Tip Of The Day

[ZipItyDoDa]

I'm posting this just for anyone out there interested...and its just stuff that I do...so its just my own opinion.

The pilot reading this will have to decide if the post has any merit or not for his flying style and experiance.

Oky Doky?

I learned this one by almost becoming an "incident" myself.
I had always done my flying off of grass (and a bean field a couple times). And I had a pretty fair amount of time in the log book. So when I was going to do a touch & go on asphalt I was pretty confident I could handle it.
Whoo Hoo let me tell ya just how fast a learner ya can be!
You might not realize just how much you "slide" around when you come in on grass, because it won't really grip the tire. Not so with the asphalt! You had better be lined up and coming in straight with no sideways motion because that stuff WILL grip the tires....and very well I might add.
And I'm guessing that some takeoffs that you would get away with on grass, would be a guaranteed rollover on pavement.
Anyway, just a thought for anyone starting out.

Ed

[Frank Smrdel]

I'm a newbie, just a few flights under my belt. My first lesson was on an asphalt runway and after a few touch and gos, I was coming in for a landing with a bit of turbulence. I touched down pretty ugly, but OK. The right side picked up because my chute had danced over to the left side. Not knowing how to correct this, I applied the throttle, which made things worse. I rolled over on my left side, then upside down and skidded down the runway a bit. I was OK, but my plane had about $400 worth of damage.....
Moral of the story? I bet grass would have been more forgiving in a rollover. My following lesson was on the grass and I felt more comfortable with it. Guess I look at asphalt like a big ribbon of sandpaper...

[ZipItyDoDa]

Yeah grass does forgive a lot more than pavement.

[Gary Fisher]

The other thing about pavement vs. grass is how fast you will get up to speed for takeoff. Your first time on a paved runway after a long time on grass fields, you may find yourself lifting off prematurely.

[jwards]

Welcome to the sport, Frank. Learning can sometimes be an expensive adventure. Good to hear you weren't hurt. I have a question about your incident. You said this was your first lesson. Was an instructor present?

[Frank Smrdel]

Yes he was, talking to me from the ground over the radio. This incident happened last fall. I repaired the damage to the plane and was flying again within a few weeks. I've since "graduated" and am flying on my own, so far without any problems. I still fly from the same field, but avoid the asphalt runway. I've done a few touch & gos on it, but don't like it at all. I feel much more comfortable landing and taking off on grass.

[135Boomer]

I fly off wheat fields right after they've been cut alot and them things provide a ton of slide!! It's saved me a couple times from a rollover when I first started.

[mrdakota]

Last weekend @ KIMO I bought somesmoothies for my Destinty. Before I've had some difficulty durring some of the competitions with touching the ground at an angle.
Last night I tell you, I was having fun getting the machine to slide around durring heavy crosswind landings and takeoffs.

Bald Keith
Far Northern IL

[John R. Smyth]

Trying to post a pic of my bent bird (rolled on the runway) as pictorial support of the "only on the grass" advice from Zipitydoda.
If you look closely you'll see that she's bent pretty good ($800 worth of bending)!

Hope this one comes through.
JRS

Originally posted by ZipItyDoDa
I'm posting this just for anyone out there interested...and its just stuff that I do...so its just my own opinion.

The pilot reading this will have to decide if the post has any merit or not for his flying style and experiance.

Oky Doky?

I learned this one by almost becoming an "incident" myself.
I had always done my flying off of grass (and a bean field a couple times). And I had a pretty fair amount of time in the log book. So when I was going to do a touch & go on asphalt I was pretty confident I could handle it.
Whoo Hoo let me tell ya just how fast a learner ya can be!
You might not realize just how much you "slide" around when you come in on grass, because it won't really grip the tire. Not so with the asphalt! You had better be lined up and coming in straight with no sideways motion because that stuff WILL grip the tires....and very well I might add.
And I'm guessing that some takeoffs that you would get away with on grass, would be a guaranteed rollover on pavement.
Anyway, just a thought for anyone starting out.

