Rigging the XL after the first flight

[Bob Wood]

OK I got m y XL flying now I have rigging issues to discuss. 

I took off in almost calm conditions and flew level with left stick and a 5 degree right skid on the ball.  When if got down I put a level to the left aileron and found it to be about 10degree  left  deflection for level flight.

My tripacer manual says on rigging to go 2 turns shorter on the back strut of the  heavy wing. So that comes out to about 1/16". So with the Carlson struts I was just going to cut a new 3/4" square attach piece and reduce the length to further wash out the heavy right wing.

After I get the wings level with the stick centered I will deal with the 5 degree right ball. The fix for that if it is still there after the wings are level is to off set the leading edge of the vertical stab.

30 years in my tripacer gives me slow feet so the right ball may have been me. Seems like you do a little dancing in these Eagles

I am interested to see is the tripacer is similar enough to copy , or did you guys go a different route.

I have to think there is a lot of tweaking going on to lever these birds out
 
Please let me know if I am on the right track

Thanks again!

Bob

[s johnson]

Bob,

I'm sure you remember that these VW engines spin back Wards and will require left rudder with high power settings on Take off and high angle of attack. It's not a real power house but still (Usually) requires some left foot. Sounds like you are making real progress. Congratulations on your first flights.

Scott J.

[Sam Buchanan]

I suggest you put some hours on the plane before you start messing with rigging. You need to get acclimated to how your bird flies so you will be better conditioned to accurately judge changes in rigging. Only after you can fly the XL without a lot of conscious thought will you be ready to fine tune rigging.

Keep in mind the rudder has large impact on roll. You need to be familiar enough with your XL to determine whether roll needs to be corrected with wing rigging or tail alignment.

Enjoy your test flights, get comfortable with your new plane (get your feet up to speed!), make sure it is mechanically solid...there is plenty of time for tweaking.

P.S. I had ~15hrs on XL-58 before I started dialing in trim and rigging. It takes time to get accustomed to flying an extremely light aircraft.

[Bob Wood]

Bob,

I'm sure you remember that these VW engines spin back Wards and will require left rudder with high power settings on Take off and high angle of attack. It's not a real power house but still (Usually) requires some left foot. Sounds like you are making real progress. Congratulations on your first flights.

Scott J.


Scott thanks really exciting. Yes I understand the old right foot on take off is now left.  I was sort of perplexed when I was needing left stick like 2 " left of center stick to fly straight and level and was showing a 5 degree right ball off center
so was cross controlling to center the ball and stay level.   Does this sound weird to you or is it just me getting used to rudder airplanes.....I am seeing the rudder is a big factor in these these little planes. I figured it would be and put in the bell cranks from the double eagle to deal with adverse aileron yaw.  

Sam makes a good point I will fly more to understand this better before tweaking.  Did you have to do much rigging change?
bob

[Sam Buchanan]

Sam makes a good point I will fly more to understand this better before tweaking.  Did you have to do much rigging change?
bob

I adjusted incidence of one wing panel a tiny amount, added a tab to the elevator, and lowered the leading edge of the horiz stab. The plane now flies straight and level hands/feet-off in cruise.

With a huge dose of good luck and smooth air, I think I could safely land the plane even with loss of elevators or ailerons. The XL can be steered with rudder, and properly trimmed the altitude can be controlled with throttle. My plane is rigged to yield slight climb with full throttle.

[Bob Wood]

Thanks Sam, I think i was probably over controlling a bit. The pitch trim felt really good. I set up my Horizontal stab leading edge  2 degrees negative from level. It seemed in trim. 

I got back into my tripacer later in the day and marveled at how quiet and smooth it was......Ha.!! I think it was my ANR headsets!! I just use the old telex in the Eagle......

I will report back when I get more flights in. I really like it it, reminds me of the first time I road a motorcycle.

Thanks,
Bob Wood

[Sam Buchanan]

Thanks Sam, I think i was probably over controlling a bit.

Yes, that is why it is good to fly off some hours before getting serious about rigging. No point in trimming the plane when the pilot is out of rig......