• 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. A

    Making a windshield

    You guys that used felt: Was it true wool felt, say from McMaster, or can you get by with a synthetic or local fabric store option? Also, how thick did you use? Did you adhere it in any way? Thanks for any insights. smt
  2. A

    Making a windshield

    Thank you for that note - could be worth a trip down there if they will talk to me. Have some parts for a bomber that would be better slumped, or manually stretched over a form in a frame, than blown. Like the OP's shapes. We're going to try one this month on the owner supplied form (tool), but...
  3. A

    Making a windshield

    PPS: If you can drape it with a ring form shaped sort of (slightly, in the unheated state) to the edge shape (IOW, slight 3D contour); It is probably possible to use 1/8" thick. However, if you decide, or have to, free-form blow it, consider the principle that a uniformly thick, uniformly...
  4. A

    Making a windshield

    PS: Re: Uniform heat This is an extreme - my intention was to see what the maximum possible bubble might be, as a set up to exploring snap-back options over a hard master form. Basically i just blew the bubble as far as possible, to see what would happen. The oven is a convection system and...
  5. A

    Making a windshield

    I think you could drape mould that with a ring form to pull the edges down over the form. There are (or were?) videos of some Russian guys doing slightly larger versions (for a 2 place side-by-side) Information from a lot of people is in this post...
  6. A

    Milling machine/lathe options

    Don't you just hate it when that happens!
  7. A

    Milling machine/lathe options

    Never used any but free 3ph motors. There are plenty out there. I balance the legs with capacitors. Cheap and not too painful to work through If you have one or 2 small machines, VFD all the way, albeit you give up rapid, let alone plug reverse. Gain infinitely variable speed (at constant...
  8. A

    Milling machine/lathe options

    If on a budget, all you really need to convert to 3ph is a surplus 3ph motor, about the same KW rating as the one you want to drive, and a pull-start rope, like on old lawn mowers. Very strong preference for low speed surplus motor - 1800 or even 1200 rpm. Easier starting and more poles for...
  9. A

    RV3 wings on Sonerai2?

    czr Wow - that post was more years ago than i want to think. I was focused on making the canopy and working out the bugs of blowing them including building the oven. Shortly after that post as winter set in, i picked up my old skiing habit after a lapse of some 25 years. Last few summers have...
  10. A

    Companies that offer homebuilt liability/not flying, no authorized pilots insurance?

    Unfortunately, both that i know retired. I suppose it should be informative that one did share that he uses Avemco. OTOH he has a fleet of flying and non-flying projects. Per Gallagher reference, i sent an rfq. Thanks for the lead!
  11. A

    Companies that offer homebuilt liability/not flying, no authorized pilots insurance?

    Maybe this is verboten topic? Using search function "Homebuilt insurance" as well as "E/AB insurance" resulted in multiple hits which discuss some aspects of insurance, none of which mention anything like a list of available companies to contact? My non-flying, current reserved N# Sonerai 2...
  12. A

    How far are we from the perfect electric "homebuilt" ?

    How far are we from the perfect electric "homebuilt" ? Dale Earnhardt's quondam aerodynamicist on the subject of perfection: (click the speaker icon to un-mute it) https://www.thegarageshop200.com/aaron-brown
  13. A

    Experience re-engining a certified aircraft?

    What the heck for? Heavier, nose heavy, and did it even perform any better??? With an O470, not with original GO300, which is magic in that airplane. Like flying behind an electric motor. If i could still afford a real airplane, a skylark with original engine/Millenium cylinders would be...
  14. A

    Fastener Heads

    So just exactly how much aerospace do you think the US would actually have if pizza did not exist to fuel the process??? smt, tongue in cheek <------actually sharpens pizza wheel cutters for fabric from time to time in the machine shop
  15. A

    Fastener Heads

    I make a lot of specialty pin drive ("spanner") hardware, so kind of partial to it. The mating parts tend to have hex broaches, so down with Allen, too. :) The original cordless! I still use a few of them in various sizes (Yours shown is the baby size; often very convenient in enclosed...
  16. A

    Would You Go to A&P school at 65 ?

    Lifestyle, sleep habits, nutritional habits make a difference; Nonetheless, we're all lucky in different ways so i'm emphatically not making any assumptions. However, i notice when family is here (like the past week :) :) )and i am mostly sedentary except for the exercise of pushing away from...
  17. A

    Would You Go to A&P school at 65 ?

    at our ages, a year flies by in a flash. I personally think that there is a huge health, mental acuity, and longevity boost to being in situations where we can't back out of or avoid interactions with people of all ages in a somewhat rigorous environment. Where we have to "participate". With...
  18. A

    Scarf joints in laminates for spars ?

    ^^This is true^^ Although i think that if the grain has an acceptable slope (IOW very little,, but many acceptable clear boards have some) that there is some strength advantage in the total stack of laminates for the grain of 2 pieces in the joint to be oriented so they cross; and ditto for in...
  19. A

    Continental vs Lycoming shops?

    That's not what we've been hearing, so i checked and sure enough posted the wrong engine. C85-12F. We have heard what you stated re: 0200 cranks.
  20. A

    Horrible news from Vans Aircraft

    Yikes! That number does not seem like a lot the way numbers are thrown around in the media about business these days....... Except that even if they change the business model to include an operating profit exclusive only of debt service of 10%? 15%? 30%? That is quite a few airplane kits at...
Back
Top