Flying in the rain.

[klein]

I did some flying in light rain, no prob (Rotax 503) on trike.

I would however be very interested to hear what the experts say,
Is this recommended or not. The only concern I have, is the moisture that is sucked with the air, threw the air filters??

[witwillem]

Dis nou moeilikheid soek se dinge , die ejen houni van water nie sal di pistons laat seize en krank verniel die olie , pretrol en water meng en dan sie jy jouse agteren sonner spieltjir witwillem

[Bundy]

Personally I would avoid it if at all possible....over and above the possibility of moisture finding its way into the engine (it would have to be a serious downpour)...I don't think the comms system will appreciate it much?

Having rain drops on your visor also negatively affects your visibility.

My advice...avoid it.

[mulderpm]

Personally I would avoid it if at all possible....over and above the possibility of moisture finding its way into the engine (it would have to be a serious downpour)...I don't think the comms system will appreciate it much?

Having rain drops on your visor also negatively affects your visibility.

My advice...avoid it.

Even after half an hour or so in moderate rain , the engine does not faulter at all. The comms usually failes within the first 10 minutes, and starts Buzzing,...no pun intended. Rain drops on your visor also seriously reduces your vision, more so than the rain. It is definitely not advisable, and must be avoided if at all possible. If encountered on route, rather fly around it, or land....

[Madman]

Heya

Got caught in rain on route to Ntokozo once Just got my license and it was the Cowboys and Can Can Girls flyinn at Tribal's place. Took off from Circus airfield and it was all clear, not long after passing Panorama a sudden down pour happened and I was soaked...hit a 180 and pulled bar back to Circus where it was dry

Not a nice feeling at all...as for the rain on the visor, turning your head sideways clears the visor...old biker trick

[pietmeyer]

Also the prop does not like the water. Saw a prop that was flying in the rain and e leading edge was done for. Needed a whole new prop

[kloot piloot]

Getting caught in rain with a trike is not a sin. Many pilots all over the world have been caught out by rain, me included. But have a back door open and get out of it as soon as possible, because we are only cleared to fly VFR. As everyone else already mentioned:

-Your comms might not like it, depending on type and where it is located in your trike.
-Visors can be given the biker treatment, even an in-flight wipe with your glove helps (Madman knows)
-A wooden prop and big rain drops = land ASAP (Piet, I assume you were referring to a wooden prop).
-Water spray does get into the filters, but the air is rather disturbed in pusher configuration. (Keep in mind that air on a 90%-plus humidity day also runs throught the engine). I would however limit time in rain and run the engine once back in the hangar to dry everything out.

However, the single biggest thing to be aware of when flying in rain is your wing.
The longer you stay in the rain the flight characteristics of a trike wing will gradually change from good to bad to ugly. Many times without you noticing it. Roll rate will decrease slowly, pitch gets affected, airspeed is affected and the stall slowly creeps up into a zone that you are unfamiliar with.

Bottom line, be aware of increased stall speed and fly out of the rain ASAP, or find a place to land.

[klein]

Thanks for all the response guys.


Surly learnt something here!!

[bryan]

I agree with Kloot pilot. As a test I have purposely gone up above the field in light drizzle. Firstly put a plastic bag over radio so had coms all the time. Firstly no visible damage to prop but my prop regularly gets waxed so perhaps the Warp drive is immune. Goggles filled with water so much that I had to tip them up a few times to drain them. BUT ...... Beware.... The wing slowly gets wet .It becomes heavier and starts to give less lift until there is a real danger of pushing the bar so far out to continue flying that a stall will occur. I am extremely glad I did this test since I have some idea how much rain I can handle if in a flight where it cannot be avoided. In real scenario I would advise avoid the rain and if the wing has got wet on the ground be extremely careful when taking off, you might need a lot of runway. By the way ,the trusty 503 never whimpered once! Or since!