Stewart Wingtip Install/ wing overhaul.

[moto657]

A little pirep from my experience so far.
When coming into land during the flare the plane used to just kind of mush through and plop into a three point. Now if I try to land it that way it will actually balloon slightly. So I come in slower and lose elevator authority. To remedy this I installed gap seals from cub crafters. They help on the landing but I need to work on technique. Where I really noticed the gap seals is on take off. Full forward on the controls and as soon as the plane starts moving the tail comes up.
With me and half fuel the plane gets off the ground about 35-38 mph indicated. That's a solid 5-8 mph less than before the vg's and wingtips. I give most of that credit to the vg's.
Haven't had a chance to do stalls yet. Tires showed up today, so later this week I'll get those on and go do some stalls. Attachment 17125Attachment 17126

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Jason are those the foam gap seals from Cub Crafters? Do they have an STC for Pacers or did you have to go another route for approval.

They are another small thing I may add to the list of things I'd like to do on my new to me Pacer right away, before I get too far into my tailwheel training.

[JPerkins]

John, I wouldn't worry about the Stewart's tips unless you have to pull the wingtip apart or recover the wing. Personally dont think the cost/benefit is there to go through installing unless there's reason to have the wings open.

Wayne, yes they are the cub foam seals. No there is no stc for the Pacers, mine is installed via minor mod like Steve does (see his above post). And if you wind up with an IA that doesnt agree, (because everyone interprets the FAR's differently, even the FAA) then I would install them as a RBA part (Remove Before Annual). But I didnt tell you to do that, not have I ever done that in the past.

I do gotta say, the gap seals make the pacer tail come up as soon as your rolling and rudder authority is much crisper at those ground loop tail low rudder blanked slow speeds (John you might want to think about these as your next mod). Personally think they should be a safety thing like a shoulder harness.

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[moto657]

Wayne, yes they are the cub foam seals. No there is no stc for the Pacers, mine is installed via minor mod like Steve does (see his above post). And if you wind up with an IA that doesnt agree, (because everyone interprets the FAR's differently, even the FAA) then I would install them as a RBA part (Remove Before Annual). But I didnt tell you to do that, not have I ever done that in the past.

I do gotta say, the gap seals make the pacer tail come up as soon as your rolling and rudder authority is much crisper at those ground loop tail low rudder blanked slow speeds (John you might want to think about these as your next mod). Personally think they should be a safety thing like a shoulder harness.

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Sounds like I have some more parts to order!

[Armstrong]

Thanks Jason,

Well, my ship was all redone and put back in service in 2007, so pretty clean under the skin. Outside she’s a 20 footer. I’ve owned her since February this year. The tips would be more about having some fun tweaking and adding value to her while she’s in my hands. Perhaps some on this thread can weigh in on opinions of whether or not the tip mods will be more attractive to a buyer down the road?

This is the third SWP I’ve owned and by far the nicest yet -and my first Tailwheel A/C (!!) My first was a ‘57 PA-22-150 with stock tips and I loved the way she flew. Second was a ‘61 Colt with 0-290D STC and droop tips. Lost some aileron authority but hard to notice any other effect. Never quite got that plane into rig though.

I’d be real interested in knowing how your ship behaves now in comparison to before, like your sink rates with various power settings on approach? Any difference? I do believe the VGs on mine are significant, Micro claims 6 mph reduction in stall with full flaps, and based on how my A/C behaves, I believe it’s darned close! Aesthetically, I think the classic bows are spot on, but I think over time it’s become more well known that for light aircraft hoerner tips give good benefits right across the flight envelope, and I like that the Stewart tips are part hoerner with a bit of a classic bow.

Forgive my ramblings, looking forward to seeing more of your comments on flight characteristics as time passes. looks like “RBA” gaps seals for now, and maybe you’ll (all) save me some money!

Cheers,

John

[JPerkins]

I did the tips and vg's at the same time and wound up noticing an improvement in aileron authority, likely due to the vg's. If the wingtips took away some I do not know.
Where I notice the biggest difference in performance is landing. I fly this plane by attitude so I'm not sure on numbers, but the sight picture I had when I used to three point will cause it to balloon if I try to flare it from that point now. I gotta get the nose up a little higher before planting the controls in my lap.

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[Armstrong]

Jason, sounds like you’ve got a lot of lift at low speed and high angle of attack! That’s encouraging! Have you noticed any improvement in climb or cruise?

[JPerkins]

Jason, sounds like you’ve got a lot of lift at low speed and high angle of attack! That’s encouraging! Have you noticed any improvement in climb or cruise?

Not really

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[Armstrong]

I guess hard to tell while pushing the big wheels! Pretty cool though! I’m based at Edson AB so on the asphalt a lot. I’ll likely stick with the Goodyear 8.50s we put on recently. Ordered the gap seals today. My AME says minor mod. Thanks!

[Glen Geller]

I guess hard to tell while pushing the big wheels! Pretty cool though! I’m based at Edson AB so on the asphalt a lot. I’ll likely stick with the Goodyear 8.50s we put on recently. Ordered the gap seals today. My AME says minor mod. Thanks!

Your AME, not your IA?
Sorry I'm confused.
Is that the Canadian equivalent?
GG

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[Gilbert Pierce]

Aircraft Maintenance Engineer in Canada, A Common term on this forum.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airc...ineer_(Canada)