Nigel, Thank you so much. Encouraged by your remarks I dared to fly in light rain today for the first time. Nothing remarkable happened. And yes, I do have the standard HOV62 with just ca 20 hours service time so the sacrificial brass strip (which your wrote about) is well hidden yet. Can the leading edge of the prop be protected with some regularly replaced sticking tape?
Regards Jarek On Fri, 1 Nov 2019 at 14:57, Nigel Baker <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Jarek. > > Sorry for the late response. > > The wing profile of the H36 is not a very critical profile hence its tame > stall caracteristics. > > I have flown in rain many times when touring. Not heavy but light rain and > fine mist. > > I noted that you can clearly see where the laminar flow finishes by the > presence of droplets. > > The line is at the main spar. > > I have flown both engine on and soaring flight and apart from reduced > performance it otherwise handled normally. > > The reduced performance in gliding mode was noticeable but definitely not > alarming and easily allowed for in planning (circuit, landing etc). > > > > I assume you have the standard HOV62 prop fitted as per original. > > The construction of this propeller is from laminated spruce with the usual > many layers with differing grain orientation. > > It then has a layer of FRP applied to keep out the environment (moisture > temp etc) and hence they refer to it as composite design. > > Last item before painting is the brass leading edge strip. This is fitted > on top of the FRP layer with a rebate in the timber laminate to allow it to > sit flat on the profile. > > A small amount of filler is used to blend the joint smooth before painting. > > Thus the prop does indeed have a brass leading edge sacrificial cover. > Hoffman will not sell the leading edge strip to any service centre as I > understand it. It can only be replaced at the factory. > > > > I suggest you run at low RPM and check for erosion after each return. The > damage is cumulative but not fast so easily monitored. > > Hope that helps you enjoy your trips to the mountains. > > Cheers. > > Nige. > > > > > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> *On > Behalf Of *Jarek Steliga > *Sent:* Friday, November 1, 2019 10:02 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [DOG mailing list] rain > > > > Michael, Rob, > > > > > > Thank you very much. > > > > Clearly, flight in rain only when absolutely necessary. Maintaining a > level flight requires at least 2300 RPM which I suppose is way above what's > safe for the prop. > > > > > > I am faced with a tantalizing situation. The nearest wave soaring site is > located some 120 km away from where I live. It should be possible to just > glide back home but for a fact that there is a military zone on the way > which means that I am forced by traffic control to bleed all the altitude > and switch over to motorized flight :-( Hence my question. > > > > Best regards > > Jarek > > > > > > On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 at 09:46, Rob Thompson <[email protected]> > wrote: > > I have flown a few times in rain. > > There didn't seem to be any problems but I was cruising under power. > > If you are slow speed turning it may not handle well and may be prone to > stalling at a higher speed. > > regards > > Rob > > > > Rob Thompson > > 0429 493 828 > > > > > > > > On Thu, Oct 31, 2019 at 7:59 AM Jarek Steliga <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Hello, > > > > Is it safe to fly the H36 when it's raining? > > > > Regards > > Jarek > > > > > >
