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Re: Europa-List: TAS Calculations

Subject: Re: Europa-List: TAS Calculations
From: Gilles Thesee <Gilles.Thesee@acgrenoble.fr>
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 09:56:57

>
>Hi all,
>
>I thought I would take my 914 up to 10,000 feet and run it at 100% power to see
if it would do the mythical 200 mph.  Here are the data I recorded.
>
>OAT 16 c
>10,000' @ 29.92
>
>North    GPS    129 knots
>South   GPS    175 knots
>East     GPS    167 knots
>West    GPS    140 knots
>
>
>I plugged these numbers into the 4 Axis IAS spread sheet that I got from the 
>Europa
club and it tells me that the TAS is 178 knots with a density altitude of
12,310', but..... this is where I get confused.  None of my ground speeds are
178 knots, so am I misunderstanding something here, or are the calculations
in the spread sheet incorrect.
>
>  
>
Paul,

Try Doug Gray's method, the spreadsheet is far clearer and the 
calculation are accurate. And you don't need to steer special headings : 
just keep your nose pointed to the same spot on the horizon and read the 
track on the GPS.

http://www.kilohotel.com/rv8/rvlinks/doug_gray/TASCALC.ZIP

I run your numbers with it and it yieds a mean TAS of 154 kt , with 
variations between 152 and 156 kt according which three runs I consider. 
The wind aloft seems to be between 25 and 29 kt for a direction between 
325 and 335.
Your measurements seem reasonably consistent. With our Rotax 914 MCR 4S 
four seater we averaged 157 kt at FL 120 on a cold day in february. The 
size of the two airplanes is quite similar. These are quite respectable 
airspeeds.
In my opinion, 200 mph is not a realistic number with an airplane this 
size, shape and wing area.

Hope this helps,
Regards,

Gilles Thesee
Grenoble, France



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