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	radfordc Basic Member	Joined: March/13/2012 United States Posts: 241 IP Logged
Posted: June/05/2012 at 5:05pm		Quote

Today I finished my Nieuport 28 from a BUSA kit. The plane weighs 15 pounds as she stands and will need a pound of lead in the nose to balance perfectly.

The plane is covered with solartex and painted with Behr flat latex with a Miniwax polyurethane top coat. Markings from Callie Graphics. The engine is an OPS Maxi 30 converted to gas.

	Tim Hooper Basic Member	Joined: June/16/2011 United Kingdom Posts: 188 IP Logged
Posted: June/05/2012 at 5:16pm		Quote

Looks fantastic!

I have one under construction, so I'll be eager to see how yours flies. Good luck with the maiden!

tim

	radfordc Basic Member	Joined: March/13/2012 United States Posts: 241 IP Logged
Posted: June/06/2012 at 10:13pm		Quote

The first flight was successful but with a few squawks. I tested the engine at home this afternoon and it ran perfect. Of course, at the field it wouldn't run at all. After trying to get it running for an hour and getting nothing but a few pops I finally found the problem...the hall trigger sensor had backed out of the little holder. Once that was fixed the engine started right up.

There was a 10 mph crosswind which made taxiing a little difficult. On takeoff I couldn't go directly into the wind since that was straight toward the pits. After a couple of swerves and zigzags the plane got up to speed and lifted off and climbed out nicely. I found out very quickly that the CG was nowhere near the aft limit...if anything it may be a little to forward. At least I can start taking out some of the lead weights.

The plane didn't require any trimming to speak of...maybe two clicks of up elevator. The controls were effective but not sensitive at all. I climbed the mandatory "3 mistakes" high and ran through some basic maneuvers...slow flight, stalls, loops, rolls, and a one turn spin. No surprises anywhere, just a good flying plane. The landing was also easy...a tail high wheel landing and hold the upwind wing down with aileron and steer with the rudder.

After landing I did find some issues. The muffler was hanging by a few threads of one bolt (I thought it was sounding awfully loud!). Also, one flying wire broke at the quick link connector. There is probably a sharp edge where I drilled the hole for the wire. Both easy fixes.

I'm very happy with the plane and hope to fly her for a long time to come.

__________________
Lansing, KS
Full time airplane bum.

	radfordc Basic Member	Joined: March/13/2012 United States Posts: 241 IP Logged
Posted: June/06/2012 at 10:16pm		Quote

More glamor shots

	Tim Hooper Basic Member	Joined: June/16/2011 United Kingdom Posts: 188 IP Logged
Posted: June/10/2012 at 3:49pm		Quote

That's great news, and very encouraging!

tim

	radfordc Basic Member	Joined: March/13/2012 United States Posts: 241 IP Logged
Posted: June/10/2012 at 5:45pm		Quote

Two more flights. Before flying I removed about half a pound of lead weight from the nose. The plane still feels nose heavy. In flight it's very stable...stalls, spins, and snap rolls don't show any bad tendencies. However, it's hard to get the plane into a "flair" on landing...once you slow down the nose wants to drop. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it makes for nice wheel landings. I think I will be able to remove the rest of the lead and still have the CG in a comfortable spot.

BTW, when I built the plane I modified the horizontal tail so that it has 2 degrees of positive incidence. This is perfect as no up or down elevator trim is required.

The engine I'm using is working out great, too. It's an OPS Maxi 30 converted to gas: (http://tech.flygsw.org/OPS.htm) It's more power than needed so I fly mostly at half throttle. This gives a nice low rpm sound with just a touch of "stutter" that really sounds like you might imagine an old rotary Gnome.

	shelstrm Lifetime Site Supporter	Joined: March/20/2006 United States Posts: 1270 IP Logged
Posted: June/12/2012 at 9:14pm		Quote

Charlie,

I sure like your paint scheme. I only hope mine looks as good as yours does.

Doc S

__________________
Marc Shelstrom
Calm down, you'll have a more harmonious outcome.

	radfordc Basic Member	Joined: March/13/2012 United States Posts: 241 IP Logged
Posted: June/12/2012 at 9:19pm		Quote

I added the guns and windshield and flew a couple more flights today. All good.

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