|
Tony.
I think Univair sells a replacement tube for around
$20.
It comes with the socket already glued on plus a gasket.
Hartmut
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 4:54
PM
Subject: [COUPERS-TECH] Re: Digest list:
Ercoupe Technical Discussion (moderated)
|
Hello,
Can someone tell me how I can replace the
fuel gauge sight tube on my header tank. I know someone had replaces
one, but I can not remember what they used to replace the tube
and sealed it to the cap.
Thanks,
Tony- N94760
-------Original
Message-------
Date: Monday, May 31,
2004 2:03:05 AM
Subject: Digest list:
Ercoupe Technical Discussion (moderated)
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this forum.]----
Message list:
1. [COUPERS-TECH] Center section question 2. Re:
[COUPERS-TECH] Center section question 3. Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Center
section question 4. Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Center section question 5.
[COUPERS-TECH] brs in an ercoupe? 6. [COUPERS-TECH] Snub cable on the
twin fork nose gear. 7. [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift" 8.
RE: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift" 9. Re: [COUPERS-TECH] The
infamous "wing lift" 10. RE: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing
lift" 11. RE: [COUPERS-TECH] Snub cable on the twin fork nose
gear. 12. RE: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift" 13. Re:
[COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
Messages:
From:
"roger anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Reply-To:
"roger anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
[COUPERS-TECH] Center section question
When the wings are pulled
to do a center section inspection, is a borescope necesssary to see
everything? Or can a good job be done without it? With a wings pull,
does that meet a once every three year inspection requirement?
Thanks....Roger
---------------------------- From: "Paul M.
Anton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:
"roger anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[email protected]> Reply-To:
"Paul M. Anton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Center section question
With a wing pull
alone, you cannot see all areas. I have discovered corrosion on two
planes that could not be seen with the wing pull method. The corrosion
was found when the inspection openings were put in.
I personally
will not sign off this AD anymore by just pulling the wings. I advocate
inspection openings AND wing pull for the initial inspection.
The
wing pull however will satisfy the 3 year requirement when all the other
stuff is done along with it. (interior sound proofing,floor boards,
etc)
Cheers:
Paul NC2273H
When the wings
are pulled to do a center section inspection, is a borescope necesssary
to see everything? Or can a good job be done without it? With a wings
pull, does that meet a once every three year inspection requirement?
Thanks....Roger
---------------------------- From:
"Hartmut Beil" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Reply-To:
"Hartmut Beil" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Center section question
The wings pulled, you
can see and feel most of the center section. the lighting holes are big
enough to reach in there . The important things to check for are of
course the spars - main and rear. And here is a slight problem. One
can only see the insides of the spars . The main spar side facing to the
front is covered by the tanks and the rear side spar facing to the tail
is hard to see, cause of very small holes to see through. see :
https://home.pacbell.net/hbeil/ercoupe/corrosion.htm Corrosion seems
to happen more likely here, so a check with a boroscope is a good idea.
It does not have to be the one described in the AD, I guess, since
pulling the wings is already sufficient to fulfill the AD's
requirement. Inspections holes are a good idea in the rear part of
the center section, no doubt. But to thoroughly check the front of the
main spar, one would have to remove the tanks
also.
Hartmut ----- Original Message ----- From: roger
anderson To: [email protected] Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 10:21 AM Subject: [COUPERS-TECH] Center section
question
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this forum.]----
When the
wings are pulled to do a center section inspection, is a borescope
necesssary to see everything? Or can a good job be done without it? With
a wings pull, does that meet a once every three year inspection
requirement?
Thanks....Roger ============================================================================== To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search
the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
---------------------------- From:
"roger anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Paul M.
Anton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[email protected]> Reply-To:
"roger anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re:
[COUPERS-TECH] Center section question
Paul,
Hartmut,
Thanks....Roger ----- Original Message -----
From: Paul M. Anton To: roger anderson ; [email protected] Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 12:44 PM Subject: Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Center
section question
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this forum.]----
With a wing
pull alone, you cannot see all areas. I have discovered corrosion on two
planes that could not be seen with the wing pull method. The corrosion
was found when the inspection openings were put in.
I personally
will not sign off this AD anymore by just pulling the wings. I advocate
inspection openings AND wing pull for the initial inspection.
