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These dont really fit the in R/C thread and the Aviation thread in ask/tell is more for commercial pilots. Aircraft are really really expensive. But it doesnt have to be that way. I have been flying light aircraft on and off for about 15 years now. Far more off time than on time unfortunately due to my previous statement. After getting my Private lisence (scholarship) I rented the odd plane when I had the money which was essentially never. After a couple years of that and feeling less and less safe each time I rented a plane I eventually gave up on even that. My Uncles had been flying various ultralights and having a hell of a good time with them for a fraction of what it would have cost them to rent. So now that I have the storage space I decided it was time to get one. Enter the Ultraflight Lazair series III http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraflight_Lazair They made quite a few of them and there are still alot around. This picture was taken at the Ultralight pilots association of Canada's annual fly-in. It was the 25th anniversary of the Lazair. $4200 later and a $110 registration fee and I am the proud new owner of a 30 year old flying lawn chair. So right now I am back to renting planes while I wait for the weather to improve for the Lazair. Should have it flying in May I'll try to take lots of pictures and video. So that is my story. Time for some information. Small aircraft in North America There are three distinct groups of very light aircraft Conventional aircraft Trikes (powered hang gliders) Powered parachutes Or I am in Canada so I will start here. We have two different kinds of ultralights. Borrowed this from Upac.ca In order from simple and cheap to fancy and ruinously expensive. Basic Ultralights Ultralight - Single Place Call Letters - C-Ixxx Weight Limits - 165 kg (363 lbs) launch weight (includes the weight of fuel and oil but not pilot) Government Standard - weight and wing loading limits Construction By - owner Aircraft Modifications - owner permitted to make modifications Maintenance - as needed, by owner Minimum Pilot Permit/License - Pilot Permit - Ultralight Aeroplane Ultralight - two place Call Letters - C-Ixxx Weight Limits - 195 kg (429 lbs) launch weight (includes weight of full fuel and oil but not occupants) Government Standard - weight and wing loading limits Construction By - owner Aircraft Modifications - owner permitted to make modifications Maintenance - as needed, by owner Minimum Pilot Permit/License - Pilot Permit - Ultralight Aeroplane. Passenger Carrying - not permitted. Two pilots may fly together in an ultralight. Ultralight - single or two place Call Letters - C-Ixxx Weight Limits - 544 kg (1200 lbs) maximum takeoff weight Government Standard - weight and stall speed plus a useful load limit. (See the AULA Strategy on Transport Canada's Recreational Aviation web page.) Construction By - owner Aircraft Modifications - owner permitted to make modifications Maintenance - as needed, by owner Minimum Pilot Permit/License - Pilot Permit - Ultralight Aeroplane Passenger Carrying - not permitted. Two pilots may fly together in an ultralight Advanced Ultralight With the introduction of the new Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs), this class of ultralight will be a class of the "I" registered Ultralight category. Call Letters - C-Ixxx (It is proposed that older registered AULAs will keep the C-Fxxx or C-Gxxx registration until it is re-registered by a new owner.) Weight Limits - 480 kg (1058 lbs) gross weight plus float allowance Government Standard - TP10141 Construction By - Manufacturer, or by owner from manufacturer's kit Aircraft Modifications - with pre-approval of manufacturer only Maintenance - by owner, who must follow manufacturer's maintenance schedule Minimum Pilot's Permit/License - Pilot Permit - Ultralight Aeroplane Passenger Carrying - Permitted only if pilot holds a Recreational Pilot Permit or higher licence. Two pilots may fly together in an advanced ultralight. Amateur-Built(also called home built or experimental) Call Letters - C-Fxxx or C-Gxxx Weight Limits - 4000 lbs gross weight Government Standard - T51-13-549E Construction By - owner (aircraft must by at least 51% built by owner, and have 2 inspections before flight) Aircraft Modifications - owner permitted to make modifications Maintenance - by owner, entered in an aircraft log book, annual activity report submitted to Transport Canada. Minimum Pilot Permit/License - Recreational Pilot