To All: I have recovered some of the files containing the corrections to the FUSELAGE errors in the Texas Parasol drawings, originally posted in Feb 2003 but since erased. Also found were portions of the tutorial on extruded angle and its use for this type of structure. If you've any interest in...

To All: Often times we have the need to create small but accurate shapes in metal or wood. When the 'part' happens to be in two dimensions rather than three, such as a stencil (!) or an airfoil template, a common method of making the part is to simply print it out then glue the print-out to a...

To All: As explained in the Introduction to the Chuggers-Alt Group (and in the original chuggers Group), the contents of the Files Archive reflect experiments using inexpensive materials obtained locally, most from the typical 'box store' such as Home Depot or Lowes. The purpose of the...

Unable to access my original 'chuggers' file, one of the subscribers has created an IDENTICAL Group... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chuggers-alt/ ....to which I will subscribe. This will allow me to continue to upload how-to information on building a truly low-cost airplane. Right now I'm...

To All: There are times when you need to put something together fast, often while HOLDING the parts in positionby HAND, such as when you are making a jig or fixture. Many times the fixture is made of whatever wood you happened to have available.... 'good' scrape, if you know what I mean. But...

To All: The Gascolator dates from the days of the Model T Ford. Back in those days the fuel tank was located in the cowl, just forward of the windscreen -- which was plate glass. The filler was located on the cowl. The float-type quantity gauge was located in the instrument cluster. The system...

To All: Try this address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW7NpsHR3K0 A friend dropped by, insisted on escorting me on my Daily Trek. I swear to God, if it weren't for these guys I'd probably just roll over and go back to sleep. But everyone sez I gotta walk so I haul my sorry ass out of the...

Hi guys. Thanks for the boost. It is 2200 (that's ten p.m. for you civilians) and I've been home since about 1400. But I can't tell you if the surgery was a success or not. I didn't see the physician after the procedure was done and they used a general instead of a local, so I didn't get to...

To All: As promised, I've began posting drawings of primary glider(s). You will find them in PRIMARY_GLIDERS Group, in the FILES archive, in the Folder 'The Northrup Primary Glider.' So far I've only posted a few. The others will be posted as time -- and my medical condition -- permits. The...

I've posted a couple of drawings on my blog (bobhooversblog.blogspot.com). They should be on the top of the queue so you won't have any trouble finding them. There's still a couple to go, plus the text but these will give you the idea of what's involved. While the wing is held in position by...

New-Surplus from American Science & Surplus, item #37146 I bought one of these for about $50 at a truck-stop near Needles some years ago. Even with air-conditioning the single-digit humidity you often encounter when crossing the desert can play hell with your throat and eyes. The old-fashioned...

Recent problems mentioned here brought me a lot of mail on a variety of topics. Within the sphere of Flying on the Cheap and low-cost methods of construction, someone asked if I'd ever considered some kind of Last Ditch airplane, an absolute minimum flying machine for people who are determined to...

To All: About a week ago I posted an appeal for help with my computer sys, damaged during a recent stay in hospital. I've been using a lap-top as the controller. The keyboard was physically damaged (key broken off) and start-up wasn't starting up. Since all of the addresses were in the lap-top,...

Most Experts Aren’t. That's something the late Smokey Yunick said back when I was a seaman deuce. Every month my mail delivers one or two messages saying it's still true. The messages usually come from some superbly experienced fellow who has literally spent his life working on cars or trucks. He...

Odd how things come in batches. A fellow asked me if I'd ever heard of Gene Berg, which to an engine- builder is kinda like asking an aerobatic pilot if they've ever heard of Bob Hoover. (Meaning the REAL Bob Hoover... Robert A. from Tennessee.) So I pointed him toward Gene's web site and went...

Measuring the torque of an engine is a trivial chore when the load is a propeller. So long as the engine is allowed to rotate around the axis of its crankshaft, the amount of torque it produces can be measured using nothing more complicated than a bucket of water. (Hint: 'A pint's a pound the...

In addition to covering the occasional airplane, fabric turns out to be rather handy stuff. It makes dandy sails, for example. And awnings. And camper shells(!) or glider trailers (!!). Or my favorite, Sand Box Lids :-) (Seriously! See bobhooversblog.blogspot.com ) -R.S.Hoover PS - The...

VW-powered plane goes down in the Frozen North, which to me is anywhere other than Southern California. Pilot walks away from it, having just bought one airplane's-worth of education. Now he wants to know why he lost power. I don't know & tell him so. (Kinda hard to do an accident investigation...

Gravity is silent. The stately tick-tock of the pendulum clock is the only sound in the shop, the lathes and mills lurking beneath their shrouds as I try to reason with Mr. Ohaus. Unlike the clock, which is made of wood, Mr. Ohaus is a man of metal but both are powered by gravity. A spate of...

Recent posts to this Newsgroup made some folks think I'm sitting here with nothing to do, eager to help any homebuilder who wanders in the door, which caused several to do just that. Fer example... A flaw in the construction of my home revealed itself this past weekend when my favorite porcelain...