The
wing pull however will satisfy the 3 year requirement when all the other
stuff is done along with it. (interior sound proofing,floor boards,
etc)
Cheers:
Paul NC2273H
When the wings
are pulled to do a center section inspection, is a borescope necesssary
to see everything? Or can a good job be done without it? With a wings
pull, does that meet a once every three year inspection requirement?
Thanks....Roger ============================================================================== To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search
the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
---------------------------- From:
"Jim and Helen Bauer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Reply-To:
"Jim and Helen Bauer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
[COUPERS-TECH] brs in an ercoupe?
I was wondering if anyone has
explored the idea of installing a brs chute on an ercoupe? Or perhaps
someone has already done it? Thank you.
Jim
---------------------------- From: "Justine & Fred
Fowler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:
<[email protected]> Reply-To:
"Justine & Fred Fowler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
[COUPERS-TECH] Snub cable on the twin fork nose gear.
I have a
question for the coupe experts. When I bought my coupe several years ago
it did not have the snub cable on the nose gear to prevent full
extension in flight. I have seen other coupes without the cable and some
people feel leaving the cable off allows a slightly higher cruise speed.
Regardless I have ordered the cable and intend on putting it on. My
question is, with the gear fully extended ground contact will be a
little sooner and faster which could cause problems. What do you folks
think? My nose gear is ok, but being a D model lands faster than other
models and having that gear extended has me worried. Thanks for any
input F Fowler N99170,
---------------------------- From:
"roger anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Reply-To:
"roger anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
[COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
My question
is.....Recently, after landing and while rolling down the runway, the
infamous wing lift occured, right wing up. Of course to me I felt like
we were on the verge of turning over. At the same time it quickly
assumed about a 45 degree track towards the right side of the runway. At
this point I get to make a choice...either right aileron to bring wing
down, thereby also turning even further to the right and off the
runway...or left aileron to steer left and back onto the runway, but
also increasing the lift of the right wing. I think it ended quickly
with quick right aileron, wing down, then hard brake to slow and steer
left before going off the runway. Actually, I think this happened by
rolling out into a wind sheer and possible dust devil. However, how high
can a wing go? Has one ever turned over? Does the wing lift ever get so
high as to bring its main gear tire off the ground? Should steering
straight be the first priority and ignore the wing lift? What are some
thoughts and experiences on wing lift? By the way, have single axle nose
wheel and correct tail height.
Thanks...Roger
---------------------------- From: "Ed
Burkhead" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "roger
anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"Coupe-Tech"
<[email protected]> Reply-To:
"Ed Burkhead" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
RE: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing
lift"
Roger,
Yours is the first wing lift report Ive
seen in the last several years. That problem is pretty much
solved.
About 20 years ago it was a common problem and was a
danger to a lot of Coupes. Then a wise Couper, Bill Coons, went to a
smart and knowledgeable FAA engineering person in the Chicago office
and got the fix approved.
The usual reason youll get a wing
lift is because the upwind wing is at too high an angle of attack.
This comes from the normal dihedral combined with a drooping tail
that makes the on-the-ground angle of attack too high.
The
Ercoupe was designed to have an almost zero angle of attack
when sitting on the ground, on the wheels. This dumps lift. Even with
the dihedral, the upwind wing doesnt have enough angle of attack and
lift to raise the wing.
As the main gear donuts (or Belleville
Springs on later models) age, they dont hold the tail up. With a
drooping tail, you get that too-high angle of attack on the
ground.
Your first thing to do is check the height of the tail at
its highest point (on very level ground). It should be 75 high if
you have a single fork nose gear. Perhaps an inch or inch and a half
higher if you have a double fork nose gear.
If you tail is
drooping, the first thing to do is main gear maintenance. If you have
rubber donuts, get new ones from Skyport. While you are at it, order
the main gear spacer kit from them, too. If you have Belleville
Springs, talk to John at Skyport. Put in the new donuts and, if you
need to, the spacers to get your tail to the right height.
Youll
find your upwind wing no longer lifts. Youll find that a 25
mph direct crosswind is no longer a dangerous landing. Some people
fly in higher crosswinds than that, but work up your crosswind
ability with practice.
