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  1. Rick McWilliams

    Super Scooper Frise Aileron

    Frise Aileron The sharp nose Frise aileron is not my favorite. When the pivot point is too far aft the aileron will have a very lumpy force gradient that makes it want to stay in one of three positions. It feels terrible. I like a larger nose and an aft hinge point with the pivot near the...
  2. Rick McWilliams

    Super Scooper Frise Aileron

    I think that the extreme aft position of the hinge line will produce a reversed stick force. The odd nose shape will likely have very unusual stick force curve.
  3. Rick McWilliams

    Why do amphibians nose dive on occassions ?? whats the major cause ??

    Re: What is the most hair rasing moments when touching down on water ??? Landing in a higher sea state than expected. It is tough on the hull and much more difficult to take off.
  4. Rick McWilliams

    Why do amphibians nose dive on occassions ?? whats the major cause ??

    Re: Why are steps such a big deal ?? you either have them or dont !! why the fuss ? My analysis of steps indicates an average drag coefficient of 0.3 based on the frontal area. This is considerable. A very sleek small seaplane will have a drag area of about 4ft2. If a step is too short a low...
  5. Rick McWilliams

    Horizontal Tail (for a twin boom pusher) - In propwash or Out?

    The high tail relative to the wing has some bad properties. Near stall angle of attack the tail is in the wing wake. It will then wiggle and shake and have reduced effectiveness. The Piper Tomahawk demonstrated this well. Spin recovery may be more difficult with reduced horizontal tail...
  6. Rick McWilliams

    Elevator protruding at large deflection

    It is best to try to match the elevator stick forces to the aileron forces. Large chord elevators will have higher stick force. Use the usual tricks to reduce aileron force: frise nose, shifted hinge line, differential linkage. It is nice to have mass balanced control surfaces. Weights...
  7. Rick McWilliams

    Why is the gull wing hull the most preffered and used shape om most sea planes ??

    Seaplane hull shape The seaplane hull is designed to achieve many goals. It must float, trim properly at low speed, transition to dynamic lift, have low hump resistance, low spray, avoid low speed porpoise, avoid high speed propoise, have low weight, have low water impact forces. The most...
  8. Rick McWilliams

    Single Hull vs Twin Hull/Float Amphibs

    I fly a Mermaid amphibian. It has water handling much like a ski boat. It runs dry and can turn on the water with little loss in speed. It feels like a jet ski. Docking is just about impossible. The large tires and steerable nose gear make beaching very easy. My training was in a super cub on...
  9. Rick McWilliams

    Flat bottom or rounded?

    I fly a Zlin 242L it is shaped much like a Cherokee. It is equipped with a full inverted system and almost symmetrical wing airfoil. It cruises slightly slower inverted. The stall is more docile inverted and the inverted spin recovers more rapidly. The seat harness works fine inverted and there...
  10. Rick McWilliams

    Tail mounted propellor

    I think that the tail mounted propeller would benefit from some form of articulation like a helicopter tail rotor delta hinge. This almost eliminates bending stress on the propeller shaft.
  11. Rick McWilliams

    Wheels and Brakes - Any Experience or Knowledge?

    Re: Wheels and Brakes I like Grove wheels. These have many small improvements over the Celveleand wheels. They are mostly of the configuration of fixed disk with outside floating caliper. Good product, good prices, nice people. The master cylinders are very nice. The Beringer wheels are very...
  12. Rick McWilliams

    What software can do the following?

    Solidworks professional with solidworks flow Solidworks flow can be helpful for the modifications that you have in mind. It will take some work to accurately model the OML. The most productive areas will be the cooling inlets and cowl shape. Verify pressure recovery in the inlet plenum. The...
  13. Rick McWilliams

    Questions we always wanted to ask!

    Tail lift Airplanes with unusually long tails or large tails can have the horizontal stabilizer lifting upward and be both in trim and stable. The extreme case is a tandem or canard airplane.
  14. Rick McWilliams

    Why Have a Roadable Airplane

    File a flight plan, get a squak code, fly the flight.
  15. Rick McWilliams

    Book review "flying cars for everyone in the near future'

    I am anxiously awaiting the review. I am bought into the concept. I live on an airport. It is remarkably difficult to go to the grocery store by air. I could fly my wifes helicopter to the store, but would probably not be permitted to leave.O My. I just read the advertisement. The Woo is heavy...
  16. Rick McWilliams

    Tricycle Angle of Attack On The Ground

    Ercoupe flying My wife and I flew an Ercoupe for over 700 hours. It was excellent in severe winds. I would fly it when other airplanes stayed on the ground. There is some skill and technique involved. Our next airplane was a Christen Eagle II. We had no particular difficulty transitioning. It...
  17. Rick McWilliams

    Twin boom Streak Shadow new generation

    It is my experience that with geared rotax 912uls engine that the propeller stops when the engine is shut off. The horizontal tail immersed in the prop wash allows for low trim change with power. The moment due to the high thrust line can be balanced by a change in lift of the tail due to the...
  18. Rick McWilliams

    CFD Conclusions

    The symmetry condition is a check box in the computational domain dialog. Your leading edge fairing should almost go away to be replaced with a small filllet. Solidworks flow is fun and can show the relative effects of local changes. It is not useful for performance calculation. Display...
  19. Rick McWilliams

    CFD Conclusions

    Solidworks flow is moderately useful for design. It will not give good drag values. The computation will be much faster using symmetry at center line, and at the outboard edge. Your wing appears to be developing very little lift. Increase the angle of attack in the flow field. Be aware of the...
  20. Rick McWilliams

    Zenith, KR2S, or Sonerai: Safety Record Comparison

    The zenair 701 is very tight for me, i am 6'-1" and 200 lbs. I might fit without a headset. I do not know the safety record for the 701. I have seen 4 destroyed airframes around the airports that I visit. None looked like fatal injuries. I must be the only person who notices the poor handling...
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