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I was able to bring the plane home tonight, landed just after sunset. Here is the video I shot in the fleet finch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XBx5mblxi4 Still converting and uploading the rest.
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Aug 22, 2012 03:24
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so.. I'm trying to buy 2024 t3 aluminum from somewhere OTHER than aircraft spruce. .025 and .040
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Aug 22, 2012 03:29
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I've had affordaplane plans for a while, and plan on building one once I get back in the US. My wife has concerns about my safety while flying, even though I plan on taking flying lessons before I ever try flying on my own. Does anyone have a whole-aircraft parachute or have any experience and recomendations for one?
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Aug 22, 2012 03:43
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zharmad posted:I've had affordaplane plans for a while, and plan on building one once I get back in the US. My wife has concerns about my safety while flying, even though I plan on taking flying lessons before I ever try flying on my own. Does anyone have a whole-aircraft parachute or have any experience and recomendations for one? You just stopped my heart. My recomendation, is buy a parachute, but don't build an affordaplane. The Affordaplane is a flawed design. The design is more so flawed because nobody has actually characterized it's flight. Built to plans, it will be more than 75lbs overweight. That's 30%! Your wife SHOULD have concerns. Balistic parachutes are a good plan in general. There's no reason you can't build a plane that's "affordaplane shaped." But you should spend some time with a calculator and re-do all of the dimensioning. You can save THIRTY POUNDS of fuselage weight, and still retain strength to support 10g's of loading. ... After accounting for the 60% derating for aluminum in high vibration environments. I made and maintain (heh) http://theaffordaplaneresource.blogspot.com/ Lets say I put a lot of thought into my opinion.
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Aug 22, 2012 04:44
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And here we are a few hours later. So.. If you are set on the affordaplane, I can send you my notes on it. The changes are .. extensive.
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Aug 22, 2012 15:25
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Well, I haven't bought any material yet, but was looking for a project to start over this winter. I'm not married to the affordaplane at all, but I expect to have about 90 days that I'm not working to devote to the project. Is it worth the time to re-work the plans or is there a better plan out there I could get?
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Aug 23, 2012 01:33
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helno posted:I was able to bring the plane home tonight, landed just after sunset. Superb video, looks like a very enjoyable flight. You seem to have the best luck with these things. Also well done on getting the aircraft back. It is no fun sitting around waiting for a spell to get your plane back to base.
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Aug 23, 2012 01:48
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zharmad posted:Well, I haven't bought any material yet, but was looking for a project to start over this winter. I'm not married to the affordaplane at all, but I expect to have about 90 days that I'm not working to devote to the project. Is it worth the time to re-work the plans or is there a better plan out there I could get? Well, to be really silly. You can buy an off the shelf ultralight. Brand new, for $10k. The legal eagle is a better plane. And it can be built under weight. The ultra baby can be done as well, and it shows the designers work, so you know the math is right. The Sky Pup is definitely 90 day able, but it's not a 3 axis ship. I really like the fischer flying products airplanes.
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Aug 23, 2012 06:15
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Anyone know someone who's either flying or still building a WAR Aircraft Replica plane? http://warbuddies.homestead.com/ (site looks and navigates like it's from 1996, but they are a legit company) They're all-wood ~1/2 scale "replicas" of popular warplanes from WWII, and they're all pretty much the same box-wood fuselage and wings with a foam and fiber cover to give them the unique shape of the aircraft they are supposed to represent.     The site mentiones the following specs (dependant on pilot weight, engine type, and how close to the original building plans and procedures you stuck to, which range in price from $275-$355) Wingspan.......................................20'0" Length...........................................16'0" Footprint.......................................7'0" Empty Weight...............................600-620 lbs Max Gross Weight........................900-920 lbs Wing Loading...............................12lbs/sq ft Cruise condition............................135 MPH @3.2 GPH Wide Open speed...........................165 MPH Stall Speed.....................................55 MPH 2 degree twist stalls wing smoothly with no obvious tendency to fall off on either wing. Approach & Pattern Speed.............70-75 MPH Take off Run...................................800-1000 ft Rate of Climb.................................700 ft/min. Endurance.....................................3-4 Hrs: 400 miles Maneuvering/ Structural capability......................................Aerobatic ( +/- 6 g's)
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Aug 23, 2012 17:19
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Nerobro posted:I really like the fischer flying products airplanes. They are nice planes for the carpenters out there. My Uncle makes a few composite parts for them.
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Aug 23, 2012 22:03
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Blistex posted:WAR Aircraft Replica plane? I've read a little from a chap who had a p-40 WAR replica, who spoke very fondly of it. It seems there are a few about. I was looking at that kit supermarine spitfire 26b. Looks like a lot of fun, but big money.
