Today's Message Index:
----------------------
1. 01:19 AM - Center Section Fairing (Bill Berle)
2. 04:02 AM - Re: Center Section Fairing (George Helton)
3. 05:46 AM - Re: Pancakes (west1m)
4. 03:24 PM - Re: Center Section Fairing (mojavjoe)
5. 10:46 PM - Re: Center Section Fairing (Bill Berle)
Message 1
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Subject: | Center Section Fairing |
Subject: Kolb-List: Center Section Fairing
To: kolb-list@matronics.com
Date: Monday, October 8, 2018, 12:58 AM
Hi Kolbers,
This is a progress update on getting my
HKS Firestar configuration a little closer to Larry C's HKS
Firestar. To refresh everyone's memory, my aircraft was not
making anywhere near the "normal" 65-70 MPH cruise speed
that Larry is getting, and so I am un-doing some or all of
the things that were different on mine.
The first big thing was that my
original oil cooler installation was allowing a significant
"jet" of air to be directed up through the wing center
section. This worked great for oil temperature, but it was
very likely creating a large amount of crag, and interfering
with the spanwise lift distribution.
So I moved the cooler and oil tank down
to a different location, which allowed me to make a "solid"
gap seal for the center section between the wing roots. Once
finished, this gap seal will continue the top curvature of
the airfoil across the center seciton with no gaps, all the
way from the leading edge to the rear wing attach (where the
U-joint is). This approximates what Larry C has on his
Firestar, the gap seal on the top surface only.
I made the gap cover out of .016"
aluminum that stays attached to the fuselage upper keel
tube. No loose parts, no Velcro, no disassembly or
disconnecting when folding or unfolding the wings. The short
aluminum tubes at the leading edge of the wings slides into
the "tube" at the front of the center fairing. So any lift
or force generated by air flowing over the front of this
center fairing is retrained by the leading edge of the
wings.
The wing roots slide underneath this
center cover. Once the wings are fully un-folded, the center
fairing overlaps the wing roots by a little over an inch
each side. The wings will have weatherstripping (foam tape)
under the center cover so there is a good air seal.
In the photos you can see a few small
gaps, and a diamond shaped hole in the middle of the gap
vover. The small holes will have tape to close off the gaps.
The gaps are there so that the parts can be removed from the
fuselage for maintenance or inspection.
The diamond shaped hole is so that
(with engine vibration inflight) the center gap cover
does not pound on the square black boxes under those holes,
which are the HKS ignition boxes. A small patch of fabric or
rubber sheet will be glues over that diamond shaped hole to
prevent air leakage without anything hammering on the
ignition control boxes and risk damage to those components.
Although I am not anyone's idea of a
Kolb Expert, I am guessing that this center gap cover closes
off the hole between the wings more or further rearward than
most plans-built Kolbs.
Because of the many many comments on
the Kolb list about my flight testing problems, I took this
opportunity to resolve the CG issue by moving it forward a
little. The new fuel tank is mounted behind the pilot seat,
in the area where the stock "rear seat" was. So now the fuel
is pretty much underneath the center of gravity, so even
with full fuel I will not be as close to the rear CG limit.
Hopefully, this will allow me to move
the leading edge of the stabilizer back down to the stock
position, or most of the way there, per John H's suggestion
and the suggestions of other Kolbers..
Bill Berle
Message 2
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Subject: | Re: Center Section Fairing |
Sounds like good progress,Bill. There was a long silence there. Sounds like you
were doing a lot more working and a lot less talking.
George H.
Firestar
14GDH
Mesick, Michigan
gdhelton@gmail.com
Sent from my iPhone
> On Oct 8, 2018, at 4:18 AM, Bill Berle <victorbravo@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Subject: Kolb-List: Center Section Fairing
> To: kolb-list@matronics.com
> Date: Monday, October 8, 2018, 12:58 AM
>
> Hi Kolbers,
>
> This is a progress update on getting my
> HKS Firestar configuration a little closer to Larry C's HKS
> Firestar. To refresh everyone's memory, my aircraft was not
> making anywhere near the "normal" 65-70 MPH cruise speed
> that Larry is getting, and so I am un-doing some or all of
> the things that were different on mine.
