Any of you guys ever thought about building your own plane? The possibilities are limitless. I have several in mind, but there are some replica fighters that would be a real kick (though not at all practical for me at this time). You can build an 80% sized spitfire replica, or a Mustang from full size to 1/4 size. At about $50,000, the midget mustang may well be in my hangar someday. Here's to dreams.

The Mustang Kit is a good one, though the RV's are easier and in general command more in resale.

As to kits and homebuilts,if you have never made the pilgrimage to Oshkosh , you must go.

Obviously, I couldn't make it this year, but soon.

when is the osh kosh show again?

Now

http://www.airventure.org/

My dad did go once, probably 25 years ago. He said it was the most amazing thing. There were so many people, it was ridiculous, but when the announcer asked the crowd to be silent, for the dead stick bi-plane landing(?), they were sooo quiet that you could here the wing's wire braces cutting the wind. Also when everyone left, there wasn't so much as a gum wrapper left in the grass.

My next homebuilt (sort of) ...

Test Flight

I've had 2 and flown in a bunch more. They are nice but realize you'll need to devote a lot of time to them. I've never had a replica though I've always thought they were cool, but be sure you actually sit in one of them for 15 minutes to make sure it is comfortable enough for you. Some are quite cramped.

Wish I had bought one:
(No longer available as a Kit)

http://sherpaaircraft.com/news.html

And this One:

(Only 2 kits sold I think)

http://www.aviabellancainc.com/index.html

Flying at its best...

This is what I'm pretty sure I'll try first. I can see easy Friday evenings headed to the camp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ppCbdPA-8

I attempted to build a Rand-Robinson KR-1 in 1978-79. I was young, not overly skilled with woodworking tools and machines, and shorter on money to build it than I knew. I built a gorgeous 1835cc VW engine for it. It had all the snazzy aftermarket aluminum parts-- cylinders, dual-port heads, flywheel, alternator, flywheel housing, starter, Slick 4216 magneto, aircraft-grade spark harness. Had a three-blade, ground-adjustable prop and a shiny spinner. To make a long story short, it never flew. Cost me over $6500 1979 dollars. Still, even though I failed, it was worth every penny for me to pursue a lifelong dream. My flyin' now is restricted to flightsims. I have an airplane in my head that's been floatin' around in there since 1985. If I knew how to use Google SketchUp 7, I could draw it, model it using a flightsim modeling tool and fly it. But I can't gets nowheres with that software. The publisher says it's easy, but I can't grasp the concept of drawing in 3D. I am a mechanical drawing type of guy since 1971. I deal in the x-y axis; SketchUp has you looking at your model in 3D all the time...

For those who are interested, SketchUp 7 is a free download. Just search it...

Homebrewer,
what ever happened to the KR-1?

I helped build a 1 and a 2.

They are tiny for a guy with any size.

http://www.fly-kr.com/kr1.htm

http://www.fly-kr.com/

My first homebuilt was a KR1, as mentioned you can't do anything in them, not even read a map easily. They were a revolutionary plane in their time and one of the first to give some performance from a VW but like any first venture into a field they opened a door but others since have been able to go a lot further inside the room. Perhaps the biggest issues with the KR series is that a lot of people tried to make them into something they were not intended to be.

From what I've read on the KR's most people are now building the KR-2s, which is longer (to accommodate a previously limiting CG, and modifying it to be longer and wider still (which of course adds untold hours to the project). This enlarged plane is something I've considered, but I'd sure want to get into one first. I'm not that large, but not small by any means, either, and I don't like rubbing shoulders for 4 hours (unless it's with my wife, and she refuses to fly, despite her father and husband being rec. pilots, guess she knows us too well).

quote:

Homebrewer,
what ever happened to the KR-1?

I gave it away to someone who had the space to build it. I learned much later that it went into a fireplace. The engine on which I had spent $2500 1979 dollars had all the airplane stuff taken off of it and went into a dunebug or hi-protein VW car.