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Aug 23, 2012 23:16
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Honestly, if you could find free plans online to make a wooden box fuselage, and find a source that shows how to make the controlled surfaces work, you can pretty much just make a generic frame and then do the rest (make it look like the warplane you want) with shaped foam. A spit's wings would be a little tricky to get just right, but I think the canopy would be the real bitch to make/get. I'm really interested in a Mazda powered 109, but would have to scale it up a bit from 1/2 to make the fuselage wide enough (lol fat goons). Considering that the real deal was barely wide enough for wartime pilots getting lots of exercise and having to deal with rationing, I imagine a 1/2 scale version would look to have a very fat fuselage and ruin the lines. This guy is actually making a 1:1 BF-109G, that he will be powering with a 450hp turbo wenkel engine. He's guessing the final weight (take off) will be ~850 kg (as opposed to 3,100 kg) so it will perform close to or possibly better than the real deal. He hasn't updated the site for a while, but I'm excited to see what happens.
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Aug 24, 2012 00:26
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http://www.n56ml.com/n981jf/ Please tell me not to build a KR? Please?
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Aug 24, 2012 05:20
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Changing your mind about the DA2A? Here are a couple of videos heading down to and then back from the convention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQC0ocKm0mI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njlz5tfLzqs This is Pete who I flew down with. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny_jOhyoFCw
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Aug 24, 2012 11:38
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helno posted:Changing your mind about the DA2A? Not really. Just that KR-2 is pretty as hell, and makes almost everything on the market look bad. Getting my hands on .025 and .040 alclad 2024 t3 seems to be harder than I was expecting. Any suggestions that don't have spruce in the name?
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Aug 24, 2012 14:52
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Is it me, or is there no obviously control stick / yoke on that KR? Also helno your first two videos are private. Looking forward to some close formation videos.
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Aug 24, 2012 15:07
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Fixed the privacy issue. The wide angle lens of the Gopro really makes things look far apart. If you watch closely you will see Pete start going up and down, that would be him trying to take a picture of me and failing pretty badly at it.
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Aug 24, 2012 21:08
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I've been out the past couple of days in a friends kit built plane.  It's a vans rv8 and I've been very impressed with it's abilities. It has to be up there with one of the best sensible private aircraft to own.
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Sep 5, 2012 22:11
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The whole RV series is pretty slick. The guy who owns the airstrip I fly out of has an RV-6 in progress. Should be a hoot when he gets it going. I flew into another event tonight. The local COPA group was having a dinner at the municipal airport so I took the Lazair down. Hopefully the weather holds out for a bit longer. 
helno fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Sep 7, 2012 |
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Sep 7, 2012 01:51
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I was playing around with the time lapse function on the Gopro. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlsudSHPWRw The weather is getting pretty spotty so soon it will be time to take the plane apart for the winter. I'll try to get some good pictures or video of it.
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Sep 22, 2012 21:39
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The timelapse is great. Is flying in the winter completely out of the question? I really enjoy some of the crisp calm days with almost unlimited vis, and terrific aircraft performance. Nonetheless I'd be interested to see it coming apart. Is it quite a quick simple procedure?
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Sep 23, 2012 18:27
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The only thing stopping me from flying in the winter is that my hanger space is not mine for the winter. The winter winds off of the lake are pretty brutal and keeping it outdoors would probably result in a mangled plane. Pete who is only 25 miles away has a pair of ski's and flys in the winter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLsMQD_Hbfg In other news the rearmost wing gap cover fell off during that time lapse video. I'll have to make a new one for next year. Taking it apart shouldn't take more than a couple hours or so. You start by removing the engine nacelles, then the wings and finally the tail fins.
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Sep 23, 2012 20:03
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Yes, I can't imagine that you'd want to keep anything with fabric on outside if you can avoid it. The ski's video looks like it could be a whole lot of fun. Bitterly cold though I imagine. What endurance do you have on those ? I hope all goes well on the disassembly. On my front I've been bending and drilling the perspex "rear instrument panel" which is just used to attach the gps and efis. The suction mounts were a bit bulky though so I'm now trying to set up various mounts for them to put them directly on the perspex.
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Sep 28, 2012 22:09
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What plane are you installing the instruments in? Flying in the winter would be pretty loving cold as Pete has an enclosure and I have just an open cockpit. Maybe in a few years there will be winter storage space for me and I can give it a try. I fogged the motors and took the plane apart today. I could have waited a bit longer but I am busy pretty much every weekend for the next month. Fogging the motors was fun, a pretty massive smoke show for such small engines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEfBl4G30go Right as I finished Rick came over to take the cub out for spin and Heather wasn't interested so I went up with him for a bit. I'll have to take some pictures of the various projects on the go in town. I did the electrical system in a Challenger there is a RV-6 and T18 in progress. The guy who owns the cub has a Skybolt but progress on that hasn't moved in a long time sadly.
