Titan Aircraft T-51 Mustang

[Golfer]

Originally posted by smash
Being an experimental enthusiast qualifies you for nothing.  Remarkable that someone who considers themselves "certified" is so uninformed.

Wow...learn somethin' new every day!  Thanks!:aok


Now that you've had your swing...do a search.  Chairboy as the poster.  Tailwheel as the subject and look at the second page of "Airplane Update" as the thread subject.

Original reference to a grossly neglegent mistake Chairboy made and has sense learned from...I hope.

In the meantime I'll petition HTC for a tongue-in-cheek smiley so you don't get so worked up over nothing when you think you've got a shot at slamming me

[Golfer]

Originally posted by Chairboy
I've been civil, I've been humble, but I guess there's just some other quality that I haven't exhibited enough of for you.  You can save a lot of time if you just let me know what that is.

Idiots they may be but it's your job as an experimental enthusiast to make yourself better than the next guy.  I've given you credit where you deserve...learning from your mistake.  At the same token it's a mistake that shouldn't have been made in the first place and it's very likely the next one wil get you killed.

I've sent you one PM saying that nothing I speak up is meant as a personal attack on you.  It's meant to keep you alive.  I'm not finding sick pleasure in it and there are many many ways I'd be able to better spend my time than worrying about someone I've never met.

Things you've said and done don't just worry me.  They worry others and I don't feel good about when I see someone or log into the game getting a pat on the back because I spoke up about situations you find yourself in.

I assure you I'm on your side and want nothing more than for you to be safe.

We agree on more things than I believe you think.  That too was in the PM and if you'd like I'd be happy to post it for everyone to read.  I wanted to save you the trouble and what I thought you'd take as a libelous cheap shot if posted in public and send it to you privately.

I'm not out to get you.  I'm not your mother.  I can't make you do anything.  I can speak up and if saying anything I've said about what you've done has made you angry, frusturated and annoyed with me...I did my job.  If getting you so jacked at your mistakes keeps you from making them again...I've done my job.

I'm not the only one who's been concerned for your well being.  I'd just say I'm the most vocal.

_________________
Second note.

On the "idiots" you comment on.  The idiots that we (all pilots, aviation enthusiasts, mechanics, line guys, desk girls, hangar sweepers and people who just look at airplane sin the sky) have to convince that we are safe and secure are lawmakers.  We can keep getting rules and regulations, new taxes and encroachments on our privilege to fly for only so long.  It's not the vast minority of people that are educated on the subject of aviation we have to convince.  It's the overwhelming majority of "idiots" who simply aren't educated on why or why not certain things are safe.  I've seen guys fly what I consider a lawnchair with duct taped wings and call it safe.  It's all about perception and if the majority of idiots out there perceve you as unsafe, reckless or dangerous...we're all screwed.

[smash]

Originally posted by Golfer
Wow...learn somethin' new every day!  Thanks!:aok

Snip

You still fail to address the so called "enthusiast certification" you claim to have.

You are sloppy.   And you sound foolish.  If you are a pilot thats a lousy combination.

[outbreak]

lol see the price tag on that beauty? $49,900.00, Puts a nice dent in the wallet but it is a nice aircraft replica. lol and that doesnt include the $25,000 Engine!

[Chairboy]

It's not that I'm angry, just a little puzzled.  If you're looking for groveling, well, I guess I just don't get it.  I made a mistake, fessed up, and I guess I just don't see any indication that the fact that I admitted the mistake and learned from it is enough for you.  What else do you want?  Is there a reason you stalk any post I make about aviation and use my error as more evidence why experimental aviation is dangerous?

Your PM implied that a group of people think I am an inherently dangerous pilot, and I guess I'm looking for the reason behind that perception.  

I don't think you deserve a pat on the back, particularly.  I think you should take a moment to examine your motivations and maybe re-evaluate.  I really can't fall on my sword any more than I have, do you want me to film myself crying for forgiveness and post it to youtube?  Maybe you feel I should turn in my certificate and leave aviation to The Professionals like you?  

Just tell me what else I can do that I didn't already do in my very first post where I described my mistake and how I learned from it.  YOU tell me what failure condition continues to exist, because if there isn't one, then you're out of line.

[Golfer]

Originally posted by smash
You still fail to address the so called "enthusiast certification" you claim to have.

You are sloppy.   And you sound foolish.  If you are a pilot thats a lousy combination.

Smash,

That was a tongue in cheek comment to chairboy about an incident he had in a tailwheel airplane the first time he'd ever sat in a tailwheel airplane with no training.  I direct you to do the search because it wont do anyone any service to post it here again.

Read the comment again.  It's written in black and...uhh...gray the phrase at the end:

"that you have no business being in"

It wasn't and isn't a serious comment.

Chairboy's come a long way from that day which is why it's now tongue in cheek...not (as) serious.

[Habu]

For what it is worth I don't Chairboy did anything that was incredibly stupid.

He is a private pilot who has taken a hell of a lot more instruction than you need to fly an ultralight.

Ultralights land slow. I know I own one.