The thing about the KR-1 is that you can make changes to it if those changes are not too radical. I remember the plans called for it to be about 22 inches wide across the shoulders. I learned while I was building it that the builder can open it up a few inches to accommodate his size if he needs to do that. What I should have done is bought the KR-2 kit and built it wider than the KR-1 but not as wide as the KR-2, which is 36-38 inches wide. But what did I know? I was 21 years old when I started and 22 when it crashed and burned on the building table in my garage. Actually, I got it onto its landing gear, but not too much beyond that. I did get the engine to run-- that was something to see and hear. It first ran on March 31, 1979 on a test-stand I built from 4x4s and 2x4s. What a rush! Pretty much the high point of the whole exercise. Too bad there are no pictures of the entire enterprise. Once I saw that I had made some mistakes, I drew up a beautiful set of plans for a modified one (wider across the shoulders, a bit deeper in the area around the seat, not so much "pinch" in the distance across the firewall and a bit longer from firewall to empennage) but never went any further. I have no idea where those plans are. I think I gave them away to a friend of my dad's who was thinking about building a homebuilt. That would have been in late 1982. I have been a mechanical draftsman since seventh grade in 1971. Those plans were gorgeous-- excellent line quality, fully dimensioned, notes, detail drawings for some of the more difficult to understand aspects of the design-- the whole nine yards. I still have a few detail drawings, but no orthographic views. The modifications were incorporated into my plans from various publications put out by others who had built one, and had figured out such modifications were sorely needed over the original design. If mine had ever been built with those mods, it would have been a really nice little airplane. I think to build one now would still yield a nice airplane.

There are much better engines now. Back then, engine choices were very limited. You used a VW that had been converted or you paid big bucks for a professional conversion. The problem with a home conversion is that the thrust bearing (at the rear of the crank in a car) is at the front in an airplane. This "stretches" the crank. Failures at about the 700-hour mark are common. Revmaster had a $3300 (1979 dollars) conversion, named the R-2100D, that moved the thrust back to the rear seal where it belonged and the problem of broken cranks disappeared. I could not afford a $3300 engine; that would have been half the money I had for the project. I built my own engine that came close to that price after buying the wrong stuff once or twice, then having to buy the right stuff once. Hey, I was 22 years old. What did I know?

Even though I failed, it was an experience I would not trade. I have loved flight and airplanes since the early 1960s. Take lessons now? No; I don't have the time or the money. 1978-79 was a golden time for me; I'll never be in that position again.

If you want a KR, I say build one. They come in fiberglass sections now that you just glue together. Build-time is significantly reduced over how I had to do it. Mine was stick and plywood under foam and fabric impregnated with epoxy. Much easier to build now: better engines, 30 years of examples, a large community who own them and builders of them, internet forums about them, et cetera. You will not be alone, as I was. Back then if you needed help, you called Rand-Robinson and talked to Jack Moell, who had built one and flew it. Your journey from box to chocks today will be much easier and faster than it was back then. I say if you like to work with your hands, have the time and like working with wood-- build one. Just do some research first. The KRs are small, fast, inexpensive to build with a table saw, a skil-saw, a drill press, a hacksaw, a belt sander, a bench grinder and a FLAT 4x16-foot table in your garage. Not too much more than that is required. One guy built his in a second-floor apartment. With today's cheap CAD programs and home computers, you could take the plans and modify them before the first cut is made. I didn't have that luxury in December 1978 to August 1979...

My computer has been virused for about a week, so it goes into the shop today for a wipe of the hard-drives. I expect it to be gone for four or five days. I'll check back here soon as I get it back for any new posts. I love talking airplanes and even now, 30 years on, the KR is still a favorite. I still have the dream, but no time or money to pursue it. Only KR-1 flyin' I do now is in a small, unsophisticated AI model in FS2004...

I've got it narrowed down to two: Harmon Rocket.com or ZenithAir CH-704 STOL. Probably the Zenith

Homebuilt Homepage for all your Homebuilt dreams....

quote:

Originally posted by KY Jim:
I've got it narrowed down to two: Harmon Rocket.com or ZenithAir CH-704 STOL. Probably the Zenith

Did you mean the 701? or have they upgraded/changed that model.

There is a shop teacher from Houma, La who built a 701 from scratch, found an old used motor and reconditioned it, and says he only has $3500 in materials in it. Of course, that isn't counting the 12 years to build it.

