flyvulcan

OME, that's what I understood also. Consequently, I'd prefer galvanised if it's available locally. I know I can get it through Aircraft Spruce US but 40' of it will weigh quite a bit (read "expensive shipping") so if it's available locally at a known and favourable price, I would go that option. So if you could price up 40' of galvanised (if you can source it that is), that would be great. Dave

Thanks M61A1 and Gnarly. Those Adelaide ones are really local so I'll check those out (along with using stainless in lieu of galvanised). If anyone happens to know categorically if stainless and galvanised are interchangeable for rudder cables, I'd appreciate the advice. Cheers, Dave

Hi Ozzie, The powerplants are potentially going to be 2 x Jetbeetle H150R engines rated at 150lbf each. Horace has a website here where you can see his products. You will note that the fuel consumption for the H150R is around 1.9 litres per minute (yikes!) so 2 of them at full thrust will be drinking almost 4 litres per minute. Lucky I wont need to fly at full thrust all the time!!!! I will still be able to fly quite comfortably on 2 litres per minute. Still, the aim of my aircraft is to go flying for 20 minutes and land with a smile on my face (and that of my passenger). If I need to do a cross country flight for that $300 burger or to attend a fly-in, I intend to have a removable fuel tank that will be form-fitted to the rear seat and will be secured using the 5 point aerobatic harness and be fitted with an adapter to plumb it into the fuel system. This will almost double my fuel capacity and by going to FL180 on cannular oxygen will give me a useful (?) 350nm + reserves range. Here is a larger photo of the Komet (photoshopped to depict the canopy, nosecone and wheelpants that I have or intend for it). I like the way it's shaping up and I am really looking forward to getting back to Oz in November/December to work on it and make good inroads into the fuselage. The wings should be finished by my co-builders before I get back and the tailplane is already finished and mounted (removed for this photo because I had to store the fuselage while I was away). In Nov/Dec, we should have the front seat finished, rollover structure installed, canopy frames and nosecone completed, rudder pedals installed and perhaps get a start on the remaining flight controls. Exciting stuff (for me anyway!) Cheers, Dave

Thanks OME, I'll standby for your price. Cheers, Dave

Could anyone point me towards a local (as in Australian) supplier of 3/32" galvanised 7x7 rudder cable? Thanks in advance. Dave

Flying related: by J.S. Bach - close your eyes to listen to this one!

and the other version of Dreams

and also Dreams - Van Halen

- Pink Floyd

There's definitely another builder out there. In 1998, my companies engineer at Mascot was building one which was well advanced (I admired his photos). I'm sorry but I cannot remember his name. So I've not been much help really, other than letting you know that there are more Spacewalker builders out there. Cheers, Dave

Thanks Phil, your ballast request has been retained on file! Actually, the Komet is to receive a flurry of work on it over the next 6 months. The wings should be finished within 3 months and I have a big build session organised for when I am back in Oz in Nov/Dec where we hope to make big progress on the fuselage. I have been shopping for goodies and now have a Dynon D10a, a pitot static system, rudder pedals, brakes, hardware etc. in anticipation of the build. Dave

PS Here's another view of my project: I had completed the undercarriage, outer wing spars, rear spars, ribs, vertical stab ribs and skin so it was progressing quite well at the time... Cheers, Dave

Hi Phil, My BF109 was a totally new design that incorporated design features from both the HB and T2. I "designed" it myself. With the need for an interstate move at the time, I donated the airframe that I had completed to the local sport aircraft club in case any members wanted to finish it as a static display for kids (big and small) to sit in and make noises when the club held its' fly-ins. I don't actually know what came of it... I still have the HB and T2 plans. Cheers, Dave

The Hummel construction technique is very easy, once you have the hang of basic metalworking. I have a set of HB plans and Teenie 2 plans that I used as a basis for a project I worked on a long time ago. I really enjoyed the build process. It was very simple. Mind you, at the start, I would look at a piece for a few hours to try to work out how to build it. After a while, I could look at a piece on my plans and straight away know how to do it. Here's a pic of my project: Cheers, Dave PS It never got finished as it was supposed to be a BF109 replica but after I got half way through the build, I decided that I wanted any replica that I built to look more accurate than the one that I was working on, so I ended up considering this project a learning experience in working with metal.

I have the same watch as Crezzi, that is the Casio Pro-Trek. I've had it for 2 years, it gains around 1 second per month so I don't have to reset it to the GPS clock too often, whenever it's light it charges and the large digital numbers are easy to read (with a light for dark times). I have never had any issues with it. It has been very reliable and robust. No, it's not a designer watch and it is a little bulky (no more so than many on the market) but I am very happy with it as a functional and reliable watch. PS From my experience as a professional pilot as well as a recreational pilot, I would suggest that you really don't need any bells and whistles on your watch. Better to supplement a basic watch with a separate electronic device that is user friendly.

