Mike Gearon

Well, I’m starting to understand C of G and elevator induced load on that tail wheel plays a part. Looking at the whole dance going on as the aircraft puts weight on that rear wheel then starts to influence and potentially command the tail ends track. We have the fact that removing the tail wheel from the ground will remove its influence. Returned to rudder directed rear swing. Put the tail wheel back on the ground very lightly and it isn’t going to do much. Add back elevator and it’s more able to influence the aircrafts track. In a straight line and continuing straight all is well. Now, we add a rudder or one side brake induced influence on the tail wheel. The heavier the elevator pressure the less likely the rear wheel can move off track. So, because I want to ground loop I’ll need to remove elevator pressure. As the body of the aircraft is swinging around I’ll have a small amount of time during which the elevator will remain useful to regain tail wheel purchase on the runway if I suddenly lose interest in ground looping as a new experience. However, it won’t be long before the plane is so side on to the airflow that the elevator is useless. At some point along the way the front wheel track has the inside wheel of the beginning loop also gaining much more command over the planes former interest in proceeding straight ahead. It’s at this point my example of a wide front wheel track comes into play and the aircraft could possibly be brought back to its former course. In the process of writing this I also see my former expectation the wider wheel track is more stable remains true. It’s however far more important to have the tail wheel firmly in touch with the ground. Particularly as the aircraft slows and it would seem logical that it is when the planes lower inertia and less airflow command combine the narrower ground track could swing the back end around no matter how much elevator is applied as it’s becoming useless. I don’t even want to think about brakes. Maybe my summer USA plan to learn tail wheel isn’t a good one or it’s a really exciting challenging one?

I’m definitely not an aeronautical engineer. You can tell by the sketch above. Engineers call it “design by crayon” However, this is how I design. I am a reasonably successful designer. Exaggerate the problems and look at them. Not saying you’d want to be flying plane A Best. Can’t imagine you could get it into a flying attitude until about 100 knots. Maybe it’d stay stalled the whole time. You’d take off by flying an over the hill runway. Plane B has a prop that is digging into the ground. It’s not going anywhere. Now, keeping in mind I’ve yet to pilot a tail wheel I think I’d land plane A best with bugger all chance of ground looping.

Here is surprisingly still good. Just 7 cases yesterday. All imports. 3 picked up at airport temp check and 4 from monitored quarantine. Yes. 4 weeks. Hoping Australia dodges the worst of this. Seems everything is being done that can be done. My wife gives me daily reports from French island. 100 people on 40,000 acres is pretty good social distancing. People came over on ferry and raided the little local French island shop. Taiwan has the supermarket raids on noodles and toilet paper. Prime minister here dared people to try and buy it all. Said they couldn’t and I’m always impressed that the stock keeps reappearing over about half shelf space daily. She might be right!

Testing number is a good point when looking country by country. Noted the following highlights from WSJ and The Age today. Japan is doing limited testing. Even the prime minister questions this. Sample quantities of 2,000 people in given European communities are being tested to see “what the iceberg looks like”. That seems a very smart move. Italy and Spain in such serious trouble traced back to a single football match in Feb. 35% of the Spanish team/ crew came home with virus. That’s a shocking number! China is busy polishing the turd they gave the world with the hope of spinning a different narrative. Germany. Some 60% polled last week didn’t think quarantine was something they’d bother too much with and some 40% thought the virus wasn’t a big deal.....hopefully that’s changed this week and it does reflect the west’s attitude up until very recently. Thought I’d write that out while still retained. It’ll all leak out in the next few hours ??

