REFLECTOR: 4th test flight - roll tendency persists

Sat Aug 25 15:35:58 CDT 2012

Geoff,

I would look to the incident angle of your wings, the faster you go, the pronounced the turning tendency will be. 

Richard 

Sent from my iPhone 4 Classic

On Aug 25, 2012, at 4:15 PM, steve korney <s_korney at hotmail.com> wrote:

> 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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