The Osprey in its native habitat - Trim and fuel tank questions

I wouldn't strictly focus on your OH 8's. What tends to happen when one tries to do so is that they concentrate on one particular portion of the pattern which generally leaves the others without practice. A major part of the pattern is the order in which they come not to mention the correct laps in between all of the maneuvers. In addition, a common mistake that I see is that the pilot has no idea of how much fuel he or she uses to do the pattern. Knowing your plane in terms of when it's going to give you that hiccup or warning is extremely important. When I fly at my home field vs Brodak's, the economy and needle setting is so different it takes me an hour to find it. Now that the temps are getting cooler, your economy is going to go down. I have no idea of how much your capacity is, but I do know a modern OS on a slightly leaner run can certainly over run the allotted pattern time. On the opposing side, running short of a pattern and not completing it is not good either. Most make it into the later part of the pattern which is all the overhead maneuvers such as the OH8 and the clover which is not a maneuver you want to run out of fuel on. When the lines come raining down around you your typically left with a bag of iron on covering and balsa chunks. Ken

I was just going over my notes and realized I have the Osprey balanced over an inch aft of the recommended balance point. Hmmm

Here are some pics from Sunday. My pit crew, Wayne and Holley. Also Wayne's Smoothie with its faux IC engine.

Rusty,

Have you considered notching the TE as opposed to a trim tab? You just adhere a hinge to the cut out piece and a control rod with an adjustable link. That way is less noticeable and also adjustable.

Ron



I know that's not your problem, it's just something I was thinking about.

Yeah that's a neat way to do it. But first I'll see if there's a simple reason I need it, like too tight Monokote. Since it's working for now, I'll put that off until after October. Maybe we can figure out what's wrong with it. Huntersville will be in the rear view mirror by then.
Rusty

RknRusty wrote:I was just going over my notes and realized I have the Osprey balanced over an inch aft of the recommended balance point. Hmmm

I got the right amount of lead split shot to epoxy inside the cheek block to bring this thing under control. I'd had it balanced at the stock Skyray position which is different after extending the stab/elev chord and width. I believe when you design a plane, you partially determine the approximate CG when you calculate the percentage of stab/elev area relative to wing area. Also your nose and tail moments, which were not changed on my model. I fully expect to be able to bang out a clean pattern without all the frantic inputs next time I fly it. That should be a big relief for me.
Rusty