Homebuilts draw me again

[Chairboy]

It's been 6 months since I first really considered building an airplane.  Back then, I gravitated towards the RV 9 and 7.  Since then, I've inspected a few RVs, and sat in an RV-6a.  Great planes, but pretty cramped.  I'm 6'2 and 260-270, and my shoulders feel really cramped.

I spent a few months thinking about Piper Cherokee Warriors, and probably will still end up with one in the beginning, but for long term planning, I'm really interested in building my own.

I've recently spent a bunch of time reading up on canard planes.  Has anyone seen or flown in a Cozy Mk IV?  It seems to have almost all the traits I'm looking for.  Four seater, fast (200mph+), efficient...  And since it's a composite full builld, I can easilly modify it as needed, like adding in a couple extra inches in width for comfort.



Just specudreaming right now...

[Yeager]

those things will get you killed

[Bodhi]

Originally posted by Chairboy
And since it's a composite full builld, I can easilly modify it as needed, like adding in a couple extra inches in width for comfort.

That type of thinking right there is the leading cause of death of homebuilders....

[Furball]

http://www.pacificaerosport.com/twister.htm !

[Chairboy]

Originally posted by Bodhi
That type of thinking right there is the leading cause of death of homebuilders....

Nah, I think the leading cause of death of homebuilders is, based on reading NTSB reports, "ah, I just fueled it a couple months ago.  All I've been doing with the engine is ground runs, how much gas could that possibly use?  Anyhow, I'm just doing a quick test flight, no need to open up the tank and check."

The mod I'm considering has been done a bunch of times by other builders, so no worries there, but involving the builder community to double check changes is a good idea, so you can learn from their experiences.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Why aeroplanes lack fuel gauges?

[Dinger]

A gauge there may be. But how many fuel gauges have you seen that are linear? Besides, how do you know you have the right one installed?


"hmm, says here on this gauge that we got enough gas to take this ATR all the way back to Tunis."


Fuel exhaustion has ended many a promising medical career.

[Debonair]

If you reply on NTSB reports, the leading cause of trouble is flying in VMC without a flight plan

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Logically thinking I've never run out of gas driving a car, why should way more advanced aircraft be any different.

[Holden McGroin]

Fuel systems in an automobile tend to say F --- E.

Fuel systems in an A/C say Right tank F --- E,  Left tank  F --- E, maybe fuselage tank F --- E.

Homebuilts tend to have custom fuel valving systems. With a small amount of unfamiliarity, one can suffer fuel starvation and still have 50 gallons on board.

Ask John Denver.

[beet1e]

Chairboy - I went to the 1991 EAA exhibition at Oshkosh. I spent 2 days there and could have spent a third or indeed the full week. Really interesting stuff. What I liked best was the homebuilt section. Amazing planes with fantastic performance with very modest fuel consumption. I'm talking about 180mph on about 4 gallons/hour...

But I agree with the other guys here - those things will get you killed! That year (or it may have been the year after) one of them broke up in flight flying from that very event at Oshkosh.

Also, the time - 3000 hours just to build one that's been partially prebuilt, 5000 hours for a really ambitious project. Do you have the time? Do you have the garage space, the tools and the know-how?

As for aircraft fuel gauges - not worth a piss in the wind. My TB10 used to get almost exactly 38 litres of fuel per flying hour, usable capacity being 300 litres. I worked out  the fuel remaining by time flown.

It was a plane I could trust - took it across the English channel on many occasions and all the way to Corsica once, crossing 160nm of water - a real man's flight. None of this land-lubbing American nancy boy stuff!

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Holden if the pilot doesn't know how to select proper tanks it won't help to visually check fuel levels either. Even if they're all topped off during takeoff he might make a midair error and drain a tank in the end. If there would be a gauge and perhaps audible low fuel alarm then the user could act on the problem.

Sounds like the flight security could be enhanced with $50 modification easily.

[Debonair]

Were that the case...you think people who spend $100 & up per flight hour are too cheap to fork over for the $50 modification?  I landed a plane, PA-28-181 Archer II N8039E, with only 14 gallons once (12 usable & flow was 8-10 per hour), still gives me the twitch when I think about it because I landed & didn't refuel during that trip.  Even stupider, had I refueled for the return trip the extra 20 minutes time would have let me fly without worrying about a TFR which expired about 15 minutes after I flew through it.  The FAA rules for fuel gauges are that they must read empty when the tank is empty, so in effect you can probably make an excuse for dumping them & calling the engine your fuel gauge.  I'd love to see the look an FAA inspectors face when I tell him "I've set up my plane so that the manifold pressure drops when the tank is dry"

[Holden McGroin]

Originally posted by MrRiplEy[H]
If there would be a gauge and perhaps audible low fuel alarm then the user could act on the problem.

What keeps fuel starvation from happening is familiarity with systems and a proper preflight. Oh, and every A/C has an audible low fuel alarm.  It's called slience.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Heh I don't know about you but I'd prefer a nasty beep 2 minutes before running out instead of a dying engine during flight.

It's a bit like saying I don't need a seatbelt - the windshield will stop me on the event of a collision.