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Folheto

e

DVD

R$20,00

Camisa polo

Sonex

P-G-GG

R$ 40,00

Boné Sonex

amarelo

R$ 20,00

Bordado

Sonex

R$ 10,00

Sport Acro center seating single-place cockpit.

John Monnett familiarizes test pilot Roger Tanner with the Sport Acro's cockpit.

I dropped off Jeremy and went back out west of the field for a little Waiex fun on my own, again to look at the roll rates and light acro such as lazy-8’s and wing-overs with one person on board as that would be more comparable to the Sport Acro, which is set up to fly solo.  The roll rate was slightly faster so I estimate it at 65-70° per second at 120MPH.  Back to Wittman field for a few patterns and landings using the same procedures as stated above and I was ready to fly the Sport Acro.

The Sport Acro, set up to fly solo from the center, makes for a very roomy cockpit with great visibility left, right and over the nose.  The stick, in the center is approximately 3 inches longer in anticipation of the added hinge moment forces for the longer ailerons, which are approximately 16 inches longer inboard making the flaps about 16 inches shorter.  For reference (from my set of plans) the standard ailerons on the Sonex / Waiex are approximately 39 inches long and the flaps are approximately 72 inches long.  I was curious how this would affect roll rate and stall speed, which was the reason for the evaluation.

I spent a few minutes getting used to the cockpit controls for the wheel brakes, flaps, trim, radio, engine and flight instruments as well as a very nice-to-have video recording system set up by Mark Schaible so we could provide those interested in the Sport Acro some video.  I taxied out thinking about the takeoff and reminding myself that the ailerons are much longer and they may be “over sensitive” on takeoff so do not “over control.”  This concern proved not to be an issue.  Yes they are more responsive, but I had no tendency to over control on takeoff. 

I went out west of the field and checked the roll rate of the Sport Acro, again at 120MPH in bank-to-bank rolls 60° to 60°.  This time it was close to 1 second so I estimate the roll rate at this speed at 110 – 120° per second.  So that means we have an increase in roll rate of approximately 60% (approximately 40° per second faster divided by 65° per second).  I also ran though what I would consider a common set of proficiency acro maneuvers (loop, cloverleaf, Cuban-8, split-s, Immelmann, aileron roll and barrel roll, etc.)  The mission of the “Sport Acro” is to be an entry-level acro aircraft for the Sportsman category and just a fun acro machine that is also an all around Light Sport Aircraft that can be flown as a two place with some re-arranging of the interior. 

The Sport Acro has hit the mark!  Workload for the pilot during acro is very low.  The aircraft is very easy to fly during acro with good control harmony, which means that the forces and deflections in pitch and roll are favorable to the pilot and properly proportioned.  The differential ailerons assist the pilot, as only small amounts of rudder are needed to coordinate rolls.  A loop is accomplished by starting a slight dive for 140MPH then smoothly pulling it up into a 2.5 – 3g loop using approximately 300 ft.  Other acro maneuvers such as an aileron roll, barrel roll, and Cuban-8 are a piece of cake and will be available to view thanks to the three camera video system.  Please remember these are my first attempts at these maneuvers in this aircraft.

Stalls were also accomplished in the Sport Acro.  There is no difference in stall characteristics with noticeable buffet before the stall and the speed is within a few knots of the standard model at approximately 40MPH.  Returning back to the pattern at Wittman field I used the same techniques described above in the Waiex and the pattern and landing were very easy using those procedures.

Thanks to Jeremy, John and Mark for the opportunity to fly the Sport Acro.  Once again you have found a good balance of performance, flying qualities and cost to meet the desired task and mission. The Sport Acro is a sweet little acro machine!