Today I went to the hangar and started
putting things inside so I can do the weight and balance. I put the seat supports and seat cushions in
place. I also put the upholstery in
place in the airplane. I put the RV-12
on the nose. I think it looks good. I also attached the final checklist and
flight information placards I received from John Albury on the panel.
This afternoon I checked the distances on the AST for the full
up and full down trim conditions. With
the trim full up and the stick full forward the AST measures 11/16" from
the center of the AST trailing edge to the center of the stabilator trailing
edge. In the full trim down with the
stick full back the trim to stabilator measurement is ½".
I also set the take-off trim condition at 1-7/8"
up with the stick full back. The green
line on the trim setting on the Skyview is just below the ½ mark.
It is supposed to be up 1/3 from the bottom. If I set the green line at 1/3 up from the
bottom the distance from the AST trailing edge and the stabilator trailing edge
is only 1-5/8" I will do some
investigating to see what this all
means. I am going to check the length of
the AST pushrod and make sure the distance is correct. If it is not that might be the reason the
green line is so far up the scale. I
will remove the tail cone fairing and check the
measurement.
Tim came back to the hangar with me and we
installed the wings. We rolled the
airplane outside and took some photos.
We also rolled the airplane on some ramps and
scales to get the weight for the weight and balance calculations.
I also chalked a line along
the leading edge of the wing using a plumb bob to locate the line on the hangar
floor. I
used a framing square to locate the
center of the axle bolts and measured to the line from the nose wheel and from
the main gear. I can now complete the Weight & Balance Work Sheet for PAP.