>
> The first big thing was that my
> original oil cooler installation was allowing a significant
> "jet" of air to be directed up through the wing center
> section. This worked great for oil temperature, but it was
> very likely creating a large amount of crag, and interfering
> with the spanwise lift distribution.
>
> So I moved the cooler and oil tank down
> to a different location, which allowed me to make a "solid"
> gap seal for the center section between the wing roots. Once
> finished, this gap seal will continue the top curvature of
> the airfoil across the center seciton with no gaps, all the
> way from the leading edge to the rear wing attach (where the
> U-joint is). This approximates what Larry C has on his
> Firestar, the gap seal on the top surface only.
>
> I made the gap cover out of .016"
> aluminum that stays attached to the fuselage upper keel
> tube. No loose parts, no Velcro, no disassembly or
> disconnecting when folding or unfolding the wings. The short
> aluminum tubes at the leading edge of the wings slides into
> the "tube" at the front of the center fairing. So any lift
> or force generated by air flowing over the front of this
> center fairing is retrained by the leading edge of the
> wings.
>
> The wing roots slide underneath this
> center cover. Once the wings are fully un-folded, the center
> fairing overlaps the wing roots by a little over an inch
> each side. The wings will have weatherstripping (foam tape)
> under the center cover so there is a good air seal.
>
> In the photos you can see a few small
> gaps, and a diamond shaped hole in the middle of the gap
> vover. The small holes will have tape to close off the gaps.
> The gaps are there so that the parts can be removed from the
> fuselage for maintenance or inspection.
>
> The diamond shaped hole is so that
> (with engine vibration inflight) the center gap cover
> does not pound on the square black boxes under those holes,
> which are the HKS ignition boxes. A small patch of fabric or
> rubber sheet will be glues over that diamond shaped hole to
> prevent air leakage without anything hammering on the
> ignition control boxes and risk damage to those components.
>
> Although I am not anyone's idea of a
> Kolb Expert, I am guessing that this center gap cover closes
> off the hole between the wings more or further rearward than
> most plans-built Kolbs.
>
> Because of the many many comments on
> the Kolb list about my flight testing problems, I took this
> opportunity to resolve the CG issue by moving it forward a
> little. The new fuel tank is mounted behind the pilot seat,
> in the area where the stock "rear seat" was. So now the fuel
> is pretty much underneath the center of gravity, so even
> with full fuel I will not be as close to the rear CG limit.
>
> Hopefully, this will allow me to move
> the leading edge of the stabilizer back down to the stock
> position, or most of the way there, per John H's suggestion
> and the suggestions of other Kolbers..
>
> Bill Berle
>
>
>
>
Message 3
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|
Here is another interesting picture I took on this flight. These two planes flew
right over us twice (they must have made a u turn right after they flew over
us) , maybe 500 to 1000 feet above us. I did not have the camera ready and with
gloves on it took a while to get the picture. They were already quit a distance
away in the photo.
--------
West1m
Hastings, MN
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=483703#483703
Attachments:
http://forums.matronics.com//files/twoplanes_718.jpg
Message 4
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Subject: | Re: Center Section Fairing |
Bill do you still have two 5 gal. tanks
> On October 8, 2018 at 4:18 AM Bill Berle <victorbravo@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Subject: Kolb-List: Center Section Fairing
> To: kolb-list@matronics.com
> Date: Monday, October 8, 2018, 12:58 AM
>
> Hi Kolbers,
>
> This is a progress update on getting my
> HKS Firestar configuration a little closer to Larry C's HKS
> Firestar. To refresh everyone's memory, my aircraft was not
> making anywhere near the "normal" 65-70 MPH cruise speed
> that Larry is getting, and so I am un-doing some or all of
> the things that were different on mine.