I built an Avid Heavy Hauler and thoroughly enjoyed the building and flying. Several homebuilders are around here with RVs, a Velocity XL, some scratch built planes and a turboprop fiberglass racer that Lanny Rundel from Winnsboro sells as a kit (the name escapes my ancient brain at the moment).

Jerry Liles

Lohle right here in Middle TN used to make a reduced size Mustang kit.

I have always been told that a Mustang is an aircraft for a PILOT o the ground.

They've upgraded the Zenith, made a 4-place, haven't looked at the site in ages. I like the 'Takes Off in 50 feet' part, and the All-Aluminum part. It was the 701. I've wanted to fly all my life, probably never will get to except sims, but if I ever get a little Ahead....

KY Jim,
the 701 is the original two place plane, it is the lightest still, and takes off in least amt.
the 801 followed and is the 4-place, it is the one that I'm most interested in and seems the ideal bush plane
last, they added the 750 which is an enlarged version of the 701, it is still a 2-place, but a but larger.
They also make a 2-place low wing called the 601, and did make a 4-place low wing called the 650, but I'm not sure you can get them anymore.

They have some great videos on YouTube if you want to check some of them out.
Several vids of the Midget Mustang and Mustang II on there also.
Good luck

Yeah, I like that 750 better, I think, but I believe the 701 is LSA-eligible. I'll have to check. I used to know all the stuff by heart but it's been a couple years. Kind of funky-looking birds but after you get used to them they look pretty good. Not a Pitts, or a Spit, or even a Pawnee, but still Not Bad.

According to the EAA website, the 750 IS LSA legal, which would indicate the 701 is as well, especially if Kit-built. And LSA pilots can now get Certified to do their own repairs on THEIR aircraft. I might make it before I die of old age after all....

quote:

Originally posted by KY Jim:
According to the EAA website, the 750 IS LSA legal, which would indicate the 701 is as well, especially if Kit-built. And LSA pilots can now get Certified to do their own repairs on THEIR aircraft. I might make it before I die of old age after all....

All of this is correct as far as I know. Both fit for the LSA. You can indeed be your own A&P, as they figure if you built it, you can fix it. And getting the plane an airworthy cert is a lot easier than it used to be also.
Unless you have issues with the medical, getting the LSA is like doing 90% of the work for 30% of the priviledges IMO, and from what I hear, the instructors don't really want to deal with LSA, so they don't really make it any cheaper anyway. I may be wrong, but I have heard this several times, and it was in fact discussed at length on a Homebuilt forum I'm on.

Build this...

http://forums.accuratereloadin...8107455/m/3481034321

Man, I WISH! I ain't that Dedicated, I don't think....

I was looking at the LSA ticket as a building-block-type way toward a PPL. I KNOW I can pass the Medical for THAT. Also, I'd HATE to pop the cash for the PPL and find my testicles have shriveled with age. Used to LOVE flying, but haven't been off the ground in years.

While I would not go near one personally, I know a few that fly them regularly. I am not skilled enough to build one nor do I really want to put in the time to build one. I don't think its really a cheap way to get into an airplane, but for a lot of people its there hobby and there thing and that is just fine with me.

The Pietenpol Air Camper is the original home-built plane.

Low and Slow for 80 years...

Anyone have Murphy Moose?
building shop on farm with sweat equity & kit might try building one on amphib's

Homebrewer,
Did they mount the VW engine backward in airplanes? The thrust bearings on the air cooled VWs were on the rear or flywheel end. VWs did have a small mainbearing on the nose end of the crank.I guess since the engines are mounted out the rear, you could interpret it the other way. The props are mounted opposite the flywheel side.
Butch

quote:

Originally posted by daniel77:
KY Jim,
the 701 is the original two place plane, it is the lightest still, and takes off in least amt.
the 801 followed and is the 4-place, it is the one that I'm most interested in and seems the ideal bush plane
last, they added the 750 which is an enlarged version of the 701, it is still a 2-place, but a but larger.
They also make a 2-place low wing called the 601, and did make a 4-place low wing called the 650, but I'm not sure you can get them anymore.

They have some great videos on YouTube if you want to check some of them out.
Several vids of the Midget Mustang and Mustang II on there also.
Good luck

I intend to build One in the next few years I hope. Preferably the 801

How 'bout this one?


http://www.pacificaerosport.com/twister.htm

VERY Nice!