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Re: Out of Rig?

Subject: Re: Out of Rig?
From: Marl Halbrook <pilot89m@mindspring.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 00:00:03
>It does
>power off stalls straight ahead, with no tendency to drop either wing,
>but in level flight it rolls into a shallow left turn.  The turn and
>slip indicator shows about a quarter ball to the outside and a little
>right rudder is enough to end the turn.
>
Steve,

I'd be interested in the damage history of the plane.  Has it been ground
looped, or especially, has it been over on it's nose??  Since it stalls
straight ahead, the wings may be in rig, but the thrust line of the engine
or the "angle i of attack" (for lack of a better term) of the verticle fin
may be incorrect.  Either of these conditions would produce a yawing motion
when under power and the dihedral effect of the wings would present as a
low rate turn. (when unpowered, and slow, these effects would be minimized)
 I'd check thrust line first.  It may have a slightly bent engine mount or
one engine mount pad that is sagging more than the others. 

Is it powered by a Cont 220, or something larger??  If it's a P&W 450,
etc...  the vert fin may not have enough off-set to handle the extra torque
(or "P" factor) when under power. 

(Old biplanes can be both much simpler and much more complex than our
beloved Europa!!!)

At least this may be a couple of ideas that ya'll haven't thought of yet.
(Yes, "Ya'll" is a real word in south Georgia!!) 

Marl



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