New Nose Wheel Fin

[Scottsware]

Hi Arnaud,

Your nose wheel looks straight in that shot. The corked nose wheel can be random. Mine would be corked about 50% of the time. You don’t need a GoPro to tell you when the nose wheel is corked, the yaw gives plenty of feedback, at least for me.

It sure looks like the inner brake covering is missing from both wheel pants. That’s a bit of drag, not sure how much.


Scott

[Rich]

Hi Arnaud,

Your nose wheel looks straight in that shot. The corked nose wheel can be random. Mine would be corked about 50% of the time. You don’t need a GoPro to tell you when the nose wheel is corked, the yaw gives plenty of feedback, at least for me.

It sure looks like the inner brake covering is missing from both wheel pants. That’s a bit of drag, not sure how much.


Scott

Correct on the intermittent corking. However, our old fat-gear planes do not have an inner brake covering. That's why ours are the "non-speed" gear

[astaib]

Hi Scott,

I never had these covers. Not sure they exixts on early birds like mine.

So you think that they fin can be usefull anyway?

Arnaud.

[Scottsware]

I’ve done 5 or so flights with the fin. For me it’s been a treat. I tried tightening the nose wheel nut and that seemed to work, for a short time. After that, at least half the flights the yaw was uncomfortably out of whack. I had the choice to hold the rudder pedal or fly wing down. Neither were satisfying solutions.

If your airplane doesn’t require you to hold the rudder pedal to keep the yaw centered, there would be no point in using the fin. If your plane does require rudder on noticeable percentage of flights AND it bothers you, the fin is a good solution.

I live in Colorado and we have a lot of thermal activity. This makes it hard to judge speed/power easily. I will say, anecdotally, the plane is a few knots faster. Faster because it’s not yawed and I’m not holding rudder to keep it straight.

[astaib]

Maybe I will have to remove the tab to see how it bahave without it, because as it is now I don't need to touchrudder pedals to have a centered yaw.

But prior we have to be able to fly, due this this xxx COVID we are again lockdown and grounded.

Arnaud.

[Rich]

For me the thing I could identify since adding the fin is consistency. Absent up/down-drafts, at a given DA/power setting I always get the same cruise speed.

[yl472401]

For me the thing I could identify since adding the fin is consistency. Absent up/down-drafts, at a given DA/power setting I always get the same cruise speed.

Good to know. Currently I have the front wheel fairing took off and main gears stayed on. There’s a debate between the better aerodynamics or convenience of checking the brakes and tire pressure during pre-flight. Not sure which route to take eventually.


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[Pilot55]

Arnaud, Check the trim tab on your rudder. If the trim tab has a bend in it then the fin will help you because your plane may show the ball centered but that is because the rudder is taking the yaw out because of the trim tab. I suggest removing the trim tab and make a flight in cruise flight. If your plane is now in yaw the fin will take care of the yaw and you can straighten your trim tab.
Thanks
Bret

[Rick]

I was finally able to install my Bret fin and try it out yesterday. After a 4 hour XC trip, I can report my plane now flies perfectly straight, and it looks like I picked up about 2 knots. I removed my bent trim tab and will just leave it off, making it easy to reverse the installation if I ever need to.

[yl472401]

I was finally able to install my Bret fin and try it out yesterday. After a 4 hour XC trip, I can report my plane now flies perfectly straight, and it looks like I picked up about 2 knots. I removed my bent trim tab and will just leave it off, making it easy to reverse the installation if I ever need to.

Thanks for the feedback!


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