fire
Wall Forward or the other book on engines that Tony wrote.
Brian #328R
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Patterson [mailto:
bob.patterson@canrem.com]
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 6:56 PM
To: Murphy Rebel Builders List
Subject: Re: cowlings
Hi Rick !
Since you mentioned the Murphy stainless exhaust, I should remind
everyone who is using it to be sure to provide a support for the tail
end of the pipes, especially if they have heavy heat muffs on the
moving rear section. If you don't do this, you might end up with
cracks in the exhaust stack up at the cylinder end and/or seized
ball joints.
It is not easy to set up this support - Brian Cross did a very
nice one on his Rebel, by attaching heavy perforated strapping to the
cylinder heads (can't remember exactly what it looked like, or the
routing - could you give us a drawing or photo, Brian ??)
Ideally, the support should be fastened to the engine so it
rocks WITH the engine. The first set on mine were fastened to the
oil pan bolts, and were of too thin material - they cracked after only
about 20 hours of flying. There's a LOT of movement back there !!
There are several Rebels out there flying with the exhaust
stacks supported by approx. 4" long strips of rubberized heat shield
fastened to the exhaust stack by gear clamps, and attached to the
front bottom of the fuselage by a short strip of heavy aluminum with
a bolt at each end. This arrangement seems to work very well, likely
because of the great flexibility of the heat shield material. I believe
that Robin Dyck, the MAM Factory Pilot, pioneered this method. It
certainly is simple to install AND inspect !
On the flying qualities .....
I think <most> of the problems are just getting used to the
airplane, and taildraggers in general - EVERY Rebel <is> different !
Certainly, the more you fly, the more proficient you will become,
and the more FREQUENTLY you fly, the QUICKER you will become comfortable.
It <IS> very important to have AT LEAST 27 degrees of up elevator,
and they are ALL easier to land with 50 lb. or more in the baggage
area. A good, well-secured tool bag is good to have with you anyway... ;-)
It <is> getting to be fairly difficult to get GOOD tailwheel flying
training these days, and it definitely takes longer to adjust,
going from learning on a trike, than going the other way after
learning on a 'real' airplane ! ;-`)
As my old instructors always said, the secret to good landings
is to be sure you have the stick ALL THE WAY BACK when the wheels
touch the ground - it seems to work for me !! :-) If you relax
even a little bit, unconsciously, you'll be back in the air !
Also, beware of seat cushions, clothing, etc...
My latest Rebel has an O-320, with the firewall NOT moved
back, and the empty C of G is at about 8.1" - the tail DOES come
up quickly on takeoff, but not quicker than the lightweight,
912-powered Rebel. This Rebel flies hands-off, with neutral position
of the trim tab, and LANDS LIKE A DREAM ! I suspect the stab is
mounted at a slightly different angle from standard, but not
significantly.
Cruise is a little slower than similar Rebels, but I haven't
installed fairings for all the gear legs, and to close the gap between
flapperon sections. (Should be about 10 mph gain, right there..)
I will also be installing Dave Fife's Hoerner wing tips, and likely,
Angus McKenzie's STOL cuffs & wing fences, before painting, and
mounting Murphy 1800 amphibs.
It is pretty well accepted that an aft C of G will yield a
<slightly> higher cruise speed - I recall racing gliders doing a trick
with a large diameter tube running to the tail, into which they
pumped mercury, to move weight aft. The down side of an aft C of G
is that the aircraft can become impossible to recover from a spin,
and generally unstable and unpleasant to fly !! The Rebel does spin
nicely, and has been flight tested for recovery at (and slightly beyond)
the aft C of G limit, so you are safe, as long as you stay within limits.
Sorry - got rambling there ..... :-)
.....bobp
---------------------------------orig.------------------------------------
At 05:55 PM 1/5/01 -0500, you wrote:
Bruce,
My suggestion is to get the cowl that YOU want. The following are my
details.
I have the speed cowl installed and it is very light, very well made
and easy to
install and open. The top cowl half is mounted with 5 screws on top and 2
on each side.
The bottom half has 2 on each side and 4 on the bottom. I hope to replace
these with
camlocks eventually but I'm just trying to get flying at this point. The
two halves are
held together with a continuous piano hinge and I have not figured out how
I will secure
the wire but I'll think of something so that it does not work it's way out.
The
installation of this cowl was very simple and my fear of fitting the piano
hinge was
unfounded. I had never actually worked on a cowl with a piano hinge as the
method of
separating it and was pleasantly surprised at how easy and simple the
method is. Access
should be quick when the camlocks are installed but it is not unduly time
consuming even
with the screws. Any cowl that you get will have its mounting and
clearance hassles. The
MAC exhaust with the heat cuffs is a pain in the neck to fit at the exit
but just hack
away until you get there. You can always add pieces to the cowling.
I am using a 2" spacer with a warp-drive 3 blade prop. My engine is a
Lyc O-320-E2D
150 HP. Lightweight starter and alternator. The firewall is moved back the
suggested 3".
In addition to moving the firewall back I moved the seats and control
column back 3". 30
degrees of up elevator and 22 down.
Upon hearing some of the negative experiences of people flying with
heavy engines and
the firewall in the original position I am hopeful that the factory
suggestion will
provide a nice flying aircraft. MAC has mentioned that if you don't move
the firewall
back you will not have a machine that flies well. Maybe the builders who
have not heeded
that advice (intentional or unintentional) are experiencing the poor flying
qualities
that MAC has talked about. I don't know the answer and as I now keep saying
"Now I know
why they call it EXPERIMENTAL aviation!!!!!"
Good luck,
Rick D.
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