It’s really encouraging. I’m looking in from Taiwan and dreading seeing the daily Australian figures. Hopeful it reduces now. For the mathematically literate checking on Coronavirus Update (Live): 860,927 Cases and 42,364 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Outbreak - Worldometer the figures show that countries that are overwhelmed such as Italy are losing around 10%. Countries with robust health care systems and smaller outbreaks (Taiwan for example) have a very low death rate. It’s also related to time with the illness. The young doctor in Wuhan who raised the alarm died from corona virus some weeks after contracting it. Unfortunately USA is an example of early days and being overwhelmed. Hoping the USA can crank their big industrial machine and get the equipment out to save lives. Drugs, breathing assist devices, protective equipment and test kits. A deluge of fast test kits. Australia is still well behind based in last news report I saw. Should be able to get a test if you’re not well. Not if you meet stringent criteria. For those advocating herd immunity or exposure of young health care workers that particular death (the Wuhan doctor) shows you’d be killing some of them. A single death is obviously to be avoided. Let alone whole groups of deaths. Taiwan might be in trouble right now. Tomorrow is tomb sweeping. My staff are leaving early to travel around the island to family homes for a 4 day holiday. It’s the same all over Taiwan. Yes, gatherings are limited. However, complacency is creeping in. It’s not a major concern to have groups gathering. Taiwan also has problems with its success. Taiwanese are coming home from UK, Australia, USA etc. They have to observe voluntary 14 day home quarantine. It is a big fine of broken. Some 50k AUD and that’s a few years wages for most. They also have phone monitoring and government visits to check their health. Hope all stay safe.

I’ve spent a little time on a few other flying sites. Had been a lot of years since being on forums. I have to commend you (Ian/ admin) on your fortitude and persistence. Had no idea it could go so wrong. I’ve just read a few threads that left me feeling like I needed to wash my hands. Well, more than the current trends toward vigorous hand washing ? Not seen anything remotely similar here. It’s as expected. Rich with information and I’ve since discovered the non technical area I can go and discuss silly stuff. I’ve discovered the article section. Yeah, just wanted to say I’m really impressed and this thread seems to be the one to express it. Glad you’re on reserve tank and have a bit of gas to keep going.

So, if you’re busy discussing how you love to buzz the neighbours while tracking undulating terrain at 100ft AGL it’s not going to go well for you. I read a couple of those in the accident reports. One could infer that a few people are even still breathing/ flying because they pushed the limits here and pulled back. That’d be a win. The $500 is a great idea. It’d be interesting to play find the Old Koreelah story ? I’ll hope to never add a story. I have my own story but it’s not worth writing up. Just a problem of anatomy leading to control surface problems. More simply... my stupid big feet and long legs meant over a long cross country my feet were riding up rudder pedals and I took off and landed a few times with really bad rudder control. Went a bit wrong and could have been much worse for a few take offs and landings before I figured it out. It definitely wasn’t in the manuals and wasn’t on anything I’d read. I always wiggle rudder pedals and check heel position now. I noticed on a Brit site they referred to CHIRP with a similar function.

That’s a good thing. Lockdown, monitoring and aggressive tracking and numbering of import, local transmission, linked or unlinked cases. It’s a map and the better the map is the sooner it’ll be over. I’ve just edited this noting the two posts above. You can’t mess with a historical perspective to learn. China and South Korea dampened and tamed aggressive outbreaks by lockdown. Which exact members of our friends or family are we willing to let become sick or possibly die because we want to get the economy moving more quickly?

That’s what I was seeing in USA. Bloody impressed overall.