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Oct 1, 2012 02:45
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The rear panel is for the Husky, the intention is to have the aera and dynon d1 on the perspex to give the rear passenger enough to continue flying if needed. Then we just need to work out where we will put the ipad which is running skydemon. When combined with the photography kit it gets very cramped in the back! I've just watched your timelapse, that was fascinating! Are the bolts that you remove all wire locked? It really comes apart pretty neatly for storage. I've also got a huge soft spot for cubs, they're fantastic little aircraft too. Sounds like there's quite a good aviation community where you are. At the field I'm based at there isn't too much going on, someone has just finished a nosewheel rv (not sure which type) but it hasn't flown yet.
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Oct 1, 2012 12:36
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Only the engine mount bolts are lockwired. There are a few on the control system but they never get undone. Everything else is done using AN bolts and nylock nuts that you replace every few times they are used. Flying is quite alive and well in the area. Lots of people flying despite the local instructor/airport manager charging just under $200/hr for a beat up 172. There have been 4 new hangers built at the airport in the last 3 years. In the cub yesterday I was shown a few other small airstrips that I hadn't noticed. Apparently there are a few ultralight guys out there but they tend to stick to themselves. What sort of camera rig are you running on the Husky? seems like if you are adding a rear panel this is pretty serious business.
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Oct 1, 2012 22:05
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Sounds great that you've possibly got some more local fields to visit. Camera rig wise, it's not too complicated, just bulky. We tend to do a bit of photography of sites so mostly it's done with a big dslr and a long image stabalised lens. When combined with the stick and some gps to help find where we're going (easier to put waypoints into a hanheld gps than putting them into the 430). Opening the side window isn't too bad, but opening the doors makes it quite draughty inside.
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Oct 2, 2012 23:12
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I guess I should try to keep this thread alive over the winter. Flew to Ottawa last weekend in a Comanche to pick up a VW bus so I can now go on camping tours with the ultralight. Getting the gopro camera has officially paid for itself. I entered a pretty dull video in a contest but apparently the competition isnt that great because I got the most votes. http://www.urthecast.com/urtheview/vote So far the prize for most votes by November 15th was an ARdrone which I am going to sell to fund a much more capable quadcopter I have been designing.
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Nov 26, 2012 04:36
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Excellent idea with the camper van for getting the ultralight to a fun flying destination. I'd never thought of that but it makes a whole lot of sense. I've spent all day in the hangar today with my a&p working on the husky. We got the bushwheels mounted and aired up on to the wheels. Removed the old tailwheel assembly and spring and fitted the new husky tailspring and baby bushwheel and fork assembly. There was a whole lot of fiddling with bits and pieces to get it right and getting the rudder chain tension in the right vicinity for the tailwheel steering took a bit of work but we got there in the end. Tomorrow it is just a case of paperwork and me coming up with a way of lifting the husky the 12" or so needed to switch up to the bigger wheels. I've got an idea so I'll try to fabricate something first thing. If I get some reasonable pictures I'll pop them up here.
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Dec 6, 2012 00:39
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It should be fun crossing the border in a 77 hippie van with my crazy haired old man and the Lazair in tow. I got the idea from this guy. http://jgwalkaboutusa.blogspot.com.au/ Amazing pictures and quite the story of this guys flying vacation. Should be lots of fun getting the tundra tires on that Husky. The flying club the next town over is keeping there 172 in Kincardine this winter so I will probably be joining up and working on my night rating. helno fucked around with this message at 03:31 on Dec 7, 2012 |
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Dec 7, 2012 03:29
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After going home to visit my folks for Christmas, I've kinda picked up the homebuilt bug. My dad has a mostly-finished Hatz biplane in the garage, and he's half-way convinced me that building a Pietenpol Air Camper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietenpol_Air_Camper) in my house is a good idea. Worse, he brought out a roll of Pietenpol plans and said I can take them back with me if I want. Anybody have opinions on the Piet, thoughts on homebuilding, etc.? 
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Dec 30, 2012 02:42
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I can't comment on the Piet directly, but I know a few homebuilders, and the big thing they tend to say is that it took longer than expected, but was tremendously satisfying in the end. That and if you can keep at it, doing a few hours reasonably frequently it can make a big difference. After having a look at the Pietenpol it looks like a lot of fun in a light aircraft. Looks perfect for summer evening bimbles . Before jumping into the first aircraft you look at though, I'd strongly consider what sort of mission profile you want in an aircraft as it'd be a shame to invest a huge amount of time on something that doesn't do everything you'd want it to. Some things to consider include, do you want to do aeros, touring, short / rough field work, photography, prefer high / low wing, speed , are you able to hangar it or might it have to live outside?
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Dec 30, 2012 21:47
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The other question is what kind of license/experience have you got? You would hate to start building something only to figure out that you don't really have the desire to fly it that much. I remember back when I was a Cadet helping a guy install the wings on his Air Camper. Seems like a great open cockpit plane.