With the dihedral of the wings, the low
wing wont touch till the upwind wing is 18 feet high and Ive never
heard of a Coupe flipping but I have heard of them being forced off
the runway and having damage, sometimes major. Get the tail height
fixed ASAP. You can be flying again in two days if you
want.
If you measure your tail height and its 75 inches already,
write back.
Please tell us what you find out and what you
do.
Skyport Aircoupe Services Airport NY86 P.O. Box
249 Rensselaerville, NY 12147 (800) 624-5312
Ed
Burkhead http://edburkhead.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] (remove the
QQQ)
-----Original Message----- From: roger anderson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 8:40 PM To: [email protected] Subject:
[COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this forum.]----
My
question is.....Recently, after landing and while rolling down
the runway, the infamous wing lift occured, right wing up. Of course
to me I felt like we were on the verge of turning over. At the same
time it quickly assumed about a 45 degree track towards the right
side of the runway. At this point I get to make a choice...either
right aileron to bring wing down, thereby also turning even further
to the right and off the runway...or left aileron to steer left and
back onto the runway, but also increasing the lift of the right wing.
I think it ended quickly with quick right aileron, wing down, then
hard brake to slow and steer left before going off the runway.
Actually, I think this happened by rolling out into a wind sheer and
possible dust devil. However, how high can a wing go? Has one ever
turned over? Does the wing lift ever get so high as to bring its main
gear tire off the ground? Should steering straight be the first
priority and ignore the wing lift? What are some thoughts and
experiences on wing lift? By the way, have single axle nose wheel and
correct tail height.
Thanks...Roger
======================================================================== ====== To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search
the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
---------------------------- From:
"roger anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ed
Burkhead" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"Coupe-Tech"
<[email protected]> Reply-To:
"roger anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re:
[COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
Ed,
Thanks for the
response. My tail height is correct at 75 inches. As I said, I think
this was an unusual event caused by wind shear and a possible dust devil
that actually picked up the wing and rotated the plane. I was just
curious as to how common wing lift might be and what experiences anyone
might have had with it. It sounds like with an 18 foot wing height
necessary to drag the other wing, regardless of the pilot's impressions
of "about to turn over", if wing lift occurs, steering straight would be
the correct response and the wing should drop soon. Does that sound
correct? Roger ----- Original Message ----- From: Ed Burkhead
To: roger anderson ; Coupe-Tech Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2004 9:45
PM Subject: RE: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing
lift"
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this
forum.]----
Roger,
Yours is the first
wing lift report I've seen in the last several years. That problem is
pretty much solved.
About 20 years ago it was a common
problem and was a danger to a lot of Coupes. Then a wise Couper, Bill
Coons, went to a smart and knowledgeable FAA engineering person in the
Chicago office and got the fix approved.
The usual reason
you'll get a wing lift is because the upwind wing is at too high an
angle of attack. This comes from the normal dihedral combined with a
drooping tail that makes the on-the-ground angle of attack too
high.
The Ercoupe was designed to have an almost zero
angle of attack when sitting on the ground, on the wheels. This dumps
lift. Even with the dihedral, the upwind wing doesn't have enough angle
of attack and lift to raise the wing.
As the main gear
donuts (or Belleville Springs on later models) age, they don't hold the
tail up. With a drooping tail, you get that too-high angle of attack on
the ground.
Your first thing to do is check the height of
the tail at its highest point (on very level ground). It should be 75"
high if you have a single fork nose gear. Perhaps an inch or inch and a
half higher if you have a double fork nose gear.
If you
tail is drooping, the first thing to do is main gear maintenance. If you
have rubber donuts, get new ones from Skyport. While you are at it,
order the main gear spacer kit from them, too. If you have Belleville
Springs, talk to John at Skyport. Put in the new donuts and, if you need
to, the spacers to get your tail to the right
height.
You'll find your upwind wing no longer lifts.
You'll find that a 25 mph direct crosswind is no longer a dangerous
landing. Some people fly in higher crosswinds than that, but work up
your crosswind ability with practice.
With the dihedral
of the wings, the low wing won't touch till the upwind wing is 18 feet
high and I've never heard of a Coupe flipping but I have heard of them
being forced off the runway and having damage, sometimes major. Get the
tail height fixed ASAP. You can be flying again in two days if you
want.
