John Courte
Well Known Member
I had a real test-pilot moment yesterday.
After putting my wheel pants on, I took the plane up to see what those extra knots would be like. I noticed a bit of buffeting after takeoff, during climbout but it wasn't bad. I couldn't really tell if it was buffeting or light turbulence, and it went away after a bit. It repeated itself on subsequent takeoffs.
Once I got up to 5k or so, I leveled off with the throttle opened up and my RPMs around 2300. Trimmed up for level flight and let go of the stick to see if it would fly hands off.
That's when it got interesting. Slight rocking motion, building up slowly from almost nothing to what could have been a real lunch-tosser. Before it got too crazy, I grabbed the stick and it settled down. This behavior is 100% repeatable.
The RV7 is supposedly a neutrally stable aircraft, and this (before the wheel pants and gear leg fairings) proved out in earlier flights. There are any number of things it could be, but the obvious culprit is misaligned gear leg fairnings.
What about the ailerons being out of rig? If they're both pointed slightly downward, would that counteract what little roll stability the RV7 has?
After putting my wheel pants on, I took the plane up to see what those extra knots would be like. I noticed a bit of buffeting after takeoff, during climbout but it wasn't bad. I couldn't really tell if it was buffeting or light turbulence, and it went away after a bit. It repeated itself on subsequent takeoffs.
Once I got up to 5k or so, I leveled off with the throttle opened up and my RPMs around 2300. Trimmed up for level flight and let go of the stick to see if it would fly hands off.
That's when it got interesting. Slight rocking motion, building up slowly from almost nothing to what could have been a real lunch-tosser. Before it got too crazy, I grabbed the stick and it settled down. This behavior is 100% repeatable.
The RV7 is supposedly a neutrally stable aircraft, and this (before the wheel pants and gear leg fairings) proved out in earlier flights. There are any number of things it could be, but the obvious culprit is misaligned gear leg fairnings.
What about the ailerons being out of rig? If they're both pointed slightly downward, would that counteract what little roll stability the RV7 has?