I’ve just joined the microlight forum. Unlike here it seems more guarded. Granted I’ve only started looking around their the last few days. I wrote up the following. I’ve decided to be Hurtle there. The last thing you do in an ultralight is Hurtle around so I kind of like the juxtaposition of the name and the activity. More and more keen on flying the light weight open planes. It’s much more in touch with the air around you. Feeling the airspeed pickup on your face is very addictive..... KEEP IN MIND THE FOLLOWING IS NOT THIS WEBSITE. IT’S AN ULTRALIGHT FORUM THAT SEEMS TO ME TO BE UK BASED. IF BELOW IS VALID IT ALSO HELPS COMFIRM WHAT A VALUABLE RESOURCE THIS WEBSITE IS! If there’s one thing I’m sure of it’s this..... Shared experience of both aircraft and pilot problems leads to safer flying. I’d like to share my background then make an observation to be either agreed with or disclaimed. Your call! My background flying experience is GA in USA, LSA in Australia and then Ultralights in Phillipines. I’m Australian and I guess part American through living in the states, working with and marrying an American during the last two decades. What I’m puzzled about is seeing reluctance here to share the gritty information. The “oh, I buggered that up” as relates to flying and aircraft. Now, I’m making a sweeping generalisation here which is of course ridiculous. There’ll be all sorts of shades of gray. My concern started when reading the Skyranger posts. One individual had been castigated by other members of a syndicate for open discussion. I then started to look elsewhere and see holes where fact should be. Not always as mentioned previously. However, it seems to be there. I’ve also lived in the UK for some years and familiar with the touch the side of your nose to indicate a withheld fact or secret. Done in fun I understand. So, do I read and post with my usual candour or join the tread lightly folk? I’m unsure. I’ll poke around a bit and see what comes of this post. It’s a big deal really. It relates to both safety in the air through experience and conversely it relates to safety from being sued if somebody can track down your proven incompetence. I get the reluctance. One competes against the other. Which is winning here?

Is the term ‘digital member’ somehow concerning? Should one of us google digital members and porn just in case it’s not quite right?

Late round out.? Flare before round out wouldn’t have gone well.

That’s a big read. Both your flight and your wife. Even in my short flying career I’ve brought a plane in at last light. I had a great excuse. It was check ride that went overtime. I made the mistake I’d learned not to make and was warned about over and over. Fixated on the landing light lit up spot and didn’t have eyes down the runway with corresponding late flare. Stress wouldn’t have been as high as yours. Still examination stress is up there as it should be to see what you’re made of :) You did an amazing job coping with the 2 go arounds as light faded. Problem solving the windsock read under severe stress for third attempt. I’m not sure I’d have handled it as well. As you’ve indicated it’s all experience and I now have a bit thanks to recreational flying. All good! Now we just have to get this bloody virus behind us. Can’t believe I start each day with Coronavirus Update (Live): 471,468 Cases and 21,295 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Outbreak - Worldometer and hope to see dwindling numbers where my friends and family are. Australia, USA and Taiwan. Taiwan is good. Australia okay? USA is a worry!

Agree with M Kyle. You don’t. I think you’ve got a huge resource here and it just needs tweaking to provide 2 results. 1.Give you the income you need to operate independently (this and clearprop certainly look like a full time job between them) 2. Continue to give us the wonderful reference material we can rifle through. Both safety related and buying decisions. Both a big deal... I purchased a plane after a lot of time on the web and probably 50% of that research was here in the individual builds area..Savannah, Skyranger etc. I purchased a share in a Skyranger and remains really happy with that decision (haven’t seen the plane yet. Must do that one day when I can leave Taiwan) One could wonder about the total plane dollar purchases spent over a year that are decided on this site. Must be some millions.

This is good news. I’m impressed with Qantas making this decision. Hope the other airline programs are doing the same.

That’s a tricky one. Relative I guess. Going wrong at higher speed means you have more control surface response to fix things more forcefully. Slower speed wrong is my number one concern. I’m always glancing at air speed. Particularly when close to the ground.

I’ve thought that. So, it’s true the big ones are easier? Not talking all the instruments, first officer checking over the manual, radio etc. Just plain input. Control surfaces and power. If so, it’s like backing a little 6x4ft trailer compared to a tandem. The little one is incredibly difficult because it goes wrong so quick. The longer the tandem the slower it is to move off line and correspondingly easier to realign. I back onto a barge on French Island and you go off the barge ramp fairly easily with a trailer! My experience (admittedly limited so far) GA to LSA to Ultralights has a corresponding change. Goes wrong much quicker as you get lighter.

