REFLECTOR:S-Tec modifications
Jack Sheehan
reflector@tvbf.org
Tue, 6 Apr 2004 10:41:08 -0400
Fred,
Who did you talk to at S-Tec? Please send me the name and number. I
have the same problem and need to make the fix. I have been flying
for a year planning on fixing the S-Tec 30 but always keep putting it
off. When I spoke with someone in tech service at S-Tec they did not
seem to have a good answer. I guess you need to get the right person.
Jack
N55XL
> Chuck:
>
> Again thanks. I spoke with Scott B and he says that this is common with
>S-Tec and velocities, I am not the only one with this problem. I called
>S-teck and they will supply me with the pod and the diagram of how to do the
>modification.
>
> Fred
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chuck Jensen" <cjensen@dts9000.com>
> To: <reflector@tvbf.org>
> Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 6:53 AM
> Subject: RE: REFLECTOR:Gear Up
>
>
> > Fred,
> >
> > I might add, the Clevelands will not harm the gear legs on hard braking.
> > The tires will skid before the gear is pressured enough to damage. Can
>you
> > make your tires "chirp" with the Matcos? Not a standard practice but if
>it
> > comes to that, you should be able to leave skid marks. In a tight
> > situation, the only skid marks Matcos leave is in your draws.
> >
> > S-Tec pilot oscillation issue. If you look back through Reflector, and
> > VVs?, the S-Tec oscillation has been addressed by S-Tec by adding a pot
>on
> > one of the circuits (for experimentals only). That exhausts what I know
> > about it but I think there is a solution out there for you.
> >
> > Chuck
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: reflector-admin@tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-admin@tvbf.org]On
> > Behalf Of Fred Marconi
> > Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2004 11:52 PM
> > To: reflector@tvbf.org
> > Subject: Re: REFLECTOR:Gear Up
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear Scott B:
> >
> > Well I was a little angry about the fork. Mad Mike, before leaving
>was
> > very emphatic about changing the fork, he said there was a new one, much
> > better. I called you on this specifically and you said everything was
>fine.
> > If there was a question, why did yu not call mad Mike to make sure
> > everything was OK.? If not for wishing to center the wheel on the fork
>I
> > would not have noticed what was happening. This is why the bolt did not
> > turn, I spoke to you about that as well. In any event it's my fault for
>not
> > reading the V-News but then again what of the clients that are not
> > subscribed. Well I have read the V-News but did not pick up on this.
>On
> > another note if this is such an issue as with car companies that have
> > thousands upon thousands of clients, when a defect is noticed, they have
> > knowledge of who bought what and they notify the client directly. There
> > should have been a record of when I bought the fork and what fork and if
> > this was such an issue to the well being of the client and the factory I
> > should have been notified by mail. When it comes to sending me a bill
>there
> > is never a delay. THAT VELOCITY KEEPS GOOD TRACK OFF.
> >
> > Scott on these issues the company need to take a greater role in
> > notifying the client. YOu know how concientious I have been. Rest
>assured
> > that if I would have recieved a note form Velocity on this I would have
> > taken action. I did not hesitate to spend over $7000.00 for a new wing.
>I
> > still love you, YOU ARE GREAT!
> >
> > Now on the brakes. Really these Matcos are.....Well what can I say.
>I
> > mean I can land in 2500' with as little experience as I have, but the
>brakes
> > do leave a lot to be desired. It Chuck is right about the Clevelands
>the
> > company should not be recommending or selling the Matco's We do not
>need to
> > be worried about overheating the brakes and damaging our main gear if
>there
> > is a better alternative.
> >
> > On a better note, I have 0.7 hours to go for the sign off. The plane
>has
> > performed beautifully. today I did alot of x-wind landings, at Pohokee
>I
> > landed with a 90 degree 15-18 mile x-wing. I love how the plane
>handles. I
> > love to fly this plane, it's a rush.
> >
> > I do have a problem with the s-Tec autopilot. On the roll control
>the
> > plane bobs constantly from right to left. The ailerons just keep on
>going
> > up and down. The oscilations are small and very anoying. Nathan had
> > adjusted the ailerons slightly down, after flying the plane they as
>3/16" up
> > both. I am going to tighten the cables and readjust the ailerons to a
>down
> > position. What input do you have for me on this issue. The climb and
>reach
> > altitude and level function was a complete orgasm.
> >
> > I practice on some high approaches on final and fast slow descent then
> > nosing down to 100 then smoothing her in. This plane handles great!!!!
> > Would be interesting to see how she might perform with vortex generators
>and
> > fences.
> >
> > Fred
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Scott Baker" <sbakr@comcast.net>
> > To: <reflector@tvbf.org>
> > Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2004 7:27 AM
> > Subject: Re: REFLECTOR:Gear Up
> >
> >
> > > Fred,
> > > I don't think it's quite fair for anyone to criticize the
>factory
> > for a
> > > busted nose wheel fork if it is of the old (smaller) design. The
> > factory
> > > has mentioned this time after time after time in the VV that the old
> > forks
> > > should be replaced. The factory subsidized the cost of the new
>forks.
> > If
> > > someone is operating an old fork today - they are ignoring the
>warning
> > from
> > > the factory. So please don't lay blame on the factory for an
>"almost
> > > mishap" when your older fork developed a crack.
