born2fly

born2fly

Active Member
Does anyone have experience with speed brakes on an RV6?
I searched the forum but nothing turned up.
 
You don't need no stinkin' speed brakes!

RVs are not that difficult to slow down once you get the hang of it.
Yes, at first, it seems like it, but trust me, with practice you will have no problem.
 
Yup: Hartzell constant speed prop. When you ask it to, it'll slow you down RIGHT NOW. If you want to keep the power up a little, putting some g on the plane works well (might spill the coffee though). :D
 
Mel's right..

Mel said:
RVs are not that difficult to slow down once you get the hang of it.
Yes, at first, it seems like it, but trust me, with practice you will have no problem.
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.....in that you really don't need speed brakes. If you come banzai charging into the pattern at 180 MPH, then yes, it's gonna take a coupla miles on downwind to slow down. With the transition trainees, they find out that using 135 MPH or so approaching the downwind leg, it doesn't take much more power reduction in level flight, even with my FP prop, to get down to flap speed. It's really about power management...not difficult.

Regards,
 
Two thoughts:

1, a guy on our field has a KR glass plane and a speed brake on it. He basically has a belly scoop that is just a hinged door opperated by a flap motor assembly. Says it works great with almost no pitch moment at all. Just engineer how much travel you want so you can still climb with full deployment just in case it sticks down, or for basic go around safety.

2, I fly the pattern at slightly high speeds and when I'm ready to slow down and get the flaps out, a short power off climb will lose whatever speed you want very quickly. It works so well that I'm surprised it's not taught. I guess the one size fits all, teach to the lowest performer, stabilised approach, fear of maneuvering at low alt mantras kill this outside the box approach. Or I'm a fool and about to smoke it in. Time will tell.:D
 
With less than 80 hours on my -9 I don't find slowing down a problem at all.

In fact, I tend to slow down to 100 MPH prior to entering the pattern, which means I'm going slow as I approach the airport.

I do this for few reasons:
1. It lets my engine cool down before the big power reduction on down wind.
2. Going slower at pattern altitude helps me look for all those Cubs, T-Crafts, Champs, etc. that are flying w/o radios AND it lets them see me.
3. The slower speed keeps me from running over those slower planes. Don't forget, there are a lot of student pilots out there who might panic if they see a 200 MPH pattern entry speed.

Even from the first flight, I didn't find it difficult to slow down to flap speed (90 MPH on the -9).
 
I don't seem to have a problem slowing down with a fixed pitch prop. I have been at 180 kts down wind and done a normal circuit. Pull the power and just maintain altitude. The plane always slows down. Turning final at 100mph the flaps are lowered. By the time they get to 40 degrees the airspeed is down to 80mph. The stick controls the speed and the throttle controls the up and down. Actually it is your wallet that controls the up portion of the flight.
 
2, I fly the pattern at slightly high speeds and when I'm ready to slow down and get the flaps out, a short power off climb will lose whatever speed you want very quickly. It works so well that I'm surprised it's not taught.
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Not taught because it's not a good idea. A sudden climb right in the pattern? Might work for you but what about others in the pattern? At best they will be confused as to your intentions...at worst a collision. Unexpected behavior is not a Good Thing in the pattern.

Methinks it best to lose a little more speed earlier, then you can kill the extra speed by throttling back and maintaining altitude....it might add 30 seconds on. BFD.
 
TCAS/TIS and quick climbs

As mode S and traffic monitoring systems like TCAS and TIS become more prevelant, you're going to discover there are a lot more planes out there than you realized. If your electronic brain suddenly detects a climb from a previously level target that you haven't seen yet, you may get a "Traffic!" warning. Heart attack time! The altitude and level flight versus climb/descent tolerances are pretty close in those boxes to avoid nuisance call-outs, so a sudden climb even if it's only a couple of hundred feet might scare the whole pattern. I'm not flying my -8 yet, so I can't comment on techniques for slowing down, but in my airline job nothing spills the coffee more than unexpected altitude changes causing TCAS to squawk. Stay on altitude.
Clay Cook
N801CM reserved
sealing tanks
 
Just plan your descend!

Reduce power for a 200 to 500 fpm descend. If your aircraft is trimmed correctly it will stay on cruise speed. If you know your ETA and the altitude above the pattern, you can calculate, when to start the descend to enter the downwind with cruise speed at the right altitude. Dial in the power you would need to fly straight and level with your desired pattern speed, and trim the aircraft to stay level, while you are waiting for it to slow down. When turning to base, you are slow enough to lower the flaps.
If you have any neighbours around your airport, please do them a favour and don't use you CS prop to slow down, as sometimes suggested. It makes to much useless noise.
No chance of shock cooling, smooth and quiet.

Regards
Ingo
 
Ingo Weise said:
If you have any neighbours around your airport, please do them a favour and don't use you CS prop to slow down, as sometimes suggested. It makes to much useless noise.
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With reasonably low power settings, I don't see using the CS prop for it's braking abilities as a problem. I've lived under an airport pattern for eight years (downwind to base), and don't even notice.

It doesn't sound anything like a semi's "Jake brake"; and it's always the high revving "geared props", on takeoff, that can be much more irritating! :D

L.Adamson
 
born2fly said:
Does anyone have experience with speed brakes on an RV6?
I searched the forum but nothing turned up.
Click to expand...

Unless the speed brake is engineered for the wing and lots of tests are done to confirm its integrity, it is a waste of time and money.

The canard world has a belly board but it is a low speed drag device because there are no flaps. It helps maintain speed on final with a normal glide angle. It is uselss at altitude because it has a speed limit just like flaps. If it is out very long, the engine over heats because of blocked air flow.

A $3500 speed brake mod for the RV is asking for trouble. Will you be able to pop the boards at high speed like a jet transport? I doubt it. My guess is the device will have a speed limit similar to the flaps.
 
rfinch said:
Not taught because it's not a good idea. A sudden climb right in the pattern? Might work for you but what about others in the pattern? At best they will be confused as to your intentions...at worst a collision. Unexpected behavior is not a Good Thing in the pattern.

Methinks it best to lose a little more speed earlier, then you can kill the extra speed by throttling back and maintaining altitude....it might add 30 seconds on. BFD.
Click to expand...

A small climb to lose speed is advocated in several places within VAF with the recent discussions on shock cooling etc. I'm not the only one so you better look out!!:eek:

A 200 ft climb is neither sudden nor confusing in the pattern as there ought not be anyone anywhere within 1000 feet of you on the end of downwind. You as a good pilot are left to determine this as I do. Radios and eyeballs are wonderfull things, try them.

And don't be afraid to FLY the plane, drivers should stick to Cessnas. :D
 
This is my list for slowing properly to land:

Plan ahead and slow appropriately.

instead of a 30 degree banking turn, move them up to as much as 60 degree banking turns.

In the down wind put the aircraft in uncorrdinated flight, meaning have the aircraft like in a cross wind landing, lots of right or left rudder and opposite airleron, you know a slip, but watch your airspeed, of course when you get it down, you take it out. Sometimes I'll use this 3 feet off the runway.

call your intensions and do a 360 tight turn on final.

Do an overhead with 360 turn, of course get approval or broadcast the intension.

Just pull back the power in downwind and keep it level, helps more if the idle can go way back, say 600rpm, when it's this low you need to add a little just before touchdown, the engine might quit or thump a bunch.

Of course you can use a slip to land to keep the airspeed proper once you get there.
 
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