G'day Guys ('n' gals)
What a difference a day makes ...
I was partaking in a spot landing competition today at our airfield ....
and it was a pretty bumpy day - so the final approach was very lumpy - (
the strip is cut out of a side of a hill & lined nearby by tall trees -
GREAT for adverse landing practise !)
First landing was within 3 feet of the line, second was 60 feet short !
(looked ok from where I was sitting), third was about 10 feet short - so
a BIG effort on the last landing was called for !!!
I was doing my "Rebel special" landing - full flap approach & DUMP the
LOT - to full 12 degree negative a soon as she touches - very effective
- u...s....u...a....l....l....y......
Trouble is, I got hit with a rotor - and she ballooned - just as I
dumped the flap :o( - so instead of falling from "nil height" - she
dropped like a ROCK from a height much bigger than I had anticipated :o(
:o( :o(
Left drag link sheared & leg collapsed, skidded right & the right gear
dug in - shoving the triangulated gear up through the floor :o( - LOTS
of lower fuse' damage, prop shortened (wood thankfully), screen
shattered and more :o( :o( :o(
No personal damage - but VERY pissed with myself - to say the least :o(
Oh well .... back to the old drawing board - ( at least I'll get to do
all the fuse upgrades I wanted to do now )
Rick & Wendy Harper
541R .... NOT flying now :o(
----- Original Message -----
From: Ted Waltman
To:
rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2005 10:37 AM
Subject: RE: Rebel tail wheel
Ian,
As I previously posted regarding my Moose, I too had main casting wear
and a very sloppy "centre" pin. I can send you my post if you didn't
previously see it.
I agree with the other reply you got; go with a Scott tailwheel if you
can.
Ted Waltman
-----Original Message-----
From:
mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:
mike.davis@dcsol.com] On Behalf Of
IAN DONALDSON
Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2005 5:15 AM
To:
rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: Rebel tail wheel
G'day
I have just returned home from a 1200 mile tour of outback Australia
in
my
912S powered Rebel. Needless to say she flew wonderfully, except for
the fact that on paved runways she turned into a ground looping
demon! I gave a great exhibition of a 360 degree loop in front of a
waiting
group of pilots! It goes without saying that I received a fair amount
of
teasing over my piloting skills!
Now I have done 99% of my flying off grass strips and thought that it
must
have been my inexperience that was causing my handling problems. But
my
companion, who is a high hour commercial pilot and with lots of
experience
in taildraggers was also having the same trouble and we almost lost
our
nerve completely, and we were tossing a coin to see who would have to
do
the
next landing!
Now that we have the Rebel in the hangar I searched for answers and
have
found that the centre pin in the wheel fork has come loose which has
allowed
the tailwheel to pivot just as it wished! This is what caused the
strange
handling. This is the standard MAM tailwheel as supplied in the kit.
Has anyone had this same experience, or can offer anyway to secure
this
pin?
The pin is secured by two 1/8" roll pins but there is nothing to
locate
them
into the pin. The main casting is also worn and the pin is a sloppy
fit.
Does anyone have a fix?
I would appreciate some advice and assistance.
Apart from all that, the Rebel cruises at 85 knots and has an average
petrol
burn 20 litres an hour. This is with two large pilots, lots of fuel
and
as
much luggage as we can get in and still shut the doors!
Thanks and regards
Ian Donaldson
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