Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net> (Marvin Kaye)
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 23:51:12 -0400
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From: BILL HANNAHAN <wfhannahan@yahoo.com>
Subject: 360 Small Tail Flight Characteristics
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Scotty,

You will probably get a lot of feedback on this one. I completed a small
tail 360 in 92 and have  1800 hrs on it. It is a wonderful plane. Take
your time getting used to it, be conservative, and you will have a lot of
enjoyable flying over the years to come. 

1	I have a custom designed spring trim, no tab, so no direct experience.
Suggest checking tab deflection angle and linkage stiffness, perhaps the
wind loads are forcing the tab into a more streamlined position in flight
than you see on the ground. If those two things check out you need a
larger tab.

The bob weight issue is complicated because the existing bob weight is
hinged in the wrong direction, that is, an abrupt pitch change causes an
initial elevator deflecting force in the wrong direction. I experimented
early on with reduced bob weight and have flown most of my hours with no
weight at all, personal preference, not a recommendation, I just don’t
like the feel of that inertia in the system. I did not shorten the
elevator bell crank but rather extended the tabs on the stick bellcrank.
This has the desired effect without increasing control system forces and
trim forces.


2 	The pull to the left could be brake drag, soft tire, different tire
design with more drag on left tire, nose gear strut not vertical, excess
bearing friction.  

Due to a manufacturing error one of my matco master cylinders would not
fully relieve pressure causing brake drag as the fluid heated and expanded
in the caliper cylinder. If you have this symptom try relieving the
pressure by momentarily cracking the bleeder nipple on the hot caliper.
You will get a small spurt of fluid and the excess friction will go away.
Uneven pad wear can cock a piston.

Since the rudder system is not connected to the gear (normally) there
should be little effect from rudder springs at low speed and low power. I
do use full rudder deflection during taxi to help offset crosswinds or
taxiway camber. If you find no problem try carrying a little more pressure
in the left tire to reduce its rolling resistance.

The nose gear should not shimmy at all, this is a serious problem. Have
someone hold down the tail and rotate the nose tire from side to side, you
should feel continuous hydraulic resistance from stop to stop. If not the
fluid may have leaked out or possible internal mechanical failure. Wheel
bearings should be snug but not very tight. Check upper bearings for
looseness and look for cracked or bent engine mount. 

For peace of mind I replaced all three drag links after a few years and
some embarrassing landings. I do not allow it to be towed by the nose
gear. Check emergency gear extension in the air and on jacks occasionally.
Make sure the nose gear will not hang up on anything if tilted to either
side. I have some short screws in key locations of nose gear door hinge
for this reason.


3	Lets hear more about Fred Flintstones style of flying. 

The nylon brake lines are embrittled by UV. I  replaced mine with 1/8 inch
NSR. It slides inside the original 3/16 and provide a substantially firmer
pedal feel. Where exposed to the sun it is shielded with a layer of black
heat shrink to stop UV and an outer layer of white heat shrink to keep
cool. Prestart checklist includes an item CHECK BRAKES in which I apply
more pressure than for a normal landing. Occasionally I apply much more
pressure to simulate an emergency stop, but the downside is possible
fatigue on rudder pedal brackets, so check carefully for cracks at annual.
Prelanding checklist includes CHECK BRAKES after gear down, three green.
Use brakes sparingly for normal flying, if you let it coast down to 1/2 of
touchdown speed before using brakes you have dissipated 3/4 of the kinetic
energy.

The small tail pitch stability goes away at low speed, so don’t fly slow
till your close enough to the ground you don’t mind falling the rest of
the way. I use 85-95 MPH on short final depending on weight, plus gust
factor. With the light weight and high drag of the landing configuration
it slows quickly once the power is off. I use full flaps unless crosswinds
are strong, to keep the pattern in close and steep. If the engine quits
dump the flaps to 15 and you can get to the runway. Stick with half flaps
till you get your trim squared away and are fully comfortable with the
airplane.


Hopefully you got the builders manual, lots of good tips regarding
maintenance and adjustment of systems. 

Good luck!


=====
BILL HANNAHAN
WFHANNAHAN@YAHOO.COM


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