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Date Posted: 19:14:49 06/06/12 Wed
Author: t
Subject: frames

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/advice.html#dribbles
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/index.html
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/wheel_selection.html
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/index.html
Flying Advice
I have about 270 total hours of Fly Baby time over the past ten years. There are certainly people with more experience and able to better explain how to fly the airplane, but I'll take a shot at it.
First off, the Fly Baby has "Conventional", or "taildragger" gear. It's well-behaved as a taildragger, but it has all the quirks of the breed. If you've never flown one before, get ten hours of dual in a Citabria or similar aircraft before tackling a Fly Baby.
Taxiing
In both N500F and my current Fly Baby, I couldn't see directly forward while taxiing because the nose blocks the view (I'm six feet tall, but much of that is in my legs). I can lean to one side or the other and see forward above the cylinder shrouds. Most of the time, I just S-turn. Nothing difficult about it, and...well, yes, I think it looks cool. :-)
Taking Off
Takeoffs are straightforward: Align the plane with the centerline, add power, forward stick to lift the tail, then lift off at 55-60 MPH or so.
The Fly Baby tracks pretty straight. However, there is a relatively narrow speed range around 35-40 MPH where it tends to get a little squirrelly. You don't really notice it on a normal takeoff, since you accelerate through the range relatively quickly. However, if you try some "high speed taxiing" before your first flight, you might end up coasting along this range. I do not recommend high speed taxi testing for this reason. Make one run, if you want. But you're taking a lot less risk by just taking off than by holding partial power for a high-speed run.
Climbout
Perfectly straightforward. Put the top of the gas cap on the horizon for about a 80 MPH climb at 500 FPM or so. The 'Baby will climb faster, but the shallower angle gives better visibility forward.
Cruise
Again, perfectly straightforward. On my C-85, I cruise at about 2300 RPM and see about 95 MPH. Good visibility all around.
There is one aspect of Fly Baby flight, however, that tends to get some people needlessly worried: The way the landing wires sag (and shake) in flight.
Fly Baby wings are wire-braced, just like a biplane but without the "bi". The landing gear is rigid under the fuselage. The flying wires run from the wheel hubs to the spars, about 60% towards the wingtip. The fitting goes through to the top of the wing, where the landing wires run to the cockpit area. Here, the landing wires attach to a steel strap which goes through a socket in the fuselage to a shelf in front of the instrument panel. A large turnbuckle joins the two straps.
Tightening the big turnbuckle does an overall tightening of the entire wing bracing. As the turnbuckle is tightened, the dihedral increases (slightly, of course) and the flying wires grow tighter.
When the plane is in flight, the weight of the aircraft is supported by the wings. The flying wires (under the wing) go bar-taut. At this stage, the landing wires aren't under any tension at all...so they go slightly slack. They sometimes even "shiver" in the slipstream.
It's no problem at all. You can reach out, grab a handful and shake 'em back and forth. You could even take a bolt-cutter to 'em, and it wouldn't make any difference. In flight, they aren't loaded. I've even tightened the center turnbuckle in flight. They still shake. An "arrow" running between the wires seem to help damp out much of the shaking. I've seen 'Babies with little "stabilizer fins" on the arrow to try get it stable.
However, I should note one possible source of too-slack landing wires: The steel strap they attach to is shaped like a sideways letter "T", with the base of the T going through the socket in the fuselage (See the drawing under "Wing Folding". If the landing wires are too long, the shoulder of the T "bottoms out" on the socket when the turnbuckle is tightened, and the wires never do get tight. This happened on N500F. The solution is to adjust the individual turnbuckles on each landing wire to get the general length of the wires shorter and prevent the T from bottoming out. When you fly, note which wires flap the most, and after you land, slightly tighten their turnbuckles.
Again, it's an aesthetic issue, not a safety one.
Stalls
Remember, there is no mechanical stall warning on a Fly Baby. You'll tell you're approaching stall by the lowering pitch of the wind in the wires, and a little buffet about 5-10 before.
But when the stall breaks, it breaks abruptly. It's not a gentle Cessna-type stall, but it's not especially vicious, either. The nose drops abruptly to about 20 degrees below the horizon. A wing may drop as well, depending on rig and/or whether you're holding some rudder. It recovers nicely and with standard techniques.
Before you ask: I've never spun one. People who have report no problems.
Landing
Two things to remember about landing Fly Babies. First, They don't glide flat. All the drag of the open cockpit, fat tires, and bracing wires brings a relatively steep glide angle. It's about equivalent to the Cessna 150 with fully-deployed 40-degree flaps.
Second, the Fly Baby has no shock absorbing capability other than the tires.
The stiff landing gear is probably the biggest actual problem most new Fly Baby pilots have. The solution, at first, anyway, is to wheel-land for the first ten hours or so. On a wheel landing, approach at a slightly higher speed and try to fly the plane down to "grease" the wheels down. I find the results far better than attempting stall landings.
One mitigating factor: the Fly Baby landing gear is extremely hell-for-stout. N500F had had almost 300 pilots fly it over the past 35 years, and I watched some of them REALLY slam the airplane down.
It's embarrassing, but rarely damaging. It doesn't take long to pick up the knack.
Source: above links

