WIX member Ollie and his FockeWulf
Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:01 am
Jeff
Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:53 am
Now that's what I call a Warbird.
Thanks for the shot Jeff!
Thanks for the shot Jeff!
Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:22 am
I just noticed that the main landing gear retracts outward...like the B-24. That's kind of cool.
Gary
Gary
F W
Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:22 am
I don't know much about them furrin wuns, looks interesting. What's it compare to; T-34, SF 260 ? How bout a brief pirep, Ollie?
Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:32 am
Cool paint scheme
Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:55 am
Here's a reprint of an older post...
Focke-Wulf Fw 149D
S/N 167
C-FWOL
First impression is that the Focke is a alot of airplane to be pulled by a wee 275HP engine.
Climbing is helped by the springloaded handle on the side of the fuselage, which retracts afterwards. Steping on the seat helps getting in the cabin, and the rear seat is accessible by lowering the pilots' seat back. Strapping is easy, we put Hooker Harness in there. Startup is fairly standard for a pressurized carburator engine : Boost pump, then prime 5 shots, mags on M1, engage starter and when it fires, shove the mixture forward. It starts very easily each time. Once it is running, put the mags on M1+M2 so you're running on both. While the engine is warming up, I set my switches (lights and so forth), avionics, trims and check the controls. Also, I enjoy the throaty growl of the BMW-Lycoming GO-480-B1A6.
Run up is your standard piston engine procedure. When you're ready to take-off, close the canopy (it can't be opened in flight), lower two notches of flaps, boost pump on and off you go. It is an atmospheric engine, so MP will be at around 30". Rotation is made at around 60KIAS, once you assert that you have a positive rate of climb, retract the u/c. This is the most awkward manoeuver, since you have to change the stick from your right hand to your left. In fact, you have to do this everytime you need to mess with the gears, flaps, radios and systems on the right side of the cockpit. You have to be careful during the take-off roll to put enough rudder, because the aircraft has a good tendency to swing to the left and it is hard to correct. Also, rotating too soon will blank the rudder and again, it'll be hard to hold straight. Once the u/c is up, reduce prop RPM to 3000 and suck the flaps up slowly at around 100KIAS. The flaps are manual, so you need a good arm, especially when retracting them.
Cruise is done at 2750RPM and 23-24" of MP, burning 17-20 gallons an hour. There is no mixture control, so you just burn fuel. It gets a little bit better if you go up. Airbatics are easy, but the aircraft is slow to respond. During a roll, you have time to email your friends about it. Split-S are easy, although speed builds up rapidly, so I always start them in a climb.
Stalls are non eventful, with plenty of shaking and buffeting 4-5 knots before the break.
Approach and landings are easy, although you sometime have to work quite a bit to slow the aircraft down, as you can't really pull the power all the way back without damaging the gear box. Drop the gears and the flaps at 110KIAS, and usually 30 degrees will get you down safely at a Vref of around 85KIAS. For shorter fields, full flaps and 80KIAS take care of the job. In base leg, advance prop RPM to 3000, it helps slowing you down and once you activate the boost pump on final, you're set for an overshoot if the need arises. Also, be sure to check your carb heat for any ice, as the aircraft has a tendency to ice up.
So, that's how my trainer flies.
P.S. Here's a small video of the beast in action : http://www.f00sly.com/video/aviation/rv ... f_csb3.mpg
Focke-Wulf Fw 149D
S/N 167
C-FWOL
First impression is that the Focke is a alot of airplane to be pulled by a wee 275HP engine.
Climbing is helped by the springloaded handle on the side of the fuselage, which retracts afterwards. Steping on the seat helps getting in the cabin, and the rear seat is accessible by lowering the pilots' seat back. Strapping is easy, we put Hooker Harness in there. Startup is fairly standard for a pressurized carburator engine : Boost pump, then prime 5 shots, mags on M1, engage starter and when it fires, shove the mixture forward. It starts very easily each time. Once it is running, put the mags on M1+M2 so you're running on both. While the engine is warming up, I set my switches (lights and so forth), avionics, trims and check the controls. Also, I enjoy the throaty growl of the BMW-Lycoming GO-480-B1A6.
Run up is your standard piston engine procedure. When you're ready to take-off, close the canopy (it can't be opened in flight), lower two notches of flaps, boost pump on and off you go. It is an atmospheric engine, so MP will be at around 30". Rotation is made at around 60KIAS, once you assert that you have a positive rate of climb, retract the u/c. This is the most awkward manoeuver, since you have to change the stick from your right hand to your left. In fact, you have to do this everytime you need to mess with the gears, flaps, radios and systems on the right side of the cockpit. You have to be careful during the take-off roll to put enough rudder, because the aircraft has a good tendency to swing to the left and it is hard to correct. Also, rotating too soon will blank the rudder and again, it'll be hard to hold straight. Once the u/c is up, reduce prop RPM to 3000 and suck the flaps up slowly at around 100KIAS. The flaps are manual, so you need a good arm, especially when retracting them.
Cruise is done at 2750RPM and 23-24" of MP, burning 17-20 gallons an hour. There is no mixture control, so you just burn fuel. It gets a little bit better if you go up. Airbatics are easy, but the aircraft is slow to respond. During a roll, you have time to email your friends about it. Split-S are easy, although speed builds up rapidly, so I always start them in a climb.
Stalls are non eventful, with plenty of shaking and buffeting 4-5 knots before the break.
Approach and landings are easy, although you sometime have to work quite a bit to slow the aircraft down, as you can't really pull the power all the way back without damaging the gear box. Drop the gears and the flaps at 110KIAS, and usually 30 degrees will get you down safely at a Vref of around 85KIAS. For shorter fields, full flaps and 80KIAS take care of the job. In base leg, advance prop RPM to 3000, it helps slowing you down and once you activate the boost pump on final, you're set for an overshoot if the need arises. Also, be sure to check your carb heat for any ice, as the aircraft has a tendency to ice up.
So, that's how my trainer flies.
P.S. Here's a small video of the beast in action : http://www.f00sly.com/video/aviation/rv ... f_csb3.mpg
ice
Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:11 am
Ollie, "a tendency to ice up"? That's cause you are flying the thing nearly up there where God meant for Eskimos to live. Bet it would not ice up in Texas in August! Acro sounds good, but is there no way to open canopy if you had to bail out?
Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:35 am
Bill, the canopy can't be opened in flight, but it can be jettisoned. And the icing up has to do with the carburator, when it's humid outside, I get carb ice.
Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:10 pm
Nice shot of Ollie's FW, Jeff!
Hey Ollie, nice Eagle on the side, although it looks kinda' familier..............................I'm thinking Squadron Publishing/Mail-order???
Hey Ollie, nice Eagle on the side, although it looks kinda' familier..............................I'm thinking Squadron Publishing/Mail-order???
Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:52 am
Ollie wrote:..................................... we put Hooker Harness in there..........................
Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:53 am
But seriously, I really do like it. Its always nice to see something a bit different and/or obscure.