argoldman

Chris,

I too am sorry about your having to live through this problem. I am concerned, also, since my tanks are Jeffcoed.

Did you spray or paint the Jeffco?

How long after you alcoholed the surfaces did you apply the Jeffco?

What kind of fuel was in the tanks?

What did your fuel filter look like. ie were the "chunks" large enough to have been stopped by the in-tank strainer, or were there chunklets that found their way to the sump and filter?

Again, my sympathies. With a little surgery you will be up and running again.

All good suggestions, Wait.

I would add, rather than depend on your own senses for the onset of hypoxia, one symptom of which is that you can't depend on yourself, to get and use pulse oxymeter. This clips on your finger and constantly monitors your oxygen saturation. Get one with an alarm, rather than just a digital readout. One may even be available for rental, although they are not confiscatory cost-wise.

With this device clipped to your finger, you will get an alarm as the saturation begins to fall, rather than when it has reached a critical level as would be the case with self evaluation.

Keep the O2 flowing and reach for the heights:cool:

I see another problem with minimal heating.

While the heat will possibly melt the ice at the leading edge, the rest of the wing will be quite cold, as will be the atmosphere and the rearward running now liquid will re solidify on the wing at a more rearward and potentially dangerous position.. You will need a lot more heat than you think.

De-ice boots are not merely a inner tube glued to the leading edges. Most are inflated sequentially, either from wing root to tip, visa versa, or inflated sequentially top to bottom or bottom to top.

Don't take from this conversation that you shouldn't fly IFR on purpose. Clouds do not contain ice unless the temperature is below freezing, and then most don't even under these conditions. There are many factors involved in the production of ice. One of the best sources of information is pireps. Make sure that the ones that you pay attention to are for aircraft of similar size to yours.

Just don't fly through visible moisture and it's not a problem.

 

If you're flying a GA aircraft in icing conditions, even with de-ice equipment, you can't continue into those conditions. It's designed to buy you enough time to FIX the problem ....... not ignore it.

What,------ Agreement from this corner,----- but agree I must.

If you were to deice your wings and canard, (suggest using TKS technology,) then you would have to deice your prop as it will become an ice laden club, and then deice your winglets. That might buy you enough time to get the hell out of where it is unhealthy as you gear legs and all other surfaces accumulate ice making you heavier and less airfoilable.

The heat of the exhaust may keep the prop inside diameter clear of ice, but the ice will shed from the unaffected parts and fly at your winglets. Singles shed it away from the plane and tailplane. Twins have ice plates to prevent damage to the fuselage from this effect.Many times they are installed later to cover up just this kind of damage

Become ice savvy or stay out of conditions where there have been no recent pireps when below freeing and in the clouds or snow.

By the way, it would seem that when flying through dry snow (no icing problem) there is the possible problem of the friction causing St. Elmo's fire, a very interesting but initially scary phenomenon. I experienced it many times in my Bellanca years ago.

Now back to the dead horse about not really flying IFR unless you do it all the time and are a "Professional."--- It would be interesting to do a study on frequency of accidents of actual IFR flights, that are flown by the "amateurs" who filed an IFR flight plan, compared with gen aviation accidents as a whole.

While you are at it, compare the results with accidents in the same arena flown by "professionals" in light planes, in general.

I for one, would be interested in the results.

Perhaps it would cause a modification in my thinking that is slowly succumbing to hardening of the attitude:irked:

Whip, Whip, Whip (the sound of beating a dead horse).

Many multithousand hour corporate types, and even most non-corporate types, instrument rated or not, consider those of us who build and fly experimental aircraft somewhat on the lunatic fringes (fortunately this is happening less and less)

Will your instructor give you basic or instrument training in an experimental?, will he even fly in an experimental??

The fact that he does or doesn't do the above says more about him/her than the experimental certification, doesn't it?

I'm not worried about my CFII. He has over 7,000 hours of total time including a type rating for the Citation Jet, which he flies as a charter pilot. He used to have a primary job as a corporate King Air 350 pilot and one of his former students is a guy who now flies F-16's for the Air Force. His point, and I think a valid one, is that most GA pilots simply don't fly enough to make flying hard IFR something with which they gain a great deal of experience, so the average GA pilot becomes safer and more knowledgable in the flying they do by getting IFR certified.

