do you really build flying things...

On 24 Feb 2004 07:19:56 -0800, (Mike Henley) wrote:

Ernest Christley wrote in message .com...


I wouldn't be so sure. It wasn't such a long time ago that I had the
same astonishment at the idea. Remember, our public education system
and popular culture in general is now designed to weed out and destroy
anything resembling initiative or self dependance. If it ain't store
bought, it's redneck. 12 years of such meticulous brainwashing is VERY
hard to overcome.

i'm not trolling, just curious... jumping off a balcony sounds
dangerous enough to me, let alone flying a homebuilt flying machine...

do you have to have some pro experience or can anyone build such a
thingie...

Mike my Wittman Tailwind was built by an old truck driver who never
got as far as high school. He is about 84 now.
I have never had a moments doubt in 260 hours of flying the tailwind
that I am flying a competently built aircraft.

look it is not hard but aviation is a definite technology. join the
EAA, read their magazine Sport Aviation and buy yourself the set of
construction books by the late Tony Bingelis from the EAA.
that move will get you a competent start into understanding the
technology of building your own aircraft.

btw if you make the start into building an aircraft be warned that it
is more addictive than heroin. but it'll remain legal for life :-)

Stealth Pilot
Australia

In Mike Henley wrote:
i found this while searching for uk.comp.homebuilt... do you guys
really build flying things...

Of course, doesn't everybody?

i mean, seriously, can you ride in
something you built and trust its safety,

That is a question that you have to answer for yourself.

or do you just build toy
remote controlled stuff...

That too.

----------------------------------------------------
Del Rawlins-
Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email.
Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:
http://www.rawlinsbrothers.org/bhfaq/

Why hell son, we's even git ourselves and a tilephony.........(chew praire
grass)


"Del Rawlins" wrote in message
...
In Mike Henley wrote:
i found this while searching for uk.comp.homebuilt... do you guys
really build flying things...

Of course, doesn't everybody?

i mean, seriously, can you ride in
something you built and trust its safety,

That is a question that you have to answer for yourself.

or do you just build toy
remote controlled stuff...

That too.

----------------------------------------------------
Del Rawlins-
Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email.
Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:
http://www.rawlinsbrothers.org/bhfaq/

On 23 Feb 2004 14:14:53 -0800, (Mike Henley) wrote:

:i found this while searching for uk.comp.homebuilt... do you guys
:really build flying things... i mean, seriously, can you ride in
:something you built and trust its safety, or do you just build toy
:remote controlled stuff...

Different strokes. We build things that we fly in. Some bigger and
faster, some smaller and slower. The biggest ones carry 6-8 people,
and speeds get up to 350 mph. The smallest are single place, 40-60
mph. A few unpowered things too - sailplanes, or gliders. Some are
into RC as well.

I'd rather trust the safety of something that I built than something
built by people that drink beer with lunch and go home at 5pm. Like
the damned Chrystler I just bought.

A few of us even build some REALLY OLD SCARRY stuff! Yep, that's my plane...
its not much of a plane, but I'm kind-of attached to it.

Harry

On 25 Feb 2004 16:05:32 GMT,
(Wright1902Glider) wrote:

:A few of us even build some REALLY OLD SCARRY stuff! Yep, that's my plane...
:its not much of a plane, but I'm kind-of attached to it.

The way I look at it, homebuilts are a combination of transportation
and art. Some are more for transportation - I'm thinking the BD-4,
the STOL Zenairs, the Questair. Ugly but practical and efficient.
Some are more for art - the Fly Baby, many of the fast glass planes
that take a bazillion hours to build but look great. Most are both to
some degree, you can use the Fly Baby to go places and do things, and
the BD-4 can look better or worse depending on craftsmanship. Some
are a lot of both, the Lancair 4 is terrific looking and a great 2
place airplane.

On this continuum your plane is 200 proof pure art. And (imho) a
wonderful thing.

Richard Riley wrote snip

I'd rather trust the safety of something that I built than something
built by people that drink beer with lunch and go home at 5pm. Like
the damned Chrystler I just bought.

Man you said it Richard. This is what possessed me to finish my A&P
and start pulling my own annuals. Some of the work was so horrible on
my "certified" Apache 235 that I was amazed it was even signed off.
One of the replaced plexi-glass windscreens had a three-eights inch
gap under the bottom (cut wrong & no sealant,) hidden by the
windshield trim, that allowed rain to blow back and drip down into the
radio stack. I was in holding in heavy rain with other targets below
me waiting for the vis to come up at OAK when I lost both comm and
only retained intermittent g/s (leaks in the nose behind the landing
light as well.) The EFC had already passed. Shot a very iffy
approach. Had to call a very unhappy tower crew and approach that
scattered everybody due to my faith in genuine gov certified mechanics
(and my faith in 15,000 dollar annuals.) So now I do it all myself
because I kept hearing "Trust Me.." from mtc shops. But now the water
seeps through the rivets in front of the windshield and still gets
things a little wet! I'm tired of patching up forty-year-old
airframes that suck 30 gal's/hr. I want to build something new all
the way. (not just finish someone else's project.)