Pre-Flight/Pre-Takeoff Checklists
January 2003
Recently, a Fly Baby builder preparing for his first flight asked if I had any pre-flight or pre-takeoff checklists. I didn't...but got to thinking that folks might find them useful. So here goes.
First, one precaution: THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF ITEMS TO CHECK. The intent is to list the what I think are good Fly Baby-specific items to include on your own checklists. For instance, I'm ignoring the engine and propeller(mostly) because there's nothing really different between what you'd do on a Cub or Champ. To generate your own detailed checklists, get hold of one from another airplane, copy it, then add these Fly Baby items to it.
You'll also need to add items specific to your own configuration, too. If you've got a biplane or a canopy, add the appropriate steps.
Preflight
Cockpit
o Seat secure, in position (Mine isn't bolted down, and the notches, etc. for keeping it in place aren't very deep.)
o Shoulder harness draped across outside of turtledeck (to facilitate pulling them on once you drop into the cockpit. It's awkward to dig them out from behind your back....)
o Seat belts clear of rudder cables, draped diagonally across front of seat (with my fat gut, the buckles hang below the seat level, which makes them easy to scoop out from under me once I'm in the seat)
o Spar pins in place (If I think about it, I feel the back of the aft spar carry-though to see if the safety pins are in place)
o Elevator pushrod attach bolt
o If you have a folding seat back, look behind the seat and check the elevator walking beam
o Aileron pushrods connected, with safety pins in place.
o Turtledeck latches secure

Plus the normal cockpit stuff...controls clear, altimeter set, missing bolts, parts, etc.)
Wings
o Landing wires attached to anchors
o No distortion in fabric around anchors (would indicate that the attach points are damaged)
o Close examination of flying wire anchor plates (cracks, bends, nuts in place, etc.)
o "Plunk" both forward flying wires to see if they're about the same tension
o Check turnbuckles, cables, and arrow
o Check cables at wheel shackle...no fraying, kinking, etc.

Plus the usual wing stuff (aileron pushrod bolts, hinges,etc.)
Landing Gear
o Flying-wire attachment shackle (look for damage, make sure the clevis pin is secured, etc.)
o Flying-wire loops on shackle (fraying, kinks, damage, etc.)
o Landing-Gear cross-brace cables, turnbuckles, and attach points
o Plunk the landing-gear cross-bracing to ensure none have loosened
o Make sure wheel-attach bolts are in place

Normal gear stuff (tires, brakes, etc.)
Engine and Propeller
The engine stuff is like any other airplane. The front cowl-securing pins on some airplanes are sometimes very close to the prop...make sure they're clear and/or secured.
Tail
o Tail bracing cables, turnbuckles, and anchors
o Elevator bolts (the ones that hold the individual elevators to the main bellcrank).
o Check the differential play in elevators (This is common, and probably not a problem as long as the play is only an inch or so. The main thing is to monitor it to catch it if it gets worse)
o Close examination of tailwheel horn (especially if not modified with reinforcement - See note below)
o Shake tail slightly side-to-side, watching the motion of the tailwheel. Look for side-to-side play around the tailpost mounting (I had the lower bolt sheer once, and the greatly-increased play is how I detected it).

Normal tailwheel-airplane stuff (tailwheel assembly, elevator/rudder hinges, etc.)
Taxiing
Between a combination of tailwheel spring stiffness, tire condition, tire inflation, temperature, and taxi speed, the airplane sometimes starts bouncing up and down on its tires as it taxies along. It's not dangerous, it doesn't affect control. It's just an odd boing-boing-boing as you taxi merrily along. It's like someone dribbling a basketball.
It is totally harmless. I've never had it happen during takeoff run or landing roll. It tends to occur when the tires are stiff...new tires, freshly-inflated, and especially in colder weather. If you get the "dribbles", just slow down or speed up...it'll go away.
Pre-Takeoff
• Controls free
• Drop hand along seat belts, ensure they are clear of rudder cables (many seat belt assemblies have a slider for adjustment, and this slider seems to get real close to the cables...check the cable isn't hooked over the slider)
• Goggles down
• Jacket zipped (it can get distracting to have your clothing start whipping in the wind....)
• Shoulder harness straps secured (I have a real problem with the loose ends of my harness flapping in the breeze. Just slide the ends underneath the harness)
This is addition to your normal pre-takeoff checks...instruments set, engine runup, etc. I'd do the above prior to the runup, so you have your goggles in place.

Ron Wanttaja
________________________________________
Note on Elevator Horn
The tailwheel is steered by a bellcrank bent out of flat 0.090" steel, as shown in Figure 6-6 of the plans (page 6-11 in my copy). Several high-time Fly Babies have experienced cracking in a leg of the horn. While the design is similar to the rudder horn, the rudder horn is flat and incorporates a bend at the leading edge to strengthen it. The legs of the Tailwheel Horn bend down at a 45 degree angle and thus can't incorporate a bend.
If you're flying a completed Fly Baby, keep an eye on this area. If you notice cracking, remove the horn and weld up the crack, adding stiffeners as shown in the diagram.. If you're building one, go ahead and install a modified horn instead of the stock one.
________________________________________

Comments? Contact Ron Wanttaja .
source:
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/safety/checlist.HTM

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