[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > As a new Ercoup guy looks like one of the few really bad things that can > happen would be in flight wing separation. Will the Ercoup give you a warning > before that occurs such as loosness or a slight bending of the wing like > metal flexing? I figure that like most machines, if one knows what to look > for, the machine will let you know in advance that a real problem is > forthcoming. Are there many if any instances of unannounced, level flight > nonabusive wing or tail separation in the Ercoup history? Thanks ED
There have been very few in-flight airframe failures of Coupes of which I've heard. One was a Coupe regularly used for aerobatics and thought to be doing aerobatics at the time of breakup. One plane had unknown damage to the wing main-spar / tip-spar joint and failed at that point. This may have been detectable by the pre-flight method of grasping the wing tip and lifting up, then down with 30 or more pounds of force and listening and feeling for sounds or vibrational flexing. One had the tail separate from the plane resulting in a very sudden nose down pitch with attendant sudden negative g's. The pilot's safety belt was broken loose and he was ejected from the plane. Though I never saw the final report, I talked with the investigator during the investigation. It was thought at that point the aerodynamic trim tab spring was bad and the wire controlling the tab had failed. This caused flutter of the trim tab causing flutter of the elevator which tore the stabilizer off the plane or something like that. The recommendation from this was: during annual inspection, disconnect the trim control wire from the tab and pull the tab down against the spring pressure. Let the tab go and it should go to max up position against its stop firmly enough you are sure it won't flutter. Then carefully reattach the control wire. These are the only three in-flight break ups of which I've heard and the ways to avoid them are pretty well defined. There may be others; some resulting from the conditions below are likely. The high risk factors (buzzing and scud running/continuing VFR into IFR conditions) have even better defined avoidance mechanisms. I feel pretty safe in my Coupe. -- Ed Burkhead Peoria, Ill. Ercoupe N3802H, 415-D Never open an attachment with a ".exe" or ".com" or ".vbm" suffix. To be safe turn off Microsoft's Visual Basic Macro execution option. __________________________________________________________________________ ______ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
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