Permit. However, if the aircraft meets the new definition of ultralight, it can be flown by an ultralight pilot, but not with a passenger. Passenger Carrying - Permitted with Recreational Pilot Permit or higher license. Certified Call Letters - C-Fxxx or C-Gxxx Weight Limits - no limit Government Standard - Type Certificate Construction By - Manufacturer Aircraft Modifications - STC approved only, by Transport Canada Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME). Maintenance - AME. Annual inspection and current Certificate of Airworthiness required Minimum Pilot Permit/License - Recreational Pilot Permit. However, if the aircraft meets the new definition of ultralight, it can be flown by an ultralight pilot, but not with a passenger. Passenger Carrying - Permitted with a Recreatinal Pilot Permit or higher license. USA USA USA You guys handle things a bit differently. The ultralight category is covered by FAR 103 and if you are in that category there are basically no regulations. Borrowed from EAA.org Part 103 defines an ultralight as: 1-seat Less than 254 pounds max. empty weight (powered) 155 pounds max empty weight (unpowered) 5 gallons max. fuel capacity 55 knots max. full power speed 24 knots max power off stall speed If the aircraft has more than 1-seat or exceeds any of the above criteria, is not an ultralight, and not eligible for operation under Part 103. Next step up is Light sport aircraft Light-Sport Aircraft: The FAA defines a light-sport aircraft as an aircraft, other than a helicopter or powered-lift that, since its original certification, has continued to meet the following: Maximum gross takeoff weight—1,320 lbs, or 1,430 lbs for seaplanes. Maximum stall speed—51 mph (45 knots) CAS Maximum speed in level flight with maximum continuous power (Vh)—138 mph (120 knots) CAS Single or two-seat aircraft only Single, reciprocating engine (if powered), including rotary or diesel engines Fixed or ground-adjustable propeller Unpressurized cabin Fixed landing gear, except for an aircraft intended for operation on water or a glider Can be manufactured and sold ready-to-fly under a new Special Light-Sport aircraft certification category. Aircraft must meet industry consensus standards. Aircraft under this certification may be used for sport and recreation, flight training, and aircraft rental. Can be licensed Experimental Light-Sport Aircraft (E-LSA) if kit- or plans-built. Aircraft under this certification may be used only for sport and recreation and flight instruction for the owner of the aircraft. Can be licensed Experimental Light-Sport Aircraft (E-LSA) if the aircraft has previously been operated as an ultralight but does not meet the FAR Part 103 definition of an ultralight vehicle. These aircraft must be transitioned to E-LSA category no later than January 31, 2008. Will have FAA registration—N-number. Aircraft category and class includes: Airplane (Land/Sea), Gyroplane, Airship, Balloon, Weight-Shift-Control ("Trike" Land/Sea), Glider, and Powered Parachute. U.S. or foreign manufacture of light-sport aircraft is authorized. Aircraft with a standard airworthiness certificate that meet above specifications may be flown by sport pilots. However, the aircraft must remain in standard category and cannot be changed to light-sport aircraft category. Holders of a sport pilot certificate may fly an aircraft with a standard airworthiness certificate if it meets the definition of a light-sport aircraft. May be operated at night if the aircraft is equipped per FAR 91.205, if such operations are allowed by the aircraft's operating limitations and the pilot holds at least a Private Pilot certificate and a minimum of a third-class medical. There are also amatuer built and certified aircraft is the states of course but I know very little about them. Basic ultralights in Canada tend to be in the $3000-30000 price range. Advanced ultralights tend to start around $20000 and go up from there. Links http://www.upac.ca/ Ultralight pilots association of Canada http://www.copanational.org/ Canadian owners and pilots association http://eaa.org/ Experimental aircraft association http://www.aopa.org/ Aircraft owners and pilots association helno fucked around with this message at 22:24 on May 23, 2017 |
# ? Mar 28, 2012 01:34 |
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# ? May 16, 2024 18:00 |
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Nice thread. Also of note: A person in the US may fly a light sport aircraft during the day using a Drivers license instead of a 3rd class medical.
