Tom Martin
Well Known Member
In Canada one of the requirements for a final flight permit is a climb test. This is a steady rate of climb for three minutes. It is a non event for any RV or rocket but for low power airplanes on hot days it is a check in the system to make sure the plane can climb with a full load.
The test is done with a full Gross Load
We had 300 lbs of fuel
Pilot and Crew member 423 lbs
Aft baggage load of 100 lbs.
This made a gross weight of 2050 lbs, which is Van's recommended Gross
All was good and at 111 knots IAS we averaged 1150 ft/min.
Yes I could have climbed at a much higher rate of climb but there was no need
The interesting thing, for me, was that with that load, to land within the C of G range we had to have 118 lbs of fuel remaining, or 20 gallons.
The moral is, yes you can load it to gross but check your numbers for low fuel limits.
The plane handled the load great with no serious handling issues at either end of speed envelope. I landed with about 35 gallons of fuel into a stiff 10 knot gross wind with no handling issues.
The baggage load was made up of 25 lbs of lead shot and a combination of cat and dog food!
The test is done with a full Gross Load
We had 300 lbs of fuel
Pilot and Crew member 423 lbs
Aft baggage load of 100 lbs.
This made a gross weight of 2050 lbs, which is Van's recommended Gross
All was good and at 111 knots IAS we averaged 1150 ft/min.
Yes I could have climbed at a much higher rate of climb but there was no need
The interesting thing, for me, was that with that load, to land within the C of G range we had to have 118 lbs of fuel remaining, or 20 gallons.
The moral is, yes you can load it to gross but check your numbers for low fuel limits.
The plane handled the load great with no serious handling issues at either end of speed envelope. I landed with about 35 gallons of fuel into a stiff 10 knot gross wind with no handling issues.
The baggage load was made up of 25 lbs of lead shot and a combination of cat and dog food!