Replacing the MKIV yaw string - tips

On Monday, December 31, 2012 10:15:38 AM UTC-5, Jp Stewart wrote:
I'm glad this discussion came back up, I love the MKIV (though club mates enjoy making fun of BUYING a yaw string, ha) Anyway.... I love it so much I have to ask: Is there any advantage to installing one inside the canopy as well? (I though I heard of a near 10% performance gain from such) Also, would my internal turbulators cause any interference?



JP

Now we're on to something! The inside the canopy model would be an "inertial" yaw detector. Just connect some wires to your flight computer and it would show every movement you make. If it hangs straight down, you've just landed out. And the internal turbulators would be obsolete. This is real progress.

Mark

I haven't been following this "thread" (pun intended) too closely so
forgive me if this has already been covered, but I am wondering if you have
thought of supplying left-handed MKIV's sometime soon. Us lefties have
enough barriers to overcome as it is - maybe if we had one less thing to
worry about...


At 18:41 31 December 2012, bumper wrote:
On Monday, December 31, 2012 6:58:37 AM UTC-8, Tony V wrote:
I can't believe that the topic of MKIV winter maintenance has gotten
no=
=20
=20
coverage.
=20
=20
Every couple of weeks, I pull the fuselage out of the trailer and
blow=20
=20
air from a hair drier (at the *cool* setting) over the MKIV, but
wonder=
=20
=20
if this is sufficient to maintain optimal performance. Your expert=20
=20
advice on this subject is requested.
=20
=20
Tony "6N"

Tony, great idea, but suggest the hair dryer on warm setting to better
emul=
ate tropic climes. MKIV's are resilient but susceptable to the winter
blues=
if not flown often enough.

Jp, with sugarplums dancing, we headed for the lab to see if an
"inside-the=
-cockpit" MKIV would be advantageous (and increase sales!).
Unfortunately,
=
MKIV's are sensitive little guys and easily confused. With two in close
pro=
ximity, but in widely diverse environments, both got more confused than
the=
pilot. I'm sure the turbultors would only make matters worse - -
definitel=
y not recommended.=20

Lars, thanks for the kind words, but your "metric model" idea stinks.
It's
=
hard enough grabbing the right wrench with two draws full of SAE and
Metric=
stuff. If I came out with a Metric MKIV, next thing you know there'd be
cl=
amoring for a Whitworth version and who knows what else.=20

Having said that, I'll attempt to be reasonable and still keep things
simpl=
e. I'm ceasing production of the English SAE version of the MKIV.
Starting
=
New Year's day, I will only make the metric version - - this should
dramati=
cally raise the bar for soaring performance in Europe and 3rd world
countri=
es. The SAE version will doubtless become a collector's item and much
sough=
t in the USA - - get'um while you still can.

bumper
zz

And, how about a reduced cost back seat repeater model for the two seater trainers out there...

On Monday, December 31, 2012 8:17:28 PM UTC-6, Jim Britton wrote:
I haven't been following this "thread" (pun intended) too closely so

forgive me if this has already been covered, but I am wondering if you have

thought of supplying left-handed MKIV's sometime soon. Us lefties have

enough barriers to overcome as it is - maybe if we had one less thing to

worry about...





At 18:41 31 December 2012, bumper wrote:

On Monday, December 31, 2012 6:58:37 AM UTC-8, Tony V wrote:

I can't believe that the topic of MKIV winter maintenance has gotten

no=

=20

=20

coverage.

=20

=20

Every couple of weeks, I pull the fuselage out of the trailer and

blow=20

=20

air from a hair drier (at the *cool* setting) over the MKIV, but

wonder=

=20

=20

if this is sufficient to maintain optimal performance. Your expert=20

=20

advice on this subject is requested.

=20

=20

Tony "6N"



Tony, great idea, but suggest the hair dryer on warm setting to better

emul=

ate tropic climes. MKIV's are resilient but susceptable to the winter

blues=

if not flown often enough.



Jp, with sugarplums dancing, we headed for the lab to see if an

"inside-the=

-cockpit" MKIV would be advantageous (and increase sales!).

Unfortunately,

=

MKIV's are sensitive little guys and easily confused. With two in close

pro=

ximity, but in widely diverse environments, both got more confused than

the=

pilot. I'm sure the turbultors would only make matters worse - -

definitel=

y not recommended.=20



Lars, thanks for the kind words, but your "metric model" idea stinks.

It's

=

hard enough grabbing the right wrench with two draws full of SAE and

Metric=

stuff. If I came out with a Metric MKIV, next thing you know there'd be

cl=

amoring for a Whitworth version and who knows what else.=20



Having said that, I'll attempt to be reasonable and still keep things

simpl=

e. I'm ceasing production of the English SAE version of the MKIV.

