Hi Walter !
"He has the bungee gear, but the leg struts are open" ...
That's his problem !! We found that proper fairing on
the gear legs and bungee struts could give at least another
10 mph !! Definitely worth doing !!
The STOL kit adds only 13 lb., and the Fife Hoerner
wing tips are worth doing, even though you already have tips.
I took my original tips off and installed Dave's - VERY easy,
as they just slip on !! :-) This is THE easiest, fastest
performance improvement for the Rebel !
Thought Curt would chime in with the numbers - they did
very detailed testing of the tips, measuring takeoff distance,
and timed runs in several directions, using GPS for cross-reference.
They then landed and changed tips, added fuel to the same weight,
and went out & did it all again - tough job !! ;-)
As I recall, the takeoff distance numbers were something
like 390 ft. with the factory tips, and 295 ft. with the Hoerner
tips .... please correct me here Curt or Dave ! Think the
stall went down 2 mph...
I didn't do anything so scientific - just by feel, the
Rebel felt lighter and took off in less distance with the new
tips. Climb was better by about 100 feet/min., and low speed
controllability was definitely better. Cruise was the same,
but you definitely need the 2 notches of negative flapperon -
the extra lift is really noticeable !
Angus makes no performance improvement claims for the
STOL kit - just safer flying ! My experience was a 10 mph reduction
in stall speed, and the ability to climb safely at 800 fpm at
46 mph indicated !!!! There was no noticeable decrease in cruise.
With the kit, you could just drag it in slowly with lots of power,
and land VERY short. I haven't got the nerve for that at this point,
but some of the very experienced Rebel float pilots are going into
'lakes' that are only 900 feet long, with both the tips and the
STOL kit !!
As for the 180 hp. - that <30 lb. more> is highly suspect,
given the accuracy of Lycomings engine weights in the past !
We'll see next year, as a nearby builder has decided to use
an XP-360 Superior 180 hp. engine - with a composite constant speed
prop ! Whole package is supposed to weigh only about 12 lb.
more than an O-320/Sensenich combination !! The scales will tell !! ;-)
Guess, with the firewall moved back, and ALL of the beef-ups,
this MIGHT be a good combination - sure will be THE hottest performer
around !!! Only time will tell about durability, but the
weight will be the key factor ...
.....bobp
-------------------------------orig.--------------------------------
At 07:04 PM 11/11/03 -0800, you wrote:
Yeah, it's not that my plane is fast, his is slow, no doubt about
it. When he first started flying it, he thought his ASI was
wrong, and got it checked, then tried moving the static port.
Finally, we had a chance to fly together, and that's when he
found out his ASI was correct, and he was just plain slow. I am
not exactly sure why. The plane looks like it is well built, and
nothing unusual about the airframe. He does have a different prop
though. It is a McCauley 75 or 76 inch, but can't remember the
pitch. He has the bungee gear, but the leg struts are open, with
no fabric fairings on them. Maybe his engine isn't producing 160
hp, but he did say it would spin right up to 2700 on full
throttle, which is what I get. Anyway, I would start leaving him
behind at about 120 mph while I would go up to 125 with 2 people
and floats. I can't remember what I was on wheels, but I think
around 135 for top speed.
Walter
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*
To unsubscribe from this list go to:
https://www.dcsol.com/public/code/html-subscribe.wcx
Archives located at
https://rebel:builder@www.dcsol.com/default.htm
To contact the list admin, e-mail
mike.davis@dcsol.com
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*
To unsubscribe from this list go to:
https://www.dcsol.com/public/code/html-subscribe.wcx
Archives located at
https://rebel:builder@www.dcsol.com/default.htm
To contact the list admin, e-mail
mike.davis@dcsol.com
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*
-----------------------------------------------------------------
List archives located at:
https://mail.dcsol.com/login
username "rebel" password "builder"
Unsubscribe:
rebel-builders-unsubscribe@dcsol.com
List administrator:
mike.davis@dcsol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
