SuperStol changes.....

[mac]

For those of you who are building up SuperStol fuselages, a couple of us on the West Coast have been dealing with "discoveries" regarding our build that are different than what is shown in the only manual we have...............that being the Highlander Manual. While I'm sure this is not new to everyone, I felt a quick review might be appropriate for those of you who might not be well connected and/or in close proximity to the factory:

1. The flap handle mechanism and where it attaches to the fuselage is radically different than what is shown in the Highlander Manual. In July, I posted pics of the mechanism, as constructed on a flying SuperStol, that we have discovered wasn't quite right. To set the record straight, see the pics below. If you do it right, you actually use up all the pulleys provided!

2. The horizontal stabilizer is mounted/secured with a negative (leading edge down) 1.6 degree incidence, when referenced to a level fuselage. This has been posted on the forum in the past.

3. Apparently, the left and right elevator "halves" are not suppose to be directly in-line with the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer.........as would make sense, at least to me. Apparently, a built-in "offset" should be seen when you have finished the securing of the two halves together at the elevator horns.......where the push/pull tube attaches. It is rumored that when the left elevator is secured/clamped flush with the horizontal, the right elevator, at the outside edge, should be a negative 2 degrees leading edge down. I don't say this as an absolute. Will be verifying in the morning with a phone call to the factory. I would suggest everyone else do likewise. At this point, it's just a heads up. I mounted everything level and flush. If I have to weld up holes and start over.............well, it will be disappointing.

4. The front shocks come in two different sizes.............either 10" of travel or 12" of travel. If you are getting the 29" tires, you'll need the longer travel. You might want to verify you got the right ones.

5. Finally, before you nicopress the flying wires in place, make sure the tabs, where they connect to the vertical stabilizer, are at the right angle. You'll probably need to bend them a bit to get the correct alignment. Check out the last picture (maybe the first) and you'll see what is obviously wrong. What can I say..............missed it!

While much of the assembly of this kit is nothing more than common sense, some of the items above simply aren't. From what I can tell.........they're pretty critical stuff. Hope this helps.

[Familyflyer]

Wow I hope you are wrong on the elevator. That seams silly to me. I drilled mine aligned and the horns are out a bit. So you could be right. I know another builder that has the same problem.

There is several major changes as you had mentioned. I am disappointed that at least a list of them was not given to us to know what to look for. The other item I just learned was to use 1/8 flying wires on the tail if you go 1500 gross. So mine are coming off and being replaced.

We need that manual.

[mac]

Troy.......

Just spoke with Jak at the factory regarding the "misalignment" of the elevators. Per Jak, if the elevators and the horizontal are all aligned at the leading edge, you should see a misalignment at the trailing edges of the elevators. Again, per Jak, this apparently was built-in to reduce the incidence of flutter at low speeds and/or at approach to landing configurations.

For me personally, like what you apparently are seeing, this means the small elevator horns are not perfectly aligned when clamped, drilled and secured. They are just slightly "off".

Unfortunately, none of this is even in the Highlander manual. He intends to correct.

Now I just need to get to the hangar this morning and see if indeed those trailing edges are indeed.............misaligned!

Hope this clarifies. Sorry for the confusion. That said, without a specific manual, a good set of pics for the model or a construction video, I feel a bit............well, vulnerable.

[Familyflyer]

I am not sure how flutter would be a concern at lower speeds. Usually the opossite is what one is worried about, high speeds. I will have to call. I really do not like the idea of constant torque on the elevator at cruise speed. It will likely effect the roll trimming of the aircraft as well. Again clearly highly important amongst many other got yahs that are not even mentioned.

[Familyflyer]

As you mentioned, align the leading edge elevator balance with the horizontal stab and don't worry about the back. If the trailing edge of the elevator does or does not align, that is fine. It can be left as is. It will not be out much. The horns will likely still not align perfectly no matter, so do not use the horn alignment to set the location.

[danerazz]

The other item I just learned was to use 1/8 flying wires on the tail if you go 1500 gross. So mine are coming off and being replaced.

We need that manual.

What is the reasoning for the 1/8" wires on the tail at higher gross? I am building a "standard" highlander, and probably going to bump the weight to about 1450, and I don't see why the tail wires should be different between the two aircraft. I am curious why they need a size bump for a slightly higher weight.

[Familyflyer]

More safety margins when the analasys was done with the gust factors on the airframe. Troy said it was not a have to, just gave more safety margins over the already safety factor. It's a cheap change for piece of mind, I will be doing it.

