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Plenty of lessons there for hand-fitting homebuilt parts to precise tolerances.

Too cute! This is one of the few times that a military paint scheme makes sense on a homebuilt because this plane reminds us of the "razorback" Fairchilds flown by the RCAF during the 1930s.

Dear Vigilant 1, Whenever I fly in Twin Otter or Hercules, they always seat in line with the prop discs. Now they wonder why I suffer hearing loss.

It is extremely difficult to make outer doors water-tight. Ergo, most flying boats concentrate on making the interior walls of wheel wells water-tight. They also add massive drain tubes to quickly dump any water shortly after takeoff. Go take a close look at a Grumman Mallard and you will be...

Sort of ... Rutan's space ships have fixed wings but tail surfaces that can be rotated almost 90 degrees up, aligning wings almost 90 degrees off the relative wind. This creates so much aerodynamic drag that the wings are stalled and it can never descend fast enough to overheat.

The original poster asked about ekranoplans. These were developed in the Soviet Union by an Italian-born engineer named Bartini. During the Cold War, NATO intelligence officers spread rumors about the "Caspian Sea Monster" , which was series of progressively larger Ekranoplans. Ekranoplans...

What if you use something like liquid nitrogen? As it evaporates, it increases in volume. Just point the exhaust nozzle through an ejector duct.

We already know that ejectors work well at small Reynolds numbers. How thick is the boundary layer affected by ejectors?

My pilot emergency parachute recommendation depends upon the finer points of matching your butt to any remaining free space in your cockpit. When you chose an emergency parachute, it may be your last chance to tailor the cockpit to fit your physique. How tall are you? Do you have long legs or a...

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Design your seat for a 40G impact. Many years ago, the US Navy concluded that a properly-belted pilot could withstand a 40G impact without long term injury. In a light plane, most of that decelleration is going to be straight ahead.

What about the military solution that involves locking the tail wheel straight just before take-off?

What type of airplane is N242TA?

A simple fabric sling seat (ala. Chilton) will do the job. If you want a fancier, fiberglass seat, may I suggest that you do like the Formula One car racers and fill a plastic bag with fresh foam, sit on it until it solidifies. Trim and wrap with fiberglass. If you used the correct density of...

Bill Falk's "Rivets?" Mind you, "Rivets" raced in several different configurations (e.g. prone pilot). I love the Cassutt style canopy on Rivets, but still think that Rivets requires a taller fin.

Dear Vigilant 1, Foreign military sales are all about out-gunning the local bad guys (e.g. Taliban) but not out-gunning the USAF. If the foreign air forces gets too uppity, they soon run out of spare parts. FMS always come with a leash. This reminds me of a conversation with a US Navy SEAL. II...

My "dream" sport flying field is on the flood plain, down beside the river. Every Halloween, we have a year's end part, stuff all our flying machines in ISO shipping containers and cart them home or to a storage yard. Every Easter, we spent one weekend mowing the grass and installing simple...

Sure! You can combine different construction methods within the same airplane. The key is matching the best material, with the best manufacturing method with the best structural usage in different parts of the airplane. For example, the Sportsman STOL uses a steel tube cage around the cockpit, a...

Dear Aesquire, Now that the internet opens up more opportunities to self-publish, perhaps you have a second chance to e-publish your book. Times change and you will eventually find a way to share your information. Few authors turn a profit. For example, the previous editor of Kitplanes...

Dear orsovolante, A good concept to simplify gussets. Also a good first experiment drawing in freecad. May I suggest that your second drawing include rounded out edges on those gusset blocks? Rounded edges will allow you to wrap carbon tape all around the outside of the joint. If you make...