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Wills Wing RamAir 154 Owner's Service Manual

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154 - 146
Owner / Service Manual
Copyright © 1993 by Sport Kites, Inc. dba Wills Wing, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this manual
may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Sport Kites, Inc., dba Wills
Wing, Inc.
Revised 3/24/94 - 5th Edition
500 West Blueridge Ave Orange, CA 92665 Phone (714) 998-6359 FAX (714) 998-0647
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  • Page 1 Owner / Service Manual Copyright © 1993 by Sport Kites, Inc. dba Wills Wing, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Sport Kites, Inc., dba Wills Wing, Inc.

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Table Of Contents Page Introduction ......................3 Disclaimer and Warning ..................4 Technical Information and Placarded Operating Limitations ....... 4 - 6 Shipping Breakdown and Re-Assembly ............. 7 - 9 Glider Set-Up and Preflight ................9 - 22 Launching and Flying ..................23 Trimming The Glider In Pitch and Speeds to Fly ..........
  • Page 3 INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing a Wills Wing glider, and welcome to the world wide family of Wills Wing pilots. We are a company of pilots and aviation enthusiasts, and our goal is to serve your flying needs now and in the future, as we have done for pilots throughout the world since 1973.
  • Page 4 WILLS WING INC. 500 West Blueridge Orange CA USA 92665-4206 Fax (714) 998-0647 Phone (714) 998-6359 RamAir 154/146 Owner's Manual Addendum: Bridle Setting Measurements and Limits - July 4, 1994 In order to check your bridles for proper adjustment, the following measurement...

  • Page 8: Disclaimer And Warning

    Wills Wing, Inc. TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND PLACARDED OPERATING LIMITATIONS The RamAir 154 and 146 have been tested and found to comply with the 1993 Hang Glider Manufacturers Association (HGMA) Airworthiness Standards. These standards require: 1) A positive load test at root stall angle of attack at a speed equal to at least the great-...
  • Page 9 The required speed for the RamAir 154 and 146 for this test was 37 mph. 4) For the RamAir 154 and 146, with a Vne of 60 mph, pitch tests at speeds of 20 mph, 40 mph and 60 mph which show the glider to be stable over a range of angles of attack from...
  • Page 10 Wills Wing provides such an airspeed indicator with the glider. It is strongly recom- mended that the pilot fly with such an airspeed indicator. Refer to the section on using the airspeed indicator for further information on speeds to fly.

  • Page 11: Shipping Breakdown And Re-Assembly

    RamAir BREAKDOWN PROCEDURE FOR SHIPPING AND RE-ASSEMBLY PROCEDURE The RamAir 154 can be broken down to approximately 13.5 feet by removal of the rear leading edges. STOP: DO NOT REMOVE ANY OF THE CLEVIS PINS OR SCREWS IN THE VI- CINITY OF THE REAR LEADING EDGE STEP DOWN JUNCTION.
  • Page 12 TO BREAK DOWN THE LEADING EDGES FOLLOW THESE STEPS: 1) Lay the glider on the ground or floor, unzip and remove the bag and remove the velcro ties. Undo the velcros which hold the sail around the sail mount plug and pull the sail rear- ward at each tip to dismount the sail from the rear leading edge.

