What attributes do you think new MOSAIC compliant LSA aircraft should have to return General Aviation to 10,000 aircraft sales per year?

[nauga]

...LET GO AND DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING until you're in the clear. The airplane doesn't know it's in the clouds...

Spoken like someone who's got aileron and rudder trim

Nauga,
and a line from Eddie Murphy

 

[wanttaja]

Spoken like someone who's got aileron and rudder trim

And some of us don't even have pitch trim.....

Ron Wanttaja

 

[Ed Haywood]

Aircraft are not laterally stable.

Some are, some aren't, some it depends on dihedral, rigging, trim, fuel balance, phase of the moon, etc. I agree, I would not trust my life to it.

But any pilot should be able to keep wings level in a straight descent with reference to an appropriate instrument.

With the advent of digital AHI's like the G5, AV-30, etc, really no reason not to have at least one installed, unless you are a highly proficient old school needle-and-ball guy. Or don't have an electrical system.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Spoken like someone who's got aileron and rudder trim

Rudder, yes, via springs/bungees. Otherwise it'd be a legful on the climb.

Aileron trim, no... At least, not beyond burning fuel out of one wing or another.

Some are, some aren't, some it depends on dihedral, rigging, trim, fuel balance, phase of the moon, etc. I agree, I would not trust my life to it.

But any pilot should be able to keep wings level in a straight descent with reference to an appropriate instrument.

Operative word is "should". However, pilots have demonstrated over and over again that this is not the case.

With the advent of digital AHI's like the G5, AV-30, etc, really no reason not to have at least one installed, unless you are a highly proficient old school needle-and-ball guy. Or don't have an electrical system.

I've got a GI275, but I still have the TC as the backup. AI got chucked with the rest of the vacuum system.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Go our VFR and try this and report back. Aircraft are not laterally stable. It will fall off on a wing into a steep spiral.

Hmmm... I do love some good test flying. I'll do it.

I'm thinking I'll set up stable hands-off level flight at maybe 8500 feet, 90-120 KIAS (my Vg is 90), probably 17" MP, and then a few methods for the descent:

1) Pull it back to ~14" (that's the most I can do without setting off the gear warning)
2) Leave power alone and drop the gear.
3) Drop the gear AND power to idle.

I'll keep the wings level visually for the first few hundred feet, and then pretend that from 8000 to 2500 (~1500 AGL here) is a cloud deck, and see how long I can remain within a normal flight envelope while not making corrections.

Then, maybe I'll make a video about it...

 

[Salty]

Hmmm... I do love some good test flying. I'll do it.

I'm thinking I'll set up stable hands-off level flight at maybe 8500 feet, 90-120 KIAS (my Vg is 90), probably 17" MP, and then a few methods for the descent:

1) Pull it back to ~14" (that's the most I can do without setting off the gear warning)
2) Leave power alone and drop the gear.
3) Drop the gear AND power to idle.

I'll keep the wings level visually for the first few hundred feet, and then pretend that from 8000 to 2500 (~1500 AGL here) is a cloud deck, and see how long I can remain within a normal flight envelope while not making corrections.

Then, maybe I'll make a video about it...

Don't forget to level the wings before pulling up after you see what happens.

 

[MauleSkinner]

Hmmm... I do love some good test flying. I'll do it.

I'm thinking I'll set up stable hands-off level flight at maybe 8500 feet, 90-120 KIAS (my Vg is 90), probably 17" MP, and then a few methods for the descent:

1) Pull it back to ~14" (that's the most I can do without setting off the gear warning)
2) Leave power alone and drop the gear.
3) Drop the gear AND power to idle.

I'll keep the wings level visually for the first few hundred feet, and then pretend that from 8000 to 2500 (~1500 AGL here) is a cloud deck, and see how long I can remain within a normal flight envelope while not making corrections.

Then, maybe I'll make a video about it...

Add this to your experiment…(the procedure was printed on the sun visors in Bonanzas for several years.)

180-degree turn experiment : Bryan, Leslie Aulls : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

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