Soleair

Hi Paul, & welcome. Have a look here for another home build alternative. You can download the plans for free - an excellent way to get to know an aeroplane. I built one & it is great fun to fly! Good luck with your adventures in aviation. Bruce

Great idea. Please publish progress & pix if you go for it.

That was a trick I pinched off glider wings when I built my MiniMax. The original design uses full span ailerons, but only as ailerons. I reckoned that was not the optimum, so when I designed my pushrod control system, I made the ailerons double as flaps. I have 2 positive flap settings, & I also use a negative for cruise. This sets the flaperons up 6º at the trailing edge. Wins a bit of extra speed. Bruce

In a K13, I was taught to enter a spin with ailerons & rudder neutral, and stick back until the break. At which point, one wing would drop. If the spin was allowed to develop, the procedure was opposite rudder, stick forward to unstall, recover using coordinated controls. But at the incipient spin, when the wing starts to drop, it was stressed to use only the rudder, keeping the ailerons centralised. This always worked to prevent the wing dropping further and a spin developing. So, either my terminology is incorrect, or my memory fails me. Now my recall is pretty crap at times, but I have a solid sense of doing just as I said - picking up a wing with rudder, not aileron.

I struggle to understand the reluctance of some to explore developed spin recovery under instruction in a suitable aircraft. As has been said, stick forward & picking up the dropped wing with rudder rather than aileron soon becomes automatic. And after the initial 'fright factor', it is a great boost to confidence knowing both that the aircraft can recover from an extreme condition, & how to do so. I was taught developed spins in a Cessna 152 for PPL, & later, much more frequently, in an ASK 13 glider. Once you get used to them, it's actually quite good fun. Certainly teaches you not to panic. I have no idea how I'd react in a real life low level incipient spin entry. But I believe I'm better placed to recover quickly having had such training than without it. Bruce

To be fair, Yenn, ANY engine can fail at any time with very little warning. Of course, certificated engines are more reliable, but even these can - and do - fail: witness the American Airlines engine bursting into flames on takeoff on the news this evening. Personally, I fly with one eye on an emergency landing field at all times, & I'm not brave enough to fly over tiger country in my plane. 'Even' in the Jab I occasionally fly, I feel distinctly uncomfortable over the ranges. But then, if flying wasn't exciting, I wouldn't do it. And my wife would be a happier bunny, & I'd have more money in the bank. . . Bruce

Or do as I did, & opt out of the Rotax stranglehold. I am very happy with the MZ 202 engine on my MiniMax. Larger displacement; more power, & lighter than the Rotax. Used on Mosquito helicopters, so good track record. Compact Radial Engines Bruce

Hi Roundy I tried to PM you re your Jab airframe request. Got a mesage up saying "you may not start a conversation with Round Engines" !?? Please p.m. me - I think you're allowed to talk to me. . . Bruce

The UK agents for the Dactyl made a two seater, & I went up in it for a ride with one of the partners. It took a lot of runway to get airborne! About the time I was building my Dactyl, I got involved with David Kirke of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club. They pioneered bungee jumping in UK, & got up to all sorts of crazy stuff. David hoped to fly his Dactyl to France from Dover, UK, & then go on to Paris & fly his machine through the Arc de Triomphe in the centre of Paris. Jack wanted to get involved, to oversee the flying, & maybe take part in the stunt. I met him at Heathrow Airport, then we drove out to Longleat House to meet up with David & Alex Thynne, the Marquess of Bath, who also owned a Dactyl & bought it to fly from the grounds of his stately home. In the end, the trip never happened, mainly due to lack of funds, & the total lack of planning. But it was a great craic, as the Irish say. I don't know of any UK Dactyl pilots who died. Bruce

Hi Callahan That's amazing - I imported one of the first Dactyl kits into UK. And yes, complete with direct drive Sachs motor with that tiny little prop. Made a lot more noise than thrust. Taught myself to fly it from the few pages at the back of the build manual. When Jack McCornack introduced that big floppy canard, I stole the idea but made my own. It was about half the size of Jack's, but worked well because it was a defined airfoil made from ply skins with an aluminium leading edge. I also uprated my engine to a 440 Robin, & made my own reduction gear & 56" prop. I reckon that about quadrupled the thrust! I logged 132 hours on my Dactyl, including a night flight & a 140 mile cross country. I loved & feared my Dactyl in equal parts. Bruce

Watching the hang gliding clips was spooky: it was like looking into a mirror that reflects the past. What fun we had in those early days! But fortunately our ignorance protected us from waking up screaming with 'might have been' scenarios. I flew into a cliff face while slope soaring - twice, amongst other adventures in early flying. (Slow learner.) ISTR some saying to the effect that we start out with a full bucket of luck, and an empty one of experience. The trick is to fill the experience bucket before the other one runs out. Certainly true of my early days in hang gliding & early self-built ultralights in the 70's. Bruce

On takeoff, my roll lasts perhaps 10 seconds. Landing maybe 20 seconds. So little danger of overheating there. I'll let you know when it happens!