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# ? Mar 28, 2012 14:37 |
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antininja posted:Nice thread. Yeah that is true but it has a rather serious caveat. If you have ever been denied a medical you cannot use your drivers lisence. So what this means is that if you are in good health and the doctor finds something wrong you are hosed. If you can sweep it under the rug before your medical and then abandon your medical you can use your drivers lisence to fly light sport aircraft. In Canada the way this is handled is via the class 4 medical which is self declared. Apparently our doctors are much less anal than those in the states. I have been told that if you cant get approved for a class 3 medical you should probably not be driving.
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# ? Mar 28, 2012 22:39 |
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helno posted:I have been told that if you cant get approved for a class 3 medical you should probably not be driving. Pretty much this with the exception of previous heart attacks. It's really expensive to get a class three medical after a heart attack that many guys just don't and continue to fly. Wrong, yes, but the hosed up nature* of the FAAs Aeromedical division kinnda forces peoples hands Nice thread idea this is really the only "affordable" way for the common guy or gal to go flying on a regular basis these days. *If it was an advancement in medicine past the 70's they just try not to know about it, and stick to the common knowledge of that day.
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# ? Mar 29, 2012 13:01 |
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I am young and healthy (which puts me in the minority of ultralight pilots) so I just keep my Cat 3 up and rent a 150 once in a while to keep things up while I wait for the spring. While I wait for warmer weather I have been busy doing a few updates/repairs. First off I cleaned up the exhausts and gave the engines a good looking over. These engines are made by Rotax and are used in portable firefighting pumps. You cant get parts for it right from Rotax for the most part but if you dont tell wildfire what it will be used for they will generally sell you them at a huge firefighting markup. http://www.wildfire-env.com/eng/products/waterax/waterax.php?p=1 The next thing I tackled was the instrument panel. Back in the day the instrument panel consisted of one of these stuck on somewhere in the breeze. https://www.hallwindmeter.com/ My Uncle decided he wanted a bit more so he made up a little fibreglass pod with space for a pair of tiny-tachs and a cheap airspeed indicator and an altimiter. Under current laws in Canada ultralights are not allowed to fly in class E airspace without certain equipment onboard. Class E airspace has been expanded so much in the last 10 years that basically all of southern Ontario is covered by it so I needed a better altimeter to be able to fly there. The airspeed indicator was pretty useless. A plane that stalls at 20 mph and cruises at 30-40 mph is not well served by a meter that goes from 30-90 mph. So I made up a new panel (CNC routed plywood) and got me a fancy new ASI/ALT from MGL avionics. http://www.mglavionics.com/html/velocity.html#asx2 Here is the result. The two switches in the top left are for the ignition. The center two switch between the dual batteries and control the strobe light (a transparent and slow moving plane is nearly impossible to spot). Next thing to do was fix my broken throttle lever. The fancy dual throttle quadrant was made by cutting two boat throttles and sticking them together. One of my Throttle knobs was broken off so I spent this morning designing a new one in soldiworks (not bad for my first try at solidworks). I am going to have a set 3d printed. I will be in Europe for most of April but I should have this plane ready to go in May. helno fucked around with this message at 22:27 on May 23, 2017 |
# ? Mar 30, 2012 22:15 |
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How does your Lazair fly with only one engine? Does it glide easily with no engines?
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# ? Apr 1, 2012 02:04 |
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I havent flown it yet. It has a pretty decent glide ratio (12:1) but with its slow speed you are not going to get very far. I'm hoping to take advantage of the ridge lift along lake Huron once I get some time under my belt. Apparently the single seat Lazairs are pretty docile single engine but do require alot of rudder. Depending on the pilots weight and the condition of the engines it is possible to maintain altitude and climb. From my Uncle the best bet is to treat it like a single engine plane. Always keep an eye out for a field to land in and kill the second engine to keep your workload down on the approach. It is possible to restart the engines in the air. Mine have had the decompressors removed so it takes alot of grunt to turn them over. The decompressors had a tendency to fail and get sucked into the cylinders destroying them in the process. The two seat Lazair is another story. It will actually decend faster one one engine than on no engines do to the drag caused by the rudders.
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# ? Apr 1, 2012 03:31 |
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A very interesting read. Before I got my group A ppl I started on fixed wing microlights (for cost) I flew the Ikarus C42 , it was a super little plane and a whole lot of fun to fly. The only thing that held it back was the weight limit meant that you could fly two light people, with a two or three hours fuel but no baggage. MTOW 450kg. Just going for a local bimble on a nice still evening is really a pleasure that is difficult to beat.
