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Monday, December 29, 2008

Tucson #230 #231 Wheeley Casters

The left side is lifting sooner than the right

Marana LZ
Higher winds gave me the excuse to try out the wheeley casters. I put the trimmers out and the wing came up quickly without pulling me back. It probably also helped that the surface was hard and smooth. One thing I noticed from viewing the video was that the left wheel lifted before the front.. I never felt like I was in danger of rolling but it is something to be aware of and possibly corrected before launching with the trimmers out. At the least I should hang the tool bag back on the left side. So while I wasn't able to see how the casters worked on launch I did get the impression that they were touching during the run out. On landing I felt them again but no problem.

First flight was about 30 minutes, I stayed in the general vicinity of the LZ and tried to get the feel of the area. Mostly farm flying but to the west there is a river that goes north. Scott Nicoles took that route and I wish I had gone with him. I was not able to be there when he returned because Mike Levine and I had to get back for dinner with the whole family.

The second flight was a quickie, I had to abort the first launch because the left brake line was twisted and I could feel the pulley wasn't rolling free....landing was sweet with the motor off...I flared at the last second and bled off the energy at just a couple of inches AGL.

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