I agree with his point aout most GA pilots don't fly enough to make flying hard.... However if you intend to fly IFR, hard or not, it behooves you to remain current and safe by donig it often, whether by simulation (hood, computer) or actual. I know that when I took my training, my instructor insisted that I had at least 20 Hrs of actual before I took the practical.

Each person must make his own decision as to his abilities, etc for each flight, including the ability of the aircraft. His point in what he said was not a reflection on the aircraft but on pilots in general. Of course we all know that the new sport-pilot rating pilots shouldn't be flying because they don't have the knowledge and experience that the rest of us do, and that low time pilots shouldn't really be flying into congested or towered fields because they do not have the experience that the rest of us do etc, etc, etc.

It is the individual and his/her capabilities that is the crucial factor here.

Is it better to scud run or to file.

Yes our birds are not iceophiles, nor do they like rain. They also don't like to land on water. So keep away from these possibilities.

If you get an instrument ticket, use it, learn from it, or don't get it and have a false sense of security which may get you dead.

Of course, these are just my thoughts. I long ago stopped worshiping those with more hours, ratings, experience and aviation jobs than I. I do, however try to understand the logic behind their blanket pronouncements.

Get the ticket, fly the ticket, get lots of actual cloud time in its quest, and remain or get current and PROFICIENT before exercising the privileges when you are PIC.

Safe flying

Continuing on my original discussion; I am looking to commute between two places that see little cold weather (KAHN&KLBX) but fairly regular rain, especially on the Georgia side. In talking with my CFII, he told me that for the normal GA pilot, the primary benefit of IFR training is not to fly in awful weather but to be able to still fly when the conditions become marginal VFR and to be able to safely extricate oneself from deteriorating conditions. I am going to be doing all my flying with a Garmin 496 so I should have pretty good forewarning of the conditions I am approaching and the altitude capabilites of the LEZ should give me a fair number of options when dealing with weather.

 

For the people who fly in places where that white stuff falls out of the sky or conditions are less than sunny all the time such as the Northwest what have you found are the limits of what is comfortable (read: still feels safe) when flying an LEZ?

It sounds like your instructor is not too confident in his own IFR capabilities and is using his instrument instructor's license as a cash cow (?). You need to find an instructor who is confident in his/her own abilities and who can teach you well.

You are forgetting the increased weight, complexity and maintainence requirements.

From another thread

 

 

I don't get that. Magnetos are basically a magnet, a turning coil, and a cam-operated switch. How would altitude and atmospheric pressure figure into their operation?

Air is an insulator. It keeps the sparks from flippping to the wrong plugs as the distributor thingy rotates around hoping to spark the right Champion. As the air gets rarer with altitude the sparks can take an errant path.

Note that when plugs are tested in a plug tester, this is done at high pressure, not specifically to simulate the conditions in the cylinder at compression but to make the insulator between the electrodes (pressurized air) as great as possible to determine if the plug is misdirecting its energy to another place.

Where on the web? The plastic sanding pad wears out evey couple of months. I try to avoid any pressure, rotate the pad, stop to let it cool, etc.

 

last purchase came from Wick$$$$.

 

Jerry

If you Google Fein Multimaster, of Fein Multimaster accessories, you will get a lot of vendors at some good prices.

Wicks seems to have a good price on the unit itself but I think that amazon is much cheaper for the blades.

Do a little legwork on the internet and you will be rewarded.

Hello all,

 

Setting up my shop (garage) for another build. Can someone tell me which Fein blade is the "flush cut". I am going to buy some tools this weekend and the Fein set is one of them. I can't determine which blade is considered the flush cut. Any other recommendation on Fein blades would be appreciated as I haven't used the Fein tool previously.

 

Thanks!

Greg

Get the Fein. It will be your most used tool. Shuffling mine between my new office and the hanger I seem to have lost mine. Gotta get a new one.

Now, as to blades, The flush cut is nice, but the standard circular blade is just as good, cheaper and you will probably use it more. The only difference is that the "flucsh cut" has the bolt hole on a little hill so that the bolt holding the blade on does not interfere with the cutting. You can lay it down completely on the structure and cut flush. I used that blade exclusively until I wore it out and then went to the plain circular and realized that I didn't need it. By the way, there was a post on this website, I believe indicating that circular blades are available from Harbor freight for under $10, rather than the $70 blades. Search this site for Harbor freight.