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Dec 30, 2012 22:39
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helno posted:The other question is what kind of license/experience have you got? My dad has flown little 2-person planes for about 15 years now, so I've been up with him in an American Champion and a Cessna 150 quite a bit, also took the stick from time to time. I've also helped him build on his Hatz so I understand how long it can take. I think realistically I could put in maybe 10 hours a week, which would probably have the Piet done in 2-3 years, speaking optimistically. I'm also planning to do at least a few lessons at the local training school. They do primarily taildragger training, which is perfect for my interests. I figure after a few lessons, I'll decide if I actually want to pursue the sport pilot cert and start building. If I want to keep going, I'll work toward the license and probably buy some starter parts from Aircraft Spruce. Edit: as for type of flying, low and slow is awesome. I love just putting along in the Champ, nice slow banks on an afternoon, being able to see all the details below. Plus, it's easier to walk away from an accident when you can glide down to a field at running speed. I've never flown in a low-wing plane except for short rides in a cropduster and a BT-13. I like the high wing planes because you can look straight down. Based on everything I've come across from hanging with my dad and looking online, the piet seems great for me. Although I'd probably want to lose 20 lbs to more easily bring passengers... Ought to do that anyway. Pham Nuwen fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Dec 31, 2012 |
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Dec 31, 2012 01:24
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Ferris Bueller posted:Pretty much this with the exception of previous heart attacks. It's really expensive to get a class three medical after a heart attack that many guys just don't and continue to fly. Wrong, yes, but the hosed up nature* of the FAAs Aeromedical division kinnda forces peoples hands That and antidepressants. Only recently have they made it at all possible to get a medical certificate while taking them, and even then it's only for a specific list of approved drugs. Plus it's considered a special issue certificate, meaning extra hassle convincing the FAA that you're capable of flying safely. Colonel K posted:I've been out the past couple of days in a friends kit built plane. I've been thinking that it'd be cool to have a Van's with a Delta Hawk diesel engine. That or one of the composite canard planes. http://www.deltahawkengines.com/ It wouldn't be cheap, but it'd still be way less expensive than buying and maintaining any certified plane with better-than-average performance.
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Dec 31, 2012 02:53
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Pham Nuwen posted:
Yeah it really is some of the best flying. I do like going fast at times as well but if I want to go flying just for the hell of it nothing beats the Lazair or Cub. I could never build a plane because I just cant keep my mind on projects for that long of a term and there is really nothing out there that I could build that would be cheaper than buying used. Definitely get a few lessons first. Make sure you can get a medical before you buy anything big.
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Dec 31, 2012 03:49
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Pham Nuwen posted:
Sounds like you've got a pretty good idea what to do already. Going for the taildragger training is a brilliant idea as I think it's a whole lot more fun and it certainly opens you up to far more interesting aircraft. I also agree that low and slow is a terrific way to relax and enjoy the scenery. I'm fortunate that I can pootle about at 70 or 80 mph sipping fuel or pop up to 120 if I want to go places. Depending what your local fields are like, or perhaps if you have your own fields that may be suitable I'd look at the lengths for take off performance of anything you're interested in. I like going into really short stips / fields but you need to know your aircraft well or have bags of performance to spare. I'd certainly get my licence as soon as you can reasonably afford to do though, as insurance is likely to be pretty high for a fresh homebuild on a low hours PPL but it may not be, something to consider anyway.
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Dec 31, 2012 15:44
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Cockmaster posted:
Agreed, although diesels are promising I think that they have a long way to go yet. It seems that most modern diesels need a whole lot of maintenence to keep them going and they never reach tbo. I'd also be a bit worried about things like running out of battery power causing the engines to switch off. That being said when they do get the problems sorted they should be formidable machines. Especially from a fuel burn point of view on a small vans sized aircraft. For the time being though I think something like an RV8 with an o or io 360 180hp engine is really quite something.
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Dec 31, 2012 15:47
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I figure it is time for a winter update to keep this thread out of the archives. Haven't been up to much. Doing a bit of flying in this old 172.  Only work I have done to the Lazair is to replace the old and cracked wheelbarrow tires. In the works are replacing the fuel tubing with something that wont get so hard. I also am going to build a better mount for the throttle cables to make them more even from motor to motor. For Christmas I asked for a bike horn for the plane and got one of these. http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Airzound-Bike-Horn/dp/B000ACAMJC Should be audible from a few hundred feet up.
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Feb 14, 2013 21:56
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That looks like a nice clean 172, I imagine that it's nice being warm when up in the winter! Do you fly it from grass or tarmac? I've not much of an update on the flying front, I've been refused a request to use some of the grass at the airfield to taxi and take off / land from on the bushwheels. However, I've been extremely busy with work so have only flown a handful of times in the last few months.
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Feb 19, 2013 22:28
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