pacerflyer wrote:How do you like your stewart tips? That's the next mod I'm going to make. What kind of process was it to install them? Is there any fabric work that has to be done? What are the +/- of them?
http://www.stewartsystems.aero/product/ ... 6f72d.aspx
aka http://tinyurl.com/5nrwrh
Installation was on a PA-22-150; tricycle gear, 150 horse, no wheel pants. It's been back in the air since Nov '08. The new tips don't droop, and don't increase the span. They swap the wide, round, wood hoop for a sheared-off tip. The new components are all metal.
I haven't put enough hours on them yet, not was I really in-tune enough with the 'before' performance (and plane was down for eight months!) to critique all the claims the Stewarts make but can say that the stall certainly isn't any faster, and cruise did go up. I'd already pinned the cruise boost to between 5-10 mph, then heard the Stewart's expect about 7-8, so I was right in the ball park. (I cruise at 2350 indicated, and my tach reads 75 RPM high.)
My friends in the local Short-Wing chapter (which includes Doug 'n Dan Stewart) are lining up for test rides. As they remark on the changes they feel, I'll forward any more comments WRT control authority, etc., back to this thread.
The kit comes in several separate components. Down side is that some welding is required to put it together. (Surprised my mech. 8*( ) Upside is that it comes in a small enough box to UPS, doesn't have to ship motor-freight. Also, can accommodate differences in factory (and since) jigging, across the list of Piper models they fit.
Yes, there is fabric work required. Don't know how significant that would be on a wing you weren't planning to recover anyway. My hand was forced (*). The kit includes a stub main-spar extension of 6-8 inches, a hoop of galvanized conduit, and sheet Al for the extended LE and TE areas, plus more. The hoops have fittings welded in place for tip-strobes.
In general, I'd be inclined to accept at face value any claims the Stewart's make about the kit. They're pretty rigorous, and straight-up guys. Their wives are good folks, too.
Benton 11jan09
(*) My mech discovered some f***wad, rather than cut down the screws for the fuel bay cover just hogged out the metal they interfered with on one side in the vague/distant past. That turns out to be the rear-spar flange. Good news is that Univair has the extrusion for $400. Bad news is that installation was 'somewhat more.' Oh, the joys of owning a 50 YO airplane. And the fabric was going on 30 years old anyway, so even tho' it was still passing, it was about time to see what was underneath.