The other attachment that you will use is the standard trianguloid sanding pad (looks kinda like a Mazda rotor). Unfortunately because these things work so hard, creating a little heat, the adhesive breaks down and self-destruct. Additionally because they hold the sandpaper on by Velcro-type mechanism, and they are plastic, they tend to wear out.

You will go through many of these. they are available on the web for about $13 for 2. Get lots. Also get 40 Grit sandpaper for them. After using this tool for sanding (for example prior to a bond where you forgot to peel ply) you will not want to use anything else.

I recommend the single speed chorded unit. Don't get the rechargeable. And don't get a look-alike clone.

The HSS blades last incredibly long (unless you break them by mishandling.- I even use the broken blades as the device does not rotate but wiggles.

Look for a good deal for this tool on the web

BF,

That's a beautiful picture.

What will it look like the second time you use it?

Sounds like a winner.

Tapping into the collective unconscious (conscious) of this group is really something to behold.

This wold be a terrific material to fill in the end of the control tubes as well as the fw ends of the conduits. It would probably be a good material to substitute for the rubber grommets in the through the FW fittings around control cables etc.

Thanks.

I recently inherited my grandfathers veri-eze. He passed away last month. Some of you on the forum might have known him. His name was Fergus Fay. He finished his plane in '79. He knew the Rutan's well and worked on the Voyager project.

 

I flew to Oshkosh with him twice in the eze when I was a kid. He introduced me aviation, taught me how to fly, and I now work for Southwest. The plane has not flown for about five years, but has been in a hangar the whole time. I plan on going through the whole thing and flying it for many years to come.

 

Look forward to getting back into general aviation and participating on this forum.

 

P.S. This might show up as 2nd post. The first one I tried didn't show up.

Welcome, New.

Pin it! A piece of safety wire should do it or use some of the adhesive the you used to attach it to the firewall (or both.)

 

.............. and by the way, I believe it is pronounced 'Girrrls'.

I guess that's what happens when you put a dyslexic in fornt of a kyebroad!

T.,

The wire is possibly a good Idea, but hardly gas tite, however. perhaps if you then covered it with high temp RTV it would satisfy the requirements---unitl the material, probably not rated in the 1000s of degrees, chars, burns and leaves and you are left with the possibly loosely packed (over time) ceramic wadding to protect your lungs and assorted appendages.

I'm sure I'll have some scraps of fiberfrax left over, couldn't I just carm a bunch into one end of the tube and call it a day?

Inelegant, but it may work. My concern with that is that with the vibration, moisture (as suggested by the girllls), what would keep that material in the tubes over the long or semi-long term. If it does exit and exits between the whirring prop blades, that's good. If it wedges in a throttle or mixture linkage, plasters itself over an oil cooler, has it served much of it's purpose for safety?

It also would be a small barrier to gasses transiting from the engine compartment to the lower pressure cabin through the tubing.

Carbon monoxide is odorless. Is it possible that all ez pilots are breathing small quantities when they fly but are not clinically suffering the resultant hypoxia ?

Just some questions that come to mind

I do have one argument to this, then why are standard certified com antennas made out of thin stainless wire

Lynn,

And we used to use long wires from the tail to somewhere on the top of the cabin for ADF before someone discovered there was a better way to do it (these antennas are still certified). (Of course, progress all but obsoleted the ADF). If you dissect a modern com antennae, I believe that you will find that it is a foil strip wrapped in a sleeve.

Don't forget that requirements or approvals are based on minimum acceptable performance---- in every field:o

yahbut yahbut yahbut, Chrissi and Randi,

With the heat generated by an engine fire, and the pressure differntial between AFT FW and cabin, and the transmission of that heat through the weldment, how long would it take before the epoxy in the flox/micro liquidifies and the plug(s) is/are are blown/burned out, not to mention the acrid fumes/smoke that this combustion would provide into the cabin?

Might the welding of this cap be done before the plating and grinding??. What would be the approximate additional cost on a new part? Is this a consideration for future?

for retrofits what about a machined plug secured by a pin???

Cough Cough, inspiring and expiring lungs want to know!!

If you are not painted, I vote for the antenna and tape on the outside.

