Return-Path: Sender: To: lml@lancaironline.net Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 17:03:58 -0500 Message-ID: X-Original-Return-Path: Received: from imo-d23.mx.aol.com ([205.188.139.137] verified) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 5.0.1) with ESMTP id 828616 for lml@lancaironline.net; Sat, 12 Nov 2005 10:03:30 -0500 Received-SPF: pass receiver=logan.com; client-ip=205.188.139.137; envelope-from=MikeEasley@aol.com Received: from MikeEasley@aol.com by imo-d23.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v38_r6.3.) id q.ee.204bf46e (3850) for ; Sat, 12 Nov 2005 10:02:43 -0500 (EST) From: MikeEasley@aol.com X-Original-Message-ID: X-Original-Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 10:02:43 EST Subject: My Straight Flying ES X-Original-To: lml@lancaironline.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="-----------------------------1131807763" X-Mailer: 9.0 Security Edition for Windows sub 5300 X-Spam-Flag: NO -------------------------------1131807763 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hey Guys, I've had a project working for over a year and it just was completed last week. I now have a straight left wing. Sorry for the long narrative, but it's the only way I know how to tell this story. Brief history for those not familiar. I was an early ES buildshop customer and the left wing jig at Lancair was out of alignment when I closed my wings. It was discovered during flight testing a year and half later. My left wing had about 0.5 degrees washout instead of the 2.0 degrees in a properly shaped wing. 8 to 12 other wings were closed before the problem was discovered. The jigs were promptly replaced. Tim developed a fix using eccentrics to slightly modify the incidence of the wings to eliminate the right rolling tendency. Several people are flying with eccentrics. I did for over a year with good results. But I was never completely satisfied. I began asking questions about the wing. The opinions ranged from "no big deal" to "death trap". The truth was likely somewhere in between. As I researched washout it became apparent to me that there's more to this than just flying straight. I could go on for another thirty paragraphs describing the research. Tim ultimately asked an aerodynamicist what he thought. I think it was Greg Cole, the designer of the Legacy and the Columbia. The aerodynamicist said that any less washout and I would absolutely need to fix it, if I had half the problem I'd be crazy to fix it. He said the wing was "borderline". Needless to say, I wanted a wing that met the factory specifications. I didn't think Lancair was going to give me a new wing, even though some opinions thought they should. I credit Drew Dickinson (same wing problem) for coming up with the idea of re-closing the wing. If the jigs lock in the wing geometry, re-closing should give me a wing with 2 degrees of washout. Tim thought Drew and I were nuts! Who would go to that kind of trouble with a straight flying airplane? Tim said that wing skins have been pulled before for various reasons, leaky fuel bays, poor bonding, etc. So it could be done, but would it work? I was confident it would. Drew was enjoying his airplane and wasn't sure this would be worth it. I was in the paint shop! But we both committed to a trip to Redmond to tear our wings apart. I told my painter to hold off on the wings and just paint the fuselage. Initially, when Tim checked the misaligned jigs, he found that the outboard two cradles were the only ones that were off. So Drew and I began thinking about a partial re-closing. If we only separate the lower wing skin from the tip to the inboard edge of the aileron, the wing should lay down in the jig and correct the geometry. We wouldn't have to get into the fuel tank or the flap pocket. Tim thought we might only have to separate from the leading edge back to the spar in the outer section, but said you'll only know once you start tearing into the wing. Tim cautioned that we might end up pulling the entire wing skin. Drew and I scheduled the trip. He was able to get there on time, but I was stuck in Colorado for three days due to weather. He was done with the re-closing before I got there. We talked on the phone a couple times a day. He ended up separating the lower wing skin back to the inboard edge of the aileron. When I got there, he was finishing up his body work. We reassembled his plane and he took it up for a flight test. He still had some right rolling tendency, but most of the original wing washout was back in the wing. I was waiting for his results before making a final decision on how much I was going to tear apart my own wing. Drew was on a much tighter timeline and had to get back home. I had more time, so I had more choices. There was definitely an advantage to going second. I learned a lot from Drew's experiences. I decided to "go for it" and removed the entire wing skin. A couple notes about wing skin removal. It's violent, loud popping sounds, crunching, etc. Some damage to the inner wing skin is inevitable. The damage is easily repaired with additional layups. It takes about 6 hours to remove the wing skin. You start by sanding off all the micro over the layups, and using a heat gun to peel off the layups. Then the wedges come out and you start hammering the wedges in along the ribs and spar. We sanded and prepped the wing and re-closed. I left the shot bags on for an extra day. When the weight came off the wing was flat down in the jigs. But how would it fly? Three days of layups, pressure testing the fuel tank, and many hours of body work. Reinstalling the flap brackets, fuel probe, fuel fittings, flight controls, etc. Deja vu all over again! We sloshed the tank and reinstalled the wing on the plane, but with zero eccentrics this time. The weather moved in and the flight test was delayed. A few days later, I packed up my stuff in the plane, jumped in, told the Lancair people that I'd either be back in 10 minutes or I'm heading home to Colorado. I set the aileron trim to neutral, took off. I was 1,500 feet AGL before I realized it was flying perfectly straight! So a 4 hour plus test flight and I'm back home in Colorado with a new wing. The rudder trim is neutral, the control surfaces are in trim. I flew down final at 75 KIAS with confidence. I'm very happy with the outcome. Since I only tore off the bottom wing skin, my upper wing root fairing still lines up perfectly. The bottom side is off slightly. It will stay that way since my fuselage is already painted. I have several days of body work left to get it ready for the painter again. Tim was supportive, even though he still thinks I'm crazy. To quote Joe Bartels, "Thank you for being a loyal customer and it is our privilege to make adjustments where appropriate." Is this for everybody? Definitely not. But I personally think it was worth the effort and expense. Lancair paid for our hotel and loaned us a vehicle during our stay. And supplied all the buildshop supplies and plenty of extra hands to speed the process along. The mechanics loaned us tools. The crating department helped out with the forklift for removing and reinstalling the wing. Tim even took us out for an awesome BBQ dinner. It's great to have a solid company stand behind its product. Thanks Lancair! I have photos. Mike Easley Colorado Springs -------------------------------1131807763 Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Hey Guys,
 
