• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

Search results

Find deals on ebay
Find deals on amazon
Advertise with us
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
  1. B

    Weighing with electronic bathroom scales?

    Improper CG can KILL you and your passengers. ALWAYS insure you are within limits. In the 800-1500 pound weight range, a +/-20 pound error in takeoff weight won't matter a lot as long as the CG is good. Cheap analog bathroom bathroom scales are plenty accurate for weighing aircraft as long as...
  2. B

    Portable ADSB-Out...?

    It's important and a little more than semantics so let's clear it up. A "TC" - or Type Certificate - Is one kind of FAA CERTIFICATE. It is an FAA conformity document that defines a particular aircraft. It spells-out dozens, or hundreds of physical characteristics, such as weights and CG and...
  3. B

    Portable ADSB-Out...?

    I will agree that most homebuilders do their own radio work. I have never had insurance on any aircraft I owned and never bent one I was flying that I didn't own so I have no idea what the underwriters' philosophies are. I suspect they are "making money" without looking at this issue.
  4. B

    propeller design thru CNC machining

    14 foot Wright Flyer RC model.
  5. B

    Portable ADSB-Out...?

    Agreed! As a homebuilder x3 myself and one who is not an A&P or Avionics Tech, I have installed my avionics in all three. As a fairly-intelligent and very responsible pilot, I took the aircraft to a licensed avionics tech BEFORE TURNING THEM ON THE FIRST TIME, to certify that the comm's...
  6. B

    Portable ADSB-Out...?

    ADS-B didn't become mandatory to help prevent mid-airs. That was only a by-product. ADS-B 's purpose is to replace the antiquated rotating radar system and the pilot-position-reporting system (if not in radar covered areas)...with a more accurate, more modern, less maintenance-intense means of...
  7. B

    Portable ADSB-Out...?

    On an experimental aircraft, or even on most light, certificated aircraft, a transponder is not required, period, regardless of whether or not the aircraft has an electrical system or when an electrical system was put in. In short, the FAA intends and allows simple, minimally-equipped aircraft...
  8. B

    Portable ADSB-Out...?

    Legally flying into controlled airspace requires an ATC REPORTING SYSTEM or some other "prior approval" method that provides controllers adequate position/heading/airspeed/altitude on you, to insure safe separation. The FAA cannot allow an aircraft without an electrical system to create an...
  9. B

    Portable ADSB-Out...?

    Be aware everyone...the FAA requirement for ADS-B Out in some airspace is not to be viewed as a nifty gadget to serve YOUR needs and wants. It is a very serious system for accurately tracking both "participating" (IFR) and "non-participating" (VFR) aircraft by ATC that is much better than...
  10. B

    Jet-Setter

    I have seen them in pictures but I am not very familiar at all. I would say...If they are precision made so that consistent settings can be repeated, I'd be OK with them as long as the pilot was very confident in making changes.
  11. B

    Jet-Setter

    Hi Fly2, I always call ASOS on the telephone before I takeoff and may make a jet change based on the automated Density Altitude. In the morning when the density alt. is low, The main jets need to be richer to keep the fuel:air ratio near stoichiometric and avoid a seizure. When I arrive at my...
  12. B

    2-Stroke Maintenance: Borescopes & Inspecting for Carbon Build-up

    Many owners just remove the exhaust "Wye" and look at the rings visible through the exhaust port as they rock the prop and look for "suds" above and below each ring. That's better than nothing but still inadequate. Just do the whole 50 Hour decarbon per manufacturer's service instructions. Do...
  13. B

    Fuel and Oil Consumption

    The helicopter had some issues but so does every new Bell, or Sikorsky. Almost all wrecks were low altitude rollovers. The issues were fixable but the Fetters' customers were very impatient and when he blamed all the problems on his customers, that was the end. He said some very mean things...
  14. B

    Jet-Setter

    This is my "kit" that stays in my Rotax 582 Powered helicopter at all times to make sure I always have the correct Main Jets and Needle Jets handy. The red thing is an aluminum jet change tool.
  15. B

    Fuel and Oil Consumption

    I put 100 hours on mine in the 90's. I have 60 trouble-free engine hours on the one I now own. I did screw up TWICE and almost died both times but it was MY FAULT and not the engine. 1) I was literally 20 seconds from fuel exhaustion and was certain I had just had 10 gal. added at the...
  16. B

    Fuel and Oil Consumption

    ALL ENGINES CAN QUIT! Every different engine has a different set of common-sense, taylored things you must do to fly it safely and reliably. Don't do them and you are gambling.
  17. B

    Fuel and Oil Consumption

    To fly a 2-stroke in an aircraft reliably, the pilot needs to be on-top-of the fuel and oil consumption on every flight so that a problem can quickly be detected BEFORE the engine is damaged or you are unintentionally on the ground. I'm primarily talking to those with an oil injection pump and...
  18. B

    Flush the Commode!

    Not familiar enough to answer. My Brantly Helicopter had an IVO-360-A1A with Bendix Fuel Injection. None of the fuel lines were clear so I was oblivious to what was going on inside.
  19. B

    Flush the Commode!

    If you have ever flown RC with glow engines, you know that bubbles in your fuel line means the "klunk" line, or pickup line in the fuel tank is sucking air. Your engine will lean out unpredictably and erratically and many times will seize your motor. I was at the airport one day in the 90's...
  20. B

    The Care & Feeding of 2-Stroke Motors

    Every Rotax Engine's Maintenance Manual says you need to clean the carbon out of the piston rings at 50 hour intervals. Who wants to do that?? No One! Who should do it RELIGIOUSLY? Everyone. It's really easy, simple, and pretty quick, if you think it through, pay attention to details, and...
Back
Top