automan1223
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2003
- Messages
- 3,760
- Location
- Oriental, North Carolina
- Aircraft
- 2p Tandem Air Command "Big Red"
- Total Flight Time
- 250
Hello Everyone !
After 3 weekends down at the patch working with Maxie Wildes, flight testing and working out the bugs in my 2pl tandem subaru powered ej22. I have learned a few things and ask for some input. My machine has 2 tail surfaces. One is the lower HS with the winglets on the side as found on newer air command machines The second HS is attached to the tall rudder dominator type tall tail. Our problem in flight was that the nose did not want to drop to gain airspeed. I performed a hang test and everything was in spec so I reduced the angle of attack on the lower HS so it was flat with the keel it was attached to. While an improvement was observed, more was needed. More flight testing and photographs revealed need to reduce down force or angle of attack on the rudders HS. That was done and more improvement was observed.
Anyway I know there are many ships out there that fly with more than one hs but I have also heard comments that the tall tail with the HS can make the machine feel squirrely or odd. Since I dont have much experience with this I was wondering if there was a solid reason why the newer air command machines do not have a hs in the prop wash and only a rudder. Does a single rudder offer more yaw stability without the HS ? Any thoughts , etc appreciated.
Jonathan Weis
Oriental NC
After 3 weekends down at the patch working with Maxie Wildes, flight testing and working out the bugs in my 2pl tandem subaru powered ej22. I have learned a few things and ask for some input. My machine has 2 tail surfaces. One is the lower HS with the winglets on the side as found on newer air command machines The second HS is attached to the tall rudder dominator type tall tail. Our problem in flight was that the nose did not want to drop to gain airspeed. I performed a hang test and everything was in spec so I reduced the angle of attack on the lower HS so it was flat with the keel it was attached to. While an improvement was observed, more was needed. More flight testing and photographs revealed need to reduce down force or angle of attack on the rudders HS. That was done and more improvement was observed.
Anyway I know there are many ships out there that fly with more than one hs but I have also heard comments that the tall tail with the HS can make the machine feel squirrely or odd. Since I dont have much experience with this I was wondering if there was a solid reason why the newer air command machines do not have a hs in the prop wash and only a rudder. Does a single rudder offer more yaw stability without the HS ? Any thoughts , etc appreciated.
Jonathan Weis
Oriental NC