If you measure your tail height and it's 75 inches
already, write back.
Please tell us what you find out and
what you do.
Skyport Aircoupe Services
Airport
NY86
P.O. Box 249
Rensselaerville, NY 12147
(800)
624-5312
Ed Burkhead
http://edburkhead.com/
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (remove the
QQQ)
-----Original Message----- From: roger anderson
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 8:40 PM To: [email protected] Subject:
[COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
----[Please read
http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this forum.]---- My question
is.....Recently, after landing and while rolling down the runway, the
infamous wing lift occured, right wing up. Of course to me I felt like
we were on the verge of turning over. At the same time it quickly
assumed about a 45 degree track towards the right side of the runway. At
this point I get to make a choice...either right aileron to bring wing
down, thereby also turning even further to the right and off the
runway...or left aileron to steer left and back onto the runway, but
also increasing the lift of the right wing. I think it ended quickly
with quick right aileron, wing down, then hard brake to slow and steer
left before going off the runway. Actually, I think this happened by
rolling out into a wind sheer and possible dust devil. However, how high
can a wing go? Has one ever turned over? Does the wing lift ever get so
high as to bring its main gear tire off the ground? Should steering
straight be the first priority and ignore the wing lift? What are some
thoughts and experiences on wing lift? By the way, have single axle nose
wheel and correct tail height.
Thanks...Roger ============================================================================== To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search
the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
============================================================================== To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search
the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
---------------------------- From:
"Kevin Gassert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'roger
anderson'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"'Ed Burkhead'"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"'Coupe-Tech'"
<[email protected]> Reply-To:
"Kevin Gassert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
RE: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
The procedure is to
keep the wheel straight and apply
brakes.
Kevin
_____
From:
roger anderson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 10:59 PM To: Ed Burkhead; Coupe-Tech Subject:
Re: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing
lift"
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this
forum.]----
Ed,
Thanks for the response. My tail
height is correct at 75 inches. As I said, I think this was an
unusual event caused by wind shear and a possible dust devil that
actually picked up the wing and rotated the plane. I was just curious
as to how common wing lift might be and what experiences anyone might
have had with it. It sounds like with an 18 foot wing
height necessary to drag the other wing, regardless of the pilot's
impressions of "about to turn over", if wing lift occurs, steering
straight would be the correct response and the wing should drop soon.
Does that sound correct? Roger
----- Original Message -----
From: Ed Burkhead <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:
roger anderson <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ;
Coupe-Tech <mailto:[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2004 9:45 PM Subject: RE: [COUPERS-TECH]
The infamous "wing lift"
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this
forum.]----
Roger,
Yours
is the first wing lift report I?ve seen in the last several
years. That problem is pretty much solved.
About 20
years ago it was a common problem and was a danger to a lot
of Coupes. Then a wise Couper, Bill Coons, went to a smart and
knowledgeable FAA engineering person in the Chicago office and got
the fix approved.
The usual reason you?ll get a wing lift
is because the upwind wing is at too high an angle of attack. This
comes from the normal dihedral combined with a drooping tail that
makes the on-the-ground angle of attack too high.
The
Ercoupe was designed to have an almost zero angle of attack when
sitting on the ground, on the wheels. This dumps lift. Even with the
dihedral, the upwind wing doesn?t have enough angle of attack and
lift to raise the wing.
As the main gear donuts (or
Belleville Springs on later models) age, they don?t hold the tail up.
With a drooping tail, you get that too-high angle of attack on the
ground.
Your first thing to do is check the height of the
tail at its highest point (on very level ground). It should be 75?
high if you have a single fork nose gear. Perhaps an inch or inch and
a half higher if you have a double fork nose gear.
If
you tail is drooping, the first thing to do is main gear maintenance.
If you have rubber donuts, get new ones from Skyport. While you are
at it, order the main gear spacer kit from them, too. If you have
Belleville Springs, talk to John at Skyport. Put in the new donuts
and, if you need to, the spacers to get your tail to the right
height.
You?ll find your upwind wing no longer lifts.
You?ll find that a 25 mph direct crosswind is no longer a dangerous
landing. Some people fly in higher crosswinds than that, but work up
your crosswind ability with practice.
