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Just finished the weight and
balance numbers for Legacy N121J today, and I'm a little puzzled by what I
find. My plane weighs 1532 empty, which is about 60 pounds more than the
weight given in the company brochure. Some early Legacy's had 2-bladed
props, which might be part of the difference, but at any rate it's not far
off. Most of the stuff that would make weight go up and down, i.e. sloppy,
thick glass lay-ups, is done by the factory now, so there shouldn't be all that
much difference in finished weights.
What's puzzling is that the
P.O.H. states that the maximum weight excluding fuel is 1900 pounds. My
plane still has upholstery to go in later. I'm thinking maybe 30 to 40
pounds more for headliner, carpets, and permanent seats, so that will bring mine
to about 1570, more or less. That gives an allowance for pilot, co-pilot,
and baggage of only 330 pounds, not even the (old) FAA standard of two,
170-pound souls.
I'm wondering what other Legacy
drivers are doing about this. I think there is some flex in the gross
limits on experimentals, but I'm a little reluctant to just unilaterally declare
that my Legacy can match the Antonov pound for pound, and to heck with
the P.O.H. A lot of planes will fly just fine with two hundred pounds over
gross, if not more, so long as you stay in the c.g. limits. Maybe it's a
little naive for me to expect other pilots to declare publicly (LML is pretty
public) that they're busting the rulebook, but otherwise it seems like we've got
some slick single-seater aircraft here with a second seat for show.
Comments? Anonymous replies welcome.
On another subject, I'm going
round and round with the factory over my inflatable canopy seal. Mine
seems to be about 2" too short, and I can't find any sort of tape that will hold
it in place for bonding. It pulls off around the corners at the front, and
at the rear corners where the canopy margin turns up, not matter what kind of
tape I try. I've carefully measured the distance around the canopy where
the seal goes, and it's 205-1/2". The factory says their spec's call for
203-1/2, and theirs all fit fine! The one I have only measures 203", but
the extra half inch wouldn't be enough. If I tape it in place while I try
to bond it, it's going to pull away and leave me a big mess. The factory
are trying to tell me that it'll take a month and $350 bucks to get one two
inches longer. Anyone else had trouble fitting the inflatable seal?
I'm almost tempted to return it and put on the non-inflatable seal. Any
comments on the advantages of the inflatable seal? Is it worth the
hassle?
Jim Cameron
Legacy N121J (almost)
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