Ed

[jwards]

You ought to see the rest of the machine. :eek:

[Bruce Brown]

That's a bad looking IVO! What happened John?

[jwards]

The typical story. Chute off to the left and too much power. Expensive lesson but one I learned well.

[John R. Smyth]

Ouch! My prop may not look like it, but it was pretty much trashed. One blade delaminated for about 12 inches, mid-blade and the other 2 have major tip damage. Can't argue that mine was mild compared to your photo. Glad the machine took the hit...in both our cases.

Originally posted by jwards
You ought to see the rest of the machine. :eek:

[jwards]

I didn't receive any injuries of any kind during the incident but later that night while I was making my "parts to order" list, I snagged my hand on the left prop cage tube and got a pretty nasty cut. The tube had been sliced in two when the prop cage hit the ground and was shoved over into the path of the prop. I found a 4" piece of prop tip about 350' from where I rolled. I never did find some pieces of the machine. The "oddest" part of the whole deal was how I found the chute after I got out of the machine. It was laying on the left side of the machine, topside up and so flat and smooth you would have sworn 4 people had been on the corners pulling it tight. There wasn't a crease or fold to be seen. I still don't understand that one.
:rolleyes:

Here's a picture of what the prop did to the tube. Stay away from those props folks. They don't kid around about the damage they can do.

[mbeerbuff]

Hey, Keith

Where did you find the smoothies and how much were they. I'm looking for some of them for my Destiny as well.

Last weekend @ KIMO I bought somesmoothies for my Destinty. Before I've had some difficulty durring some of the competitions with touching the ground at an angle.
Last night I tell you, I was having fun getting the machine to slide around durring heavy crosswind landings and takeoffs.

Bald Keith
Far Northern IL [/B][/QUOTE]

[mbeerbuff]

Hey, Keith

Where did you find the smoothies and how much were they. I'm looking for some of them for my Destiny as well.

Last weekend @ KIMO I bought somesmoothies for my Destinty. Before I've had some difficulty durring some of the competitions with touching the ground at an angle.
Last night I tell you, I was having fun getting the machine to slide around durring heavy crosswind landings and takeoffs.

Bald Keith
Far Northern IL [/B][/QUOTE]

[mrdakota]

I got those tires for $45ea. from Alvie Wall of Infinity and Destiny sell them also, but didn't have any at the nationals.
They are standard equipment on the Fusion.

Keith

[Dan Kearfott]

hey Keith,
I thought you already made yourself some smoothies. What happened to those?

Are you going to Kansas next week?

[mrdakota]

Dan,
I didn't like the look of the stubby instead of knobbie and love the looks and performance of the smoothy. They are even an inch and a half larger than a knobbie tire sold as stock, also they roll allot easier.
I'll leave early Wed. morning w/ my freind Steve Yeaton to arrive there 11 hours later that evening. And stay till Mon. Morning.

Keith Storrs

[woody king]

I checked them out at SunnFun, but found that they were not as tall as the knobbies. I didn't want to lose any prop guard clearance, so didn't get them. Have they changed? Do you mean by larger that they are wider? I'd love to have some if they were at least the same height as the knobbies. Thanks! Woody

[mrdakota]

These tires are stated to be 21inch instead of the stock 22 inch, but because of the lack of tread they inflate to a lesser asspect ratio and becuase of that they have a larger radius.

Keith

[woody king]

So what is their actual diameter when inflated? I pulled a tape on the ones on a Fusion and they measured well under 22, but I don't know what pressure it had in it, but it appeared well inflated. Would you measure the height of yours? Thanks!

[John R. Smyth]

Here's a mantra for you ...

Rear Wheel lifts, Power Off - Rear Wheel lifts, Power Off - Rear Wheel lifts, Power Off - Rear ..... If you get my gently stated point... : ) JRS