Loss of Elevator Authority on Landing

[rocketman1988]

After flying the 14A for 6 years the 10 flies and handles almost identical but landings are very different. I like using full flaps (as long as the crosswind components is less than 10 knots) but initially was well within my W&B limits but even at initial landing IAS at 70 knots felt I was running out of elevator authority when final touchdown speeds of 53-56 knots. I have a composite prop and no A/C. When no passengers in the rear I now place 60 lbs. of salt in the baggage area plus my tools (10-15 lbs.) and lands very nice and plenty of elevator authority at 50-56 knots. If you have A/C probably need even more weight. Baggage area can hold 100 lbs. If you want to touchdown at 65-70 knots not much weight in the rear needed. I don't.

View attachment 124055he

Not a fan of touching down that slow; it works…until it doesn’t. I prefer to have a bit more margin for those unexpected gusts…

 

[Fffflats]

To add to the sneak into stall as check, the effect is worse in ground effect. If you’re not getting the break at altitude, don’t expect it in the flare. Which means your nose feels heavier IGE.

 

[dmattmul]

I wouldn’t let a bag of salt get within a quarter mile of my -10. Suggest a bag of washed gravel or anything less reactive.

It’s double bagged. If it breaks I’ve got a bigger problem.

I start my flare at 60-65 knots 1-3 ft from the ground. Vso is 55 knots. If I see a cross-wind gust over 5 knots I might add 5 knots. (My home airport only has one runway and in Florida it gets pretty gusty in the afternoon) Not rocket science. How do I know its 60-65 knots I listen to my AOA cadence of the beep-beep-beeps and then review on FlySto my IAS at 25 ft and below every flight. If it's fast or slow, I know it practice and review.

The point is if one uses a CG not nose oriented heavy and one uses a proper approach speed plenty of elevator authority.

 

[kkendall2718]

Kristopher
Nice to meet a fellow Norco. I'm at KFNL as well. Four Vans RVs on my row and two one row over.
I got nothing. Just sayin hello and wish you well.
No help as my 7A is totally different. I have enough elevator to hold the nose off till it won't stay up anymore. CG is pretty neutral.

Well Hello,

I built an RV-7A and got my license in it. Still love it! I do a lot of aerobatics in that plane and there is nothing like it. Great for cross country flights and everything else. The RV-10 is a different animal but so comfortable. Reclining and sliding seats, spacious interior. Just a delight, but really designed for hauling people fast and efficiently, no acro. My only current issue, related to KFNL, is that damned towered controlled class Echo airspace. I cannot get the Dynon Skyview HDX system to display the airspace limits. After several conversations with a lot of pilots, the consensus is that you cannot enter the airspace without tower approval. I added a mount for my iPad and ForeFlight to keep from violations. Fly safe!

 

[kkendall2718]

I wouldn’t let a bag of salt get within a quarter mile of my -10. Suggest a bag of washed gravel or anything less reactive.

I am also a skydiver and need weights to place on my rigs for packing so we do not drag them forward when we align all of the fabric and lines. My favorite option is to use old brake rotors wrapped in decorative duct tape and with a nylon webbing handle. I made one special for the RV-10. I push the rear seat passenger seatbelts through into the luggage compartment and attach them to the weight. That way, if I get passengers in the back, I won't forget to remove it.

 

[DCBrown198]

I fly a -10 and am almost always at runways greater than 4000' If I look to the backseats, and there is nobody there, my hand stays off of the flap switch the whole flight. I prefer how the airplane does takeoffs and landings flaps up. I pretty much operate approaches at the same speeds regardless of flap settings. Yeah...if I need the performance for a runway or obstacle issue I'll dial some in, but otherwise I'm flaps up.

My -10 also doesn't like to flare big with full flaps and forward CG.

 

[justa6ereh]

On big gliders, it is not atypical to place ballast, usually in the form of lead shot bags into a rear ballast position in the tail. Most of the time a simple spreadsheet is prepared for loading data and ballast result.

This difference in performance is pretty profound in the big open class ships with L/D ratios approaching 60:1 and the thermalling performance can be quite affected.

If wouldn’t be hard to fabricate a box with an access hatch to secure 5 and 10 pound ballast pouches to allow you to fine tune for Cg for the mission.

It does take a little diligence, but once it’s a checklist item, it’s pretty straight forward. Gliding performance and approach performance will benefit and with a little effort a spreadsheet can be configured to account for fuel useabe, allowing you to plan your landing Cg, well ahead of time for each mission.

Planning for adding occupants along the way, or baggage and fuel consideration can all be factored in to help contemplate what Cg requirements are most beneficial…in this regard, the 10 is sorta like operating a 185….the more you can carry, the more you can vary…so a bit more planning diligence than a two seater.

If your elevator still doesn’t produce a full stall at more aft Cg ranges,I’d evaluate further…