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**Buell Powell** · 08-21-2008, 06:23

Re: Rigging F22A

Hi Robert,
There are several post about rigging and the manuel is pretty easy to follow. I have not rigged a TRI-gear and there may be some differences in leveling but I would think the basic procedure should be the same. Was the plane in trim before they took it apart? If the wing was properly re-assembled then no adjustment should have been needed. They may have not properly checked and adjusted the tram for the wing bays or gotten something out of alignment for the aileron. Is one of the wings heavy or does it stay level and need rudder to keep from turning? Just wondering if the tank itself was leaking and where or if it was a connection. I haven't flown a Tri-gear but Taylorcrafts are fine airplanes-most that are flying today are over 60 years old and have had very few problems other than time related or a very few from poor maintenance practices and usually not hard to correct. The only 2 Tri-gear Taylorcrafts I know of are both at the La-Grange Airport. One is a 180HP that is currently flying and I believe the other has the 0235 but not sure. and is dis-assembled.I haven't any information about the 0320 or know of the problems you need help with.
Good luck and I'm sure someone on the forum can help find solutions for the problems and once they are worked out you will have a nice airplane. Please keep us posted.

**RobertP** · 08-21-2008, 07:27

Re: Rigging F22A

Hi,

Thanks for the response - It seems to me having visited Rob Lee's various aircraft up at Leicester that perhaps the older T/craft were better build quality than my model which as I understand it was probably virtually the last to be built before the factory closed down 1991 /2 and that may speak volumes! My tank was "holed" in a number of places both top and bottom mainly at the brackets where the fabric clips were attached and also where the metal supports were attached to the tank brackets. There was also a couple of places in the main tank area which were also holed and dented! so I don't know what had gone on but suffice to say there was nothing in the logs! I just hope the welds last out and that the other tank is ok?

The aircraft has not been flown yet but the main problem for the mechanic seems to be the adjustment of the vaious cables to get everything looking and measuring correct in the first instant. When I flew the aircraft all be it only 5 hours (2 hrs as a check out with an instructor ) it seemed to fly ok but after I bought it I did speak to someone who had flown it for the previous owner and he said it was prown to dropping the left wing so perhaps something was not quite right in the set up. I just wondered if the useful points on the F19 thread also applied to my model but not sure cos of the Tri Gear aspect?

Regards,

Bob P.

**mikerice** · 08-21-2008, 07:50

Re: Rigging F22A

Hi Bob,
When I was at the Taylorcraft factory, I remember seeing the file drawer with the build sheets on the F21 and F22. It was a single file drawer of manila folders, I am guessing about 50 total aircraft. I was surprised at the small number.

Are you sure about the Lycoming O320 Model number? I thought all the F21 and F22 used Lycoming 0235 118HP engines. (Some had 180HP, but not many). The engine change occurred about 1975 when the Cessna 150 switched from the Continental O-200 to the Cessna 152 with the Lycoming 0235.

I am working from memory and could be wrong on the engine models.

**Buell Powell** · 08-21-2008, 08:02

Re: Rigging F22A

Mike.I think the dis-assembled plane at La Grange does have an 0235 instead of an 0320 but not sure, and you are right. I know of another F21 that was dis-assembled at the factory in La Grange and the owner found there was a problem with aileron cable routing when he was figuring out how to put it back together.It seems(if I remember what he told me correctly) the fuselage exits for his plane are spaced for a plane that has flaps which are not the same as for one that does not have them and the wings were originally built for flaps but they were left off when the plane was built and the cable routing had to be changed which made for some alignment problems that had to be corrected.I didn't actually see the plane or know just how they routed the cables or if this would help with his problem so I sent Robert a PM for information to contact the owner of that plane and may be he can help. I would think the wing heavy problem is probably just a washout adjustment.
Thanks for the information regarding the engine-hope it is the case for the F22.

**RobertP** · 08-21-2008, 08:02

Re: Rigging F22A

Mike,

Thanks will check. I was just working from memory - it seems to be so long since I saw it!