I run my 4 ply 15" x 6.00 - 6 tyres at 8 psi. But then, my MTOW is 300kg and I have no suspension Bruce

I agree: if you have only one tapered end it should face aft for minimum drag. In a similar vein, here's something to think on. A slab ended truck is cruising straight & level at 100kph. Being intellectually challenged, & poor with it, you drive up to his rear end and sit there a couple of metres away, being sucked along in his wake vortex, with your foot backed right off the accelerator. So - what effect, if any, does your presence have on the fuel consumption of the truck you're following? Bruce

Mudgee, in the heart of the wine growing district. Mudgee aero club has a courtesy car if you phone ahead to book it. (N.B. Whether this is a day trip or not depends on a) how fast your aeroplane flies and/or b) your start point.) Bruce

Whilst the parasitic drag will not change with weight, the total drag will. To generate the extra lift required for additional weight, the wing must be at a higher angle of attack for any given airspeed, which will increase the form drag, as at a higher AoA the airflow sees an increased frontal area. Secondly, the induced drag is a direct function of lift, thus more lift = more induced drag. Bruce

OME, that is a fairly typical reaction from those who recoil at the prospect of using house paint on a plane. But I suggest it is misguided. There is no reason why modern acrylic paint, skilfully sprayed, should not yield a comparable finish to car paint. And house paint has advantages over car paint, not least its flexibility and u.v. protection qualities, quite apart from its lower cost. Modern acrylics are more akin to a flexible plastic coating than old fashioned powdery paint crudely daubed onto a work of art. For those who are interested in learning with an open mind, the American homebuilder organisation EAA has some excellent online videos on using latex paint for homebuilt aircraft. [Note that what our American cousins call 'latex' paint is actually acrylic - their paint has not contained latex for many years, but it has become the common name for house paint]. The videos will show just how good a finish can be obtained from acrylics, with very high gloss if that's what you want. And many homebuilders will attest to periods in excess of 10 years life for this paint. I agree it sounds awful to spend thousands of dollars & hours building a plane & then using house paint, because of its associations. But when you consider the harsh conditions experienced by houses - exposed 24/7 to very high solar radiation, temperature extremes, wind & rain - then it is unsurprising that a plane spending most of its life in a hangar will still look very good after many years. Conversely, some owners have complained of cracking after relatively short periods using automotive paints. But of course it is possible to point to both good & bad results from both paints. Personally, I am very pleased with my acrylic paint job, despite my lack of skill with a spray gun. And my test piece of wing has withstood more sun & rain already than my plane will in its entire life. Howsomever, you pays your money and you takes your choice. It just may pay you to make that choice objectively. Bruce

Lighter, certainly. But way more expensive, unless you are paying for a professional spray job on a Ceconite covering. But some say the Oratex finish is not as good as a spray paint done well. I looked into it for my MiniMax, but Oratex would have cost about 20% of the total project. I used non certified 1.8oz Dacron & acrylic house paint. My test piece has been outside 24/7 through 2 summers in full sun, with no degradation of any sort that I can detect. If you use the Stewart system for bonding, this is water based, so no nasty chemicals either. Bruce

I think this may be a hoax. If he's spent 2 years in the ocean, his skin would be all wrinkly.

Sorry, I realise terrorists are not rational, & need only have 'reasons' that satisfy their own delusions. What I should have asked, is 'how would not holding an ASIC card prevent some misguided loser from walking in to the airfield?' And if the authorities need proof of my bona fides, then I have my RAA documentation & a photo i.d. driving licence. And I don't need an ASIC to drive my weapon of mass slaughter on public roads used by RPT vehicles every day.

Hey OK, can you please post his email address so that I - & hopefully other rortees - can also email him to let him know why we strongly object to such a baseless, blatant extraction of our money? My local RPT airfield has no security. It is bordered by farmland on all sides, & anybody could walk in at any time. But why would they? Only a fool or a clever accountant could claim an ASIC card makes one jot of difference to a terrorist. Bruce

Anyone fly one of these?

I converted to taildraggers on a J3 Cub. For those who aren't familiar with this plane, they are flown from the rear seat (2 seat tandem), & there is a parcel shelf at head level behind the rear seat. The guy who owned the Cub turned up on his bike with his small terrier sitting on the fuel tank. While we did the preflight, the dog hopped up into the plane & lay down on the parcel shelf. I got on fine with my flying instruction, but it was a bit distracting on final when the dog started huffing in my ear. When she got to know me better, she would give the occasional lick by way of reassurance. She loved both the Cub & riding on the motorbike.

Hi Airmaster I moved over here from UK 6 years ago. I had a UK PPL. I am not interested in GA flying, or entering controlled airspace, so I went the RAA certificate route. 5 hours minimum for the basic cert, then time as required for cross country, etc, endorsements. How much your previous experience discounts against Australian requirements will depend a lot on what your instructor thinks of your flying. He may decide a check ride is enough to show your competence, or that you need a bit more time in the air. I hadn't flown power for a few years, & was much rustier than I would have hoped. But still got my RAA certificate & endos for around $2000. The procedure may differ for a CASA PPL. Bruce

I want to build an electric GOAT.