Do you flap to OSH?

[N941WR]

Originally Posted by scard

Sure, but only if we get behind something really slow. The -9 wing doesn't seem to care as much as your fat Hershey bar .

Same here; however, I did get behind a Zinair 801 a few years back and the guy could NOT hold altitude or speed and in slowing down enough to stay behind him, I stalled the -9. That means I was below 50 MPH while watching him climb back up to altitude. That can easily happen when you are heading into OSH while heavy and behind an extremely slow aircraft.

After recovering, I made a right turn and went back to Ripon. My friend who was following me said that after I did that the controllers told the 801 to make a turn so the traffic behind him could fly on.

[Planecrazy232]

"Do you flap to OSH?"

Only if the spar bolts are really loose...

Sorry someone had to do it.

[rleffler]

One year I was following an aircraft that was doing 90k leaving Ripon, but as we approached Fiske he slowed down to about 60k. I got frustrated and started making my turn back to Ripon because there was no way I could follow him in my RV-10.

As soon as I started my right turn, the controller stated, RV in right turn, start a left turn and proceed to 36. He turned the slow guy north and sent him to 27. I was very appreciative of the controllers situational awareness..

Yes, I normally have flaps down starting at Fiske. If I'm following something slow, I'll have full flaps down. With all the camping gear, I'm usually at gross weight, so the flaps help a lot when low and slow.

[turbo]

No flaps. If I approach a slow goer and it is clear and 10 ahead of him I will pass him to avoid a build up of planes which I consider a safety issue. I have no problem spacing myself at post speed limits.

[Jerry Fischer]

Originally Posted by Planecrazy232

"Do you flap to OSH?"

Only if the spar bolts are really loose...

Sorry someone had to do it.

I spilled my coffee on that one

[krw5927]

Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002

I do it when flying any model except for the RV-12 (I have flown one of everything except a 3 and 4 in to OSH at least once).

How about the 9, Scott? Vfe for 10 degrees is 87 kts. Anything more than 10 deg is 78 kts. Do you fly at 90 kts into osh with 10 degrees (or full flaps?) with no issues?

[Marc Bourget]

I "like" the pass. In 89 I got behind a 150 that was at flaps 20. Was able to wallow in behind him, but with a 340 landing over us, the *R$&^ stopped dead on the runway. I stopped less than 5' short. By the time I calmed down, he'd been turned another way and I "lost" him. Otherwise, I'd probably just be getting out of Prison!

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by krw5927

How about the 9, Scott? Vfe for 10 degrees is 87 kts. Anything more than 10 deg is 78 kts. Do you fly at 90 kts into osh with 10 degrees (or full flaps?) with no issues?

Yes, even the 9, but I will clarify......

My personal RV-6A has manual flaps. Half flaps (20 degrees) for the type of flight condition we are talking about is way too much. It just causes more drag which requires more power usage and potentially higher engine temps. It is for this reason that I have a flap indexer that also has a 10 degree position. This is about what I use for all of the short wing RV's.

The RV-9 and 10 have much larger flaps that produce a lot more pitching moment than the flaps on the short wing RV's (that is largely why the horizontal tails are so much larger than the others).
On the RV-9 I use what is probably about 5 degrees. On the RV-10 I un-reflex the flaps plus add just a bit more so it probably ends up being about 5 degrees also.

The primary reason I do this is to reduce the deck angle slightly, not to effect the stall speed (which a small amount of flaps has little to no effect on anyway).
The reduced deck angle (because of the reduced wing AOA) improves over the nose visibility, and it makes the airplane feel a bit less mushy.

Before using this technique flying the Fisk arrival, I recommend people practice before hand and see what works best for them.

As for comments about overtaking/passing aircraft that are too slow........

There is no air police posted along the arrival corridor so there is nothing/no one to stop you, but it is against the rules.
I know that flying too slow (unless your airplane just can't go that fast) is also against the rules, but two wrongs don't make a right.

The whole thought of it brings the memory flooding back from quite a few years ago, of Jerry Vangrunsven telling the story minutes after witnessing a midair between a T-18 and and a C-170. It was caused because of a slower airplane passing a faster one. The T-18 pilot didn't see the Cessna because it was slightly lower and he was descending to get on altitude as he passed another airplane.

I could write a small book about some of the other shenanigans I have seen over the past 23 years of flying the Fisk arrival

Airplanes not all at exactly the same altitude is one of the common problems......

[ExtraKatana]

I like Turbo's answer. As long as I'm not directly over Fiske. Every year I hear some rightfully frustrated folks saying "C'mon folks 90 Knots". Anyone do 135kts at 2300? Does Fiske have any problems seeing an RV up there?

[Auburntsts]

Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002

Comments about overtaking/passing aircraft that are too slow........

There is no air police posted along the arrival corridor so there is nothing/no one to stop you, but it is against the rules.
.

Unless authorized by ATC per the NOTAM. Also in EAA's own webinar on the subject, although not authoritative, the presenter throws it out as something he might do if the conditions allowed vs. bailing out of the conga line and going back to Ripon. Not saying it's right or that I would do it myself, but just pointing out that things are not cut and dried so be prepared for anything.