The problem with a 14 Ga wire, or any thin antenna is the following:

An antenna is tuned (by length) at only one specific frequency. as you go higher or lower, the efficiency drops off. Now, the wider you can make your antenna, ie with copper tape, the more frequencies will be in "tune" with your antenna. Using a thin wire, some freqs will be great and the rest will suffer.

That being said, you may never know the difference unless you compare it with another antenna type.

At lunch Saturday, a group of Geezers were discussing engine compartment fire and the incursion of, to quote George Carlin, "Sh#t" getting into the cockpit through the firewall.

Colin Koebel, one of the guest Geezers said, " you know, the Longs and the Veris have an unsealed tube from the firewall to the instrument pannel as part of the design. To make matters worse, he stated that the Cozy's and other side by side versions have TWO of these unsealed conduits."

:yikes:

After hearing this, I felt it necessary to tell the crowd as I think this could be major, and the fix is relatively minor.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE------

Our aileron control torque tubes are open in just such a way.

the MKCS124 or equivalent in the other birds of the flock are open as is/are the torque tube/s to the control stick/s.

The fix---- Weld a cap on the 124 to make this a non-issue....

Chrissie and Randi-- What do you think???

I never did post the pic of the high gain antenna install,

I cut off an area of the nose then slt the foam to accept the antenna. A little excavation for the connection and replace the nose.

I put one on each side and the cable exits in the middle od the canard.

T,

It looks good and quite concealed.

I was under the impression that a nav horizontally polarized dipole, for max coverage, should have it's legs at less than a 180 degree spread. You may be more directional than you want, but then of course, who uses VOR for VFR any more??

Any of you EEs or hams want to chime in.

Aunt Tenna

Welcome back Jack.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I too am glad that you are able to. Any idea of what might have caused the confulgration???

It's very sad to loose this thing of beauty and I can emphasize with you, having lost a plane myself (and survived)

I'll be there Thursday through Sunday:)

Thanks for the reminder, I have to arrange my housing.

Justin,

 

The fix in the Long-EZ plans indicate the easiest way is to identify the leak area, apply a slight vacuum to the system then cover leak with resin. The vacuum will suck the resin into the leaking area so I would assume you have to release the vacuum reasonably quickly before ALL the resin has been sucked in. Allow to cure and repeat the procedure until the leak has been sealed.

 

MikeD (U.K.)

Although that technique works well for distant leaks, it is a balancing act.

If you suck too much, you will get resin into the tank and it will not seal. If you suck too little, you will possibly plug up the site that the fuel is leaking to the outside, but the leak in the tank is still there and it will with time find it's way outside again. However, without major dismantling, that may be the only option, for distant leaks.

However, in this case, it seems obvious (?) that the leak is coming from the epoxy/aluminum (aluminium) tube juncture.

If it is accessible then, without chewing the aluminum excessively (at all), using a Dremel, grind the flox, micro, etc which is on the outside of the tank, around the tube, back until you have removed it and can visualize the inside skin of the tank (that that the fuel touches) Roughen this surface, and that of the tube. Use flox (starting with a relative wet layer at the skin, getting a little drier as you go out) and fill the defect with a little extra to create a mound surrounding the tube. Of course wet the whole thing with raw epoxy first. If you want to, put a layer or two of Bid over this, extending about 1" onto the prepared surfaces adjacent to your surgery. I would use about a 1" dia cutout around the tube.

Good luck

Rich

Wonder woman has a plane like that, only she sits fully upright. If I were a superhero I would definitely fly prone. Then again, I'd want to land upright, crash safety would not be any issue, and I wouldn't need any airframe.

 

when you design an aircraft configuration you get a lot of passing thoughts about options like "prone" vs "reclined" and they usually pass by fairly quickly once you consider integration with the driving factors of your design criteria (what you want to achieve). The more I think about position, the more I would like to consider prone seating like on a crotch rocket or a hang glider. This thought is not passing by so easily.

Gon,

That's a great idea, except for one thing.

As you get a little more mature (spelled OLD), those knees don't exactly bend as they did when you were a young spring chicken.

Time spent with knees bent, like this, in the mature knee, can yield extreme pain and dysfunction, not to mention difficulty in using the rudder pedals if you choose to use you feet for this function.

CREEEEEEEK (I just stood up)