Thanks Bob,
That is a relief. Now I have future options if my medical changes. Will just
have to watch how heavy I build the rest of the plane.
Roland
R56
-----Original Message-----
From:
mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:
mike.davis@dcsol.com] On Behalf Of Bob
Patterson
Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 7:49 PM
To:
rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: Re: [rebel-builders] 320 or Rotax and Position of firewall
Hi Roland !
Ron is correct WRT the AMERICAN LSA rules - does NOT apply to Canada !
Here, a builder can modify his Amateur-Built aircraft and re-register
at any suitable gross weight, up OR down, as long as that weight satisfies
the Transport Canada calculations - which are pretty bizarre on their own,
but easy to meet !
(something about wing area / horsepower x your hat size ... ;-) )
In fact, you do not even need to change the registered gross weight -
if you are flying a Rebel at less than 1,200 lb. take off weight, in Canada,
you can legally fly it with an Ultralight Licence, even though the
registered
gross weight is still 1,650 lb. This is easy to do if you have a Rotax 912,
less than full fuel, and are solo.
It really puzzles me how the FAA can stop someone from reducing their
gross weight on an EXPERIMENTAL, if it has been substantially modified !
Sounds like it could be a safety issue --- but - it's not our problem ....
ALL of the US Rebels have been built as EXPERIMENTAL - those
registered at 1,320 lb. gross ALSO meet Sport Pilot requirements.
As far as the firewall - Ron mentions one big disadvantage - if it is
3" back, there's less room for radios, unless you modify the panel too.
Many builders do not move the firewall because it permanently limits
your engine choices. Mine, and Wayne's, and many others, are in
the original position, and we fly happily with O-320's. It can be argued
that we might cruise a bit faster with it moved ..... but our C of G's
are in the same position as others who have moved the firewall -
thanks to rear battery positions. If you have the same C of G, you
should have similar handling....
If you put the firewall in reversed, as Ron suggests, it would be
good to trim the fuselage sides back about 1/2" or so - because
reversing the firewall effectively moves it forward about 1/2" + .
This would move the engine forward that much... which might
not be desirable with an older, heavier engine & prop.
--
......bobp
bobp@prosumers.ca
http://www.amway.ca/BobPatterson
http://bpatterson.qhealthbeauty.com
http://apatterson2.ordermygift.com
Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender
and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other entities or persons.
Any action taken as a result of the contents of this email is totally the
responsibility of the reader.
On March 27, 2010 04:45:26 pm Roland Kriening wrote:
Thanks Ron, I seem to remember that now. Thanks for reminding me. So to
Bob's point about deciding about the engine at a later time, I would think
one would need to decide before the firewall installation. Are there many
builders who run a 320 with the firewall position unchanged?
Roland
R56
-----Original Message-----
From:
mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:
mike.davis@dcsol.com] On Behalf Of Ron
Shannon
Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 4:15 PM
To:
rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: Re: [rebel-builders] 320 or Rotax and Position of firewall
Roland,
To ever operate as an LSA, the airplane's GW must always be 1320 lbs. or
less. You cannot start with say, a 1650 lbs. GW, and later change it to
1320 lbs. when you put in a light engine. So... unless you're willing and
able to operate with an O-320 under 1320 lbs. GW (not likely) you don't
want to start with a O-320 engine, because the GW cannot be reduced to
qualify as an LSA at a later time.
To reiterate, if you ever want to fly it as an LSA, you must start with
the
GW in the intial weight and balance documentation at 1320 lbs. or less,
and
keep it there. Weight-wise, backtracking is not allowed for an LSA.
Ron
254R
On Sat, Mar 27, 2010 at 12:41 PM, Roland Kriening
<
kriening@rogers.com>wrote:
Hi Bob,
I have read Darryl's message about moving the firewall depending on
engine.
As you know I am a few months away from installing my firewall and would
love the option of a 320 now which could be changed out to a Rotax later
to
meet the sport pilot category if needed. I am hopeful that the Canadian
rules will change a bit to allow for an easy transition from homebuilt
to
sport pilot should we adopt that.
...
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