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# ? Apr 1, 2012 11:39 |
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I'm surprised more people dont start off in planes like that. I guess they do if they fly C152's or DA20s. Got any idea how much one of them is worth?
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# ? Apr 1, 2012 14:52 |
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helno posted:I'm surprised more people dont start off in planes like that. I think the new price is about £50'000 depending on engine and avionics. Second hand, a fair bit less. There is a shared ownership set up with one at my airfield, and it seems to be great for them, they seem to use it a fair bit. Especially when the weather is good.
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# ? Apr 1, 2012 23:53 |
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That is not to bad of a price. The used market here is funny. Certified planes are cheap but expensive to own and ultralights are either dirt cheap or really expensive. Finished the panel. It is so packed with wires right now I could barely fit one of the batteries in to power it up. (the tiny tachs have 6 feet of fine coax and the ignition wires are about the same lenght.) helno fucked around with this message at 22:28 on May 23, 2017 |
# ? Apr 2, 2012 22:28 |
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How well does your car gps work 10000 feet up?
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# ? Apr 3, 2012 00:47 |
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I'd be more concerned with my engines working that high up. No mixture control on these so you are limited to a few thousand feet above where you take off. The GPS works great actually. I has a bunch of functions like barometeric vertical speed and glide ratio that I cant see any use for in a car. I have turned it on on airliners and it works just fine at 35000 feet. Here is a log from a few weeks ago in a Cessna 150.
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# ? Apr 3, 2012 01:39 |
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American ultralights can have retractable wheels if they're amphibious. Or a glider. They can also be heavier if you have a parachute. I think 17lbs is allocated to a parachute. But most are under 10. Oh, and an important note. Most ultralights "aren't." The affordaplane builds up almost 50lbs heavy. The legal eagle doesn't easily make it under weight. And a variety of others are just barely scraping by. Nerobro fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Apr 3, 2012 |
# ? Apr 3, 2012 23:00 |
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Canadian ultralight laws are more realistic about weight. Up to 1230 lbs so long as it meets a simple useful load calculation and stalls at less than 45 mph. We also have no restrictions on things like retracts or twin engines. Hurry the hell up with buying your house. Hopefully you will make some progress on your Davis this summer.
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# ? Apr 4, 2012 00:39 |
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helno posted:Apparently the single seat Lazairs are pretty docile single engine but do require alot of rudder. Depending on the pilots weight and the condition of the engines it is possible to maintain altitude and climb. I watched one lose an engine and go below min control speed, lose directional control and stuffed it into a swampy are next to the runway the pilot departed from. Fortunately for the guy flying the Lazair it was soft enough and the angle he arrived at was flat enough he got bruised up real good but walked(limped,) away. I would say that's pretty sage advice from you uncle. Are there published single engine speeds for the Lazair or is it more a cross that bridge when you get to it, and try not to get to it sort of thing?
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# ? Apr 4, 2012 05:02 |
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It is a bridge I will have to cross when I get there. Luckily I live in a land of wide open fields and very predictable winds. With a plane this light a heavy or light pilot or the condition of the engines can really effect things like that. Some of the two seaters had an additional rudder surface added to increase the single engine performance.
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# ? Apr 4, 2012 21:21 |
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After a 2200mi round trip this weekend, I was finally able to make the drive to pickup the powered parachute I mentioned in the other thread! I have around 18hrs from PPL training, and I should be able to get my sports pilot endorsements in the next month! The previous owner, showing me the ropes: Not the easiest to to position, but it was a fairly easy haul.
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# ? Apr 16, 2012 07:11 |
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What's the lifespan of a canopy?
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# ? Apr 16, 2012 07:22 |
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Nerobro posted:What's the lifespan of a canopy? It looks they last around 300-500+hrs or 10-15 years.
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# ? Apr 17, 2012 14:36 |
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Entone posted:The previous owner, showing me the ropes: Hopefully there were no hang-ups.
