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Flying on the Cheap - Instruments
To All:
Recently a fellow discovered my post about flying on the cheap (Oct 2001) and got so excited he had to give me a call. Although he wasn't quite ready to begin building, my article convinced him to take the plunge. As his first step toward building an inexpensive flying machine he'd purchased the first of the instruments he planned to install in it. A clock. One that cost nearly $200. I stared at the telephone for a minute then hung it up and went back to work. In terms of flying on the cheap, two hundred bucks is enough for a fuselage or a set of wings. Common sense is remarkably uncommon stuff in the world of aviation. Flying on the Cheap means VFR-Day; the epitome of fair-weather flying. No IFR timed turns nor precision descents into the murk. And the odds are, you already own a perfectly good clock for that kind of flying. In fact, it's probably strapped to your wrist right now. The same is true with regard to your altimeter. VFR-Day you can SEE the terrain. Your only need for an altimeter is to ensure vertical separation and avoid the bureaucratic wedding cakes and for that you don't need a precision instrument. A cheap 2" altimeter - - the kind from J.C.Whipme that reads fifteen thousand feet in one turn of the dial is more than good enough. Ditto for your Magnetic Heading Indicator, which most folks call a compass. A good car or small boat compass, such as the adjustable jobbie made by Sherrill, costs less than ten bucks. (*) Accuracy-wise, once you swing the plane, remember east is least and fill out the correction card, the Sherrill is about as good as a B-16 although its card is marked only in ten degree increments. Most aviation compasses are marked every five degrees but here again, we're talking Flying on the Cheap and VFR-Day. You're not Lindy hopping the pond nor heading for thirty seconds over Tokyo, you're slip-sliddin' your way over to Joe's to shoot a few landings, getting in your ten hours a month so aren't a hazard to the rest of us. If your inexpensive home-made flying machine has a strut-braced wing you may not even have an ASI in the panel, falling back on the simple air speed indicator Wilbur made for the Wright 'Flyer.' (And if you don't know what that was, you should.) Which isn't to say that flying on the cheap means flying on the stupid. See that fishing vest hanging on the back of the door? That's my Flying Costume. No silk scarf nor sheep-skin jacket but it does happen to include an inexpensive GPS unit along with a cheap 'ramp' radio. Not rock-bound; a modern, programmable 720 channel aviation communications unit. Since flying on the cheap often means flying without an electrical system, each unit is complete with its battery pack and external antenna. And if you'll take a closer look at that set of cheap Harbor Freight ear-muffs hanging by the vest you'll see it's actually a Flying-on-the-Cheap head-set that works jus' fine, thanks - - even though it cost me the best part of a twenty dollar bill. The point here is that poking around southern California under VFR-Day conditions does not mean equipping your aircraft for a full-stop at LAX. But neither should it preclude that possibility. Indeed, going ANYWHERE in southern California under visual flight rules mostly means keeping the hell out of everyone's way. That dictates the need for good lights, good communications and knowing where you are at all times. That's where the GPS unit comes in. It can tell me my altitude and ground speed faster and more accurately than I can figure it out for myself, even a whole panel full of expensive dials, an E6-B and forty years of experience. Alas, as soon as you mention radio and GPS it sounds as if you've torpedoed the whole idea of flying on the cheap. But unless you live in one of the square states, having GPS and comm capability is the reality of General Aviaition in today's America. Not because you need it to get where you're going; you need it to keep from becoming a hood ornament on some Part 135 hot-rod whose arrivals and departures from local airports has a lot in common with FEMA following a hurricane. Trust me here, you really do need the GPS, and once you have it you can toss about a thousand bucks worth of steam gauges in the trash. But if you have a seriously bad day, you'll still need to get the bird home. That's where the car compass and altimeter comes in handy. And like I said, you've already got a clock. -R.S.Hoover (*) American Science & Surplus |
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Flying on the Cheap - Instruments
wrote)
Trust me here, you really do need the GPS, and once you have it you can toss about a thousand bucks worth of steam gauges in the trash. But if you have a seriously bad day, you'll still need to get the bird home. That's where the car compass and altimeter comes in handy. And like I said, you've already got a clock. My 1994 Dodge Grand Caravan has a digital readout (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW) compass and an extremely accurate digital OAT thermometer - in a console above the windshield. The real-time fuel burn (mpg) is fun to watch while driving - if I select that mode. How does my minivan's compass work? Montblack |
#3
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Flying on the Cheap - Instruments
" How does my minivan's compass work? Montblack http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...5336.Eg.r.html |
#4
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Flying on the Cheap - Instruments
On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 20:13:14 -0900, "Ron Webb" wrote:
" How does my minivan's compass work? Montblack http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...5336.Eg.r.html I once tried out an aftermarket auto compass/altimeter in my Fly Baby, with mixed results: http://makeashorterlink.com/?C18C25975 Ron Wanttaja |
#5
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I use a variometer/altimeter made by Flytec, for hang gliding. I can velcro it into anything I fly. It cost me $300 used; I've seen some available for around $100.
