Airplane Project

[Amar Nanduri]

@upperdeck what kind of effort am I looking at for building a micro lite or an ultra lite ? I would certainly request you for guidance. It has always been on my bucket list to build a micro lite.

I am serious on this request
Edit : I don't know a thing about building. I did fly on microlites a long time back and they were fun toys.

 

[upperdeck]

@upperdeck what kind of effort am I looking at for building a micro lite or an ultra lite ? I would certainly request you for guidance. It has always been on my bucket list to build a micro lite.

I am serious on this request
Edit : I don't know a thing about building. I did fly on microlites a long time back and they were fun toys.

I'm not very knowledgeable on ultra lights. I'm far more familiar with the Vans line of aircraft. There is a model that they make that qualifies as an LSA, which requires a sport pilot license rather than a harder to obtain private pilot license. That model is called the RV12. All their models can be seen at Vansaircraft.com

 

[justason]

Hello @upperdeck ! Congrats on the project and accomplishments ! Kudos to Cheryl for the living room workshop ! You mention 5 years into the project. Are you tracking hours in any way ? Assuming random days/nights/weekends are the majority of your time.

I had dinner with Alec Saturday night and mentioned this post to him...and Bimini 2019...He perked !
He got his commercial license in October, finished his multi engine last week...and graduates THIS SATURDAY !! He'll head to Florida for a month in Feb for his instructor cert.

I built a huge detached garage this past summer. Its design/space had this project in mind (come retirement?.) I'm confident in my building skills, but my aircraft knowledge is nominal at best.......What is your previous wrench experience before jumping into this project ? cars/hobbyist/toasters...

congrats again...awesome !!
Nice smile on your dad too

 

[upperdeck]

Wow, congrats to Alec! That's super impressive!

While it's been 5 years since I started, there was a period of almost a year where I never looked at the project. Most if the time I spend on the project is my days off and the occasional evening.

I've intentionally not tracked my hours. I didn't want the pressure of comparing myself to anyone else.

My recommendation is to start ASAP. The tail kits come up for sale one in a while and can be had for a good deal. They also have practice kits you can buy (a tool box kit and a mini airfoil kit). First step is to accumulate tools.

I was pretty handy when I started, but NO experience with metal working. But they are skills anyone with interest can pick up. They even have classes available.

 

[justason]

practice kits...interesting...I'll have to spend some time on the web-page for the details and logistics, last visit was simply air-frame designs. This is certainly something to be proud of.

 

[biglar155]

Must.....not.....follow.....
Must.....control.....spending.......
Must.....remember......4 kids......college.....

 

[upperdeck]

A new update... The airplane is at the hanger! Steadily making progress...

Blog here https://jeffsrv7ablog.wordpress.com/

 

[justason]

You forgot the wings!!! You really need to follow the directions in this one man !!!! Or were the pages all sticky?
Massive congrats on a huge milestone!!!!

 

[upperdeck]

The wings were already at the airport! Love the big smiles @justason !

 

[Seadeals]

Oshkosh here you come!!!

 

[upperdeck]

My new favorite picture! I had lots of help yesterday and installed the wings. It's getting real!

 

[RiverRat]

Awesome!

 

[Bluewater272]

This is fascinating to follow. Well beyond my fabrication levels, and I'm not sure I'd fly in something I built.

How far off are you from the maiden flight do you think?

 

[jethrof16]

Very nice fit & finish. It's amazing what you can 2 with 2 displays now days. I made my son learn on an old 6 pack just so he would know how "hard" I had it LOL.

 

[justason]

My new favorite picture! I had lots of help yesterday and installed the wings. It's getting real!

View attachment 69382

very nice @upperdeck ! and nice car sitting in background ! Whats the end finish?. does it get painted , decal's (pronounced Dekal right?)
Need side view.. CONGRATS (inspired)

 

[biglar155]

My new favorite picture! I had lots of help yesterday and installed the wings. It's getting real!

View attachment 69382

Oh, she's just BEGGING to be airborne now!

 

[upperdeck]

This is fascinating to follow. Well beyond my fabrication levels, and I'm not sure I'd fly in something I built.

How far off are you from the maiden flight do you think?

I'm hoping for first flight some time this summer. I thing that's a pretty realistic goal.

 

[upperdeck]

very nice @upperdeck ! and nice car sitting in background ! Whats the end finish?. does it get painted , decal's (pronounced Dekal right?)
Need side view.. CONGRATS (inspired)

In fact, I just got off the phone with my paint guy. I'll fly it for six months of so, then to his shop for paint done over next winter.

 

[upperdeck]

Another update...

A few days ago, all of my avionics checked out and everything was determined to be functional and accurate. This included 7 different antennas! We also did a fuel pump capacity check and bled the brakes. The highlight of the day was installing the propeller. This work of art is carbon fiber and a variable pitch prop. A few more weeks before air worthiness inspection, maybe a month before first flight!

 

[upperdeck]

The fun part is here... Installing the interior!