Al Downs Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Anything to be concerned with in these really cold days? I know many materials get very brittle in cold weather. What about our composite airplanes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 The thing to worry about is the resin. However, check out the operating temps in the following sheet: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/mgs285tech.pdf So, unless you live in Antarctica during the summer, you do not need to worry about the frame. What you do need to worry about is preheating the engine if it is really cold (rotax manual says -25 celsius, -13 farenheit minimum) and consider your fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 We have issues with the tape at the wing roots cracking. I attribute it to the cold. A few nervous pilots point it out as a concern. You see, we had a hard landing in September. The plane was down for several months while repairs were made. Now it's flying again but everyone's on the lookout for cracks they don't like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 We have issues with the tape at the wing roots cracking. I attribute it to the cold. A few nervous pilots point it out as a concern.You see, we had a hard landing in September. The plane was down for several months while repairs were made. Now it's flying again but everyone's on the lookout for cracks they don't like. We had that problem with a previous accident. What I did with some minor damage to the skin later on was took photos as we proceeded with repairs, with explanation of why we do that. People are scared of the unknown, and taking reasonable steps to inform them helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Stuart, When applying the wing root tape do not stretch it in place, just lay it down. Then add a second layer over the leading edge and go over the top and under the wing about 10". May tape will last to the wing inspection with no cracks. If you had to add a third layer. It is the wind pressure and the slight expansion and contraction in this area that cause the crack when the tape is pulled too tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMcCand - N248CT Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi, I used to be based in MA with freezing temps. The airplane was under a tent, and had Bruce covers. I had two problems - Water got into the sub-fin and froze, and plugged the drain hole. The stabilator skin dimpled enough to fail the annual, and I had to get a new stabilator, which took a while. The dimpling was up-hill from the internal spar with drain holes. However, as I parked the plane with the seat belt around the stick, the drain hole was in-effective. So, beware water and ice in a freezing environment.. Footnote - I had a hard landing (bent wheel attach) because of the water that remained in the sub-fin. The mechanic drained two gallons - there may have been more. This caused an aft-CG situation. I was rignt on the edge of the envelope. Yes, I should have caught the different feel of the airplane. And now, my pre-flight includes poking the drain holes with a pipe cleaner. The big lightening hole above the sub-fin is now taped. This aft-cg contributued to the hard landing - rotation in the flare was very rapid. Expensive lesson. Oh - one other time, just as spring thawed things, I did a flight where the pitot tube froze after takeoff. Both airspeed indicators became INOP. Water was blown from the tube later. I do use a pitot cover. The GPS396 six-pack mode was nice to have (groundspeed not airspeed, but helped). Also, having known tach numbers in the pattern is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 We deal with the water problem in the pitot tube all the time, and n566fd is hangared. We just have to take off the pitot tube from time to time and blow it out. I asked dynon for a heated boom type, they said it's not worth the engineering, and because of it's shape, it might not even be possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Maybe the cover is promoting condensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 In N566FD's case, i think it is just the fact she flies constantly in all kinds of weather, including marginal VFR and a couple special VFRs. Usually she doesn't go far in marginal, but still, it's wet out there a lot and water droplets collect in the ram intake of the tube, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Can the pitot be pulled out from the wing to access a spot in the plumbing that normally collects water so it can be drained or blown out? CTSW same setup or different than CTLS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 There are no drains. FD designed the tube system in a way that if water does get in the system, there's a loop it collects in and evaporates without interfering with the system. I don't know how that's supposed to work, but it is what I was told. Anyways, the tube can be pulled out of the wing. Give it some twists as you pull it out, and there will be two small hoses attached if you have AoA. Mark one of the hoses and the attach point on the tube. You don't want to mix them up later when you reinsert it. Anyways, use compressed air, and blow into the back of the tube so debris goes out of the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennM Posted February 21, 2014 Report Share Posted February 21, 2014 Maybe you have a leak in the pitot tube somewhere. There should be no flow in the pitot tube to allow the water in, unless there is a leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 21, 2014 Report Share Posted February 21, 2014 I'll do a leak check sometime, but it's usually just the very front of the tube that freezes over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Koerner Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 Water will get in even without flow. Water droplets have a much higher density than air. Their inertia causes them to continue into the tube even though the air gets deflected away. In much the same way water droplets hit your windscreen even though the air itself stays mostly outside a boundary layer. The water can be subsequently eliminated if the tubing is arranged so that it drains back out the Pitot tube, but that's probably not practical with what little height we have to work with above the leading edge of the wing. A better Pitot configuration for exposure to rain would be a tube that drops down vertically from the leading edge for a couple inches before turning forward into the airstream (like a Cessna 172). Of course, if the temperature is below freezing, water is not going to run back out for long. Mike Koerner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 The new CTs coming out have the heated drop tubes instead of booms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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