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Hello to the community! Short on experience, but full of naive hope and dreams!

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CobraCar11

Active Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
34
Location
Pleasant Grove, UT, USA
Brand spanking new to aviation..... I designed a boat last year, and a construction process that would turn months into weeks, but I didn't get started early enough, and decided to postpone the project. I didn't want to start it at the end of summer, and have it sit all winter, and possibly being damaged.

I have a background that includes some composites. With this in mind, I started looking at airplanes while I wait. I did it just for fun, as a "wouldn't it be nice to be a pilot someday and fly my own plane?", kind of thing.

I noticed several similarities to boats in construction processes, and a desire to fly from younger years resurfaced! (Then battered back down a little when I saw aircraft prices......... yikes.....) I spent most of a college summer working on aircraft under the direction of an aircraft mechanic. I have spent years of my life, putting myself thru college working on cars. However, one night when working on a nose wheel I was performing my final checks I thought how a car gets towed back if a mechanic makes a mistake, but an airplane..... yikes....!

I would love to someday start out with an ultralight, and move up to an LSA, unless I can build and design my own LSA! I have a technical background, some structural engineering. I am trying to teach myself computational fluid dynamics, and am going to build a wind tunnel rig, scaled down. I want to build some fun R/C planes, and maybe build my own plane design.

Anyway, I have an engine concept I designed from my background as a mechanic, and some engineering. My paper calculations put it in the 2 hp/lb. range, so I would like to build it some day. It's doubtful it will ever see success as an OEM engine in a car because of the "not invented here" syndrome. Then some consultants mentioned that new designs find an easier time and lower barriers to entry in the marine and aviation markets. I also don't want to pay $20,000 for an engine, so maybe I can build my own half VW or something, or build my own?

If anyone knows of a good aircraft engine shop to talk to today that would be excited to co-develop a new engine someday, please let me know!

For an ultralight, I have watched a lot of videos by Dan Johnson, Aero News Network, and by owners to see if there is one I'd like. The minimax, Hummel, Belite, and quiksilver all look like promising candidates. I think I would lean more towards wood or fabric construction, as have more experience there than with sheet metal work. If something broke on a car, as a mechanic we "REPLACED" it instead of fixing it!

Anyway, happy flying!
 
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