Starting

=

New Year's day, I will only make the metric version - - this should

dramati=

cally raise the bar for soaring performance in Europe and 3rd world

countri=

es. The SAE version will doubtless become a collector's item and much

sough=

t in the USA - - get'um while you still can.



bumper

zz

On Monday, December 31, 2012 6:17:28 PM UTC-8, Jim Britton wrote:
I haven't been following this "thread" (pun intended) too closely so

forgive me if this has already been covered, but I am wondering if you have

thought of supplying left-handed MKIV's sometime soon. Us lefties have

enough barriers to overcome as it is - maybe if we had one less thing to

worry about...

Jim,

No offense, quit whining . . . have you considered Lefty Aversion Therapy?

We used to have a "don't ask don't tell" policy here at Bumper Soaring (or BS for short). Under intense political pressure, we had to end that. We still do our best to force all MKIV's from the same mold, ambidextrous and "straight". Unfortunately, we've noted a few with left leaning tendancies, some mostly go to the right, and nearly all, if given half an opportunity, will quite happily go both ways.

Yes, it's a source of embarrasement for us and for some MKIV owners. You may even notice in YouTube videos that many of these same owners will carefully edit out any shots where their MKIV is, um, wildly playing the field so to speak.

bumper

On Monday, December 31, 2012 7:43:37 PM UTC-8, wrote:
And, how about a reduced cost back seat repeater model for the two seater trainers out there...


resi,

We considered that, but concluded it would be much safer to have full redundancy with two individual MKIV's. They will almost always "sync up" just like magic, then continuously update each other so they stay in step . . . it's really quite amazing. Plus with two you get a free thermal centering/emergency tornadic condition indicator. If the front MKIV is pointing off to one side, and the rear MKIV is to the opposite side, you are either in a tornado or have accurately centered one of our strong Minden thermals.

Beta testing is almost finished on our Student Harassment Instructor Training verion of the MKIV. It comes with a handy remote giving the instructor complete control of the MKIV SH&T (e.g. the harassed student can be standing on the left rudder pedal and the MKIV will still be hanging way off to the right). Great fun for bored instructors.

bumper

On 12/31/2012 11:11 PM, bumper wrote:
On Monday, December 31, 2012 6:17:28 PM UTC-8, Jim Britton wrote:
I haven't been following this "thread" (pun intended) too closely so

forgive me if this has already been covered, but I am wondering if you have

thought of supplying left-handed MKIV's sometime soon. Us lefties have

enough barriers to overcome as it is - maybe if we had one less thing to

worry about...

Jim,

No offense, quit whining . . . have you considered Lefty Aversion Therapy?


How typical. It's always OUR problem. We've learned to live in a right
handed world. Is it really to much to ask for you to consider our
plight? You're probably against lefties marrying each other too.

Tony

On Monday, December 31, 2012 8:49:20 PM UTC-8, Tony V wrote:

How typical. It's always OUR problem. We've learned to live in a right

handed world. Is it really to much to ask for you to consider our

plight? You're probably against lefties marrying each other too.



Tony

I had no idea what you are going though. A quick search found http://www.cracked.com/article_19808...-you-life.html

Do you fling cats at passers by? Should lefties be allowed to marry at all?

bumper

Hi bumper, I am the Schweizer driver at the airport. With great interest I read the many sophisticated suggestions, but I fear they miss the most basic improvement needed. Your instrument gets right up in the pilots face with constant criticism. I get enough of that at home.

This is not all tongue in cheek. You may have noticed I have no instruments for just this reason. However as you are the most innovative builder perhaps you could come up with something with positive reinforcement. I am thinking pneumatic. ;-)

On Monday, December 31, 2012 11:24:28 PM UTC-8, xcnick wrote:

This is not all tongue in cheek. You may have noticed I have no instruments for just this reason. However as you are the most innovative builder perhaps you could come up with something with positive reinforcement. I am thinking pneumatic. ;-)

xcnick,

I'm sure it can be done pneumatically, and fairly simply too. Something like two ports, one on each side of a forward facing vane, the port openings lateral to the ship's axis to avoid ram air. With no yaw, delta-p on ports is equal. With any yaw, delta-p increases.

Display could be analog, digital, or audio.

However, this yaw indicator would violate the KISS rule. More complexity for little or no gain in functionality over a yaw string.

It's also done with a slip or skid bank indicator ball, used in powe planes where prop wash precludes the use of a yaw string. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/pages/...nk_indicat.php
Though I think a yaw string is more sensitive than most ball indicators I've flown with - - plus you don't have to look at the panel to read the yaw string.

bumper