With the
dihedral of the wings, the low wing won?t touch till the upwind wing
is 18 feet high and I?ve never heard of a Coupe flipping but I
have heard of them being forced off the runway and having damage,
sometimes major. Get the tail height fixed ASAP. You can be flying
again in two days if you want.
If you measure your
tail height and it?s 75 inches already, write
back.
Please tell us what you find out and what you
do.
Skyport Aircoupe Services
Airport
NY86
P.O. Box 249
Rensselaerville, NY 12147
(800)
624-5312
Ed Burkhead
http://edburkhead.com/
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (remove the
QQQ)
-----Original Message----- From: roger anderson
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 8:40 PM To: [email protected] Subject:
[COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
----[Please
read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this forum.]----
My
question is.....Recently, after landing and while rolling down
the runway, the infamous wing lift occured, right wing up. Of course
to me I felt like we were on the verge of turning over. At the same
time it quickly assumed about a 45 degree track towards the right
side of the runway. At this point I get to make a choice...either
right aileron to bring wing down, thereby also turning even further
to the right and off the runway...or left aileron to steer left and
back onto the runway, but also increasing the lift of the right wing.
I think it ended quickly with quick right aileron, wing down, then
hard brake to slow and steer left before going off the
runway. Actually, I think this happened by rolling out into a wind
sheer and possible dust devil. However, how high can a wing go? Has
one ever turned over? Does the wing lift ever get so high as to bring
its main gear tire off the ground? Should steering straight be the
first priority and ignore the wing lift? What are some thoughts and
experiences on wing lift? By the way, have single axle nose wheel and
correct tail height.
Thanks...Roger ============================================================================ ==
To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
Search
the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
============================================================================ ==
To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
Search
the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
============================================================================ ==
To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
Search
the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
---------------------------- From:
"Ed Burkhead" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:
"Justine & Fred Fowler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"Coupe-Tech"
<[email protected]> Reply-To:
"Ed Burkhead" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
RE: [COUPERS-TECH] Snub cable on the twin fork nose
gear.
Fred,
Weve been discussing this issue (with
vigor) for several years.
The Ercoupe was designed for that nose
gear to go down to full extension. If you let it go down all the way
AND have the fairing that fairs the backside of the nose gear strut
and scissors, you will gain almost exactly one (1) mph according to
Fred Weick, designer of the Coupe. He told me they had measured that
carefully.
Downsides to full extension: 1. The connection
inside the nose gear that keeps the end and nose wheel from falling
off isnt very substantial. John Wright, Jr., told me he doesnt
trust those connectors and I think he said hes seen on or two (of
the three?) sheered. He uses a snubber and I trust his knowledge.
Still, I havent heard of a nose gear falling off in the 25 years
Ive been hanging around Coupes.
2a. With full extension, the
nose wheel will touch a mite sooner. If you make a perfect landing,
low sink rate, nose well high, the mains will touch first and the
side drag may straighten the plane before the nose wheel touches.
However, the mains also have most of a foot of shock absorber travel
so usually, the nose wheel will touch before the weight is fully on
the mains.
2b. When the nose wheel touches, the nose wheel will
immediately turn to line up with the direction of travel. (Dont use
the word swivel or you ll be tarred and feathered.) This turning
happens almost instantly AS LONG AS you are NOT holding the controls
firmly. Hold the yoke with a couple of fingers to allow this sudden
(jerking) turning. As soon as the nose wheel has turned, there are no
side loads to the nose gear. There are still side loads on the main
gear till the plane straightens out but that takes a very short
period of time. Then you roll out happily.
Downsides to
snubber cable: 1. The nose wheel is held up higher. If the wheel or
assembly is in the slipstream there will be a big drag penalty. Just
having the gear tube in the slipstream with no fairing costs you that
1 mph we were talking about.
2. With the snubber cable, the
nose gear has less shock absorber travel. It may be more susceptible
to damage from a hard landing.
As you can see, its not cut
and dried. Theres no categorically wrong answer. If you dont
install the snubber cable, itd be smart to have a mechanic pull the
nose gear and make sure the parts are in good condition. Also, if you
dont have the fairing attached to the scissors to fair that nose
gear tube, theres less reason to not have the snubber
I had the
snubber on my gear for 22 year and never felt compulsive about taking
it off. Still, Fred Weick seemed to think they were
not desirable.
