Wes's Onex #89

[WesRagle]

Hi Guys,

I've been nervous about the W&B of my Onex for a long time now. I used a heavier engine, a heavier landing gear, a PC680 battery, long wing tips, Installed a baggage compartment, ... All but the wing tips and baggage compartment were forward weights on a plane that is already tilted toward forward CG to accommodate large pilots. Yesterday was the day of reckoning. Scales, plumb bobs, fuel supply, etc.





How bad is it?

Empty weight 638 lbs.
CG is 58.71" aft of the spinner tip which works out to 7.835" aft of the leading edge or 15.67 % wing cord.
Lightest possible pilot with full fuel and no baggage ~ 150 lbs.

Pretty porky and a bit forward on the CG but no worse than I expected. It is comforting to know that there is no aft CG danger with me (~ 190 lbs) at the controls.

Forever Forward,

Wes

[Rofomoto]

Nice job Wes!

[XenosN42]

Hey Wes,

The empty weight of my OneX is 627 pounds, which includes the weight of the vinyl wrap covering. So you are a bit on the heavy side.

[WesRagle]

Hey Guys,

Nice job Wes!

Thanks Billy! No comment on the T-Shirt :-)

The empty weight of my OneX is 627 pounds, which includes the weight of the vinyl wrap covering. So you are a bit on the heavy side.

Hi Michael. Yea, you really need to think about it before messing around with the plans very much. The main things that cost me were using a pre-assembled VW and the aftermarket landing gear, and now I'm a porkster.

The Home Built Help videos that came with my Onex kit showed Jan Eggenfellner helping the "Home Built Help" guy with a Onex build. During the latter portion of the build it could be seen that they had hung a Viking engine on the nose. A Onex with that engine showed up years after the video was made, partially assembled, on Barnstormers. In the pictures you could see that the prop was way close to the ground. Also, back in the early days of the Onex, Jan was showing a Viking cowled up on a Onex (tri-gear none the less) on his web site. Again, I'll bet it was the same plane. I'll lay odds it never flew with that engine. Based on my experience it would be a real chore to get the CG in line with a Viking. Were talking a lot of ballast or the battery strapped to the tail post :-) Then, with a tri-gear, the first bump you hit you could buy a new prop. Just my 2 cents, and worth every penny.

Wes

[Rofomoto]

Hey Guys,

Nice job Wes!

Thanks Billy! No comment on the T-Shirt :-)

Lol. Just saw it!!! Typical cowboy fan living in the ancient past

[tom0nex74]

Wes
0nex 74 empty wt. 630. (remote oil filter & heater), long tips..pilot 160lbs. I fly with 6to 8 gallons of fuel no baggage for best performance.
Tom Ryan. 0nex 74

[WesRagle]

Hi Guys,

Well, I was trying to clean shop yesterday. I kept staring at the pile of boxes, crates, and pallets left over from the build. Where I live it's cool and damp. Rained a lot the last of Winter but hasn't rained for a few days. Perfect weather to burn brush. So ..., I gave it all to the inferno.



Forever Forward,

Wes

[WesRagle]

HI Guys,

Been doing more hangar flying. Of coarse for airplane builders that has a whole different connotation. So, in and out of the cockpit trying to make everything right.

Still fiddling around with seating ideas. I convinced myself that I couldn't properly check seating height without getting a good site picture over the nose in the three point stance. Finally a good excuse to pull the protective covering off of the wind shield. Very motivating. I like it!



While flying around I moved the controls through their full range of motion. The handles on the forward hinge pins in the seat pan would stand up after a few trips in and out of the cockpit so I trimmed those so that they wouldn't interfere with the stick.

Then I strapped in and found the next problem. The crotch strap interfered with the stick. If things worked out such that the stick moved past the strap it could be captured to one side. I need to fix that while I'm at it. I think some folks have moved the strap to the back of the spar and brought it through the seat pan. I'll give that a shot. Advise welcome.



I have one of those three layer stack up of confor-foam left over from a previous life. I think I'll try to make that work for the seat bottom. It was still comfy after 30 min.

Wes

[13brv3]

Sounds like you're getting down to the last few items.

If you get a chance, could you measure (estimate) the thrust line height relative to that long row of rivets on the top of the side skins? In other words, if you could extend a straight line (string perhaps) along that top row of rivets, how far below that is the nose of the spinner?

Thanks,
Rusty (mentally working on the 912 mount)

[WesRagle]

Hi Rusty,

If you get a chance, could you measure (estimate) the thrust line height

The thrust line is given on ONX-P01.

Wes