Friends, there's some honesty buried in here as it relates to experimental aircraft. Read it all and share freely.

Squawk & Resolutions on N318KW

1. Brake Pedals in-op. Resolution: add 1" spacer to brake pedal. Permanent solution; works well.
2. One of the tires is low on air. Resolution: add air.
3. Right brake in-op. Resolution: bleed brakes.
4. Right brake still in-op, next day. Resolution: bleed brakes using the correct procedure after reviewing youtube video on the topic.
5. Brake line leaks: Resolution: tighten fittings.
6. Braking action still poor: Resolution: brake fluid probably on brake pads / discs. Use brakes to refinish pads. Braking action now OK. Note: I have dual caliper brakes and they are mandatory for large tires. A single caliper brake wouldn't work.
7. Elevator range of motion incorrect. Resolution: adjust all fittings so that up and down are balanced. There are several points of adjustment affecting this from the push-pull fittings, the location of the push-pull collars, inside-cabin adjustments, etc.
8. One of the tires is low on air. Resolution: add air.
9. Discovered critical bolt installed upside down in elevator reverser fitting. Bolt also was loose with standard hex nut. Loss of bolt would cause loss of control. Resolution: install bolt correctly, with nyLoc nut. Death averted. Question: how did everyone miss this?
10. On first flight, aircraft rolls left tendency. Resolution: adjust stick position via pushrod to aileron mixer.
11. On first flight, aircraft has heavy elevator response. Resolution: add fixed trim tabs to elevator. Final resolution: in-flight adjustable elevator trim tab.
12. In cruise, aircraft yaws left. Resolution: add trim tab to left aileron.
13. On takeoff, quick application of full power causes aircraft to turn left REALLY QUICKLY. Resolutions: a) improve pilot skill b) don't do that c) resolve to use less powerful engine d) use full!!!!! right rudder. In the spirit of Draco, for crying out loud, your skill level needs to match the airplane and the powerplant. You can't jump into this airplane and expect it to fly you. You will have to fly it while taking off and even in ground roll, or you'll have an accident.
14. Long main gear is chattering. Potential resolutions: add shock absorbers, and yes, I am planning to do this. Meanwhile, every landing is best performed to 3 point and full stall. Don't even consider a wheel landing. I will follow up with a builder alert after I install shock absorbers.
15. Oil leak as evidenced by small puddle on floor of hangar. Resolution: temperature sensor was installed without teflon tape.
16. Oil leak as evidenced by even smaller puddle on floor of hangar. Resolution: pressure sensor was installed without teflon tape.
17. Airspeed Indicator possibly not functional at low airspeeds, due to high angle of attack. Resolution: smile and enjoy the slow airspeeds. Learn how to fly using butt feedback, not instrument feedback. This airplane will love you, if you give it the chance.
18. Yaw oscillation in cruise. This happens only when: a) cruise speed b) feet not on rudder pedals c) turbulence. The plane will *slowly* start to yaw left and then right, kind of like an old fashioned v-tail bonanza. Resolution: a) keep feet on rudder pedals -or- b) add rudder tension spring. You may notice that in yesterday's video posted here, there was no evidence of this. Seriously, the rudder tension spring is the solution.
19. Pitch oscillation in turbulence. This never happened in N3748, but I have seen some evidence here in N318KW. The reason is simple: the elevator on this plane is heavier, so that a gust acceleration upward causes the mass of the elevator to go downward. This is a precursor to flutter. Resolution: I will adding mass balance weights to the elevator. I will follow up with a builder alert on Chipper Builder.
20. Out of an abundance of caution, I am planning to add vertical stabilizer flying wires, which N3748 had but N318KW does not. Resolution: add flying wires. I will follow up with a builder alert on Chipper Builder.
21. Windshield cracked. Resolution: performed airworthy windshield repair. Longer term resolution: under thought now.
22. One of the tires is low on air. Resolution: add air.
23. Tailwheel steering in-op. Everything you see me doing to date has been done without any tailwheel steering whatsoever. I've gotten OK learning to feel the airplane, rudder, brakes, power and to taxi with confidence, without a steerable tailwheel. Resolution: need to install tailwheel steering.?!

Flaps, Fire, and Fatalities

 "Flaps, Fires and Fatalities, of sorts".

Fire burned our facility 2.5 years ago, destroying the business. Chipper 2 N318KW survived because it was out at the hangar, but the flap extensions were in-town. They were recovered from the fire debris and have been sitting around ever since. They are still covered with soot.

I want to tell you about installing them yesterday, but first I want to tell you a little more about the fire. Back up your calendar to June, 2019. Before Covid.

Kathy Wiebe and I had gone out to eat, it had been a great meal and a great date night, our Friday evening tradition We were sitting in bed, late on a Friday evening. It was normality. It was about 11:15 and my cell phone showed an incoming call.