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#6
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Flying on the Cheap - Instruments
:^)
The Monk |
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Flying on the Cheap - Instruments
I'm startin' with a vario. The FlyTec looks like a pretty good unit,
but I havn't tested it myself. I don't recall the brand attached to the trainer-wing on my tandem flights a few years back, but it worked quite well. It had both an audible and visual display for altitude, and made all sorts of cool "Ur' goin' up like John F***ing Glenn" noises when I hit the ridge lift. Most of the new varios are a combo GPS / compass unit that will allow you to input dozens of waypoints for flying XC, if you're so inclined. When I took my training courses in HG, the instructor told me to feel the wind on my face, and use that to judge airspeed. When he pitched up hard, I knew way before the wing stalled that there wasn't enough wind to keep flying. Maybe not technical enough for powered machines, but a vario should have an ASI in it, and if it doesn't, Hall Brothers makes a low-speed one for about $20. Yep, it looks like a red thingie inside a test-tube. I'm assuming, of course, that you didn't spend extra $$$ on anything silly like an enclosed cockpit on your Poorboy Pober. Please note: a Richard animometer (sp?) reads about 10% low versus the fixed unit at the Lifesaving Station ...according to Wilbur's notes. Also, the yarn should be centered between the front ruder supports when launching from the Grand Junction Railroad. Harry "Wright Brothers Geek" Frey |
#8
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Flying on the Cheap - Instruments
RS, it pleases me greatly when I find I've come to the same conclusions
as you. I'm just finishing work on a cheap slow flier. It's a departure from standard, at least for the wing, so I've overengineered the safety side (BRS, 5 point harness and a pilot's parachute). But for instrumentation, I'm minimal. Handheld GPS and com (since I'm in the busy traffic of So Cal, I'm addicted to com) EGT and CHT for the single cylender 2 stroke. RPM. Fuel level is visible. Altimiter - So I can get a good idea of rate of climb. Airspeed is a plastic tube with a red plastick floatie disk. That's it. OTOH, I have the Uber Panel in the expensive fast flier. Two missions, two solutions. |
#9
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Flying on the Cheap - Instruments
Richard Riley wrote:
RS, it pleases me greatly when I find I've come to the same conclusions as you. I'm just finishing work on a cheap slow flier. It's a departure from standard, at least for the wing, so I've overengineered the safety side (BRS, 5 point harness and a pilot's parachute). But for instrumentation, I'm minimal. Handheld GPS and com (since I'm in the busy traffic of So Cal, I'm addicted to com) EGT and CHT for the single cylender 2 stroke. RPM. Fuel level is visible. Altimiter - So I can get a good idea of rate of climb. Airspeed is a plastic tube with a red plastick floatie disk. That's it. OTOH, I have the Uber Panel in the expensive fast flier. Two missions, two solutions. I guess I'm a hard headed old coot. (well, DuH!) I simply won't fly a two-stroke without an EGT. Problem, though, is that the EGT runs so (you favorite explicative) high anyway that a micro seizure can put it over the limit in a mater of seconds. You'd almost have to be staring at it to notice a needle or two width jump. Specially on the little 2: gauges with a short swing! I've always wanted to ask Jim if there was a simple circuit that could monitor the EGT and notice the RATE of increase that would indicate a pending problem rather that an already existing one. Maybe blink a light, ring a bell, or apply electric shock as needed? Jim, anything in you S&M cap that might work here? Rich(OUCH)ard |
#10
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Flying on the Cheap - Instruments
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