Taildraggers are tricky to land in crosswinds.

If Chairboy had flown on a calm day he probably would have had a fine flight. He was not sure of the wind that day and the wind gave him all his grief.

The guy selling the plane should have given him more of a briefing and known the winds that day would make flying the thing difficult.

All I can say is that when I land my ultralight in a cross wind it looks a lot more scary than it is if you have done it 100 times before. I am sure Chairboys landing was no where near as out of control as he thought it was. A small light plane moves a lot more than a Cessna. If you are in one for the first time you think it is going out of control due to all the movement but really it is not. As long as the nose is pointed at the spot on the runway you want  to land on and as long as you flair and let the speed bleed off it will land fine. You just have to ignore all the bumps and drops on the way down.

Its like driving your Dads car for the first time on the highway in traffic. In your mind you are sure you are going to hit the guardrail or the car next to you or that the speed is way out of control but the reality is everything is normal. You are just not used to it.

[jigsaw]

[smash]

Habu,

Its good to read your post.  Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the air has had their moments.  Humility keeps you alive.

Somewhere I have a picture of my wife going up in a Titan.  Its pink, of course   Not ours.  I've thought about them but its just a little too "Wright Brothers" for me.

The P51 look is really nice, but if I was going to build it would be an RV8 or something along those lines.  Too bad the RVs aren't retracts.

Chairboy... you are not the first to get bit by a taildragger.  Not by a long shot.  There's a lot of memorials outside Wright Patterson to some great, great pilots who pronged a few.

Stay sharp and enjoy.

[Angus]

Don't want to hijack, but just check:
http://www.supermarineaircraft.com  
for a somilar scale and weight...Spitfire

Anyway, I liked the specs for this aircraft. Compare it to a Cessna 150/152 or even a piper...or a skyhawk...
It has the same power ballpark, lower stall, similar better ROC, and much higher cruise and VNE. Well it's a taildragger, and that's different takeoff and landing (harder), but the stll is much much lower, the ground roll is also.
With a competent pilot, this looks like an awesomely nice private aircraft, - just like the spit26

[Mace2004]

Originally posted by Chairboy

1. Experimental planes aren't certified as a matter of rule, unless it's part of an R&D effort where a certified plane passes through the experimental category.  Most homebuilts are registered as experimental at the end of the build cycle and not certified.
2. If you're referring to the DAR's final inspection, "very easy" isn't usually the description of the procedure, but you have to meet requirements for testing it with ranges defined for where you can fly, usually a 40 hours of flight period w/o any passengers, etc etc.
3. Most builders will either get what's called 'transition training' with a completed example of the plane or (if it's a one seater) the community will identify a two seater that has similar behavior that they can train in.
4. The test regime involves extensive taxi training, including high speed taxis on the runway, working up to flight and understanding what every system is doing at every step of the way.

In a lot of ways, a home builder ends up being the most qualified person to fly a plane.  No Cessna pilot will know as much about the mechanics of the plane as they do, and there's no special magic wand of competence that flyers of certified planes are given that I'm aware of.  PP-ASEL=PP-ASEL, everything else is training.

Are there exceptions?  Sure.  For that matter, have certified aircraft ever been involved in accidents because a pilot made an error or wasn't qualified for a situation they got themselves into?  I'll let you answer that.

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.  I've actually found a post by Chairboy that I almost completely agree with.  The one small part I don't necessarily agree with is the statement that a home builder ends up being the most qualified person to fly a plane.  The problem is that home builders sometimes spend much more of their free time building rather than flying.  Some get to the point where they've completely stopped flying during the years it takes to build their plane so are very, very far from being current.  Not true in all cases but it does happen.  Overall, the experiemental community has done a really outstanding job of making the process, and the resulting aircraft, very safe.  As far as Chairboy's near mishap with the ultralight is concerned....well let's just say I don't know a single pilot who hasn't done something stupid that provided a similar "learning" experience.

Mace

[Mace2004]

Originally posted by Angus
Don't want to hijack, but just check:
http://www.supermarineaircraft.com  
for a somilar scale and weight...Spitfire

Anyway, I liked the specs for this aircraft. Compare it to a Cessna 150/152 or even a piper...or a skyhawk...
It has the same power ballpark, lower stall, similar better ROC, and much higher cruise and VNE. Well it's a taildragger, and that's different takeoff and landing (harder), but the stll is much much lower, the ground roll is also.
With a competent pilot, this looks like an awesomely nice private aircraft, - just like the spit26

That is a cool kit isn't it.  Only problem I see is you're flying along and some Cessna guy calls you a spitdweeb.

[Heater]

I have seen the Sptifires and the only problem is I am trying to keep the total build cost under $100,000 and most that I have seen end up at around $140 -$150

as for the other comments I am well aware of what it takes to build an experimental aircraft, as this would be the 3rd, one and it's even harder to get the Airworthiness Certificates here in the Netherlands.

[Angus]

Look up on the net how much a Piper or a Cessna costs!

[Debonair]

they're legal for use in commercial operations