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Windwalker

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Everything posted by Windwalker

  1. Your plane is nowhere near as loud as the Pawnee. Actually, When I have seen you fly your bird has been pretty quiet.
  2. Holy Rusted Metal Batman! I wonder if that thing flies like a Texan! (100% throttle causes over rotation))
  3. Sorry, I was not more specific, the Rotaries I have experience with have a HOT exhaust. (enough so to chuckle at the surface of the sun) With so much heat in the exhaust I doubt anything in the vicinity will get daunted by even 0 Kelvin* *Lame attempt at humor
  4. That is not a pretty thought! an A&P mechanic friend of mine was telling me how he was nursing a Lycoming from Northern Alaska to Washington, at one point they had to land (somewhere in the tundra) due to icing and he made the mistake of putting his hand on the cowling. While the mistake dawned on him, the pilot reached over and ripped his hand off before it became a permanent fixture to the airplane. As I recall, the main problem of the trip was the Oil kept freezing. They had the air holes blocked so as to prevent shocking the engine, but they were starting in a colder area. I would think that if you were flying a Lycoming North, one would have to be careful with running too low throttle to prevent shocking the engine.. Of course, once the engine stopped and cooled, getting it started would require some winterization. I guess that might be another consideration, but considering that Rotaries are Notoriously "Hot" engines freezing the oil would be more difficult to do. Robert
  5. Yea.. You guys touched on many of my concerns.. I live in the PNW, and I know that its possible to get real cold up at altitude (-40 and lower) while being real toasty on the ground. (Yes, standard adiabatic laps rate is 2c for every 1k feet, so if its 20c at sea level it would be -20c at 20k) It sounds like using water is not a problem as long as you have a way to regulate airflow through the radiator. I guess I would be afraid that the thermostat which allows flow when the water is hot enough might cause a problem if it doesn't pop before the liquid in the radiator freezes and restricts fluid flow causing the engine to overheat at altitude, (which could probably be handled through proper mixture of Antifreeze.) The other thought I had was water boiling at lower pressures so you would have to make sure the cooling system could handle higher pressures then it would at sea level so the water would not boil over at altitude and pop the radiator cap pressure valve or (heaven forbid) blow a seal in the engine. Boiling at 20k is roughly 86C or 186F, I guess putting a 30psi radiator cap on would solve the problem as long as you were warmed up before reaching altitude. (Cozy Girrrls recommendation for a Pressure sensor is a must then I guess) The problem I am seeing is I could leave Sunny Oregon on a 70F day and make it to Juno at -32F, if I take the high altitude route then when I am over the water coming into Juno I could be looking at -40 or more. Of course.. I think as a Pilot I would probably look a lot like Frosty the snowman after a trip like that. I forgot the P51 was liquid cooled, It had a service ceiling of over 40k. Robert
  6. I am curious to know if the Rotary with its liquid cooling system has any altitude restrictions. I have looked around this forum, checked the Cozy Girrrls site, and poked around Slades' site but I cannot find anything relating to max altitude. I know that the Rotary and Subaru's can be turbo normalized for altitude, my concern is the secondary systems and altitude. like how they handle cooling at 19,000 or 20,000 feet. Do any of you have any information or good sites to point out for this kind of information? I am still in the research stage, I love the idea of an auto conversion, I have experience with Mazda's and Subaru's (in cars, not aircraft) and they are both great designs. Thanks, Robert
  7. And.. This Thread is Resurrected!!! Whoo hoo! I feel like a 18th level cleric. On to the point. How would the extended strake effect the Weight and Balance? It seems that larger people might want to implement this, but by moving a structure closer to the canard are you also not moving the CF Fore as well? Seems like an Awesome Mod.... There has to be a Gotcha. Robert
  8. Lets see.. Who Are you... Isn't that a first year Psych question? "Who Are you".. That is also what the Vorlons asked.. "What do you want". That would be the shadows.. the "Who Are You" question is also the same one that Jack the Ripper kept asking while interrogating Delenn. To which, she had no satisfactory answer.. So here is my answer.. I AM YOUR WORSE NIGHTMARE.
  9. Ouch.. I just placed another order for the Flox and Micro.. I wonder how much a pound Really is.. I wonder if I should have gone with the 5 pounds of the stuff. I know when I was working with the stuff, it seemed very.. Light. Ah well.. Live and learn. Might have to make another order of the pound does not last through the Fuselage construction.
  10. Vegimite.. If memory serves me correctly.. (hey.. What is my name.. Oh.. Now I remember) Doesn't Vegimite taste something in between V8 and a salt lick? I also remember my Aussie friends liked to prepare everything with Peanut butter. I guess its an acquired taste. Great people though, really knew how to party. Welcome back! Sorry to hear about the circumstances, good to hear you have all your bases covered.
  11. Excellent!! I am currently working on the Jigs for Chapter 5. Sides.. Those are going to be interesting.. I Just ordered everything from Aircraft Spruce.. more cups, more Dacron, The chapter 5 stuff, More Epoxy.... but.. Damn it! I forgot to Order Flox and Micro! Grrr.... I wonder if that stuff could be obtained locally.