  • Page 13: Glider Set-Up And Preflight

    RE-MOUNTING THE REAR LEADING EDGES 1) Make sure you are mounting the correct leading edge rear into the correct front (check the “right” / “left” designation. 2) Spray the forward six inches of the rear leading edge with silicone spray lubricant. 3) Slide the rear leading edge into the front, lining up the rotational alignment marks you made during breakdown, until the rear engages fully in the front leading edge, as indicated by the circumferential scribe made at the exit point of the rear leading edge during break-...
  • Page 14 RAMAIR Set-Up Procedure The RamAir has been specially designed to set up quickly and easily either on the control bar or flat on the ground. We will first cover the steps for setting up on the control bar. 1) Lay the glider on the ground, with the bag zipper up, with the nose into the wind. 2) Undo the zipper, remove the battens, remove the protective pad at the rear wire station on the keel, and remove the control bar bag.
  • Page 15 centered side to side with the keel as possible. The control bar apex bracket will slide on the keel track until it comes up against the stop at the forward end of the track. If the apex slider resists sliding forward, wiggle the basetube back and forth slightly to free it. STOP: If the apex bracket will not slide forward, check to see that a bottom side wire is not hooked around the head of the keyhole bolt at the rear wire station on the keel.
  • Page 16 9) Remove the battens from the batten bag, and check each batten for symmetry against the corresponding batten from the other wing. Wills Wing convention is that black tipped battens go in the right wing and white tipped battens in the left, except for the straight #1 plug on battens which all have black tips.
  • Page 17 Order of insertion is longest to shortest, from the root out. When inserting the inboard most battens, lift the keel to ease the insertion. When these battens reach the back side of the leading edge tube, it may be necessary to lift the sail along the batten pocket to facilitate insertion of the batten all the way.
  • Page 18 12) At the rear of the keel, tension the crossbar by pulling on the top portion of the 4mm accessory cord which passes through the white pulley on the rear of the sweep wire keyhole channel. Drop the keyhole channel all the way down over the head of the keyhole bolt, and let it slide forward into the locked position.
  • Page 19 14) Install the plug-on #1 battens by inserting one end through the hole in the bottom surface at the tip and engaging the forked batten tip on the clevis pin standoff on the back side of the leading edge. Secure with a double loop of the 505 batten string. 15) At this time preflight the following from the open end of the wingtip: a) The sail mount webbing - make sure that the inner loop of webbing is laying flat in the bottom of the slot in the sail mount endcap.
  • Page 20 17) Go to the nose and tension the swan catch wire. This is most easily done by placing a thumb under the lever handle on the swan lever and then pulling downwards on the swan lever cable to pull the control bar apex slider fully forward against the stop. Then, as you release tension on the cable, rotate the swan lever forwards and up until it clicks fully into place and the forward spring loaded swan pin slides all the way through both the lever and the hole in the far side of the channel.
  • Page 21 20) Install the bottom surface battens, inserting the end with the flat bladed plastic tip and the metal sleeve into the pocket first. 21) Install the RamAir inlet scoop over the port on the bottom surface near the nose. Reach in through the port to press the velcro surfaces together to make sure they are mated se- curely.
  • Page 22 While pushing up on the leading edge between the nose and the crossbar junction, step on the bottom side wire with about 75 lbs. of force. This is a rough field test of the structural security of the side wire loop, the control bar, the kingpost, and the crossbar, and may reveal a major structural defect that could cause an inflight failure in normal operation.
  • Page 23 Check that all batten strings are properly secured. Check that the bridles are properly engaged, with the plastic retainer balls fully seated against the grommet, and that no bridle cable is hooked underneath a more inboard batten. Wrong! FROM THE REAR KEEL: Stretch the elastic webbing seal fully upwards along the kingpost.
  • Page 24 ALONG THE TRAILING EDGE, RIGHT WING: Same as for left wing. AT THE RIGHT TIP: Same as for left tip. ALONG THE RIGHT LEADING EDGE: Same as for left leading edge. UNDER THE GLIDER, AT THE CONTROL BAR: Sight down the downtubes, making sure that they are straight. Check the cables at the control bar corners, making sure there are no kinks or twisted thimbles.
  • Page 25 STOP ! These quick links have been tested to more than 3000 lbs, but will only have full rated strength if in good condition, if fully closed and properly ori- ented. Using these links, the main loop has been tested to more than 6000 lbs. and the backup has been tested to more than 7000 lbs.
  • Page 26 STOP! INSPECT THE APEX SLIDER TO VERIFY THAT THE EARS HAVE NOT BEEN BENT IN A HARD LANDING, AND THAT THE BOTTOM AND SIDE PLAS- TIC SLIDES ARE PROPERLY IN PLACE. Under the glider behind the control bar apex: Check that the root battens are engaged in all segments of the batten pockets and in the two webbing loops which pass through the bushed horizontal holes in the rear keel.

  • Page 27: Launching And Flying

    USING WING TUFTS Your Wills Wing glider has been equipped from the factory with short yarn tufts on the top surface of each wing. The shadow of these tufts will be visible through the sail. The tufts are useful for indicating the local reversal of the airflow which is associated with the onset of the stall in that portion of the wing.
  • Page 28 There are two important airspeeds with which all hang glider pilots should be intimately familiar; minimum sink airspeed (hereinafter referred to as MSA) and minimum controllable airspeed (MCA). The most important of these two is MCA. Minimum sink airspeed is that speed at which your descent rate is the slowest possible.
  • Page 29 At the first onset of stall, the tufts will sometimes indicate the impending separation by first wiggling, and then deflecting spanwise, before they fully reverse and point forward. The first onset of stall in the midspan occurs well before the familiar “stall break” in which the glider pitches uncontrollably nose down to recover from the stall.
  • Page 30 (while well away from any terrain or other gliders) and watch your tufts (on the inside wing, which will be at the highest angle of attack) you will get a feel for the way your minimum sink speed varies at varying bank angles. Also be aware that in some thermalling situations, such as when trying to maximize climb rate in a thermal with a very strong and very small core, there may be an advantage in overall effective climb performance to flying so slowly that some portion of the inside wing is...
  • Page 31 SPEEDS TO FLY AND USING YOUR AIRSPEED INDICATOR The Wills Wing Hall Airspeed Indicator has been specially designed to help you fly your RAMAIR at the proper speeds for optimum safety and performance. The RAMAIR is quite sensitive in pitch, and it is easy to find yourself flying too fast for optimum performance or control.

  • Page 32: Using The Vg System

    Stop: The design of the Hall type airspeed indicator involves using a ram air versus static pressure differential to raise a disc in a tapered tube against the force of the weight of the disc. Because of this the ASI has certain operating limitations: a) It is only accurate in one G flight.