> > > In regards to the main wheel getting stuck on the lip at the
>bottom
> > of
> > > the wheel well. This was caused as you know when the main gear leg
> > warped
> > > when it became overheated after being exposed to the excessively hot
> > heat
> > > from the brakes. Overheated brakes and the problems that come from
> > > overheated brakes has also been the subject of repeated articles in
>the
> > > Velocity Views. If you ride the brakes or do repeated hard braking,
>a
> > lot
> > > of heat develops around the brake disk, which is then transferred to
>the
> > > gear leg. Too much heat leads to a softening of the gear legs. And
>if
> > > there is any stress on the gear legs when they are soft, the legs
>will
> > warp
> > > to relieve the stress. We need to a) understand that this situation
>is
> > > possible, b) try to avoid overheating the brakes, and c) when the
>brakes
> > are
> > > overheated, do something about it like throwing a wet towel around
>the
> > leg
> > > and/or pulling the aircraft forward about 15' after it has been
>stopped
> > so
> > > that the pressures on the gear leg are neutralized, and lastly d)
>look
> > for a
> > > warped leg during the preflight, just in case a,b,and c have been
> > ignored.
> > > If the wheel or lower portion of the gear leg looks crooked, the
> > geometry of
> > > the gear has obviously changed - and therefore the clearances of the
> > gear
> > > going into the wheel well will be changed and there is a possibility
>of
> > > getting wheel stuck in the well. The lip at the wheel well presents
>a
> > ledge
> > > where hardware can catch and hang-up when this happens - so yes, I
>agree
> > > with you that not having a lip is better than having a lip - but
> > eliminating
> > > the lip does not eliminate the possibility of a stuck gear ... the
>tire
> > > could easily wedge itself against the wheel well and the gear could
>be
> > stuck
> > > to the point that it might not come down. Again the root of this
> > paragraph
> > > was overheated brakes and warped gear legs.
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Fred Marconi" <fmarconi@bellsouth.net>
> > > To: <reflector@tvbf.org>
> > > Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2004 12:45 AM
> > > Subject: Re: REFLECTOR:Gear Up
> > >
> > >
> > > > Scott: Insurances for Velocity are provided at with a 10%
> > deductible.
> > > At
> > > > that I felt that it was not wise to take hull coverage.
> > > >
> > > > Velocity has a bad record, and I have to say that this is in
>part
> > the
> > > > factory's fault. The initial fork that was used for the front
>wheel
> > was a
> > > > bad desigh. It took many accidents before they decided to change.
> > > > Insurances did not forget this. The landing gear system can be
>better
> > > > designed, the factory is slow to change, we pay the insurance
>price.
> > > >
> > > > I was one of the lucky ones, I cought the crack on the old fork
> > before a
> > > > mishap, I do have to thank the company for offering me a
>replacement
> > for
> > > the
> > > > new desigh at no charge. The mains, well they got stuck on me and
> > > > fortunatelly I had someone in the plane and we knocked them loose.
> > The
> > > > wheel got cought on the inbord lip of the strake. The camber had
> > changed
> > > 2
> > > > degrees, enough to cause a problem. I removed the lip and will
>add
> > the
> > > > material to the skirt. This skirts need to be redisigned, they
>would
> > not
> > > > hear of this.
> > > >
> > > > Fred
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Scott Derrick" <scott@tnstaafl.net>
> > > > To: <reflector@tvbf.org>
> > > > Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 2:01 PM
> > > > Subject: Re: REFLECTOR:Gear Up
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > Don,
> > > > >
> > > > > What a drag!!! IN more ways than one!! Sorry for the bad
>joke,
> > > > >
> > > > > Having just been through a nose up landing because of a stuck
>up
> > nose
> > > > gear
> > > > > I feel some of your pain. THough I didn't trash a prop, I'm
>still
> > > > > reshaping the nose, rebuilding the nose gear doors, and
>completely
> > > > > replacing the nose gear assembly so I have the latest and
>greatest
> > > > > equipment.
> > > > >
> > > > > I don;t have in-flight insurance so I'm doig htis out of
>pocket.
> > Not
> > > to
> > > > > bad really, but a trashed MT would have been pricey!
> > > > >
> > > > > Hope you figure out why it didn't lock. What year was your
>kit?
> > > > >
> > > > > Scott
> > > > >
> > > > > > I had the main gear on my 173RGE collapse on landing this
> > afternoon.
> > > > At
> > > > > > first glance the damage doesn't seem to be too bad. A ground
>up
> > > belly
> > > > and
> > > > > > a trashed MT prop.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > It is really too soon to do much speculation as to the cause
> > until I
> > > > have
> > > > > > had a chance to examine it more carefully. However, at this
> > point
> > > it
> > > > > > looks as though the overcenter linkage may simply not have
> > latched
> > > > > > properly. I can't really say whether I had two greens on the
> > gear
> > > > lights
> > > > > > or not, but I am sure that I didn't have a red light.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I will report back if and when I have more definite
>information
> > as
> > > to
> > > > what
> > > > > > happened.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Donald Royer
> > > > > > djroyer@earthlink.net
> > > > >
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> > >
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> >
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>_______________________________________________
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