Your choice.
Ed Burkhead http://edburkhead.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] (remove the
QQQ)
-----Original Message----- From: Justine & Fred
Fowler [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 8:07 PM To: [email protected] Subject:
[COUPERS-TECH] Snub cable on the twin fork nose
gear.
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this forum.]----
I have a
question for the coupe experts. When I bought my coupe several years
ago it did not have the snub cable on the nose gear to prevent full
extension in flight. I have seen other coupes without the cable
and some people feel leaving the cable off allows a slightly higher
cruise speed. Regardless I have ordered the cable and intend on
putting it on. My question is, with the gear fully extended ground
contact will be a little sooner and faster which could cause
problems. What do you folks think? My nose gear is ok, but being a D
model lands faster than other models and having that gear extended
has me worried. Thanks for any input F Fowler
N99170,
======================================================================== ====== To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search
the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
---------------------------- From:
"Ed Burkhead" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "roger
anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"Coupe-Tech"
<[email protected]> Reply-To:
"Ed Burkhead" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
RE: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
Roger,
My
thanks to Kevin. He reminded us of something important.
The ERCO
test pilot was Bob Saunders. Later, he and his brother bought rights
to the Ercoupe and sold the inventory and made some as
Saunders Aviation if I remember the name correctly.
About ten
years ago, when I was editing Coupe Capers, Bob wrote a letter on
this subject.
Bob said that hitting the brakes was a key thing to
do when you encounter wing lift. It immediately slows the plane and
drops the wing. So, what Kevin said is correct. Steer straight ahead
and hit the brakes. I think youre right that it was something of a
fluke. If you get repeats, let us know.
Bob knew Ercoupes
well. He was part of the original design team as well as being test
pilot. When Saunders Aviation was selling/making Coupes, Bob
developed the split elevator to minimize the slipstreams effect
on trim and stall performance. That was an improvement Fred Weick
liked. He said he wished hed thought of it.
Ed
Burkhead http://edburkhead.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] (remove the
QQQ)
-----Original Message----- From: roger anderson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 9:59 PM To: Ed Burkhead; Coupe-Tech Subject:
Re: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
Ed,
Thanks for
the response. My tail height is correct at 75 inches. As I said, I
think this was an unusual event caused by wind shear and a possible
dust devil that actually picked up the wing and rotated the plane. I
was just curious as to how common wing lift might be and
what experiences anyone might have had with it. It sounds like with
an 18 foot wing height necessary to drag the other wing, regardless
of the pilot's impressions of "about to turn over", if wing lift
occurs, steering straight would be the correct response and the wing
should drop soon. Does that sound correct? Roger ----- Original
Message ----- From: Ed Burkhead <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:
roger anderson <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ;
Coupe-Tech <mailto:[email protected]> Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 9:45 PM Subject: RE: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous
"wing lift"
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this
forum.]----
Roger,
Yours is the first wing lift
report Ive seen in the last several years. That problem is pretty
much solved.
About 20 years ago it was a common problem and was a
danger to a lot of Coupes. Then a wise Couper, Bill Coons, went to a
smart and knowledgeable FAA engineering person in the Chicago office
and got the fix approved.
The usual reason youll get a wing
lift is because the upwind wing is at too high an angle of attack.
This comes from the normal dihedral combined with a drooping tail
that makes the on-the-ground angle of attack too high.
The
Ercoupe was designed to have an almost zero angle of attack
when sitting on the ground, on the wheels. This dumps lift. Even with
the dihedral, the upwind wing doesnt have enough angle of attack and
lift to raise the wing.
As the main gear donuts (or Belleville
Springs on later models) age, they dont hold the tail up. With a
drooping tail, you get that too-high angle of attack on the
ground.
Your first thing to do is check the height of the tail at
its highest point (on very level ground). It should be 75 high if
you have a single fork nose gear. Perhaps an inch or inch and a half
higher if you have a double fork nose gear.
If you tail is
drooping, the first thing to do is main gear maintenance. If you have
rubber donuts, get new ones from Skyport. While you are at it, order
the main gear spacer kit from them, too. If you have Belleville
Springs, talk to John at Skyport. Put in the new donuts and, if you
need to, the spacers to get your tail to the right height.
