Norseman from the ashes

[piker]

Awesome!

While you're waiting for Spring, build some floats for it   

[eric]

Why did I know you'd say that?

[Papa]

That is inspiring Eric. Its so easy to just give up but you have a beautiful model with even more personal significance.


Jack.

[bweaver]

You have done a great repair job. 


After seeing this, I am inspired now to get onto to repairing my clipped wing cub which has experienced similar damage.  (Another winter project to add to my list.)


Bruce

[eric]

Well, I guess this is the last post. The sun came out this afternoon, the winds were calm and it was -4 degrees, so I high tailed it down to TEMAC and got the maiden in. It jumped off the ground in no time at all and, after a quick landing to change battery position to get the CG right, off it went on a totally non-eventful flight. Sorry, Bill, I know you wanted to get a Norseman formation going after the maiden, but at this time of year, you have to take any weather window of opportunity that comes along. When the weather's warmer I love your idea of a mass Norseman fly happening. That will be fun.


For those of you who have the Norseman and may be experiencing flight problems, I might have stumbled on the answer. I mentioned in an earlier post that when I went to re-build the top of the fuselage, it was found that the wing to tail plane incidence was minus 3 degrees. I believe this what the made the beast very unstable longitudinally and that short coupled fuselage sure didn't add anything positive to the mix. The incidence was changed from minus 3 degrees to about the same amount positive and its made all the difference in the world. It immediately went from being a little swine to a real ***** cat. Its rock solid and stable in the air now. Its still a rudder airplane big time, though. It demands a fair amount of rudder input for co-ordinated turns, so I'm wimping out and adding some aileron/rudder mix; not a lot, just enough to take the edge off.


The landing gear, though, is a joke. I made 2 landings today, both gentle, but by the time the plane came to a stop on the ripply, frozen runway surface the wheels had splayed out to about a 60 degree angle. Any more and the prop might have hit. I'm going to build up the underside of the gear with fibreglass, layer by layer, until the correct ratio of flex to stiffness is achieved.


Anyway, its done, it flies and all I can say is  - hooray!


Eric

[eric]

Something amusing here. I just re-read my post to make sure there were no spelling errors and I noticed the programme censored one word. It was a synonym for kitty cat. Wow, talk about big brother - hilarious.


Eric

[Frank v B]

Nice ashes.    Great job Eric.  Thanks for hanging in there and rebuilding it.  The Norseman Build Guild is proud of you.


Frank


ps: my landing gear splays out as well but the biggest problem is the axle flex.  The wheel almost tucks under.

[piker]

Yikes!  When I read "Last Post" and test flight I got worried!


I'm SO happy the rebuild has become a huge success.  I seem to recall saying that planes always fly better after the first crash   


Congratulations, Eric, on a great flight and a great repair job.   


BTW, I thought it was weird that they sensor ***** (let's see if that sticks)

[eric]

Yes, it seems silly to censor that. i mean, if they're that touchy, why aren't we all flying DHC-2 ******s?


Eric

[gmcnic]

Brilliant work on the rebuild and maiden, Eric!
I look forward to seeing your smile at the pilot's meeting.

Congrats,
Graham