[danerazz]

If I have to replace them because they get "long" I may go bigger, though I don't think the regular HL needs it. I also doubt it will get the hammering the SS will get.

[FlyDawg]

Mac, Sorry to read about your frustrations, but your post has been invaluable to us out here. Many of us us are prepairing to dive into the same cloud. Good luck with the build!

[Strasnuts]

I just went through this. I don't call the factory too often, I guess I should. I finished mounting my flying wires couple weeks ago and ended up twisting and bending the *#*@ out of my elevators to get them all lined up. My elevator horns do not match up but everything else is perfect 90 degrees. After all this work to hear I'm supposed to leave it "twisted" per factory drives me crazy and now I have to replace my flying wires with new ones that are not supplied by the so called 1500 gross weight airplane!! Sorry for the rant. I'm a little concerned by Just Aircraft not having all the hardware and manuals for planes they are selling. Don't get me wrong, of course I wanted mine right away but now trying to get it built is another story. It seems they like having the numbers of kits being sold but not putting the right amount of time toward QA and build manuals.
I finished my flap mechanism too and finally had to call the factory for guidance. I assembled it by process of elimination with parts but wasn't supplied the proper hardware. I had to order some bolts from Aircraft Spruce. I was short at least two AN4-13A's and one AN4-44A. The long bolt is used on the flap mechanism. I ended up ordering a lot of bolts so I'm not paying for shipping every other day. I spoke with Troy Woodland and he assured me everything will work out. I'm sure I will love the airplane, JUST going through growing pains.

[Strasnuts]

BTW, Mark I used the AN4-44A to go through the flap mechanism plates, through the rear pulleys and through the fuselage rear mounts. This way I didn't have to put in more hardware. It probably is fine either way. I'll post a pic next time I'm at the plane.

[mac]

Flydawg: Thanks!

Strasnuts: Couple of thoughts.

1. Flying wires - I don't remember using my flying wires to make things line up better, but rather to just make sure the horizontal is 90 degrees to the vertical stab and will stay that way under loads. When I initially rigged the elevator horns (without the flying wires in-place), I made sure the horizontal stab leading edge and the leading edges of the elevators (the small portion of each protruding forward) were all lined up. I used small pieces of wood and clamps. I then temporarily clamped the elevator horns together (not real easy, but do-able) and eventually drilled. When all done and bolted-up, made sure the leading edges remained lined up when I released all the clamps and just used the push-pull tube to make the elevator work. They did.

When I rigged the flying wires, none of this changed. What I did discover, obviously, just recently (see post above), is that the trailing edges of the elevators, by design, aren't aligned, if you do everything correctly................or close to correct!

2. Pulleys - Probably just fine if you mount the "interior" pulleys more rearward. Obviously, the alignment of the cabling and the pulley races is what is important.

3. Hardware - This is just my personal take on the matter. I've built a number of kit planes in the my life, been both a dealer and a partner in a kit plane company and have found you never can supply enough hardware to make everybody happy. It's really hard to keep track of each and every nut and bolt. I'd just recommended putting a few hundred bucks in the budget for miscellaneous and/or un-found hardware. Yes, it'll cost a little, but in the end, you'll get the project done quicker and suffer less heartburn over the issue. Just my 2 cents.

Hope this helps.

[Strasnuts]

My post made it sound like I was using the cables to line up my tail feathers. I did not. I actually straightened all the surfaces before mounting them om the plane. The elevators had a lot of twist in them along with the rudder. I was bummed out to hear they are supposed to have a twist.

[danerazz]

Somewhere on here is a thread talking about the "twist" on the regular HL, and the consensus was to clamp the balance horns even with the stab and bolt the halves together. You then get what you get for twist

As for hardware, I have bought quite a bit, some necessary and some (most) just because I want to do it "my way." It is something I expected to put a grand or so into (extra parts/hardware). I am not keeping track of the actual dollar amount I am spending, and NEVER want to know the actual number, it would probably give me a heart attack.

Oh, and as for the manual, the regular HL manual leaves a lot to be desired, though I seem to find all of the important stuff is there. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Maybe not so for the SS.

[accent air]

Hey guys sorry to hear of some of the frustration some are having with the SS build but something to keep in mind, I picked my kit up in December one of the first kits, Troy and Jack both went over most of the problems on this topic and since then myself, Steve Henry and others have covered most of the same problems and posted them. Also, this is a new design which we all knew when we bought the kit and were told it didn't have a revised manual. The factory and Jack especially have been invaluable for any questions - Just my opinion. I am almost done with my kit and have had great fun and great challenges with this build.