  • Page 33: Landing

    roll rate becomes significantly slower. Tighter VG settings are recommended for straight line gliding, or for flying in smoother conditions when well clear of both the terrain and of other gliders. LANDING THE RamAir We recommend using an aircraft landing approach (45 entry leg, downwind leg, base leg, and final leg) whenever possible, and we suggest that you practice making your approaches with as much precision as possible.
  • Page 34 On final approach, fly the glider down to within just a few feet of the ground, and bleed off excess speed in ground effect while keeping the wings level and the nose into the wind. Your body position should be inclined with your head and shoulders forward and your feet and legs trailing behind, with your hands at shoulder width and shoulder height on the uprights.

  • Page 35: Breakdown

    a) Harness leg straps too long / hanging too low below the glider, and / or hands too low on the control bar. This reduces pitch authority and prevents an adequate flare. b) Improper body position - pilot leaning back, (away from the anticipated hard landing), with feet extended in front.

  • Page 36: Stability Systems

    On the RamAir 154, unlike on the 146 and other Wills Wing gliders, the bridles also affect pitch stability and pitch bar pressures within the flight range at certain VG settings.
  • Page 37 On the RamAir 154, the length of this pigtail is such that as the VG is tightened, and the bridle attachment lowered by the compensator system, the pigtail comes tight at some point in the VG range, disabling the compensation system at that point, and holding the bridle attachment at a fixed distance below the kingpost top.
  • Page 38 Further adjustment may be required based on the results of flight testing, as described below. For the RamAir 154: Start with the glider fully assembled. Set the VG full loose and mark the VG rope at the cleat. Repeat with the VG set full tight. Then by finding the mid point between the loose and tight marks, mark the rope for the VG middle setting.
  • Page 39 The final determination of correct bridle setting is done by flight testing. One part of this evaluation is to sight the shadow of the bridles on the sail. The bridles sight correctly when they meet the following sighting criteria: RamAir 154: VG Setting Inner...
  • Page 40 Install 0.3" Shorter U.C. pigtail Install 0.3" Longer U.C. pigtail 146: Some problem other than bridle 146: Compensator adjusted too adjustment - call factory tight - Loosen RamAir 154 RamAir 146 Pitch Force Pilot Full Forward Pitch Force Pilot Full Forward Acceptable Acceptable...
  • Page 41 Changing The Upper Compensator Wire In order to correct an improper bridle adjustment at the VG tight setting on the RamAir 154, it is necessary to change the upper compensator wire with one having a different pigtail length, as described above. Use the following procedure: 1) Position the glider flat on the ground with the wings completely spread but with the crossbar sweep wire not attached.

  • Page 42: Maintenance

    Following any mishap that results in damage to the glider immediately have any damaged component repaired or replaced. We recommend that you have all such mainte- nance work done by your Wills Wing dealer. In addition, please follow the following mainte- nance schedule: EVERY MONTH: 1) Spray all zippers on the glider with silicone spray lubricant.

  • Page 43: Removing And Re-Installing The Sail

    Such cleaning agents are available at the supermarket or drug store, or you may order a cleaning solution from Wills Wing through your dealer. REMOVING THE SAIL FROM THE AIRFRAME AND RE-INSTALLING Many maintenance and repair procedures will require the removal of the sail from the frame.
  • Page 44 edge. Also cut or untie the strings which hold the nose battens in the sail, and remove the battens from the sail. Cut the swan lever bungee return at the lever. Spread the wings slightly, undo the velcro tabs inside the rear ends of the leading edges and then dismount the sail from the rear leading edges.
  • Page 45 RE-INSTALLING THE SAIL ON THE FRAME 1) Install the mylar in the sail. (If the mylar pockets have been replaced you will need to trim the rear edge of the mylar by 1/2". Also, you will probably need to remove one 1/4" shim from the sail mount plug to mount the sail looser.) Make sure you install it right side up;...

  • Page 46: Tuning

    CG ADJUSTMENT This has already been covered in the section of this manual on using your wing tufts. Wills Wing recommends that tuning other than CG adjustment be performed by your Wills Wing dealer. TURN TRIM Turns are caused by an asymmetry in the glider.

  • Page 47: Car Top Mounting

    BATTENS Check the battens for symmetrical shape and batten string tension. SAIL TENSION Check for symmetrical sail tension on the leading edges (sight the hem of the sail at the bottom of the leading edge tube relative to the noseplate on each side). Sail tension is adjusted by adding or removing shims in 1/8"...

  • Page 48: Closing Message

    Ultimately your safety is your responsibility. Know the limitations of your knowledge, skill and experience, and know the limitations of your aircraft. Fly within those limitations. Have fun. See you in the sky! Wills Wing, Inc.
  • Page 49 This page intentionally left blank.

This manual is also suitable for:

Ramair 146

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