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# ? Apr 17, 2012 20:26 |
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Entone posted:sports pilot I take it that powered parachutes get classed as light sport aircraft down there. Are there any odd restrictions? Perhaps in a few years if more people get into this we will have to plan a "slow as gently caress" goonmeet.
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# ? Apr 18, 2012 19:15 |
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I made some progress today. Got the plane unloaded at the field and installed the tail and instrument pod. As you can see there is a slight cub infestation in this hanger. helno fucked around with this message at 22:32 on May 23, 2017 |
# ? May 6, 2012 02:00 |
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Slight cub infestation? That is massive. I'd call an exterminator. Or at least a Bearcat to clean the joint up. On plane news... I bought a house. It will be about a month before it's totally "in my hands." (203k HUD stuff...) I'm excited. I"m also seeking opinions on the KR-1.
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# ? May 6, 2012 06:34 |
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Got the wings on tonight with the help of another lazair owner. Just need to repair a stripped engine mount bolt and get all the little things attached and it will be ready. helno fucked around with this message at 22:33 on May 23, 2017 |
# ? May 10, 2012 03:26 |
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Looks great, when are you expecting to get airborne?
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# ? May 10, 2012 12:19 |
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Depends on how much of a pain the rear end the engine mount repair is. Most of the options involve lifting the wing skin to replace the captive nut.
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# ? May 11, 2012 00:48 |
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Well my uncle came up for the weekend and we got the engine mounts repaired. Ended up using solid rivets to hold the nutplates rather than the pop rivets originally used. Luckily the owner of the field is in the process of building an RV-6 and has an air hammer and an assortment of tips and bucking bars so it was pretty easy to do the rivetting. Everything else went back together smoothly and the engines fired right up with just a couple of pulls. I havent flown it yet but as advised I have spent about 1.5 hours taxing around and different speeds to seee just how it handles. It handles about as well as a backwards shopping cart if you are at the right speed and are abit ham fisted with the throttles. Unfortunatly at low speeds the only directional control is via differential trust and the natural reaction to throttle back the engines when you get a bit squirelly only makes things worse. Last night I was doing much better and was easily handling the transition to flying the tail speeds back down to a standstill and getting it turned around. Now I just need to wait for the winds to settle down or at least blow directly down the runway so I can get this plane in the air.
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# ? May 21, 2012 23:09 |
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I own a house now. :-) And I am negotiating some aircraft materials. woohoo!
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# ? May 21, 2012 23:48 |
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helno posted:
One thing I found flying a Beech 18(tain dragging twin) that may help you is to stop a turn you need more power for less amount of time then you spent around the turn to kill that turning momentum. Ex. If I spent 10 seconds turning right with the left at idle and the right at 10% power, I might need 3-5 seconds of 20-25%ish power on the left with the right at idle to kill the turn and resume a straight taxi. Lots of throttle swapping in that thing. This thing had an H tail so the prop wash helped make the rudders effective, as well as differential brakes, so I don't know how helpful this is to you. Sounds like you're doing it right though, can't wait to hear about the first flight, good luck, be safe, and have fun.
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# ? May 23, 2012 13:48 |
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Sounds like cracking progress. Depending how comfortable you are with flying it, I'd definitely wait for a nice flat calm evening or early morning. The still air definitely helps. Looking forward to hearing how your first flight goes.
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# ? May 23, 2012 17:18 |
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Ferris Bueller posted:One thing I found flying a Beech 18(tain dragging twin) that may help you is to stop a turn you need more power for less amount of time then you spent around the turn to kill that turning momentum. Ex. If I spent 10 seconds turning right with the left at idle and the right at 10% power, I might need 3-5 seconds of 20-25%ish power on the left with the right at idle to kill the turn and resume a straight taxi. Lots of throttle swapping in that thing. This thing had an H tail so the prop wash helped make the rudders effective, as well as differential brakes, so I don't know how helpful this is to you. I lubed the poo poo out of the throttle cables for the second day and found it much easier to manage. Differential brakes will come later once I get around to designing a braket and figureing out how to mount the discs. You are absolutly right about needing a larger amount of differential power for a shorter period to correct it. The lag in throttle response really makes this tough to get used to. Taxing this little bird is very humbling. I probably could have lined it up the first night and firewalled it and gotten off the ground just fine, as it handles like any other plane once in the air but the rollout would have been interesting. The winds today have calmed down so tonight would be perfect for that first flight if only the clouds and fog had no conspired against me. Here are a few pictures. helno fucked around with this message at 22:34 on May 23, 2017 |
# ? May 23, 2012 17:48 |
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Made my first flight tonight. Did a few touch and goes and a bit of sight seeing. Takes a while to get anywhere at 40 mph but lots of fun getting there. 1.2 hours and then got right back in for another 0.8.