Youll
find your upwind wing no longer lifts. Youll find that a 25
mph direct crosswind is no longer a dangerous landing. Some people
fly in higher crosswinds than that, but work up your crosswind
ability with practice.
With the dihedral of the wings, the low
wing wont touch till the upwind wing is 18 feet high and Ive never
heard of a Coupe flipping but I have heard of them being forced off
the runway and having damage, sometimes major. Get the tail height
fixed ASAP. You can be flying again in two days if you
want.
If you measure your tail height and its 75 inches already,
write back.
Please tell us what you find out and what you
do.
Skyport Aircoupe Services Airport NY86 P.O. Box
249 Rensselaerville, NY 12147 (800) 624-5312
Ed
Burkhead http://edburkhead.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] (remove the
QQQ)
-----Original Message----- From: roger anderson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent:
Sunday, May 30, 2004 8:40 PM To: [email protected] Subject:
[COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this forum.]----
My
question is.....Recently, after landing and while rolling down
the runway, the infamous wing lift occured, right wing up. Of course
to me I felt like we were on the verge of turning over. At the same
time it quickly assumed about a 45 degree track towards the right
side of the runway. At this point I get to make a choice...either
right aileron to bring wing down, thereby also turning even further
to the right and off the runway...or left aileron to steer left and
back onto the runway, but also increasing the lift of the right wing.
I think it ended quickly with quick right aileron, wing down, then
hard brake to slow and steer left before going off the runway.
Actually, I think this happened by rolling out into a wind sheer and
possible dust devil. However, how high can a wing go? Has one ever
turned over? Does the wing lift ever get so high as to bring its main
gear tire off the ground? Should steering straight be the first
priority and ignore the wing lift? What are some thoughts and
experiences on wing lift? By the way, have single axle nose wheel and
correct tail height.
Thanks...Roger ======================================================================== ====== To
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---------------------------- From:
Darwin Girdauckis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:
roger anderson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, 'Coupetech'
<[email protected]> Reply-To:
Darwin Girdauckis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
Re: [COUPERS-TECH] The infamous "wing lift"
I don't know if this
has happened to any one else but our coupe had this problem even
with correct tail height & properly rigged flight controles. When
we took off we were always fighting the yoke to a little to the
left unless we had a cross wind from the left. As we took off, the
plane would veer a little to the left & then straighten out.
On landing, we would have to fight the controle a little to the
left to keep the plane straight & the right wing would sometimes
raise untill the plane slowed down.When we put the newer style nose
gear steering rod on, the shop guys made the new rod the same
length as the old rod (the old dangerous ball type) When we took it
up the first time we were paying very close attention to how the
steering performed. This is when we noticed (FOR THE FIRST
TIME) that as we were taxing, the yoke was to the left. I think it
was like that all along but we just didn't notice it before. Any
way, the yoke is level when we are in level flight. It finally dawned
on us that the nose wheel was not alighned with the flight controles.
Lengthening the steering rod 1.5 turns made a world of difference.
Check your yoke position when you are taxing straight. It may seem
obvious but see if the yoke is straight! Darwin
roger
anderson wrote:
> ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm
before following any advice in this
forum.]---- > > > > My question is.....Recently,
after landing and while rolling down the > runway, the infamous
wing lift occured, right wing up. Of course to > me I felt like we
were on the verge of turning over. At the same time > it quickly
assumed about a 45 degree track towards the right side of > the
runway. At this point I get to make a choice...either right >
aileron to bring wing down, thereby also turning even further to
the > right and off the runway...or left aileron to steer left and
back onto > the runway, but also increasing the lift of the right
wing. I think > it ended quickly with quick right aileron, wing
down, then hard brake > to slow and steer left before going off
the runway. Actually, I > think this happened by rolling out into
a wind sheer and possible dust > devil. However, how high can a
wing go? Has one ever turned over? > Does the wing lift ever get
so high as to bring its main gear tire off > the ground? Should
steering straight be the first priority and > ignore the wing
lift? What are some thoughts and experiences on wing > lift? By
the way, have single axle nose wheel and correct tail > height.
Thanks...Roger > >
============================================================================== >
To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm >
Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/ > > > >
----------------------------
============================================================================== To
leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search
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