Full pod on a single

[umbearra]

G"day All. If I was to replace my half pod on my single seater to fully enclosed pod, what other mods would I have to take into account? For example the tail set up....? How would it effect the handling of the machine? Just running some ideas around my head comeing into winter. Not a fan of the cold. Cheers Gus McKay

[bones]

Gus,Guessing you just gonna have

[Mark Horan]

Gus Save yourself the trouble of re designing the Gyro, buy yourself a freezer suit and a really short scarf.Heaps cheaper and less trouble.Mark.

[umbearra]

I got the suit, not sure about wearing a scarf but. I ain"t no Biggles. I was thinking a single full pod was a good idea. Gus McKay

[Greg Mitchell]

Gus,You would need adequate tail feathers to counter the extra plate surface forward of the centre of pressure....ie vertical and horizontal tail surface area likely need increasing. Although if you already have a half pod and an existing horizontal that is more than adequate, it may just require more vertical tail.You would have to "suck it and see",..........estimates can be made on paper followed by testing to find what is indeed "adequate".I"m buying a "scarf" today, hopefully a full head hood.

[asra]

No use freezing your tits off if you dont have to. When I was crook even with all the gear on I got that cold my reaction time was down to 2-3 seconds That meant that if I had to use the rudder or stick it took that long for anything to happen. I got some fibreglass and knocked up a bit of a nose cone and bolted some perspex onto that for a windscreen to keep the wind off me. That pulled the nose down above 50 kt"s so I put a horizontal stabilizer on it to pull the tail down. All pretty rough but it kept me warm. Stick with it somebody will come up with good advice.Peter.

[asra]

Gus, If it looks like a peacock it"s got plenty of tail feathers. If it looks like a chook the dogs have chased you"ll need more feathers. If you"re going to buy a cab have a look at others with the same cab and see what they require. I don"t know how much experiance you"ve got, but get an eye for proportion and if everything looks in proportion test fly it very slow and carefull at the start with very gentle turns. If thats okay and the gyro dos"nt want to do anything unusual, edge on a little more power and slightly harder turns one at a time. If at any time something dos"nt feel right, back off the power and very gentle turns back to the strip. If your not confidant about doing that find find some other sucker to do it. The only other thing the cab may affect is the balance. You would have to hang test it after putting the cab on but there may be very little change. The nose cone I made was designed to give the same visibility as an open machine and every time I looked at the drawings I reckoned it would pull the nose down and thats what happened when I flew it.Mitch, to get to a better starting point with numbers than just looking at proportions I reckon you would need the base numbers from wind tunnel testing or computer analysis of the aerodynamics of the cab to be used. Correct me if you think I"m wrong.Peter.

[umbearra]

Thanks Peter, I"ve only been flying for about 6 months in which time I"ve done about 70 hrs, mainly 50/50 mustering and checking bores etc. Even though I"m just starting out I"m getting a bit better idea of what I"m after in a machine. The gyro I got now is a beatiful little machine, a Rossco with a 912. But sitting up there for hours on end in less than favourable conditions, well .....you tend to get over it sometimes. Anything that can make life more confortable would be much appreciated. I know the die hards out there will say an open pod is the only way to go for mustering, but it"s not just a mustering machine.

[asra]

Hi Gus, at 70hrs you might be better off not touching anything. I reckon an open machine is the only way to go but at one stage I got that cold I had to get something in front of me. Have a talk to rosco he will probably give you the best advise.Peter.

[umbearra]

Hi Gus, at 70hrs you might be better off not touching anything. I reckon an open machine is the only way to go but at one stage I got that cold I had to get something in front of me. Have a talk to rosco he will probably give you the best advise.Peter.Spot on, I reckon you"re right

[Mark Horan]

Gus,
..........

[Ken Watson]

hey Marcus, thats exactly what i did. Lexen about 10 or 12"" bigger. mines a lot thinner than 3, probably 2mm on a widened drifter pod. Did you pinch the idea from me you cunning basket, or is it that great minds think alike, just like crappy minds. Regards, Ken The Copier.

[Mark Horan]

Hey Ken,What are you doing over easter?Marcus.

[Ken Watson]

Going to Melb. sunday to pick up a bike. Not back till thurs or Fri. Ken