Swrfi 2005

[filipo]

One more rudder flutter and SWRFI

 

 

I met Jon Farr at the Hondo SWRFI on Saturday and looked at his Cozy. There is a patch on the right winglet that wraps around the front of the winglet, approx. mid point to mid point where the upper and lower winglets meet the wing. He told me it was to repair a crack caused by rudder flutter. That flutter also made the right wing move up and down about a foot (my estimate of the distance between his hands as he was telling me about it.)

 

The fix for flutter was to add a stop and push the rudder outward by about 1/16" at the trailing edge. Jon hasn't had any more problems since the fix. He doesn't subscribe to this list, but is considering writing a report. Nat says Jon hasn't subscribed to the newsletter, so he missed the fluter discussions in the recent months.

 

Jon has an interesting mechanism for opening the nose compartment - it's a spring loaded cable that actuates a pin which keeps the aft edge down. Pulling on the cable retracts the pin from a bracket at the bottom side of the aft edge of the cover. The forward edge simply has a lip that slides under the edge of the nose compartment. (I should have taken a picture of this...)

 

There were only a few canards at the "Texas Fly-in" on Saturday. I think there were 4 Longs, 2 Cozies, One Vari Viggen, and a Velocity. The other Cozy was Kevin Funk's.

 

RVs dominated the field along with a bunch of warbirds. A gyrocopter made a hard landing bending the frame and prompting a response from everyone who had a siren and flashing lights. Apparently the occupants were fine.

 

I think the weather on Friday kept many folks out, so it was a little disappointing to see the low attendance after driving 6 hours from Dallas. I suppose the southern location of Hondo didn't help bring more visitors either.

 

Omar Filipovic

Dallas, TX

Cozy Mk4 Project #816

[Jon Matcho]

Jon has an interesting mechanism for opening the nose compartment - it's a spring loaded cable that actuates a pin which keeps the aft edge down. Pulling on the cable retracts the pin from a bracket at the bottom side of the aft edge of the cover. The forward edge simply has a lip that slides under the edge of the nose compartment. (I should have taken a picture of this...)

Sounds similar to what Carl Denk did on his plane (see attached pictures). Also note in the pictures the duct work, which connects the small NACA inlet under the nose for cabin ventilation. Carl said this was good for not allowing water/rain into the plane.

[filipo]

Yes, same principle, but without the hinge. The cover on Jon's plane is removable.

[filipo]

Here is a photo of the patch on Jon Farr's Cozy. Sorry I don't have a better picture of it. It's the dark area on the lower winglet, and it wraps around the front to the outboard side.