Trim

["Brian K. Michalk" <michalk@awpi.com>]

I had a thought coming home today.  I was thinking about the
trim system.

We already have the sparrow strainer, supposedly to help with the
pitch stability, but I just don't see how it is anything more
than a trim tab.  BTW, where did it get its name from?

I was thinking:  What would be the possibility of making the
sparrow strainer pivot on its mount.  A pair of opposing braided
stainless wire could be run in to the elevator through the 
torque tube where each one loops over it's own pulley.  The
wires then go to a servo that is attached (inside the fuselage)
to the torque tube.

The whole assembly would certainly weigh less than the current
actuator, and would be just a little more complicated.  Certainly
no more complicated than a conventional spamcan trim system.

One would have to pay attention to elevator balance though, the
hinge on the strainer would undoubtedly add some weight to
an already long moment.

-- 
Brian Michalk  <http://www.awpi.com/michalk>
Life is what you make of it ... never wish you had done something.
Aviator, experimental aircraft builder, motorcyclist, SCUBA diver
musician, home-brewer, entrepenuer and SINGLE!