I've had a project working for over a year and it just was completed la= st=20 week.  I now have a straight left wing.  Sorry for the long narrat= ive,=20 but it's the only way I know how to tell this story.
 
Brief history for those not familiar.  I was an early ES buildshop= =20 customer and the left wing jig at Lancair was out of alignment when I closed= my=20 wings.  It was discovered during flight testing a year and half=20 later.  My left wing had about 0.5 degrees washout instead of the=20= 2.0=20 degrees in a properly shaped wing.  8 to 12 other wings were close= d=20 before the problem was discovered.  The jigs were promptly replaced.&nb= sp;=20 Tim developed a fix using eccentrics to slightly modify the incidence of the= =20 wings to eliminate the right rolling tendency.  Several people are flyi= ng=20 with eccentrics.  I did for over a year with good results.
 
But I was never completely satisfied.  I began asking questions ab= out=20 the wing.  The opinions ranged from "no big deal" to "death trap". = ;=20 The truth was likely somewhere in between.  As I researched washout it=20 became apparent to me that there's more to this than just flying straight.&n= bsp;=20 I could go on for another thirty paragraphs describing the research.  T= im=20 ultimately asked an aerodynamicist what he thought.  I think it was Gre= g=20 Cole, the designer of the Legacy and the Columbia.  The aerodynamicist=20= said=20 that any less washout and I would absolutely need to fix it, if I had half t= he=20 problem I'd be crazy to fix it.  He said the wing was "borderline".
 
Needless to say, I wanted a wing that met the factory specifications.&n= bsp;=20 I didn't think Lancair was going to give me a new wing, even though some=20 opinions thought they should.  I credit Drew Dickinson (same wing probl= em)=20 for coming up with the idea of re-closing the wing.  If the jigs lock i= n=20 the wing geometry, re-closing should give me a wing with 2 degrees of=20 washout.
 
Tim thought Drew and I were nuts!  Who would go to that kind of=20 trouble with a straight flying airplane?  Tim said that wing skins have= =20 been pulled before for various reasons, leaky fuel bays, poor bonding,=20 etc.  So it could be done, but would it work?  I was confident it=20 would.  Drew was enjoying his airplane and wasn't sure this would be wo= rth=20 it.  I was in the paint shop!  But we both committed to a trip to=20 Redmond to tear our wings apart.  I told my painter to hold off on the=20 wings and just paint the fuselage.
 