But my question is how did successful builders develop the discipline
needed to finish something so time consuming. I look around here and
see all kinds of honey-do's that have been going for years. Not sure
if I can "get the religion." How did you guys that made it to testing
convince yourselves that you could do it?

pac "I don't deal well with failure" plyer

On 25 Feb 2004 11:44:51 -0800,
(pacplyer) wrote:

Richard Riley wrote snip

I'd rather trust the safety of something that I built than something
built by people that drink beer with lunch and go home at 5pm. Like
the damned Chrystler I just bought.

Man you said it Richard. This is what possessed me to finish my A&P
and start pulling my own annuals. Some of the work was so horrible on
my "certified" Apache 235 that I was amazed it was even signed off.
One of the replaced plexi-glass windscreens had a three-eights inch
gap under the bottom (cut wrong & no sealant,) hidden by the
windshield trim, that allowed rain to blow back and drip down into the
radio stack. I was in holding in heavy rain with other targets below
me waiting for the vis to come up at OAK when I lost both comm and
only retained intermittent g/s (leaks in the nose behind the landing
light as well.) The EFC had already passed. Shot a very iffy
approach. Had to call a very unhappy tower crew and approach that
scattered everybody due to my faith in genuine gov certified mechanics
(and my faith in 15,000 dollar annuals.) So now I do it all myself
because I kept hearing "Trust Me.." from mtc shops. But now the water
seeps through the rivets in front of the windshield and still gets
things a little wet! I'm tired of patching up forty-year-old
airframes that suck 30 gal's/hr. I want to build something new all
the way. (not just finish someone else's project.)

But my question is how did successful builders develop the discipline
needed to finish something so time consuming. I look around here and
see all kinds of honey-do's that have been going for years. Not sure
if I can "get the religion." How did you guys that made it to testing
convince yourselves that you could do it?

pac "I don't deal well with failure" plyer


Pac....

First of all, you don't look at the project as being one big
job. Think of it as being many little tasks. Work on each
little task one at a time. I remember building the trim tab
for my RV-6. It took most of a day of puttering about but,
when it was done, I put it with the growing collection of
finished items.

When you can't find anymore small tasks to work on, it's
time to go flying.

Oh, one more thing... work on the plane a little each day.
Keep the project in your basement or garage, not at the
hangar (unless you live in your hangar), so, if you get the
urge to get up at 2:30 AM because you can't sleep, you can
work on the plane for an hour or so.

Don't forget to take a vacation occasionally from the
project. You'll come back refreshed and eager to jump right
back into building.

I worked on my RV-6 three or four nights a week from about
4:30 to 6:30 or 7:00 PM and one of the weekend days. The
weekend day dedicated to the RV was my wifes choice. If she
needed me for something on Saturday then Sunday was the RV
work day. Don't know if you're married or not but, if you
are, remember that whenever your wife calls down to the shop
with the familiar, "Honey, can you help me?" immediately
DROP what you're doing and go help her. Don't ever let her
believe that the airplane is more important than she is....

It took me 3 1/2 years from first hole drilled to first time
the airplane left the ground behind. I could have done it 6
months earlier if I'd had sense enough to keep the plane at
home until EVERY thing was ready for flight except putting
the wings on the plane. I took it to the airport much too
soon and, since the airport was 45 miles away, I lost much
of my work time commuting back and forth.

John Ammeter

John Ammeter wrote:

When you can't find anymore small tasks to work on, it's
time to go flying.

And then you'll find a whole bunch more!

remaining _excellent_ advice snipped

Dave 'fly-fix-fly' Hyde

Thanks for the great advice John, I would have never thought of those things.

pac



John Ammeter wrote

Pac....

First of all, you don't look at the project as being one big
job. Think of it as being many little tasks. Work on each
little task one at a time. I remember building the trim tab
for my RV-6. It took most of a day of puttering about but,
when it was done, I put it with the growing collection of
finished items.

When you can't find anymore small tasks to work on, it's
time to go flying.

Oh, one more thing... work on the plane a little each day.
Keep the project in your basement or garage, not at the
hangar (unless you live in your hangar), so, if you get the
urge to get up at 2:30 AM because you can't sleep, you can
work on the plane for an hour or so.

Don't forget to take a vacation occasionally from the
project. You'll come back refreshed and eager to jump right
back into building.

I worked on my RV-6 three or four nights a week from about
4:30 to 6:30 or 7:00 PM and one of the weekend days. The
weekend day dedicated to the RV was my wifes choice. If she
needed me for something on Saturday then Sunday was the RV
work day. Don't know if you're married or not but, if you
are, remember that whenever your wife calls down to the shop
with the familiar, "Honey, can you help me?" immediately
DROP what you're doing and go help her. Don't ever let her
believe that the airplane is more important than she is....

It took me 3 1/2 years from first hole drilled to first time
the airplane left the ground behind. I could have done it 6
months earlier if I'd had sense enough to keep the plane at
home until EVERY thing was ready for flight except putting
the wings on the plane. I took it to the airport much too
soon and, since the airport was 45 miles away, I lost much
of my work time commuting back and forth.

John Ammeter