Regards,

Bob P.

**RobertP** · 08-21-2008, 08:40

Re: Rigging F22A

Buel,
Thanks will call him if necessary. My aircraft has flaps fitted. Away until Tuesday now as bank holiday in the UK

Bob P

**Buell Powell** · 08-21-2008, 10:11

Re: Rigging F22A

If the problem is just with reconnecting the cables and adjustment then I would think you can find it for one with flaps thru the foundation. If the problem is that the cables will not line up like they should then pre haps they have miss-routed them inside the wing. If this is a possibility then you might check the location and distance center to center of where the cables exit the wing to see if this is correct and check inside the wing to see if the are routed correctly--you can probably look inside the other wing to see how they should be done.

**RobertP** · 08-21-2008, 15:24

Re: Rigging F22A

Buell,

Thanks will pass all this information on. The main problem seems to be that when they get things looking correct it does not quite tally with the figures in the book.
By the way just checked & Mike's memory was spot on it is fitted with the Lycoming 0-235-L2C engine.

Regards,

Bob P

**Forrest Barber** · 08-24-2008, 19:18

Re: Rigging F22A

IMHO that ship was not really a "TAylorcraft" it was put together at Lock Haven at the last and the old Piper folks just did not know Taylorcraft....I am finally going to do .the next newsletter and will address the UK ships in full. Basically the F-22A, B, C D ships were 118 or 180 and had weird springs and things to pass yaw tests. All this was not necessary. e-mail me direct with small file pictures. I flew one of them before they were tanked..

**Robert Lees** · 08-26-2008, 06:54

Re: Rigging F22A

To add some background information, Bob's F22 tri-gear and an F22 conventional gear (photo below) were flow across the Atlantic to the UK in the early 1990's. They had special bigger tanks in the wings (60 gal, instead of 40 gal std).

The taildragger version now based at my home field has never (to my knowledge) had issues with rigging or fuel leaks. The rigging for the taildragger is the same as the B models, so I would expect the tri-gear to be the same (i.e. using the stabiliser as the horizontal datum, and then set the washout according to the manual). C.g. range would be different, I'd expect.

Rob

**Forrest Barber** · 08-26-2008, 07:16

Re: Rigging F22A

When I saw them at Lock Haven and flew the one, the tanks were standard 40 in wings they were 'tanked" with an extra tank in the baggage area. I have pictures and other info for the owner. The rigging is same for stuts, tail etc. I think he means the "springs and things" on the rudder cables & the flap stuff , it is a nightmare ( IMHO) . Remember the yaw stability was solved when we greased the tail wheel on the conventional ship .

**Robert Lees** · 08-26-2008, 07:33

Re: Rigging F22A

Yeh, the aileron cables have springs on them too.

**RobertP** · 08-27-2008, 08:37

Re: Rigging F22A

Forrest,

Thanks for the info it does all seem to be a bit of a nightmare getting it all back together again especially for an engineer who has never seen a Taylorcraft before! The CAA Star Annual ( due every 3 years!) was also almost due so I have pitched it straight into that to get the financial pain done in one hit and it will be painful! The plus side of that is that as part of the Inspection the plane has to be flown by a qualified test pilot so perhaps my bucks will save my neck!

I have numerous pictures of the plane plus the repair and the "holed tank" but unfortunately I cannot send them via email as I have no means of having them scanned in? I will find out the FAA registration and let you know. Both the tail dragger at Leicester and my aircraft figure in the Taylorcraft Story book by Chet Peake. Any pictures info etc would be great? did you ever speak to the Pilots who flew them across the pond?

Bob P.

**RobertP** · 08-27-2008, 14:48

Re: Rigging F22A

Forrest.

The US registration of my aircraft was N22UK (now G-BWBI ) and the serial number was 2207. It was first registered in the UK on 3/4/95 although it arrived in the UK some time previous to that but I understand that there were difficulties obtaining the Certificate of Airworthiness from the CAA due to initial concerns over build quality.

Regards,

Bob Preston.

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