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# ? May 26, 2012 02:59 |
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Congrats. Glad all went well and you had fun.
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# ? May 26, 2012 13:25 |
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Fantastic, there's nothing like getting airborne in your own plane. I imagine it is pretty sensive to turbulence and thermic activity. I also notice that the tailplane looks pretty low to the ground, how do you manage the flair out? Or is it supposed to contact back first. Looking forward to some more pictures.
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# ? Jun 9, 2012 19:32 |
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I have put a few more hours on it but always in the last few hours before sunset so no thermals so far. The rear wheels tend to touch just as the mains due and the flair is pretty natural as that big wing enters ground effect. Flying along the runway with the wheels six inches from the ground is pretty easy even for me. Crosswinds can be pretty alarming if the wing lifts the upwind wing at all and landing with bank or crab is an invitation to dart to one side. I ordered some new carbon fiber props but just cant bring myself to drill the bolt holes in them, might have to get someone to make me a good jig so I can't possibly gently caress it up. There is a fly-in breakfast tomorrow morning in the next town over so if the winds are calm enough I'll fly down and try to get some pictures. Another lazair owner might come out as well so we can get some in flight pictures. helno fucked around with this message at 22:36 on May 23, 2017 |
# ? Jun 9, 2012 21:22 |
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Could you just take your old prop and center it over the top of the new one with some kind of pin and just use the existing bolt holes as a guide?
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# ? Jun 10, 2012 17:59 |
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That is exactly what I plan to do. But I have nothing handy that will align the two. The new prop has a 10mm hole and the old one has a 3/4" hole on the backside. Shouldn't be to hard to make something up on a lathe to get things perfect. As promised here are a few pictures from the fly-in breakfast in Goderich hosted by http://www.copa45.com/ I left pretty early to beat the crowd. Goderich has two paved runways and a nice grass runway. Turns out my radio is basically unintelligable once my engines are running so I guess for now I am receive only. Took about 45 minutes to cover 25 miles due to the headwind but it was worth it. Lots of different types of aircraft and noone was looking down there nose at the few ultralights that where there. I spent most of mt time talking to a guy with a Harmon rocket which was probably the fastest plane there. There was a long-ez which are pretty rare in canada. Plenty of Cessnas and cub like aircraft, a bunch of RV's. Pete showed up in his explorer (its for sale if anyone is in the market) you might remember him helping to assemble my lazair. The old bluegrass player gets all the ladies it seems. helno fucked around with this message at 22:38 on May 23, 2017 |
# ? Jun 10, 2012 22:47 |
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Hey, fellow southern Ontario aviation goon. I don't come to DIY often, so this is the first I've seen of your thread. I think we probably know some of the same people. I think I've actually seen your aircraft at the same airstrip in the first post. I fly balloons for a living, and we flew to and from that strip a few times. I actually considered buying an ultralight after talking to the owner. (I was building time, so I stopped when I realised I couldn't log it for my licences.) It was a few years ago, so not you, considering you bought it recently. I seem to recall it was all silver, and the other Lazairs don't look familiar. How many hours do you actually get out of those tiny engines? Care to share what the approximate operating cost is? I don't fly fixed wing much anymore, it might be nice to have a hobby.
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# ? Jun 11, 2012 06:36 |
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# ? May 16, 2024 18:00 |
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Fantastic, going into fly-ins really is great fun. I imagine with a tailwind your return journey was a fair bit quicker. With regards to the radio, are you using a handheld? Although flying nordo is quite good fun it is always a handy backup to have.
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# ? Jun 11, 2012 17:07 |