"This is the Wichita Police Department... There's been a fire at your facility. Someone needs to come."

Kathy and I threw on clothes and rushed to our building. It was firefighting on full display; 20 emergency vehicles; firefighters walking around mopping up details; rolling hoses.

Eventually, I went to the back of the facility and talked with a fire commander. I think we discussed possible fire origin points (the stupid CNC dust collector, of course) and I thought about the irony that one of our CNC operators was a recently retired firefighter.

And then I thought about our shop cats. I asked the fireman whether they'd been seen. He motioned to the ground, directly by where we were standing. A lifeless body of a cat was on the ground. No motion. Sooted. Dead.

I broke into hacking sobs, tears.

Back to those flap extensions.

Yesterday, I installed them for the first time. I have chosen to fly with them, covered with soot, and who knows, I may never paint them. They are a reminder of what was, how I felt, and also how far from then to now I've come. They provide an entry point of discussion for anyone who looks at the airplane -- why are those dirty pieces of s*** attached to that gorgeous airframe? And then I can tell the story, of which this narrative is a small part.

First Flight of Chipper 2, N318KW!

I am so pleased to report that my airplane and design N318KW Chipper 2 had its first flight! All squawks and paperwork were cleared; taxi tests were just fine, along with successful high speed taxi tests.

Taking the runway after all the gliders had cleared for the day, and with flaps set in mid position, and just a dash of droop aileron dialed in, I smoothly advanced power on the ULPower 350iS 130HP engine. Before full power was really achieved, Chipper 2 was off the ground. I reduced power immediately.... and proceeded to float down the runway.... and it finally settled down back to the ground.

That's a wrap for the day. I am falling back in love with this airplane. It was smooth as silk and roomy on the inside, beautiful on the outside.

Is it possible for an Airspeed (ASI), Vertical Speed (VSI) and Altimeter, all in one Instrument?

How can I save money, time and panel space when shopping instruments for my airplane?  Can I get an Airspeed (ASI), Vertical Speed (VSI) and Altimeter, all in one?

The answer is yes. We're posting a short video on our Multi-Function Instrument, which combines all three functions into one brilliant lightweight display.  As I mention in the video, this instrument is superior because:

The speed ranges are customizable, including the green, yellow (caution) and red (redline) range for your airplane.  You can set it up in knots or MPH.  You also get a moving short term history of your airspeed, which is really useful for seeing how you're doing on your aircraft pitch stability.

Aircraft Spruce usually has it on sale. You can find it here:

BELITE RADIANT MFI (ASI / VSI / ALTITUDE) | Aircraft Spruce

and you can see our video, where I quickly describe its features, on Youtube:

https://youtu.be/ewE8S_NsP1Q

3 views of Chipper Single Seat 2021 Engineering Doodles

Chipper SS 2021 coming at you (perspective view)

Side view of Chipper Single Seat 2021

Top view of Chipper SS 2021 

 

61 year old gets Biannual Flight Review in 74 year old airplane with Mr. Cessna

It's so good to be back, talking about building, flying and adventure.

I'm James Wiebe.  I've done a lot and seen a lot, but I'm just a kid at 61, looking forward to another 30+ years of fun.

The photo illustration for the Blog header is my pilot blogbooks, both of which were damaged in the fire which put Chipper Aerospace under for the last 15 months.  My desire to design, build and fly has come back, and it's great!

Today's post:  The Biannual Flight Review (BFR).  It was administered by Charles Pate.  Charles is a young 82, and he worked for Cessna in piston aircraft engineering for more than 50 years, so anything you want to know from the factory perspective concerning Cessna 120's through a Cessna 310, he's the man.  He can tell you about how marketing drove a bunch of engineering decisions.  His history is officially Above Average.

Speaking of the C120, that's what my BFR was in.  This particular plane was built in 1946, making it a very pleasant 74 years old and doesn't have flaps.  We did a preflight tour of the plane, with Charles providing engineering and marketing commentary on various parts.  The order of the following photos isn't correct, but it doesn't matter.

I had a wonderful time.  I can still aviate, and I had some really sweet landings.  The takeoff performance was extraordinarily anemic compared to a Chipper 2 or any of the Polini powered ultralights I've been designed, but flight manners were very gentle and landings were a slippin' Jimmy breeze.  ("Better Call Saul" - a fun digression!)  And finally, the ground manners were slightly less straight tracking than my Chipper 2.  YMMV.

Enjoy the photos, with pieces of commentary.  If I got anything wrong in the captions, the fault is mine in translation, not Charles.  He is an encyclopedia of Cessna everything.

