At 09:04 PM 5/20/98 -0500, you wrote: >RMille7519 wrote: >> ... trying and finding new >> mods? like maybe some that imoprove the STOL capabilities of the coupe(which >> is an area that happens to interest me as i fly into high mountain airports to >> go camping.) > >I deduce he means that other clubs can, in concert, organize and perhaps >fund developments like STOL or engine STCs or buy existing STCs and let >everyone use them free. That's a valid point. > >We don't do anything like that, largly for fear of lawsuits I think. > >Fred Weick was working on a mod (and had it flying) that drooped both >ailerons a little for takeoff and landing. To keep good flying >characteristics, he had to modify the horizontal stabilizer and the >rudder actuator so the rudder surfaces moved BOTH in and out to give him >enough >control once the ailerons were dropped. > >You might check the archives at Bowling Green university to see if they >have documents on this along with any flight test data. You could go >experimental, do the conversion, do some flight testing to prove safety >and efficacy and submit for an STC. Considering the mod, it might take >a fair amount of $$. > >Conversly, you might take out as much weight as you can. No instruments >more than minimum required, just a hand-held radio and 8 oz GPS, put in >an O-200 STC which has a fairly flat climb prop. With a very light >plane and that engine, you might find the characteristics are good >enough without doing anything exotic. > >-- >Ed Burkhead >East Peoria, Ill. >N3802H, 415-D > Ed, It may have been before you joined the group but I pointed out that the Coupe would be a natural for flaparons. Not so much for the higher lift a few degrees of droop would add but for the ability to reflex (raise above the normal trailing position). This is done on many different types of aircraft such as high performance sail planes and the Maule. It decreases drag. Decreased drag = increased airspeed. By not drooping the ailerons more than 10 degrees there should be little change in the airflow over the tail. I doubt there is any real need to mess with the rudder since the rudder has minimal effect (I have rudder pedals in my Forney), a turn with feet flat on the floor usually leaves the ball centered. With 10 degrees of droop there would be a significant increase in lift with that cuffed wing. I would love to experiment with it, but putting a certified AC into the experimental category is a real nightmare., Funny how with no aeronautical education and a garage you can build an AC that has fewer restrictions than a certified AC with a mod that puts it into the experimental category. Thank God we have the FAA and their logic to safeguard us from such folly.
Dave 41 Charlie Dave's Ercoupe Page http://www.flash.net/~dmprosvc/dave
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