L-2 Questions

[wyocubdriver]

All,

I have noticed that on some of the L-2's both current restorations and in some period photos have stall strips on the leading edges of the wings. The L-2A that I am looking at does not have them and I was curious to see if this was something that I would need to fabricate.

Also, the L-2 that we are getting may have some struts that are in questionable condition. Is there a source for NOS or a good set of used struts?

Thanks!

[Guest]

Re: L-2 Questions

Univair has them.

[Ron Greene]

Re: L-2 Questions

Yes, see drawing.

[wyocubdriver]

Re: L-2 Questions

Yes, see drawing.

Ron,

Is this only on the wings with spoilers or on all of them? Our wings are covered and through silver and I would hate to have to cut into them to add stall strips.

Drude,

Univair and Airframes Alaska have struts for the civilian models of the the Taylorcraft, but not for the L-2A. Will those work?

[M Towsley]

Re: L-2 Questions

The struts are different from the civilian models.

[wyocubdriver]

Re: L-2 Questions

The struts are different from the civilian models.

That is what I was thinking.

[Bigdog]

Re: L-2 Questions

Ron,

Is this only on the wings with spoilers or on all of them? Our wings are covered and through silver and I would hate to have to cut into them to add stall strips.

I interpret it as all - it shows D & DCO assembly drawings and has the O-57 & O-57A stamp. Only the M had the pop-up spoilers. There's no reason you can't glue them on the fabric/silver and then put a tape over the strip. You'd still have to bring the taped area up thru silver but no need to cut anything.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: L-2 Questions

Does anyone know where on the leading edge the stall strip is supposed to go? The location along the span is probably important, but how far around the leading edge would be CRITICAL. A stall strip too far up or down could be down right dangerous! Even a 1/4" error could cause some really bad flow separation.

Hank

[cvavon]

Re: L-2 Questions

This is a wing that is original from 1943 it is off a L2M we went threw it and covered it for the owner the stall strip is located between the #8 and #9 rib bay and here is a photo of the placement on the leading edge.

[Mark Bowden]

Re: L-2 Questions

Hank is right on, spanwise location is very important. But also important is chord location on the airfoil so the effect is proper as you approach and go through full stall.

Chuck, do you have a photo from the side to see if it is right on the leading edge, 0% chord or possibly slightly aft/down? It is a bit hard to tell from the photos.

When you bond them on you might want to make cardboard templates to help ensure you get them in the same spot on both wings if they are not right on leading edge.

[Ron Greene]

Re: L-2 Questions

See attached drawing for span-wise location of leading edge spoiler, still looking for other drawings.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: L-2 Questions

Looks like the span wise location is pretty simple. Put it in the last full rib bay before the aileron. That tells me they wanted to trip the flow just inboard of the aileron. Most stall strips are either at the root (because of a problem with the stall initiating too far outboard, which caused the plane to roll, sometimes violently, as the stall progresses outboard, or to cause teh stall to CONTINUE to progress outboard when the aileron is deflected. You usually see stall strips on BOTH sides at the root (but not always) and more often on one side only at the aileron.
The SERIOUS problem is how far around the leading edge you put it. If it is located too high on the leading edge radius teh stall will start early. Too low and it will start too late. NEITHER is a good thing. You want the plane to stall as close to straight ahead as you can and NOT roll off on one wing. Moving it UP on the left wing will cause a left roll, too low on the left wing will cause a right roll. The other thing is power settings can change when the stall starts and how fast it progresses outboard. Some planes become a real bucket of snakes when the stall strips are left off or set wrong. There SHOULD be a drawing that shows EXACTLY how far up or down the strip should go. This is NOT something to experiment with!

Hank

[Edwin Otha]

Re: L-2 Questions

If you don't have them installed you get no buffet prior to the stall. It just mushes down and you can use the rudder to guide it in the mush. With the stall strip you can actually teach somebody to recognize an impending stall. I've flown them both ways and that's all I noticed.
EO

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: L-2 Questions

Sounds like they were solving a problem, but it wasn't a life threatening one. Just be careful that you don't turn a small problem into a big one by placing the strip wrong. Sounds like it is better to leave it off than to put it in the wrong place.

Hank