Revamping my microlight

[Henni]

Hi everyone,

Well, I've decided to go for it - my Mizer will be upgraded starting with immediate effect. I've decided to spend some money & time on her.

Question please: I can think of quite a few home made mods to improve her effectiveness (no, not structural mods).

I'm thinking along the lines of material used for covering, more ribs to the bottom section of the wing, new trim tabs, new cockpit fairing with doors, various other fairings etc. If I do this, what would the implications be. Would it be nearly impossible to have her approved & registered?

If I overhaul my Rotax 582 myself before year end, will it be considered to be zero timed for next year, even with the new legislation?

Lastly, & this is structural: can I even consider replacing the 582 with a slightly more powerful engine like i.e. the Hirth F30 or similar?

Has anyone gone through this process before?

Thank you for any answers.

[Byron]

I love the teeth.

[Slider]

Hi

If "she" belonged to me, i would leave everything alone and just recover "her" and make "her" a lighter colour like, white, with some graphics like on the cessna's. Those "tande" will stay, but in light grey or some other lighter colour, and that goes for the reg no as well. I would make the reg no, smaller as well. Ok if i need to do something ells, i will install spads as well. CAA cant complain to much about that

[Henni]

Hi Slider,

Thank you for your response. However, I've already negotiated a deal for a more powerful engine for her. Rotax 582 comes off this weekend and Hirth F30 will go on soon.

I know about all the negative publicity these Hirth engines received, however I'm willing to take the chance as she can really do with the extra power. If everything stated on this forumn is true, the 582 is prone to crank breakage so I'll not really loose much reliability. (She flies beautifully as is, but climb is not too hot with two aboard (500fpm) - if this works out she'll climb and take-off like most trikes)

I had to make a choice, sell and buy something more sophisticated or upgrade. I like just about every aspect of my Mizer - if she can perform better and produce less drag, she'll be everything I've dreamed about owning.

Regards,
Henni

[Griffin]

If she was mine

The elevator trim on WOG, with that huge tab, is k@k. I would look for something better. The origional had a bungie on the joy stick.
I would also look at a better wind shield (the "shark" looks like a good option.
See if you can add a space for luggage (maybe above the fuel tanks at the C of G??)
Add spats only if you want to prevent mud/stones being kicked up.

For all the above consult an AP.

Re-cover her in some subtle colour scheme (like Pmarshal's Cheetah??)

[Henni]

Hi Griffin,

1. The spats will go on - have them already
2. Windscreen will be like sharkey's - decided that long ago
3. Luggage space is a good idea as she will now carry this weight easily
4. Yes, trim tab will change to much smaller version & on one side only.

Actually starting to look foward to all of this although it means that I'll be out of flying for a while.

Regards,
Henni

[Morph]

Henni,

we have two brothers at Morning Star using the Hirth 3701 fuel injected 3-cyl 100hp engines. The one is installed in a Rans S10 and the other was in a Kolb and is now being installed into a new Jora.

The Rans flies every week, does full aerobatic including rolls loop and inverted flight and works really hard

Except for the rubber donut couling between engine and gearbox failing the engines have run faultlessly for the last 2 years approx. And they fly a lot

[Henni]

Hi Morph,

Thank you for the encouragement - I now that Trevor Davis gave up using them in his T-Birds. Spoke to him a few years ago & he complained about parts coming loose all the time. The one I'm going to install is the carburated version.

We'll see, but I'm really looking forward to the extra power. If you have many bucks to spend, there are definitely much better choices, no doubt about that. As for me, that's the best I can & am willing to do for now. I already have a lot of aeroplane for the money spent. If this all works out, I'll have everything I want for now.

Keep well,
Henni

[Cloud Warrior]

Will changing the windshield make that much of a difference in drag Henni? Personally I prefer your current one. It's not going to give you any more space in the cockpit as far as I can see?

If you are working on the wing anyway have you thoguht about replacing all the wires with struts ala what a lot of people have done to their Drifters over here?

Looking forward to seeing the results of the "makeover"!

[Henni]

If you are working on the wing anyway have you thoguht about replacing all the wires with struts ala what a lot of people have done to their Drifters over here?

Hi Cloud Warrior,

I did seriously consider this option. There is one thing that concerns me though - the stiffness induced by pulling the wing tight from both the top & the bottom will surely effect the stiffness backwards & forward also (Vne).

If I change to struts, I'm not sure what would happen to my Vne figure and hence I've decided not to tamper with that (The Hirth will make her slightly faster...). Quicksilver aircraft has also established that flying wires cause much less drag than struts, even if faired. They claimed to have changed their range to struts purely on buyer demand & not on any performance gains. But yes, the idea does sound inviting though.

I know that on the Skyfoxes that Philip has changed to struts, he used double tube sleeving for the wing forward & rear spars - must be for this very same reason. I think that some compression tubes (struts) inside the wing would also have to be fitted. So a small change like this can quickly become a major one if done with safety in mind. I love flying, but not so much that I'm willing to die for it - there are more worthy causes to die for!

As for the windshield - I doubt if it would make a huge difference to drag, but it does look much more modern if the cockpit is enclosed. I am considering using polyurethane foam & fibreglass (like I did with the KR's) to enclose the cockpit as this would definitely be none structural and very light. But talk is cheap & I'll first have to see if it's possible. A lot of pipes (tubes) protrudes through the top of that fairing: if you look at Sharky you'll see.

Regards,
Henni

[Cloud Warrior]

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/safety/bracing.htm

Interesting article concerning flying wires as well as strut bracing.

[Henni]

Hi Cloud Warrior,

Yes, very interesting & supports my view on this issue - unless I KNOW what I'm doing, I will not tamper with the flying wires - period!

Regards,
Henni

[Cloud Warrior]

Look what you might achieve if you tinker a bit more Henni!

[Henni]

He he he! Now that will be something! Have to put slats in front of wings to deal with sub-sonic roll control.

In real life more power mostly produce better take-off & climb performance and very little increase in top speed (something to do with drag going up with the square of the speed). So I dunno if the above would be achieved.

Just imagine a mach 1 Mizer classified in the "Microlight" category And then imagine someone like me at the controls

Keep well,
Henni