ANSWERS
How does the RV-4 compare to the Glastar? I am just looking for comments on comparing the fun factor and performance comparisons.
Thanks out there!
BTW, I'm building a Sportsman (Glastar's big brother) and had pretty much the same kind of questions in my mind since my "flying" airplane is very light and nimble. After flying a Glastar with modified ailerons I have to say it's indeed more like a sport cruiser than a flying truck, but definitely not a full sport airplane.
A Glastar with a 160hp and CS prop is a pretty decent performer. With an O-360 it's a GREAT performer, with cruise up in the 135-140kt range while hauling a bunch of bulky stuff. Plywood ripped into 2'x8' sheets can handily be loaded through the front door. There's no RV that has that kind of capacity, otherwise I'd likely be building one! LoL
Stability for instrument flight and long-haul cruising is great in the Glastar, and it's incredibly roomy (wider than a C-182). We like the Sportsman because, while our friends are folding up their expensive Dahon bikes to put in the back of their -6, -7 or -9, our bikes will go in the Sportsman pretty much fully intact. That means we have enough of a head start in taking off that it should negate some of the speed advantage of the RV."
Source: http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=79263
Source: http://www.supercub.org/forum/showthread.php?29228-Glastar-Sportsman
Source: http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/aircraft-design-aerodynamics-new-technology/4311-glasair-glastar-fuel-type.html
It is important to check that the combination of control-run friction and flap air-load does not result in an excessively high flap deployment force being required.
By far, the best operating practice is to slow the airplane down to the GlaStar’s Vfe—and avoid the problem entirely.
By the way, if you really feel the need for speed, for just $6,655 you can install speed-brakes in the wings to slow down (Preciseflight, n.d.).
Although every GlaStar retains the ability to have its wings folded thanks to the way its wings are attached to the fuselage, some GlaStars are missing the Wing Brace Kit, which must be installed before the wing-fold function can be used.
Wing-fold procedure
The first step in folding a GlaStar’s wings is to remove the two fiberglass hatches above the baggage compartment. When the hatches have been removed, part of the wings have room to swing into the back of the cabin as the wings fold.
When you fold the wings on a GlaStar, the wingtips will lower, which puts the fuel tank vent outlets below the top of the fuel tanks (even more so on taildraggers). In this situation, fuel may flow out the fuel vents, creating an expensive puddle of flammable liquid under the airplane.
One answer to this problem is to plug the fuel tank vent outlet at the bottom of each wing, while being sure not to forget to remove the plugs prior to next flight. A better solution is to have only a small amount of avgas remaining in each tank. Installing a one-way Andair CK375-M check valve in each wingtip is not effective for this purpose, because fuel will still drip out of the fuel-tank vents, albeit at a reduced rate of flow.
With hatches removed and fuel vents plugged, one of the two long support struts (which are much longer than the other two struts) is connected to a permanently installed AN42B-C4A eyebolt located on the wing near the wing root. The other end of the support strut is then connected to a permanently installed strut lug where the base of the strut joins the fuselage.
This operation is repeated on the opposite side of the aircraft: one end of the remaining long support strut is attached to the eyebolt located on the other wing near the wing root, and the bottom end of the support strut is connected to the corresponding lug at the base of the wing strut.
These two support struts serve to relieve the load on the two forward spar pins in the cabin, thus enabling the spar pins to be removed. The support struts also hold each wing in proper alignment so that the spar and the wing attach clevis in the cage line up again when the wing is swung back into flight position. The support struts are adjustable at one end to accommodate minor dimensional variations on each side of the aircraft.
Following attachment of the support struts, the two short steel-tube struts are connected to eyebolts which have been permanently attached to the aft spar of the wings toward the wingtips. The eyebolts are located on the lower surface of the wings directly aft of the outermost inspection holes, close to the trailing edge of the wings.
The two short struts do not support a vertical load. Instead, they serve to hold the wings in their fully folded position close to the rudder, so they don't swing away and risk being damaged.
At this point, with the two long support struts attached at top and bottom, and short struts attached to the wings, one of the spar pins can be removed at the wing root inside the cabin. The wing is then free to swing back toward the tail; during this operation cable tension on flaps and ailerons will be relieved and their control surfaces will droop.
When the wing has been swung close to the vertical fin, the wing is secured to the tail by attaching the free end of the strut dangling from the eye bolt to another AN42B-C4A eyebolt permanently attached to the vertical fin. Once secured, the remaining wing can be swung and secured to the vertical fin with its strut.
Note that the action of swinging the wings backward moves the center of gravity aft. For GlaStars configured with tricycle landing gear, the tail of the aircraft will to move to the ground as the wing swings rearward if the tail is not supported.
Note also that with the two fiberglass hatches above the baggage compartment removed, the cabin is exposed to the elements.
wing folding - pilot side
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