Rans S-12, Руководство по эксплуатации для пилотов

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First Flight Operations
On the first flight day, only the necessary personnel will be present. No spectators of any sort
unless they are incidental and not in the area. There should be a ground crew with a vehicle
capable of tending to the aircraft should it go down, this includes a fire extinguisher and plans
to get to the nearest hospital. They should be watching for incoming traffic and alerting the pilot
by visual signals when other aircraft are in the area (in case there is no radio communication
between aircraft on the ground and/or in the air). Needless to say a thorough preflight inspec-
tion should be done by at least one rated pilot in addition to the test pilot. It is easy in such an
emotional situation for one person to overlook something. Spend a few hours driving around the
surrounding area or survey with another aircraft, identify your alternative landing sites in case of
failure.
After initial warmup on the first flight day, several taxi tests will be conducted at intervals of 5mph
from 30 up to 45 mph covering the range of minimum aerodynamically controllable speed to full
flap stall speed. As speed increases, tendencies should be noted, i.e. rolls to the right, to the
left. A tape recorder or video camera will be helpful but a lap board with secure pin will suffice.
Taxi tests with and without flaps will be conducted. It should take 10 runs the length of the run-
way to get a good feel of the aircraft.
Start with no flaps and at 30mph and work into full flaps at 45mph (the airplane may fly at this
point). Look for in advertent tendencies that indicate something way out of trim. After taxi tests
the following should be able to be corrected:
Align rudder with nose wheel if necessary
Add a preliminary rudder trim tube (be sure to test its effects)
Adjust the horizontal stab position if it is way off
Play with the ailerons and adjust the position of the stick if off-center
As I envision it, the plane rolls down the runway and reaches 30mph, then the throttle is cut back
and adjusted until positive speed control can be achieved. All the while the stick is held back
somewhat to keep the nose light, but not off the ground. After speed control is attained, the nose
can be lifted and held high for the remainder of the run. After this first run it is again repeated,
this time adding the element of aileron control to determine effectiveness. Easing into this nose
high attitude with feathered throttle control will give the pilot a great deal of feel for the airplane’s
control charcteristics. This should be done next with one notch of flaps, then go back to no flaps
and 35 mph, then 35 with flaps and so forth. Prior to proceding to the next step, a flag or marker
should be placed on the runway for the pilot to make the cutoff decision. This is the point where
if the aircraft is flying and power is cut, it can still stop safely (factor 2) before the end of the run-
way.
Make any and all adjustment that are possible at this point! Refuel the airplane, do a complete
preflight inspection (again) and go to the runway; this time with the intent of leaving the runway (if
the aircraft became airborne before this point it should have been inadvertent and considered a
minor mistake). Ease the airplane into it’s minimum liftoff speed and add just a little more power
to get airborne. This should NOT be done in the nose high attitude used previously because
the airplane may jump into the air and settle down hard. Do it easy and gentle. Keep the nose
light but not excessively high. Keep the airplane within 10 feet of the ground or less (preferably
just a few feet) and continually watch for the end of the runway. Make any notes regarding the
rigging of the aircraft after you stop the airplane. Make further adjustments and continue with a
couple more ‘crow hops’. If there are no poor tendencies in the aircraft rigging you can continue
up to 100 feet or more, so long as a healthy safety margin is maintained with respect to the end
of the runway. Now is NOT the time to decide to fly a full pattern unless an emergency would
otherwise merit such action! With the information from crow hops you will be able to make bet-
ter decisions with the full flight should an emergency occur, such as gliding distance, lost power
procedure. It is important to note that smooth throttle inputs should be used during this crow
hop procedure. Pay attention to the moment created by the propeller. I already experienced this
today and just realized what happened! I had the nose high with moderate stick pressure, cut
the power and with great ease I was able to keep the nose up (because the thrust was no longer
imparting a nose-down moment to the aircraft!
And now it is the pilots decision and the pilots decision only wether or not to continue. The
whole procedure can continue on another day with only minimal setback. Just come back tomor-
row, warm it up, do a little taxing to get in the groove and you will soon be flying. This time off
could give you a fresh perspective and keep an otherwise overlooked problem seem trivial.
Take the aircraft to the hanger, inspect it AGAIN and re-fuel it. The next time it leaves the run-
way is likely to be for an hour or more and it is not prudent to decide to do so with anything less
than full tanks.
When you have made the decision to fly, be sure to have a good plan. Start with the most run-
way remaining and do a high performance take off. You want to climb to a reasonable altitude
as soon as possible. Keep your alternatives in mind. Climb to pattern altitude, watch the engine
closely and try to focus on keeping the aircraft in moderate control. There may be rigging prob-
lems that require constant stick forces but these should not cause departure from controlled flight
but rather represent something that needs to be corrected on the ground. If it is severe, land
and fix it before continuing with the stresses of such a physically demanding airplane. If pos-
sible, continue with the flight to gain as much rigging information as possible. The idea of this
first flight is to become familiar with the power characteristics of the engine and the rigging of
the airframe. Beyond that, do not push the limits of airspeed, loading or maneuvering!! Just get
comfortable with the pattern first and if all is well, leave the pattern for a close-by field for a few
circuits. Try releasing the stick and making notes about how the plane flies. Work in a notch of
flaps to see if they cause any roll moment when actuated. Play with the elevator trim, use the
ball and the string to get an idea of the straightness of the aircraft. Land the airplane unevent-
fully after 1 hour of flight or sooner if required.
Make adjustements to the airframe and powerplant, inspect everything closely, retorque the prop
and so forth and continue with flight two which should focus on the pilot becoming familiar with a
few of the finer points of rigging. This flight should be a repeat of the first flight. It will be surpris-
ing how much is missed on flight one.
Taxi tests, first flight and second flight will take an 8 hour day if there is much rigging changes to
be made so keep this in mind! With respect to all flights after the first two, I have not yet envi-
sioned them and will do so in the near future! -KRO
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