I did my BFR a few days ago. I have flown with my 65Kg wife in the Sonex but this was a first with a full sized person - my 78kg instructor/examiner.
I was a bit concerned about how the aircraft would perform, weight & balance being right on the edge. The ground role & climb out were very diffrent to my usual solo experince but she got there.
The bit that really surprised me was how out of lateral trim the aircraft was.
I don’t usually need any rudder in Cruise or gentle turns - the ball remains centered.
With two up I needed to carry left aileron (understandably ) but also a lot of rudder. The changes, in flight characteristics, made my performance in TO/Climb Out/Turns less than “smooth”.
I have been thinking about simple in flight adjustable aileron & rudder trim modifications.
My last aircraft had a simple elastic cord/ pully & sailing cleat to adjust aileron left up, to accomodate a passengers weight.
Other than a fixed trim tab on the rudder, I have not used a rudder trim.
Wonder what, in flight lateral trim adjustment, ideas you may have employed ???
I am hoping for something more KISS - similar to my last aircraft .
I think I can rig up a “bungee” cord, in flight adjustable, aileron trim system, without too much difficulty but wondering how I would do rudder trim following the same principal.
Hate to rain on the parade of elegant trim designs but mine has worked fantastic for almost 15 years now. On my Waiex I’ve always had a very slow fade to the right, hands off, single pilot. Two up it’s more noticeable. After confirming my rigging was correct and adjusting the right flap 1-1/2 turns I did as follows. I cut a piece of .020 sheet 4” long and 2-1/2” wide. On the long edge bent it 15 degrees at the 1-1/2” point. I placed two pieces of Velcro 3/4” wide parallel on the 1-1/2” side. I placed the tab approximately 1/2” forward of the trailing edge on the left aileron on the bottom side to “fly” the left aileron up. This has been installed now 14 years and plane flys hands off in smooth air indefinitely. I use about 10 degrees or less of rudder trim ( Sonex tab) bent left to fly rudder right and ball centers perfect at 120 kt cruise. Feet on the floor. I’m asked about testing. Yes, it’s been thoroughly tested. My plane has been flown up to VNE over two dozen times and 212mph by accident and absolutely 0 indication of impending flutter. That’s good! No, it’s never come loose and unless one lays under left wing no one ever knows it’s there.
Hey Waiexguy121, welcome to the forum! 1248 hours is pretty awesome. We are working to catch you in Waiex 191. I find mine slightly rolls right when solo in the right seat, and slowly left when solo in the left seat. No roll when 2-up. You must be skinnier than I am!
Here are a couple videos showing hands off in either seat.
It’s sort of fun to get them both playing at once so you can compare rates.
When I did Vne testing I overshot a little, up to 175 kts. Nothing bad happened. When I worked in flight test we would do Vne +10% IIRC and that was helicopters. The number comes from the relevant parts of CFR title 14.
I like your KISS trim solution very much however you have not addressed my question - A KISS trim to accomodate a 78 kg passenger.
If you had read my comments- my Legacy flies hands /feet off (in trim) with just me (70kg in left seat) on board but is a bit challenging when I have a passenger.
A X country, of any significant’s, with a 80 kg passenger, would be exhausting.
That’s the beauty of the Velcro. It works on either side and is almost invisible. Move to side needed when anticipated roll is predicted based on load. Either that or go the complicated route of the electric tab.
“That’s the beauty of the Velcro. It works on either side and is almost invisible. Move to side needed when anticipated roll is predicted based on load”
Interesting but I cant see how you “anticipate” load - Trim adjustment is usually / always (?) an inflight function, to accomodate “load” variations , in this case passenger weight. “…go the complicated route of the electric tab.”
I am determined to avoid the added complexity of electric trim. Bungee/shock cord, in flight adjustments, worked very well on my last aircraft.
I was hoping that someone on the Forum had gone down this path and would be able to advise location of pulleys, cord extension (force) specifications