As a member of both the SAAA and AUF since their inceptions, I would really like to see some cooperation between the two bodies for a combined Fly-in/Convention. As I've lived overseas for the last 15 years (but with a house in Oz complete with an active under construction aircraft in the garage), I haven't had the opportunity to attend either bodies Fly-in/Convention for a long time but with the early ones, I noticed a very different emphasis at each. The SAAA Convention seemed to revolve around building with good hands on forums, much chewing the fat about projects in progress/building techniques, with a lot of pride and enthusiasm being displayed for what these people were creating or had created. The flying and demonstration of their creations was the icing on the cake. The AUF Fly-in seemed to have a great deal more exuberance displayed with more emphasis being placed on flying the aircraft, with constant activity in the circuit area (some of which I recall being quite undisciplined, but that was a long time ago). If SAAA and RAA could combine the benefits that each organisation has to offer for the benefit of all SAAA/RAA members in the form of a joint Fly-in/Convention, then perhaps some of the reasons that people are quoting for not attending Natfly this year could be alleviated. For those above who are encouraging a WA fly-in, why don't you try to coordinate with the Sport Aircraft Builders Club WA to "join" their Serpentine fly-ins? Cheers, Dave

A device you may want to consider is a SPOT GPS tracking device. It utilises a signal sent via satelite. I bought one for my mother in law who is a bushwalker. Price is around two hundred dollars and for $50 per year, you can set up a web page where anyone can watch your progress as when turned on, it transmits your GPS position every 10 minutes. A google earth display is available on the web page and your location is displayed every 10 minutes in real time. Your tracks can be stored for a period of time (perhaps 1 week) for you to look at. The device also has an emergency function. Press the red button and a distress message is sent via satelite link to the national emergency centre along with your GPS position. A SAR phase is automatically instigated. Velcro it to your glareshield and if you press the red button at 500' prior to impact, the SAR centre will have a good idea of your location straight away. I'm certainly going to get one when my aircraft is ready to fly. It's not a PLB as such but is a very handy and affordable device. My ma in law said battery life is quite good on regular alkaline batteries. I dont know about weather proofness and I dont think it is buoyant but you could check it out.

Dick Van Grunsven has come up with a new computer program that would help this Greenie make up a table for how much energy he needs. Dick called it the Van der Graph generator...

FYI, going ohm to see the missus was a big mistake. As soon as I walked in the door, she made me do the ioning... Stick with the workshop and building aircraft!

I can't take any more of this ridiculous banter. I'm going ohm to my missus!

I have made up a small photo album on this website so people can get an idea about my project without having to leave the site. I'm teeing up another build session soon so I hope to make some good headway later around Christmas. Cheers, Dave

Thanks Phil but you would probably need to down a keg to work up the courage to come flying with me!!

Sorry, forgot the stats. Here they are (estimated): Length: close to 20' (yet to be accurately determined - nosecone yet to be fabricated) Span: 18'9" Wing area: 40 sqft Empty weight: 440 lbs (installed weight for the 2 engines - 60 lbs) Fuel weight (Max normal - not incl. ferry tank) - 175 lbs Max front seat pilot weight: 250 lbs Max take-off weight: 1000 lbs Vne: 230kias (hope to expand this to 250kias) Max achievable speed S&L: Vne Stall: Clean - 80kias; Full flap - 59kias Nosegear retractable; Main gear fixed and faired G limits: +4/-1.5 @ mtow; +6/-2 @ 750 lbs Again, time will tell for these figures... You can see that the rear seat passenger weight will be dependent on how much of a porker is sitting in the front seat. At 200 lbs weight, I can fit my missus in the back but not a drinking buddy. Physically, a drinking buddy would fit as there is oodles of headroom and legroom in the back, but the pilot will be at the front. There will be dual controls but very basic instrumentation in the back seat. Weight is critical. Cheers, Dave

Hi everyone, Thanks for your encouragement. When I brought my project home in August from my co-builders workshop where we had put in around 200 hours work over 2.5 weeks, working on the fuselage, I just had to sit it in my driveway to admire it. I was hoping to mount the tailplane for the photo session, but I was leaving to return O/S the next day and didn't have time to do this so I had to take the photos without the tailplane being mounted. I played with one of the fuselage photos on Photoshop to come up with the canopy arrangement (on my avatar) and I have to admit to regularly bringing up this photo to admire the sleek lines of the aircraft. It really does look fast just sitting there. I picture it with the nosegear retracted and with the wheel pants on, with its' small wing and I just can't wait to get this baby in the air! The engines I will be using are the JetBeetle H150R which have 150lbf thrust each. You can read about them at their website www.jetbeetle.com . I hope to be the agent for these engines in Oz and with a 70/90/150 lbf range, there may be something there for other peoples projects (picture a twin jet Drifter...). The H150R really chews the gas but my aircraft is aimed at going flying for 20-30 minutes and land with a big smile on your face. It is not a practical aircraft to go anywhere in but that said, I intend to have a molded tank that can be strapped to the rear seat and be quick connected to the fuselage tank to give an additional 50% extra fuel for ferry purposes. If the aircraft is climbed straight to FL180 (pilot on cannular oxy), then it should have a range of 250+ miles so I will be able to take it to the fly-ins, just without a passenger. It is intended to be a pure VFR fun aircraft to fly. It will be fitted with a Dynon D10A EFIS. In my dreams, it will be finished mid-2012. Reality may be somewhat different. If the thing actually works, I have the molds for everything and may consider putting out kits if there is enough interest. I expect the kits would run to about $40,000 with engines being around $27000 plus radio/instruments, so maybe $75000 all up for your own twin-jet. That doesn't sound too bad when stacked up against a more expensive Jabiru... Time will tell... I have to get my Komet going first and test it thoroughly. Cheers to everyone. Dave

For around 3 years, my team of 3 co-builders and I have been plugging away at my Komet 2 seat twin jet project in Adelaide. I figure I may as well share some of the fun of building/development with my fellow enthusiasts so to see what my project is about, take a look at the following link http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/member-project-logs/6342-komet.html . I hope you find my project interesting. Cheers, Dave