  12. Good Info.. the Rockwell has a sort of Hex shaped hole, and the Fein has a more Star shaped hole I noted.. Wasn't sure if the Fein star shape would fit the Rockwell.. at first glance it looked like they might. Guess not. Have you noticed that cuts with the Rockwell, the edges are a little more "Ragged" then the Fein, or is that just me?
  13. They do when you have been dipping too deep into the Absinthe.. I am surprised they let you back into the country with all that stuff! Customs went NUTS over my Drum I tried bringing back. They must be getting LAX ;p (sorry, bad pun I couldn't resist) Robert
  14. Sweet! Another person starting at rock bottom with me!! Congrats on your plans.. Now the fun begins. Like ... Reading the Plans.. Is that a Pirate doing Layup?
  15. Bruce was showing me how to do composite work, and one of the things he has which we have been using a lot of is an 8 foot aluminum straight edge which is 2 - 4 foot long pieces which connect together. It is designed to be clamped down to stuff and used as a cutting edge for saws and what not. I am not sure if anyone is looking for such a beast, but I found one at Wilco/Ace Hardware for $21. It is sold as a kit with two 4 foot rigid aluminum sections two c-clamps and the center connector. They probably also have it at sears or any of the various farming stores.
  16. Well.. The Rockwell Sonicrafter arrived yesterday. It is lighter then the Fein. It looks like the blades might be interchangeable between the Rockwell and the Fein. I purchased the $119 dollar version which includes one HSS Flush Cut blade, one Rasp, the Sanding Attachment, and a Metal/Wood blade. The tool is single speed at 20,000 RPM which is 4k slower then the Fein. I went nuts and started to slice and dice through some practice layups which I did. Here is what I learned. It is not instantaneous Spool up. It takes a couple seconds to get to speed and you can hear it. The Blade mounting system causes the blade to sing at a real High pitch note which could get annoying. The Tool is quieter then the Fein, Weighs less, and has a solid quality feel to it. After doing about 10 minutes of cutting, the Magnesium Alloy head was hot to the touch.. Not untouchable, but defiantly hot. The Cuts were nice with the exception of Glass only cuts (no foam) there were little fiberglass hairs on the edge which I did not notice while using the fein. Briefly sanding removes them. The HSS Blade shows no sign of wear or dulling other then the black paint wears off. I will have to do more work before I can tell how long the HSS blades will last. Impressions are.. The Fein is still the King... But this is a pretty good knockoff at 1/3 the price. I am happy with my purchase and feel that it will have what it takes to build a plane. I thought about the Harbor Freight version but it is even slower yet at 11,000 vibrations per minute, and word on the street is the blades for it suck (but the Fein Blades can be made to work) as aways.. YMMV
  17. I purchased Brents Plans, so I have an early set 404 Plans not found.. I am going to have to do some kind of joke about the "error 404 web page not found" thing being a geek and all.. I just hope my plane never becomes 404 plane not found. THAT would be Un-good.
  18. Well. I got my plans today. It is going to take some time to study them and start doing the practice.. I wonder when my 2500+ how meter should start. Next stop, parts order.
  19. Just ordered the Rockwell, so I will have some feedback on that tool in a couple of days when it arrives.. One thing I noted which prompted me to buy it was the blades were "High Speed Steel" I guess we will see if the tool will work for our application. I purchased the tool through Amazon.com for $119. I had a bunch of Gift certificates so I got it Cheap! To bad Amazon does not have the Dritz scissors.
  20. Here is a Review of the Fein, Dremel and Bosch.. Not very helpful but its something. http://www.toolsnob.com/archives/2008/10/dremel_dremel_multimax_oscilla.php
  21. Excellent! Email Sent. I saw the note on the Cozy Lists. Thanks.
  22. Rickh we might have met.. I am the tall guy who runs the fuel trucks on Sundays. Last Sunday I noticed your Long-EZ was grazing in front of your hanger. I drove up to see if you were there; I couldn't find you so I took a walk around your plane and admired it. I will be working again this Sunday.. It's suppose to be good weather. If your out and about I will come and introduce myself to you.
  23. Oh Now... That is an AWESOME slide show Bruce! Thanks! Great Inspiration. Next week sounds great! Looking forward to meeting you and helping out. I will give you a jingle during the week to get directions.
  24. I'll procrastinate tomorrow. The only reason I am waiting to buy the plans is due to my budget. The first of the month is always a little tight with all my bills due. Stupid question.. Is Peel Ply reusable? Or do you go through it like sheets at a bed wetters convention?
  25. I wasn't aware of all the great builders in the Area. Bruce, I would love to help out. a Long-EZ is the only Canard I have seen up close. There is a gentleman in McMinnville who has one that I drool on, on occasion. Sunday's I work at the FBO in McMinnville fueling airplanes. Saturdays and Fridays I tend to have free. This weekend I am going to be doing Wifely obligations but I am game for anytime after work on the week days or Saturday next week. I am thinking my time is probably going to be in the 5000+ hours to complete. I think I want to stick with the plans with possibly 6 changes (Electric Nose wheel, Electric Barn Door brake, recessed Door Handle, Tip lights, Cozy Girrrl J-hinges, and I have an idea for a slider canopy that I want to check on the feasibility of. If it looks too hard, I would just can it for a tip up or side open.
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