That’s excellent news. Now, just need Australia to take the bloody virus seriously. I just read in the Age that people arrived Thursday from Vietnam with no temp check. I get checked 4 to 5 times a day and most of Asia is same. Really worried for everyone there. I’m stuck in Taiwan and feel guilty about feeling safe!

Facebook has its problems. In friend terms its shallow. Forums have depth. As you’ve stated it’s probably saved lives. I’d suggest leaving the server in USA for another month then review. Give it a month to see how things settle down. It’s all unchartered territory.

It’s something I’m almost qualified to answer. ? I completed training less than a year ago so it’s fresh.. 2 things. 1. At the first school I was warned I’d feel like I was not making progress and it’s normal. That was preempting a plateau or in my case a drop off. 2. I thought I was pretty damn good early on. Steep turns coming back through the wake and everything but the landing sorted. My landings seemed to get worse and then everything else went backward. I’m so glad I didn’t give up. Felt like it at times. Now it feels like probably the best thing I’ve ever accomplished. So, I’d suggest getting those landings sorted and it’ll all come together. Damn annoying of course that it’s 5-6 minutes of pattern for a few seconds of landing. Hesitant to make suggestions as there are so many theories or methods. In complete agreement with Neil as posted above. Get your eyes down the end of the runway and try to hold the plane off. For general flying in pattern and away it’s important to get ahead of the plane. Try to be a bit in front of your radio calls etc and you’ll relax more. Easier said than done. All takes time.

That’s a great video. Found it because I’m playing with the idea of a quicksilver float plane for USA. Can land at field near our South Dakota house then fly out to pontoon boat my in-laws will be on Missouri River/ Lake Andes. I flew with this fabric (not saying where and when) and became a bit relaxed about it. The video says otherwise. Maybe this is a different fabric. Seems a stronger weave than the test video.

That’s a great reply. Thanks. I’ll put you in as a destination once I get flying in Australia. Probably late this year. I get another ultralight flying fix in Phillipines next week (while avoiding corona virus on trip from Taiwan... just mask in busy airport spots and hand washing. Not too bothered) then in Nebraska June to September I’m going to get tail wheel GA endorsement. Then, back to Australia for a while and plan to visit the Nynja. I have about 10 hours in Foxbat and I understand they are similar to fly. Seems the top end (in a bit of a hurry) is better than I expected. 105 knots seemed to be our speed in USA Cessna 172 and we’d cover a lot of territory. On that subject.... the 172 was well and truly comfortable cruise 105 knots. Say a 3 hour flight... what would you cruise at? I guess that’s more of a Rotax question. I see conflicting advice on the subject. In the Foxbat pattern work we’d settle at about 5000 rpm.

I’d be interested in RPM for 105 kts. I found this article by Roger Lee on the ultralight forum. I’d expect you’d be talking a similar 5600rpm for the 105 knots. That’s enough. I’d been thinking a bit slower. More Foxbat A22 speed. Interested because I have an interest in a Skyranger and haven’t managed to see or fly in the plane yet. I was in the Phillipines flying ultralights and a Brit who has a flying school back in England was really enthusiastic about Skyrangers. Made me feel like it was well and truly the right decision.

I was told it’s best to leave them off for that reason. Only solution I could think of was to follow a car in if lucky enough to have a straight bit of road and a car some suitable distance ahead.

Found a great little airfield and flying club in the Phillipines. Locals and expats. Oz pilots probably the most represented with a mix of Brits and Europeans. “Seat of the pants flying” was what my Phillipino instructor kept mentioning If I wanted to get technical. I made the usual GA mistake of wanting to back off the power. Glide ratio of 4:1 and you‘re pretty much on power until over the numbers. All rudder and power. Think I’ll be better in the LSA’s after this experience! At first disconcerting and very quickly addictive to fly like this. Wind in face airspeed indicator. I’m back here March 3rd unless the Corona virus worsens. http://www.angelesflying.com/ One of the fleet of Quicksilvers. The flying club. The shuttle bus. Very typical Phillipines without seatbelts. 1 hour from Angeles city to the airfield.