>
> The first big thing was that my
> original oil cooler installation was allowing a significant
> "jet" of air to be directed up through the wing center
> section. This worked great for oil temperature, but it was
> very likely creating a large amount of crag, and interfering
> with the spanwise lift distribution.
>
> So I moved the cooler and oil tank down
> to a different location, which allowed me to make a "solid"
> gap seal for the center section between the wing roots. Once
> finished, this gap seal will continue the top curvature of
> the airfoil across the center seciton with no gaps, all the
> way from the leading edge to the rear wing attach (where the
> U-joint is). This approximates what Larry C has on his
> Firestar, the gap seal on the top surface only.
>
> I made the gap cover out of .016"
> aluminum that stays attached to the fuselage upper keel
> tube. No loose parts, no Velcro, no disassembly or
> disconnecting when folding or unfolding the wings. The short
> aluminum tubes at the leading edge of the wings slides into
> the "tube" at the front of the center fairing. So any lift
> or force generated by air flowing over the front of this
> center fairing is retrained by the leading edge of the
> wings.
>
> The wing roots slide underneath this
> center cover. Once the wings are fully un-folded, the center
> fairing overlaps the wing roots by a little over an inch
> each side. The wings will have weatherstripping (foam tape)
> under the center cover so there is a good air seal.
>
> In the photos you can see a few small
> gaps, and a diamond shaped hole in the middle of the gap
> vover. The small holes will have tape to close off the gaps.
> The gaps are there so that the parts can be removed from the
> fuselage for maintenance or inspection.
>
> The diamond shaped hole is so that
> (with engine vibration inflight) the center gap cover
> does not pound on the square black boxes under those holes,
> which are the HKS ignition boxes. A small patch of fabric or
> rubber sheet will be glues over that diamond shaped hole to
> prevent air leakage without anything hammering on the
> ignition control boxes and risk damage to those components.
>
> Although I am not anyone's idea of a
> Kolb Expert, I am guessing that this center gap cover closes
> off the hole between the wings more or further rearward than
> most plans-built Kolbs.
>
> Because of the many many comments on
> the Kolb list about my flight testing problems, I took this
> opportunity to resolve the CG issue by moving it forward a
> little. The new fuel tank is mounted behind the pilot seat,
> in the area where the stock "rear seat" was. So now the fuel
> is pretty much underneath the center of gravity, so even
> with full fuel I will not be as close to the rear CG limit.
>
> Hopefully, this will allow me to move
> the leading edge of the stabilizer back down to the stock
> position, or most of the way there, per John H's suggestion
> and the suggestions of other Kolbers..
>
> Bill Berle
>
>
>
>
Message 5
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Subject: | Re: Center Section Fairing |
<mojavjoe@comcast.net>
>> Bill do you still have two 5 gal.
>> tanks ?
No, I do not have the 5 gallon tanks. Several Kolbers suggested that my aircraft
was more tail-heavy than it really needed to be, and some of the more highly
experienced Kolbers were really not happy with me raising the leading edge of
the tail.
Since I was not going to use this Firestar as a 2 seater I managed to kill two
birds with one stone:
One benefit was moving the CG forward.
Another benefit was reducing parts count, fuel system complexity, and eliminating
the UN-EQUAL fuel feed from the tanks.
So in order to get both benefits, I REMOVED the two five gallon Kolb jugs from
the rear compartment, and found a one-piece tank that fit perfectly into the "rear
seat" area.
This one-piece tank holds 14 gallons, which I may never need to fill up completely.
Maybe only for ferrying the airplane to Larry's 2019 Rock House fly-in !!!
I tried three times last night to attach photos of all this to a Kolb List e-mail,a
nd all three got bounced back to me as rejected by the mail server. Last
time this happened I tried to e-mail Matt Dralle and got no reply.
Bill, still working away in Los Angeles
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