Justin's Raven

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justin.schoeman
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby justin.schoeman » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:18 pm

Induna wrote:Nice one! Ravens fly so nice and is a pleasure to land, so don't sweat too much..!

Me and my better half had a nice Sunday afternoon cruise with my Raven Tailly and it was awesome!

Enjoy flying your Raven... :) Such nice aircraft.

Jacques

The speed wing version isn't quite as pleasant - especially not at high weights. Twitchy, descends like a brick and stops flying very abruptly. All in all, I would say the drawbacks of the speed wing aren't really worth it - does not even seem much faster than the standard wing...
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby Induna » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:22 pm

justin.schoeman wrote:
Induna wrote:Nice one! Ravens fly so nice and is a pleasure to land, so don't sweat too much..!

Me and my better half had a nice Sunday afternoon cruise with my Raven Tailly and it was awesome!

Enjoy flying your Raven... :) Such nice aircraft.

Jacques

The speed wing version isn't quite as pleasant - especially not at high weights. Twitchy, descends like a brick and stops flying very abruptly. All in all, I would say the drawbacks of the speed wing aren't really worth it - does not even seem much faster than the standard wing...
I asked Carl the same question some time ago and he is also not a great fan of the speedwing. I also think what you might gain in speed is not worth the penalty on the stall..

Either way, its still a very enjoyable aircraft! And definitely worth its money!!

J
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby justin.schoeman » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:50 pm

Induna wrote:I asked Carl the same question some time ago and he is also not a great fan of the speedwing. I also think what you might gain in speed is not worth the penalty on the stall..

Either way, its still a very enjoyable aircraft! And definitely worth its money!!

J

Definitely an amazing plane to fly - but listen to Carl's advice when you order one. The stock Raven is awesome as is. The speed wing isn't bad - but stock is better.
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby Induna » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:54 pm

justin.schoeman wrote:
Induna wrote:I asked Carl the same question some time ago and he is also not a great fan of the speedwing. I also think what you might gain in speed is not worth the penalty on the stall..

Either way, its still a very enjoyable aircraft! And definitely worth its money!!

J

Definitely an amazing plane to fly - but listen to Carl's advice when you order one. The stock Raven is awesome as is. The speed wing isn't bad - but stock is better.
I am currently flying a Raven, only difference is its tailwheel...

It is good to see the performance of the jabi engines. It is a great alternative to the VW and Rotax engines in the Raven. I also had a tri gear Raven with a 582 engine that had great performance due to the weight saving on the engine...!

I currently know of two Ravens with 2200 engines and they are all happy with the performance. There are also two with 582s. Yours must be a beast with 120HP!!

J
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby justin.schoeman » Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:31 pm

Hopefully I can start compiling some real numbers now. But being a short wing, we can't really compare it to the other engine installations.

Jab 3300 has the same installed weight as a 912 or VW - just a few more ponies ;) . Take off and climb is like a rocket. Actual cruise is not much better (unless you are willing to spend a lot of money on fuel). The Jab can push it up to about 110KIAS - but burning close to 30L/hr. 90KIAS should be about 20l/hr.
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby justin.schoeman » Mon Feb 02, 2015 11:12 am

Had a decent session for Cyril on Saturday morning. Did a couple of circuits at Zynkraal, then Kitty Hawk, then Rhino Park. Then a couple of solo circuits at Rhino. Getting the hang of this flying thing again ;) .

Had a nasty run in with the weather on Saturday afternoon though. Wanted to test a tweak to the baffles before going home. Checked the weather radar and all the visible cells were moving away, and made sure I had visual on the ones that were nearby. All looked good, so off I go... At around 300' I got slammed by incredible wind shear. Although the cells were far away, and moving away, the squall winds from one of them had hit the airfield. Suddenly the wind socks are straining at the masts in a 45 degree cross wind, and some very excited instructors are on the radio suggesting I head to Wonderboom. I thought I would give it a go, and see if I could get in at Rhino before diverting. Had a ground speed of around 140kts on downwind (which for some obscure reason went by in a flash). Final approach was at 75KIAS with about 20 degree crab angle (which works out to around 25kt cross wind component) and pretty bumpy. The short wings absorb the bumps nicely, and this plane is responsive - so I continued the approach, with the plan to go around, and head off to FAWB if at any point I didn't like it. Round out and was OK - only took about 3/4 rudder and 15 degrees of bank to keep it lined up, and still had plenty of control, so I carried on with the landing. Wasn't my best landing of the day - but wasn't my worst either. At least now I have one of the test flights done 'max demonstrated cross wing component: 25kts' ;) .

And after all that, trimming the baffle didn't help. #4 is still running too cool, so I can trim a bit more off next time.

Today, when the weather radar showed a few active cells around Rhino Park, I decided to rather stay at home...
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby t-bird » Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:26 am

That is a great start for 2015.
Keep us updated on the flying
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby t-bird » Mon Apr 06, 2015 7:34 am

Are you still flying ?
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby justin.schoeman » Mon Apr 06, 2015 8:37 pm

Heyup. Get an hour, or two on most weekends (weather permitting).

Ran into a minor issue though. Need to take the plane to FAWB to get the pitot-static tests done. But when I tried, I realised my radio is not transmitting on lower frequencies, and I could not raise FAWB tower.

Mike has checked out the radio, and all is OK. I swapped the antenna, and that made no difference. Did a lot of testing today. 135.60 is crystal clear from 10 miles out. From Culinan dam I raised an aircraft over Suikerbosrand on 125.4, and he told me 5/5. But FAKT on 120.65, they can barely hear me in the circuit. Tried unplugging chargers, turning off GPSs, etc, no difference. This is getting irritating.
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby Tumbleweed » Tue Apr 07, 2015 7:21 am

Please share. My MGL radio is crystal clear barring my home frequency of 122.0 then I get a strong feed back when Pressing the ptt.
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby t-bird » Tue Apr 07, 2015 9:13 am

How is the plane flying besides the radio ?
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby justin.schoeman » Tue Apr 07, 2015 9:45 am

t-bird wrote:How is the plane flying besides the radio ?
It is an awesome plane to fly with a little too much power ;) . Probably the only real complaint could be that it is a little pitch sensitive. But in all other respects it is awesome. Climbs like a rocket. Can cruise at 90kts sipping about 15L/hour, or 125 kts burning 25L/hour. Turns on a dime. Easy to land. All round, a great aeroplane.
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby justin.schoeman » Wed Apr 08, 2015 6:14 pm

Tumbleweed wrote:Please share. My MGL radio is crystal clear barring my home frequency of 122.0 then I get a strong feed back when Pressing the ptt.
Just took the radio out and took it to Mike Beekman. Radio tests as perfect, transmitting a solid 8W on 118.35.

So, new antenna (with test certificate indicating good performance across entire aviation band). Radio tests perfect. All it can be now is the antenna cable...
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby Jean Crous » Sun Apr 12, 2015 9:33 pm

Did you use shielded wire for the loom of the radio ?
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Re: Justin's Raven

Postby justin.schoeman » Sun Apr 12, 2015 9:42 pm

JeanTree wrote:Did you use shielded wire for the loom of the radio ?
Jean.
Except for the power lines. Everything else is shielded.

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