Hi Graham,
Very sorry to hear of your mishap, particularly your back injury and I hope
you have now recovered and will soon be back in the air.
I have a mono with a Woodcomp SR 3000/3 with reverse and I use it every time
I land at my strip instead of using the brake (obstacles on both
approaches). It is extremely effective for stopping, but whether I could
activate it quickly enough for an abortive take-off (in a panic), is an
unknown. For safety reasons there are a sequence of actions before reverse
can be activated; U/C down, mode switch changed, throttle closed, guard
lifted and reverse switch activated. All but the last two can be done in
preparation for landing.
Of course the U/C will already be down and no doubt you will close the
throttle instinctively when you decide to abort, so if you can do the
others, the prop will go into reverse in under two seconds. If you are
thinking clearly and have quick reactions, I imagine it is do-able.
The mono is extra wobbly on tarmac (because of reduced rudder authority),
but most hard runways are long enough anyway. On grass it is fine, once the
roll-out has been established. It is also very effective for losing height
in the air (VSI off the clock), but Woodcomp forbid this (no doubt because
of litigation) and the PFA exclude it on the "Limitations" placard. I have
never had the courage to try a landing, in case there is insufficient energy
for the round-out, but it might be OK if 80 knots is maintained all the way
down the glide path. Apparently, C 130s can land in reverse for extremely
short landings; perhaps Nigel can comment on this.
Regards,
William
----- Original Message -----
From: "Graham Higgins" <ghiggins@nsw.chariot.net.au>
Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 11:11 PM
Subject: Europa-List: Woodcomp propeller controls
> <ghiggins@nsw.chariot.net.au>
>
> Does anyone have any info or experience in using the reverse thrust in
> anger? My experience of being unable to stop on rollout,( aborted
> takeoff) and hitting that cane drain, has been relived many times. It is
> not a pleasant experience( broken back, broken aircraft). I have often
> wondered if reverse thrust prop would have been more effective than the
> single mono wheel brake on dew laden grass, lightly loaded aircraft.
> I would imagine the aerodynamics involved would be rather complex.
> Graham Higgins in Oz, still rebuilding.
>
>
> --
> 269.7.3/809 - Release Date: 17/05/2007 17:18
>
>
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