Take off and landing performance

S

shouldhunt

New member
Hi all, Im always trying to improve my takeoff and landing performance in my 1973 7GCBC. At Valdez this weekend my takeoffs was consistant at 170 feet, and my landing was 220 feet(which could of been improved by 40 feet if I had hit my mark. It was about 52 degrees with little to no wind. I have scout gear, 29" gar Aero's, 80-40 prop, Vg's, 160 hp (with only 32 hours), light weight starter, gel battery. I plan to get some 29" airstreaks and lose about 6 pounds per side. I have my full interior with light weight carpet, and don't really want to remove anything that is functional. Thinking about leading edge cuffs and droop tips. Any idea's?

Terry
 
I think an Allison turbine would help.......Seriously, What more can you ask! Unless your gig is the competition, most anything you can do that you will be able to measure will probably take away the utility and durability of your airplane. Dan
 
Terry, Sounds like you have a great setup there. i have a 75GCAA and my best takeoffs seem to be around 200ft. I have 160hp, sensenich prop pitched for climb, and 8:50 tires. I don't live in alaska but i do alot of ski flying so short takeoffs can be important to me. Like you said, get rid of those heavy Gar Aeros. I've found the key to performance on citabrias is to keep them light. At stock they are just to heavy to compete with cubs...get rid of the carpet and heavy interior panels and varnish your wood floor boards. it will look nice. i have the lightweight starter, alternator, battery, and no vaccum system. Without flaps though i dont think i could see performance like your bird. What have you found to be the best takeoff technique? i've found that slightly raising the tail and not to fight the airplane off the ground too early works the best for me.

Nathan
 
Take off technique, hold my brakes, until 2325 with stick full back, push stick forward alittle and tail starts to rise as does rpms to 2350, start to bring tail back down and hit 2400 rpms as I release the breaks, then full flaps 20 feet prior to take off. When I switched to the scout gear, the new Angle of Attack dropped an easy 20-30 feet off my takeoff, and the best part about it they are much sturdier and alot less bounce. My plane is real heavy, due to two coats of paint, but I cant afford to recover and the stock interior panels keeps it toasty in the winter. I have all the full dash of stock instruments, radio's and A Garmin 495 installed, with the full interior. I have the Weight and Balance Guy coming out tonight to tell me how much it weighs. I figure it weighs about 1290pounds.

Terry
 
I would like to do the scout gear mod, i know it would help alot on skis. But they are significantly heavier. are you using steel or the new aluminum gear? your technique sounds good. i think you have it down about perfect. I dont' think any other mods would really make a significant difference. Maybe different wing tips? (cuffs?). All thats left i think is like i said, lighten it up best you can without sacraficing essential items. i have new factory wings on my aircraft but the fuselage needs a recover. it has been rejuvenated multiple times and you can see different layers of blue and white. i'm sure its heavy. when i recover i plan on using stitts heavy fabric on the belly, rudder, and elevators, and lightweight fabric on the rest and keep the paint light. might loose a few pounds that way. the airplane weights in at 1160 with 8:50s. Also, if you are experimental, consider 9:1 pistons, they make alot of difference in takeoff and climb. I had them in my citabria for awhile...illegal...but removed them and went to 8.5:1 pistons at overhaul. The power was huge compared to 150hp.
 
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