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QuickTalk 6 - QUICKIE HINTS

From Don Parker, #68:

1. (Page 8-2) At the bottom of the page it says, "Finally wrap BID around tail spring 3 times for strength." I think it would be stronger and stiffer to wrap the tail spring first and then join it with the fuselage and fin, allowing the entire rod to be glassed. I began working on mine after Oshkosh and found the tail spring broken on the top side at the exit point of the fuselage (from hard landings). Right at that point there is no fiberglass wrap for strength.


From Jerry Goodman, #293):

1. During test flight, retarding throttle had no effect, engine stays at 3000 rpm. I notified tower and entered pattern. On final, with 8000' runway made, figure may as well test restart. At 120 mph, flip ignition switch and got restart. At 110 mph, flip ignition switch but engine stops. After landing, examination showed the spring clip holding the throttle cable to the carb link had broken. Luckily, Onan carb butterfly remains open at full power; some aircraft don't. Lessons: safety all connections and air restarts may not be practical with the Quickie since they involve excessive altitude loss.

2. Experienced canard vibration flying at speeds over 115 mph. Finally traced to wheels rotating, one unbalanced. We now hold the brakes at over 115 mph.

3. Put the static source on the fuselage to get decent ASI readings.

4. FAA advised us to vent the gas tank on both sides of the fuselage to prevent gas stoppage in steep slips to either side.

5. During a prolonged 2-g pitchdown, the engine stopped, indicating the possibility of negative g's cutting off the gas flow through the carb.

6. A couple of times I have thermaled up to 9000' - 10,000' and flown through wispy cumulus clouds. At entry, the stick is snatched forward from hand and the plane dives out. No visible moisture, however. Evidently 100% humidity will cause condensation or low-pressure regions on the canard. The flow separates and the negative peak pressure distribution moves backward over the elevator. This sucks the elevators up, pulls the stick forward and puts the plane in a dive. Some test flights at 75% relative humidity indicate increasing back stick force, but still trimmable.


From Jerry Zigler, #50:

1. Now that QAC has finally admitted that the wheel pants "may" be too narrow for the large wheel option and they suggest that you "might" need to make them 1/4" wider, what are we going to do with all the aircraft that are built with tires that rub inside the wheel pants? I removed my wheels and faced 1/8" off each half of the rim on a lathe.

2. I also found with this option that when you put 20 psi in the tire, the rim swells between the areas where there aren't any bolts. This causes the rim to separate at its dividing point. Later, when the tire deflates, it pinches the tube and you will have a flat. I have placed vinyl siding plastic pieces in before the tire is inflated to prevent the tube from being pinched.


From Jack Huffman, #291:

1. I didn't care for the method of assembling the sides of the fuselage to the bottom (not enough hands), so I made up some 90-degree angles out of some scrap 1" x 2" boards and a plywood gusset. By clamping these to my jigging table, any adjustments or tapes could be applied at my leisure:



2. I never did find what I felt was a satisfactory plastic bottle to use as a gas tank filler neck. So, I used about two-thirds of a plastic 'gooseneck' from a plumbing store. It works nicely and bonds perfectly well. I used the knurled screw-on fitting as a gas cap. Just cut an aluminum circle to fit inside, sand the top of the aluminum for adhesion and fill the void with flox.



From Al Huth, #164:

1. (Page 11-9) The Quickie wheel bearings depend on friction of the inside race against the axle to prevent it from turning and the outside race against the wheel so it won't turn. The inner race is not designed to be held by pressure on the inside as called for in the plans. This can cause the bearings to be overloaded, heat up and bind. On my fourth landing, near the end of the roll out, the right wheel bound up and I slowly left the runway and nosed up in a ditch, breaking the propeller. I had noticed side play prior to takeoff and had tightened the through-bolt. My axle arrangement has been changed by using a piece of 4130 steel tubing the same length as the original LG-8 axle. The tube is slit lengthwise along one side with a hacksaw. It is then a light tap fit in the bearings as the tube is compressed. To keep the LG-8 axle from turning in the wheel pant hole, a 1/8" rivet was put in the side opposite the slit and about 1/4" from one end. A notch was filed in one wheel pant hole to accept the rivet head. The same LG-7 spacers are used, but the AN3-44A through-bolt is only tightened enough so there is no noticeable play of the wheel sideways. Better too loose than too tight! Recheck after taxi testing.


From Craig Gallenbach, #540:

1. (Page 7-13) Unless you have arms that are five feet long, it is easier to install the aft fuselage top piece in two separate pieces. By installing the aft half of the fuselage top first, it is much easier to reach and install the fuselage aft top tapes near the tail of the aircraft. The two fuselage top sections should be joined with micro and a 2" wide BID tape.



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