fab the front part of the baffling. Could be just me...probably is..lol CW
----- Original Message -----
From: <mikeh@dcsol.com>
To: <rebel-builders@dcsol.com>
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 4:12 AM
Subject: [rebel-builders] RE: W&B
On 6/27/2010 2:51 PM, rshannon@cruzcom.com wrote to rebel-builders:
Hi Ron,
Thanks so much for sharing all that with us. Having built another
little plane previously I know how you feel about taking your foot off the
gas. Keep the pedal to the metal and I'll keep watching.......good luck.
I'm working on the forward fus of 818R in OZ, it will have a Lyc 0-320
and I'm being very careful of weight, your info is very helpful. I've been
hoping someone out there might be able to assure me that drilling the
floor
channels is the worst part of the process!
All the best and cheers Mike
-> By popular (Ontario?) request... the 254R weight & balance story
follows.
->
-> Before weighing, neighbor Mike (A&P, ace auto/airplane painter &
restorer)
-> guessed 846 lbs. Silly guy. Neighbor John (ex-UA pilot, Harmon Rocket
-> builder) guessed 914 lb. Boo! I worked up from 812 lbs., a number
someone
-> had with a bungee gear, Rotax powered Rebel (Jim C.?) and worked my way
up
-> with additions, etc., and came up with 877, my official guess. I also
said
-> if it was 900 lbs. or under I'd be happy. So... the envelope please:
->
-> Empty weight = 901 lbs.
->
-> Empty CG = 10.85" aft leading edge - with main wheels @ -0.5" arm
(spring
-> gear with 8.00x6.00 tires)
->
-> So John won, and because it's a whole pound over where I said I'd be
-> happy... I'm totally devasted!! Just kidding. Actually, over and over I
made
-> choices to do mods, add equipment or beef things up, and don't regret
any of
-> them.
->
-> For apples to oranges comparisons, following are *some* of the things
that
-> may be of interest, and might (mostly) add weight compared to a fairly
light
-> Rotax-powered Rebel, and some (mostly) very rough estimates of the
*exchange
-> weights*. Most numbers below are just guesses, both as to weight and
-> comparison, of course, so there's no point in arguing the specifics, at
-> least not with me! :-) Weight savings (negative numbers) are in
parentheses,
-> and items were either comparison weighed or otherwise known to be
pretty
-> accurate:
->
-> Jabiru 3300 with muffler, starter, air/carb heat box, NACA vent - 30
lbs.
-> Spring gear -- estimates vary from 11-20 lbs. exchange weight
-> FUS30 - doubler, epoxy, etc. - 2 lbs.
-> FUS 29 - beefed up
-> Iron Design 8" pneumatic tailwheel and modified Champ leaf spring - 5
lbs.*
-> Overhead seat belt attach - 1.5 lbs.
-> Electric flaperon actuator, controller, wiring and switching - (1 lb.)*
-> Strobe system (single power pack and cables) - 9 lbs.*
-> B&C 20S second alternator, regulator, filter & wiring - 10 lbs.*
-> Heated pitot - 1 lb.
-> Thicker windows and lower door half window - 3.2 lbs.*
-> AeroCarb instead of Bing - (2 lbs.)
-> 8.00 x 6.00 wheels and Carlisle Turf Glide tires -- ?
-> SL40 COM2, antenna and coax - 4 lbs.
-> Elaborate glass panel, dual EFIS/AHRS/magnetometers/OAT's, Mode S
XPNDR, XM
-> WX, etc. -- (most of which is pretty light, maybe a savings)
-> PC680 battery - 3 lbs.
-> Four rudder cable pulleys & mounts - 1.5 lbs.
-> Three bay tanks - ea. with > 23 gal. usable BTW
-> Carpeted baggage wall/bulkhead w/XC ski port <g>
-> Various other fuse & wing reinforcements by orig. builder - 5-6 lbs.
-> Adel clamps under the cowl - huge
-> Miles of wire, 3-bus electrical design, lotsa switches - humongous
-> Electrical sleeving and heat shrink throughout - 200 lbs. ;-)
->
-> In addition, several items not yet bolted down were taped in place,
-> including door latch handle/locks, fire extinguisher, interior lights,
A/P
-> servos, etc. Of course, the above doesn't necessarily equal the
difference
-> between 812 and 901 lbs. Things not included are paint (tips & cowl are
-> painted, all mating surfaces and several others are primed, etc.),
strut
-> fairings, skylights (eyebrows are in) and side windows. I may not paint
the
-> fuse except for some color trim over polish & Ever Brite (0.1 lbs. per
100
-> sq. ft.) ala' Luscombe's -- no decision on that yet.
->
-> Personally, I'm happy with the 901 lbs., which will still leave room
for
-> most of what I want to do, even within the LSA-mandated GW of 1320 lbs.
-> Furthermore, when you see all the camping gear come out of the back at
-> Oshkosh next year, just remember it may not look like it, but any and
all
-> hard equipment you see will be made of hollowed out thin wall titanium!
-> ;-) More importantly, I'm proud of the plane, as any builder should
be, and
-> it will be a gas to fly.
->
-> Ron
-> 254R
->
-> PS - I may not have time to respond to comments or questions, if any,
-> because I'm on the last kick to the (flyable) finish line here, and
this
-> ain't no time to take the foot off the gas. [Ed.: mixed metaphors,
again!]
->
-> PS2 - Incidentally, the Sensenich 68x38 composite covered wood prop (11
-> lbs.) produced a static RPM = 2820, which is right at the sweet spot
for the
-> Jabiru 3300. Yay! Performance at cruise remains to be seen, of course.
->
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