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djpacro

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Everything posted by djpacro

  1. djpacro
    Depends on the certification. These days I only fly small FAR 23 certified airplanes where Sec. 23.25 — Weight limits. (a) Maximum weight. The maximum weight is the highest weight at which compliance with each applicable requirement of this part (other than those complied with at the design landing weight) is shown. The POH for a FAR 23 airplane simply states the maximum weight i.e. cannot have more than that when one starts the engine. More complex types may specify a MTOW and an associated max ramp weight. Australian pilot theory seems to me is a hangover from when Australia had its own certification requirements and unique flight manuals which generally used the term MTOW. (There were also MTOW limits depending on the density altitude for even simple types like a Cessna 150.) Pilots naturally assumed they could make a very generous allowance for additional taxi fuel in the absence of a specified max ramp weight. The term “maximum weight” is simply that.
  2. djpacro
    This may explain https://airfactsjournal.com/2020/12/understanding-vb-turbulence-penetration-speed/ That is for transport category aircraft and does not apply to small aircraft.
  3. djpacro
    Design cruise speed Vc, from which Vno is derived, does increase with weight because whoever wrote the regulations decided that. The ASTM for LSA is quite similar to FAR 23 in this respect. This Advisory Circular explains considerations of design airspeeds (see page 26 etc) https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_23-19A.pdf I know of one airplane where the engine mount is definitely not stronger than the wing. At lighter weights the load factor due to a gust increases (aeroplane flying at the same airspeed, Vno does not vary with weight) so there is more load on the engine mount than at the higher weight where the wing stresses are higher.
  4. djpacro
    Not a regulation applicable to small aeroplanes. Nope. Nope - gust loads are a function of V not V^2. Nope.
  5. djpacro
    A very good question. The link to a chapter of the FAA's Airplane Flying Handbook that I provided earlier provides the typical explanations that pilots are taught. But it only touches on the answer to the question. Page 5-20 describes the "Cross-Control Stall" - a good scenario to have demonstrated however there are many other scenarios with cross controls with different outcomes. Page 5-22 discusses spin awareness with some generic comments and useful advice. It then goes on to explain the normal practice spins. The FAA's document does not directly answer that question and I wouldn't try to answer that question directly myself either.
  6. djpacro
    The Decathlon is very docile but it sometimes bites. Simply applying full throttle can result in "pro-spin inputs" if the pilot doesn't "Advance the throttle promptly, but smoothly, as needed while using rudder and elevator controls to stop any yawing motion and prevent any undesirable pitching motion." per https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/airplane_handbook/media/06_afh_ch5.pdf WagstaffSchoolStallSpinAerosMusic_Trim.mp4
  7. djpacro
    I should’ve added: if you use the Vixen method in the Super Decathlon and it will not recover but instead transition to an inverted spin.
  8. djpacro
    Compare the guidance from the FAA when certifying new aircraft per FAR 23, the Super Decathlon in which I teach spins and the Vixen. An inadvertent spin in a Vixen requires correct actions per its manual promptly rather than attempting a different method as one may have learnt in a Super Decathlon. If the manual states full forward yoke then don't expect halfway to be effective.
  9. djpacro
    All certified types must have the spin recovery method in the AFM and/or placarded. For those types not approved for intentional spinning then that correct recovery method must be initiated within one turn to ensure recovery. Interesting that most I encounter have a different spin recovery technique than types commonly used for spin training.
  10. djpacro
    Pilots were narrower back when the 150 was designed. Standard pilot weight for design was 77 kg for many years. They conceded a little with the bowed doors in 1967 to give extra elbow room.
  11. djpacro
    The 150/152 is a great trainer, including spinning and aerobatics (the last in the Aerobat of course).
  12. djpacro
    A sideslip is inherently spin resistant so I guess that you did something other than keep the sideslip straight just prior to the stall? The Decathlon is very docile, there is a sweet spot of airspeed, power, rate of turn and pitch etc where it will aggressively enter a spin with little warning. The Cessna 150 does it much better, trainee instructors would typically go around a couple of turns in a spin if they weren't expecting it.
  13. djpacro
    I hadn't landed a Pitts in over a year so my brain was a bit rusty.
  14. djpacro
    That is the consequence of some people using airports without paying. If you can talk to the General Manager Aviation my guess is that he'd be OK and nil fees.
  15. djpacro
    Per 1000 kg pro-rata
  16. djpacro
    Cutaway Eagle.
  17. djpacro
    Yep, good roll rate. 164 deg/sec actually achieved by one pilot here. A little while back a number of aerobatic pilots submitted videos of multiple rolls from which the time from inverted to inverted was measured and the maximum steady roll rate determined. All did it with full aileron at Maneuver Speed. By comparison the Super Decathlon is 90 deg/sec.
  18. djpacro
    Nice airplane to fly. I visited Frank in the ‘80s and he kindly spent much time showing me around the factory with a peek at his new project. I ended up working for Aviat.
  19. djpacro
    I witnessed an accident where an unlicensed pilot was trying to take off in an unregistered aeroplane. He destroyed one aircraft and damaged another. Got his aeroplane trucked away within a few hours. I spoke to the guy who's aeroplane was destroyed. CASA took no interest because he did not break any of their rules, if it had lifted off the ground then it would've been a different matter. Neither did the police. Just one vehicle crashing into another on private property.
  20. djpacro
    The next level up at a non-controlled aerodrome is a certified air/ground radio service (CA/GRS) per https://www.casa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-08/advisory-circular-139-d-02-guidelines-certified-air-ground-radio-services.pdf
  21. djpacro
    Courtesy of CASA and the great flight manual debacle. Many years ago all aircraft here required Australian-specific flight manuals and ASI's to be in kts so all American airplanes had to be converted. Around 2001 CASA reversed and required all aircraft to use the original flight manual. So, now people end up with ASIs in kts and the flight manual using mph. Airplanes which had been operating for 30 years now had to get their original flight manual - at least one aircraft manufacturer refused to respond to such requests for airplanes that old.
  22. djpacro
    I always consider the forces on the airplane ..... https://www.avweb.com/flight-safety/technique/turbulence-v-speeds/ Do the sums on gust loads. Manoeuvring loads and structural fatigue are adversely affected by overweight operation. So is performance but, as you say, a big engine is good. 20 kg .... 3% maybe .... almost trivial compared to those aeroplanes found to have incorrect empty weights a while back along with a gross error in crew moment arms so their CG was way further aft. Fixed by adding mass on the engine - a much bigger % increase - what effect does that have on the engine mount and forward fuselage structure?
  23. djpacro
    I would and I do. Class D towers wouldn't specify a speed as they don't know what my airplane is capable of.
  24. djpacro
    https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/gapseal.php Effectiveness depends on the design of the ailerons you have and the size of the gap. Some designs are not intended to have the gap sealed.
  25. djpacro
    I'd like to fly one https://bevhoward.com/Buecker.htm Dragging the top of the fin through water like Fred Nicole sounds like fun ... https://sbeaver.com/Bucker/index.php/anecdotes-mainmenu-69?start=5
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