jeff122670

in search of a Berkut kit. if you have one or know of one (other than the wrecked one posted on this board), please contact me!!! my email is: jeff122670 at yahoo dot com thanks! Jeff

this post got me thinking............ so i called my insurance company and got a quote for a 1995 Velocity FG (hull value of $60K). i got a quote for $1638/yr. i also did a quote for $55K hull and it was $1601. i made comment that it seems things are driven by hull value only, and was told with my "experience and ratings", that was a true statement. (i am a 3400 hour ATP/CFI) so given all of that, it seems there must be some point in the insurance "world" where YOU as the pilot transition from a liability (thus added to the hull insurance) to just a pink body in a hull (that is insured). i dont know where that transition point is, but i would imagine it is with high time in make/model and total time. what am i saying? get more time. ESPECIALLY is someone is quoting $6K for insurance. when i read that, i almost fell out of my chair (literally, i was leaning back and almost fell over ) anyway, something to think about: my friend is insured as a part time flyer on an RV (because he has low time) while the "owner" (who has a TON of time) is the "primary" insuree (is that a word??). seems similar to what i did when i was a kid and was a "part time" driver on my parents policy..... something to think about........i hope it helps.. Jeff

i would be surprised to find ANYONE that has an O-320 on their Varieze.... like you said, it would make your two seat airplane a single seat, overgross airplane... after owning a Vari....i dont think i would go the O-320 route... Jeff

not a lot for sale, i just meant that everytime someone gears up one of these things, it shows up for sale somewhere... my old one was geared up by the guy that bought it....it is now forsale on barnstormers..ha.ha.

well, looks like yet another Velocity that will be for sale soon...........he.he.

great to hear about a canard get together, but please try to stay on subject... i have the beamsplitter and assembly all together and it works well. the trick is to make sure you have the antiglare coating facing the right way (thanks Cozy girl!!) i have contacted Mountainscope and he is going to re-write his software to only show the pitch ladder, A/S, and ALT....not terrain. this will work well for a HUD.... his display interfaces with DYNON......so that is solved as well... anyone having any luck....? jeff

i just got back from vacation... has anyone made any progress? jeff

yeah, they dont work. i assume you are talking about looking through them. the resolution and the "clearness" doesnt work in this application.

sorry, i didnt mean to tease!! here is the link for the coatings: http://www.cbs-dichroic.com/ thanks chrissi!!! you are explaining it the exact way that i understand it. using the above like, they recommended that i go with the emerald coating which gives a green 45 and when looking through it, you get a slight magenta tint to the outside world.

I found a place that does Diachroic coatings....

here is some news.. i was looking at my beamsplitters (purchased from anchor optics). i noticed before that there was a ghost image in the beamsplitter and could be mitigated by an antireflective coating.... welllllllllllllllll, i turned the beamsplitter around (image reflected on the opposite side) and what do you know, ghost image GONE!!! seems as though these beamsplitters are already coated.............GREAT NEWS.....and the reflected image is much brighter!! still need the lens issue solved....

let us know!! on monday i am going to contact some auto salvage yards to purchase a heads up display unit from either a corvette or a bonneville. i figured i would take apart the optics and use some of the lens from there to test. more to follow. Jeff

i would suggest using a computer monitor (that is what i did for initial testing).... that presents a decent image to be reflected into your beamsplitter and, although it isnt completely "daylight readable", it will serve the purpose for this test. please email me directly.....i am extremely interested in your results!! email me at: jeff122670@yahoo.com thanks! jeff

OK, I HAVE GREAT NEWS!! i have been in contact with Mountainscope and they have agreed to re-write their software to our purposes. This would involve removing the terrain and switching the airdata and pitch ladder as well as horizon bar over to a "night time" mode which would be essentially "line drawing" data. this system gets it info from the Dynon AHARS. the dynon connects to your computer (running mountainscope) via a serial cable. the computer would then output the data to an LCD panel in the HUD assembly.... just need to solve the optics issue (and it sounds like a few of you are working on that). if you are seriously interested in this project, please contact me directly on my yahoo email account: jeff122670 at yahoo.com Jeff

if you really want to see something neat, check out this link: http://www.berkut13.com/aprs.htm incredible system!!! and actually not to hard to make and use. enjoy, Jeff

i just emailed Mountainscope to see if he can remove the terrain rendering and go with a single color for the pitch ladder, airspeed and altitude and horizon line. i just found out that the dynon has an output for attitude data, etc, etc. Mountainscope can receive these inputs and display accordingly. SOOOOOO, all we need is a computer to run mountainscope and an LCD panel that can be backlit with an adjustable brightness bulb. Given all of this, the trick is the optics. 1. how do you focus to infinity? 2. how to fix the ghosting issue? fixing these two items will result in a HUD (at least....i think it will, ha.ha) anyone have any idea on how to focus the displayed image to infinity? i am totally ignorant to how lens work, especially on this level. i have purchased two beamsplitters from Anchor Optics. they are really nice and seem to work well, they just need an anti-glare coating..... any other ideas? jeff

yeah, the best way would be to have just a horizon line with a pitch ladder. no need to have the actual colors, such as blue and green... Jeff

do you think those are a little cost prohibitive?? i really like the way they look, but the website doesnt say the dimensions, etc, etc.. what do you think?

Yeah, not trying to be rude to emteeoh, but the optics and lens provide enough of a challenge. we have the EFIS to do the job (which ever one we select)...the trick is to DISPLAY the image in HUD format and get a nice clear image... i just thought of a way to possibly eliminate the brown and the blue. what if we overlayed a green colored "gel" infront of the EFIS. this is essentially a green filter (transparent green plastic) that is used to color spotlights, etc.. anyway, this would try the displayed image completely green.....not sure if that would work, but just an idea....of course that might just make a big green BLOG infront of the pilots eyes... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............... Jeff

ok, let's corral the horses here. we are not talking about writing software here.....the goal is to turn what is on the market into something different (HUD). there are plenty of EFIS's and other systems out there that have been written and work without introducing additional testing and possible errors.. that is just TOOOOOOO "one-off"...

yeah, i think you have to reflect the image off the beamsplitter and NOT the canopy. that is how we do it in the F-15E and as you mentioned, it is done that way in any other fighter. also, i think, to prevent even MORE lens issues, that you have to use the "two mirror" process to keep the image from inverting..... here are the issues as i see them: 1. getting a piece of software that can deliver an EFIS that is worthy of a HUD (moutainscope, pcflightsystems, dynon) that you can run on a computer and brighten via an LCD display with a backlight. 2. brightening a display such as BMA, DYNON to allow for projection onto the beamsplitter 3. eliminating ghosting on the beamsplitter (two images). i think it can be done with antiglare...but i am not sure. I like softare such as Vista or Grand Rapids that have a flightpath marker, but that may be asking for the moon... i think this is doable it just need someone to do it...finally.... i love the pics that charlie posted...he used the dynon and it worked great...but i want to get rid of the brown and the blue for sky and earth.. Jeff

yeah they are...and we need more explanation on the optics and how they are positioned.

here is a great link i just stumbled upon... http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4232943.html

check out: www.anchoroptics.com i have bought most of my beamsplitters from them!! more tomorrow.. goodnight! Jeff

i was initially thinking a Fresnel lens after the 45 degree bend... however, i read something about a colimator (spell) that does this for you... i havent been able to find the type of lens that would do it, but i was thinking you might be able to use a lens system from a slide projector or something.... help the "optically challenged"...... Jeff