Leveling means..

SoCalPlaneDoc

SoCalPlaneDoc

New member
I've added a bunch of new stuff to my panel - time to do the paperwork.
Don't have reliable weight-and-balance data in the plane records to start with so I'm going to have to weigh the plane.

According to the TCs for all the post-war low wing Bellancas, the leveling means reads:
Lugs at fuselage stations 2 and 3 in cabin on right side (wing spar station).

so, I go look at the plane. I found a little vertical post welded to a cross member at station 2 right near the door - I'm guessing that's the "lug" BUT, there's no corresponding feature at station 3, at least none that I can see.

Anyone have some wisdom on this?
 
I found the front lug, right neat the door. Apparently the rear lug is under the rear seat but I've not yet figured how to remove the seat :D
I'm stull working down the punchlist on other items for the moment but I'll get to it soon.
 
I found the rear lug.. had to schooch around the interior panel to expose it.
using a digilevel, my plane sits 7.5 degrees tail low.
Manual says 6 degrees so, I'm comfortable I got it right. once I overhaul the mains it will probably be back to 6.
80" between the nose and main gear means I need to raise the mains 10 1/2 inches to get to level (ack!) Add the 4 1/2 inches for the height of the scale and yikes.. 15 inches in the air. Maybe I can log the time it's on the scale :)

Hopefully I can wrap this up this weekend.
 
Nothing is fishy.. all is to the TC.
maybe you're confused since it's a -3 and has a nosewheel?

Here's what the owner's manual says:
BellancaProfile_zpscdaec476.jpg


Now my actual measurement indicates the actual angle with all paws on the ground is 7.5 degrees - not too surprising that it would squat a little more after 55 years. It might go back to 6 after I overhaul the mains but in any case..
the distance between the nose gear and the main is 80" so...

levelcalc_zpseba8bb96.jpg


I built a couple of 10.5" platforms to set the mains on.. and three separate platforms 4.5 inches tall to serve as substitutes for the scale when it's not under any particular gear..
So, I gotta get the mains up in the air 15" to get the plane on the stands :)

I Got some serious off-road vehicle metal ramps for the mains, made a little one for the nose... using a come-along to pull the plane up.. should be OK..
 
whoops.. my face is as red as my plane.

I just realized when I took that angle measurement, I had 240 lbs in the back, right over the mains, that wont be in it during weighing.. and surely had an effect on the angle measurement
in other words.. me :)

I'll have to redo it (no biggie) Just maybe it's closer to the 6 degrees the book says - and that will reduce the height a little.

fortunately, it's a lot easier to cut them shorter, than to cut them higher :)
 
Thanks Lynn
Spent yesterday building the tail stand, and having my ear's bent by all the airport bums who were out on tax avoidance day... didn't get half of the things done that I had planned..

WampBtailstand_zps61e6b5e9.jpg


Hopefully tonight I can get the booster stands for the jacks made so I can finally get down to weight it proper.
typical plane project.. 4 days of prep for 20 minutes worth of work :)
 
Rechecked the level. Sure enough my excess backseat payload caused the static angle to be wrong - by 1 degree. Reset and adjusted, now re-measured, the sits 6.5 degrees, only 1/2 degree off from 1959 book specs.. nice.

Did a dry run last night - measured just the nose gear weight.. all went smoothly so, onward with vigor!
 
Got the weight and balance completed last night.. did the math this morning...

Empty Weight: 1798 (98 pounds above Type Certificate) CG: 17"
Not bad for a 55 year old plane.

Interesting: the last time I have a record of W&B done by actual weighing was back in 1993 (by a large agro-FBO in Tulare, Ca.) they had it at 1967.3 - 267lbs over weight, and the CG at 21.6 !!!!!
I did the math - that would have required a buttload of weight in the tail. in other words, they screwed up royally. :)
still in business though, think I'll put them on my blacklist.
 
According to the original paperwork, my -3 came from the factory weighing 1827.5, and it's gained a considerable amount of weight over the years. When we weighed it 3 years ago, it was 1884. Replacing the starter, generator, and some avionics got it all the way down to 1866, with a CG of 17.55. Unfortunately, the next weight-loss step probably includes dealing with the fact that someone repainted the plane by putting new coats of silver and color on top of the old color coat, rather than stripping back to fabric. Sigh.

So I'm jealous :).
 
wow..
I should look to see what mine left the factory with.. that would be interesting.

I think I can rid of a few more pounds when I redo the interior.. someone used some pretty heavy sound insulation.
 
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