January 2013 Archives
I brought an otherwise flyable Air Creations Outback trike to MTA yesterday afternoon--in a snow storm. See picture. It has a newly rebuilt Rotax 582 engine (liquid cooled 2-stroke) and new prop. It can take up a passenger by someone with the proper training/endorsement. It has the same exact wing as the Mallard ultralight has been using. It looks exactly like the broken RedBack (except for engine) as near as I can tell. It does have the steering damper. I did take a ride in it at Holbrook before I decided to take it. It needs a little TLC though the tac only shows 177 hours. (I have gotten conflicting stories about the number of hours.) Others how were familiar with the machine commented on how different the engine looks. Mainly, it came back from rebuild with the oil injection system, intake silencer and after muffler all removed. There are a few minor things to do--replace the electrical system circuit breaker, fix the airspeed indicator tube connector, patch small holes in the wings, ?
The 600 mile round trip was more or less uneventful except Monday morning it was so cold I could not get my pickup to start until I left the hood open with the sun shinning on the engine for a couple hours and late Monday afternoon the last 20 miles to MTA was on packed and snow covered highway 60. The last half mile got really interesting as I could not get traction with my 2-wheel drive pickup pulling a trailer with the trike on it and we ended up sideways and every other which way spinning our wheels to get up the rise to our place in Mountainair.
I was very impressed with the long-tongued torsion bar suspension trailer that Richard Hastings made for the Redback. Pretty much ideal for an open ultralight hauler. (see image) Empty weight less than 500. Trailed perfectly at all speeds up to 80 and both empty and loaded. No extra bouncing or skipping in either case. Good selection of tie-down spots.
The impact of different configurations on driving was interesting. With just the empty trailer going out, it did not feel like anything was there and I did not notice any speed or acceleration difference. Mileage did drop from usual winter 24 mpg to 19 though. Coming back with the trike on, it felt like there was a brake on or someone had thrown out an earth anchor. I could not run more than 65 with the mast up (except when I could get in tight and draft behind a semi going the right speed) and mileage dropped to 14 mpg. Once I dropped the mast, I was able to get to 75 with generous use of 4th gear on slight inclines even-though the pull or drag felt nearly the same. Bottom line is that my little old worn-out 1999 S-10 4-banger 5 speed is marginal for pulling a trike.
The 600 mile round trip was more or less uneventful except Monday morning it was so cold I could not get my pickup to start until I left the hood open with the sun shinning on the engine for a couple hours and late Monday afternoon the last 20 miles to MTA was on packed and snow covered highway 60. The last half mile got really interesting as I could not get traction with my 2-wheel drive pickup pulling a trailer with the trike on it and we ended up sideways and every other which way spinning our wheels to get up the rise to our place in Mountainair.
I was very impressed with the long-tongued torsion bar suspension trailer that Richard Hastings made for the Redback. Pretty much ideal for an open ultralight hauler. (see image) Empty weight less than 500. Trailed perfectly at all speeds up to 80 and both empty and loaded. No extra bouncing or skipping in either case. Good selection of tie-down spots.
The impact of different configurations on driving was interesting. With just the empty trailer going out, it did not feel like anything was there and I did not notice any speed or acceleration difference. Mileage did drop from usual winter 24 mpg to 19 though. Coming back with the trike on, it felt like there was a brake on or someone had thrown out an earth anchor. I could not run more than 65 with the mast up (except when I could get in tight and draft behind a semi going the right speed) and mileage dropped to 14 mpg. Once I dropped the mast, I was able to get to 75 with generous use of 4th gear on slight inclines even-though the pull or drag felt nearly the same. Bottom line is that my little old worn-out 1999 S-10 4-banger 5 speed is marginal for pulling a trike.
I got in my first flight of 2013 before sunset this evening. Air was really smooth and my gear was warm enough for the cool temperature. This was in the Mallard ultralight. It was the best flight I have had in it to-date. The changes I made, calm air and added experience seemed to add up. I still have big PIO when I start getting down low and try to line up with the runway but I have always had some issue with this. Still, my landing was not great but still much better than the last several.
As noted previously, it turned out not to be practical for me to break down the wing and take the Mallard home every time.This resulted in the trike sitting tied down outside for some number of weeks after I got it.
The fastest way to get a viable temporary shelter for it with things I had on hand was to take a 50 foot long, 10 foot wide van box I had and use it as secured storage and a sidewall for a "arched lean-to" using heavy duty deep ribbed Quonset hut type panels I had. Six panels end to end are half a full arch and come out with about 50 feet of total width and enough height for the trike's king post to clear.
I got emergency town council approval to put this temporary shelter up with an application for leasing the property it is on at the same time. I have 26 feet of the intended 50 feet of length up. I have hung tarps at the ends to reduce the wind blowing through and sun exposure early and late in the day. It is in this partial state as I still don't have a signed lease back from the town.
Once complete it should be able to shelter 3 or 4 trikes.
The fastest way to get a viable temporary shelter for it with things I had on hand was to take a 50 foot long, 10 foot wide van box I had and use it as secured storage and a sidewall for a "arched lean-to" using heavy duty deep ribbed Quonset hut type panels I had. Six panels end to end are half a full arch and come out with about 50 feet of total width and enough height for the trike's king post to clear.
I got emergency town council approval to put this temporary shelter up with an application for leasing the property it is on at the same time. I have 26 feet of the intended 50 feet of length up. I have hung tarps at the ends to reduce the wind blowing through and sun exposure early and late in the day. It is in this partial state as I still don't have a signed lease back from the town.
Once complete it should be able to shelter 3 or 4 trikes.