Initially, when Tim checked the misaligned jigs, he found that the outb= oard=20 two cradles were the only ones that were off.  So Drew and I began thin= king=20 about a partial re-closing.  If we only separate the lower wing skin fr= om=20 the tip to the inboard edge of the aileron, the wing should lay down in the=20= jig=20 and correct the geometry.  We wouldn't have to get into the fuel tank o= r=20 the flap pocket.  Tim thought we might only have to separate from the=20 leading edge back to the spar in the outer section, but said you'll only kno= w=20 once you start tearing into the wing.  Tim cautioned that we might= end=20 up pulling the entire wing skin.
 
Drew and I scheduled the trip.  He was able to get there on time,=20= but=20 I was stuck in Colorado for three days due to weather.  He wa= s=20 done with the re-closing before I got there.  We talked on the phone a=20 couple times a day.  He ended up separating the lower wing skin ba= ck=20 to the inboard edge of the aileron.  When I got there, he was finishing= up=20 his body work.  We reassembled his plane and he took it up for a flight= =20 test.  He still had some right rolling tendency, but most of the origin= al=20 wing washout was back in the wing.  I was waiting for his results befor= e=20 making a final decision on how much I was going to tear apart my own wing.&n= bsp;=20 Drew was on a much tighter timeline and had to get back home.  I had mo= re=20 time, so I had more choices.  There was definitely an advantage to goin= g=20 second.  I learned a lot from Drew's experiences.  I decided to "g= o=20 for it" and removed the entire wing skin.
 
A couple notes about wing skin removal.  It's violent, loud poppin= g=20 sounds, crunching, etc.  Some damage to the inner wing skin is=20 inevitable.  The damage is easily repaired with additional layups. = ; It=20 takes about 6 hours to remove the wing skin.  You start by sanding off=20= all=20 the micro over the layups, and using a heat gun to peel off the layups. = ;=20 Then the wedges come out and you start hammering the wedges in along the rib= s=20 and spar.
 
We sanded and prepped the wing and re-closed.  I left the shot bag= s on=20 for an extra day.  When the weight came off the wing was flat down in t= he=20 jigs.  But how would it fly?  Three days of layups,=20 pressure testing the fuel tank, and many hours of body work. = =20 Reinstalling the flap brackets, fuel probe, fuel fittings, flight controls,=20 etc.  Deja vu all over again!  We sloshed the tank=20 and reinstalled the wing on the plane, but with zero eccentri= cs=20 this time.  The weather moved in and the flight test was delayed.
 
A few days later, I packed up my stuff in the plane,  jumped in, t= old=20 the Lancair people that I'd either be back in 10 minutes or I'm heading home= to=20 Colorado. I set the aileron trim to neutral, took off.  I was 1,500 fee= t=20 AGL before I realized it was flying perfectly straight!   So a 4 h= our=20 plus test flight and I'm back home in Colorado with a new wing.  The ru= dder=20 trim is neutral, the control surfaces are in trim.  I flew down final a= t 75=20 KIAS with confidence.  I'm very happy with the outcome.
 
Since I only tore off the bottom wing skin, my upper wing root fairing=20 still lines up perfectly.  The bottom side is off slightly.  It wi= ll=20 stay that way since my fuselage is already painted.  I have several day= s of=20 body work left to get it ready for the painter again.
 
Tim was supportive, even though he still thinks I'm crazy. To quote Joe= =20 Bartels, "Thank you for being a loyal custo= mer=20 and it is our privilege to make adjustments where appropriate."
 
Is this for everybody?  Definitely not.  But I personally thi= nk=20 it was worth the effort and expense.  Lancair paid for our hotel and lo= aned=20 us a vehicle during our stay.  And supplied all the buildshop supplies=20= and=20 plenty of extra hands to speed the process along.  The mechanics loaned= us=20 tools.  The crating department helped out with the forklift for removin= g=20 and reinstalling the wing.  Tim even took us out for an awesome BBQ=20 dinner.  It's great to have a solid company stand behind its product.
 
Thanks Lancair!
 
I have photos.
 
Mike Easley
Colorado Springs
 -------------------------------1131807763--