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Old 6th Nov 2011, 15:36
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A and C
 
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: north of barlu
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Robin DR400

A lot of good stuff above thanks largely to backpacker but to add to this I would say is that the Robin exhibits a few differences form the average SEP.

The outer section of the wing is washed out to a zero A of A when the aircraft is in the cruise, this is part of the reason the aircraft is particularly slippery as the ourt section of wing acts to reduce the induced drag. This makes the aircraft reluctant to slow. At about 70 kt the increase in A of A will result in the outer wings starting to produce lift and as a result drag, this can be a trap for young players as the reluctance to slow is now replaces by rapidly increasing drag as the aircraft slows further, the speed will bleed of quickly surprising those who have not been keeping a sharp eye on the airspeed.

I always demonstrate the power needed to maintain level flight at 80, 70, 65, 60 & 55kts this demo clearly shows the power required to overcome the drag.

Problems with the nose wheel steering that have been highlighted in posts above are due to poor maintenance of the shock strut oil/air level and pressure, given the poor standard to the early editions of the maintenance manual there was some excuse for this but the latest edition of the manual gives crystal clear guidance on the subject and so these problems should be a thing of the past.
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