Air Vent tube, evolved into similar vents on C172 and other later Cessna aircraft.

Rudder Pedals, these castings showed up in other Cessnas as well, for instance, the C310.

Tapered shaft design with steel coupling.  Engine changed to an integrated flange later (in O200, for instance.)

This aircraft was owned early on by University of California, Davis, as a flight trainer.  Lots of fixed cuts and scrapes early in its life.  Cracks here and there too.  Maintenance never stops.

Landing gear, wheels, brakes.  These were Goodyear brakes, hard to service.

Pitot tube and static tube, with attached mud dawber stopper.  Later on, the external static port was eliminated, as it had little difference on this slow airplane design.

The tie down rings were an option.  Washout on the wingform adjusted via the eyebolts.

Tail skins are corrugated 0.016" aluminum.  Hmm, that's the thickness I'm using for a lot of Chipper Single Seat stuff.

Another view of the elevator.  No aerodynamic or ballast counterweights whatsoever.

Fuel indicator is a sticky mechanical design.  We also had a great discussion on how Cessna changed the tank outlet position and number over time, so that marketing could get better endurance numbers.  Also how flight testing was done to enhance the marketing message.

Simple panel.  Starter knob connects to huge starter / contact via a bowden cable.  There is no electrical system in the aircraft.

Charles checks the oil?

Yeah!!!! First flight for me since May of 2019.

The guys who worked at Cessna were farmers in 1946.  They used tractor parts, and the fuel selector valve is one of them.  Note it is not intuitive:  Left, Right, Off as shown.

20 Pound Carbon Fiber Float?

Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!


Hey Eugene:

While nosing around in the Belite shop earlier this evening, I noticed that they were preparing to pull the wraps off their new aircraft floats.   It is clear they plan to announce at Oshkosh:  but at what price?

I was able to gather some basic technical information, and also take some pictures, which I've pasted below.

The note said:

  *  19 pounds, 13 ounces as shown (still missing a couple of attachment hardware fittings)
  *  Up to 3 layers of Carbon Fiber cloth overall
  *  Carbon Fiber over foam construction
  *  Pre-cut foam pieces
  *  Inexpensive
  *  Final all up weight estimated at 22 pounds (straight); 35 pounds (amphibious)
  *  Superior to earlier Belite and other aluminum floats (much easier to construct; inherently more waterproof due to foam design)
  *  620 pound maximum gross weight
  *  Belite will be selling float kits for a special price during Oshkosh and shortly thereafter

These are clearly a significant product offering for experimental aircraft... looks to be a game changer for anyone who wants to fly off water.  If Belite has truly pulled off a carbon fiber composite float which sells for a reasonable $ amount...  wow.  That will be so cool.

The float in the following pictures was not quite complete.  It needed some sanding and some other stuff, but it sure looked like a float to me.

Your Friend,

Billy Bob.

P.S.:  Have a look at these pictures:

Carbon Fiber Float from Belite

Carbon Fiber Float from Belite

Carbon Fiber Float from Belite

Carbon Fiber Float from Belite

Carbon Fiber Float from Belite

Special note to Mickey:  thank you for encouraging me to think outside the box.

Harvest

Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!


Weather is finally allowing some flying.  Got to see God's view.

Today, while I was waiting for my guys to get a particular piece of work done, I had Christian prop the UltraCub so I could get flying.  I was aloft a minute later.

90+ degree heat on the ground turned to air conditioning as I climbed thru 100'.  Lovely feeling as the air pressed by on either side of me.

Still skies.  Even in the heat.  Pulled back to probably 50% power and loitered at 800' while turning lazy circles.  Kept the air conditioning on.  Didn't do anything stupid.  Just puttered around.

(Can't understand why the world isn't beating a path to Belite's door.  Just can't.)

****

Yesterday evening, I flew over my friend Kevin's house and left behind a friendly offering (a teddy bear with a parachute, cleanly deposited in his front lawn.)

Flew over to Benton and shot a whole bunch of touch and goes on the grass, and even one on the pavement.   Loved the folks watching me.  Kept a constant eye out for traffic, as I was NORDO.  (No Radio.)

I also flew around and looked at the harvest.   Big plumes of dust headed up and north as the evening wind and heat lifted wheat chaff upwards.

Pictures show the story:

Kansas Sunset approaches

Kansas beauty in June.

Cut Wheat Field.  Interesting effect.

Another cut wheat field.

I love the harvest.

He's got a long ways to go.

But he's working on it.

After both of the flights, I still haven't refueled -- burning less than 5 gallons combined.

I also had opportunity to do a speed check.  Yes, I was marginally concerned that the UltraCub was speeding over the FAR 103 limit of 62mph.  With full power, it clocked in at a cruise speed of about 60 - 61 mph.  I can relax.