Trailer updaes & short "back 40" taxi test
Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:21 am
Weather and family delays have limited progress. The last few days have been crazy with temperatures good with high winds or rain. According to all reports, all this will end this afternoon with the promised wet, cold-front here in North Texas.
A few days ago the conditions were acceptable, but my helpers are all off doing family, school, or holiday things, so I decided to test out my trailer unload/load procedure. I have noted earlier that I installed an electric winch on my converted boat trailer. The remote fob controller is a great help as I can position myself at the tail to direct the beast down the ramps. However, the full castering tailwheel presents problems as it swivels and digs into the rather soggy soil. (I have some estimates from a concrete contractor for adding a 10'x30' pad in front of the hangar door.)
I also ran two battery charging wires to posts secured to the port-side bottom of the engine mount (isolated with nylon cable standoffs). I can now easily attach my charging cables without reaching into the cockpit.
With this experience, yesterday morning (sunny, 60 degrees, and 2-3 mph winds) I installed an easily removable brace to lock the tailwheel to keep it from wobbling.
Now able to unload/load the beast (with some effort) by myself, so I took the F3 for a short taxi test around the backyard. I soon discovered that once again the starboard brake was not really effective, but managed to use the nice rudder/throttle controls to get the A/C aligned with the trailer inside the hangar. 10 minutes later I was able to close the hangar door in time to catch the nightly (depressing) news.
A further note ... with all my bad-mouthing of the Polini 303, with my problems solved, it seems to be running like a top. Starts up in just a few seconds and really purrs (if you can call the growling noise from a 2-stroke as purring.)
A few days ago the conditions were acceptable, but my helpers are all off doing family, school, or holiday things, so I decided to test out my trailer unload/load procedure. I have noted earlier that I installed an electric winch on my converted boat trailer. The remote fob controller is a great help as I can position myself at the tail to direct the beast down the ramps. However, the full castering tailwheel presents problems as it swivels and digs into the rather soggy soil. (I have some estimates from a concrete contractor for adding a 10'x30' pad in front of the hangar door.)
I also ran two battery charging wires to posts secured to the port-side bottom of the engine mount (isolated with nylon cable standoffs). I can now easily attach my charging cables without reaching into the cockpit.
With this experience, yesterday morning (sunny, 60 degrees, and 2-3 mph winds) I installed an easily removable brace to lock the tailwheel to keep it from wobbling.
Now able to unload/load the beast (with some effort) by myself, so I took the F3 for a short taxi test around the backyard. I soon discovered that once again the starboard brake was not really effective, but managed to use the nice rudder/throttle controls to get the A/C aligned with the trailer inside the hangar. 10 minutes later I was able to close the hangar door in time to catch the nightly (depressing) news.
A further note ... with all my bad-mouthing of the Polini 303, with my problems solved, it seems to be running like a top. Starts up in just a few seconds and really purrs (if you can call the growling noise from a 2-stroke as purring.)