REFLECTOR: 4th test flight - roll tendency persists

[steve korney]

Geoff...

The ailerons are free floating... They should set themselves by aerodynamic forces of airflow...When you let go of the stick, the ailerons should take a position on their own and should be the same on both sides no matter what the aircraft is doing... 


Steve 

From: lwcoen at hotmail.com
To: geoff.gerhardt at gmail.com; reflector at tvbf.org
Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2012 12:39:04 -0500
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: 4th test flight - roll tendency persists






Geoff,
 
>From what you are describing it sounds like the ailerons are 
being deflected aerodynamically.  You might want to look at the bottom 
forward edge of the left aileron to see if it extends below the lower surface of 
the wing when it’s held in the neutral position.  Since the ailerons are 
hinged at the top, any increase of drag on the left compared to the right would 
cause the effect you're seeing.
 
Larry Coen
N136LC




From: Geoff Gerhardt 
Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2012 6:37 AM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list 

Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: 4th test flight - roll tendency 
persists

Alex/Steve, 


That was my first thought, too, but in order to get it to fly level, 
pressure on the stick is needed to keep the ailerons to neutral.  If I let 
the stick go, the left aileron wants to come up, right goes down.  If it 
were a wing shimming issue, I'd expect that the ailerons would need to be pushed 
into a non-neutral position to counteract the effect of improperly aligned 
wings. 


Before flying the plane, my ailerons were positioned so that the trailing 
edges were level with the wings.  After the third flight when I noticed 
this left roll tendency, I adjusted them so they drooped ~1/8".  I think it 
helped a little, but did not eliminate the left roll tendency.


Geoff


On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 10:12 PM, Alex Balic <velocity_pilot at verizon.net> wrote:


  
  
  Possibly 
  the wings need shimming
   
  
  From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of Geoff 
  Gerhardt
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2012 7:38 PM
To: 
  Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
  
Subject: REFLECTOR: 4th test flight - roll tendency 
  persists
  
   
  Guys,
  
  
  
   
  
  I went on my fourth test flight this afternoon.  Still 
  have butterflies before the flight and check things over like I have OCD (yes, 
  the canard bolts are still there, for the fourth time...). 
   
  
   
  
  Dealing with a few issues now that I've left the pattern 
  and brought it up to speed.  I noticed on the third flight that it wants 
  to roll to the left.  This is not a yaw (ball's in the center), but a 
  definite roll that requires right pressure on the stick to fly level at 140kts 
  (more pressure for higher speed).  Aileron trim isn't enough to take it 
  out.  On that third flight, when I was flying level at 140ks by using 
  right stick pressure, when I looked back I could see that the trailing edges 
  of both ailerons were a little higher than the wing.  So, before the 
  fourth flight, I drooped both down so they were ~1/8" below the wing (they 
  were level before at rest), but this did not have much effect on the roll 
  tendency (although the ailerons were level or drooping at speed).  It 
  definitely seems to be an aileron issue.  When I'm flying level (using 
  right stick pressure), the ailerons seem to be in an equal position. 
   Letting the stick go, the right aileron comes up, left down and it 
  rolls.  Any other ideas on things to check?
  
   
  
  Slow flight went very well, nice control down to 60kts. 
   Easy 180 turn, then back the other way holding 
  altitude.
  
   
  
  Geoff
  
   




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