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Wednesday 23 Sept 2009
0.7 air time
0.8 flt time
6.6 hrs to go to finish the official flight test phase

Inter-flight activities:

  1. Troubleshoot data recording snag. It turned out to be an error I had made while making an "improvement" to my data recording program.
  2. Added more ballast in the aft baggage compartment to bring the CG to 83.5" aft of the datum. Weight at engine start was 1717 lb, the highest weight that has been flown to date.

Purpose:

Qualitative handling assessment at aft CG.

Events:

  1. Slow flight
  2. Longitudinal static stability
  3. Trim at VNE
  4. Stalls
  5. Three touch and goes and a full stop landing.

Results:

  1. Much greater forward stick force required to lift the tail in the early part of the take-off run.
  2. Stick forces noticeably lighter as the CG is moved aft.
  3. Longitudinal static stability is still positive, but is much weaker than at forward CG.
  4. Still able to trim at VNE.
  5. Now able to trim at final approach speed at idle (cannot trim in this condition at mid or forward CG)

Existing Snags:

  1. Max rpm still decreases late in the flight.
  2. SD-8 Alternator - must run power wire to regulator.
  3. Small amount of right rudder pedal force needed in cruise. Need to add a wedge on the left side of the rudder trailing edge.
  4. Pitch trim speed of movement is slow during a touch and go. Need to try it with the pitch trim speed governor removed.