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  1. mstull

    MoGas Storage

    I've always heard that auto gas starts going stale after a month, and continues to degrade. I know you can put fuel stabilizer in it to keep it from going stale. But I've never seen an STC that says it's okay to put fuel stabilizer in an aircraft's fuel. A friend just got a 500 gallon...
  2. mstull

    Rotax 447 Discontinued

    What's this I hear that the Rotax 447 has been discontinued. I see it's still listed on various web sites, but when you call, they say it's no longer available. I'm sure there still some new and used ones out there. I remember years ago hearing Rotax was planning to discontinue all their...
  3. mstull

    Negative Prop Wash

    Y'all know about prop braking. One thing I learned with my present U/L is the effect of the resulting negative prop wash. It's only noticeable if you idle the engine real slow, like I have to because I don't have brakes. The effect is more pronounced with large and low pitched props. I...
  4. mstull

    Cylinder Base Gaskets

    I tried leaving out the cylinder base gaskets to increase the compression ratio and change the port timing, favoring lower RPMs on my de-rated Kawasaki 340 engine.* Those gaskets are only about 0.5 mm thick, so it's just an incremental change. I used sealant instead of the gaskets. The...
  5. mstull

    Ring Wings

    I've spent enough time thinking about ring wings, that I'm confident I can't make the plane come out light enough to be an U/L. It's been fun thinking about it. And it would be fun learning how to fly it. But I'm not inclined to deal with the paper work and expense of making it experimental...
  6. mstull

    Sun-n-Fun 2011 U/Ls

    Here's some photos of the U/Ls at SnF. Fortunately my ring tailed U/L stayed tied down. But it did get enough damage that I couldn't fly after the tornado. It will take an hour or two to repair. You can read the whole story in the "Upcoming Events and Trip Reports" forum. Please let me...
  7. mstull

    Ring Tail

    I hesitate to unveil a design that didn't work out, but I thought y'all would get a kick out of my latest experimental U/L. Maybe (I'm sure) y'all will have some suggestions. This is my 8th original design, my first with a tractor engine. It used the same high aspect ratio wings off my...
  8. mstull

    Augmenter Tube

    I'm breaking in the new engine on my new plane now. (Yes, I finished the plane. I'll post about it once it flies... probably this week.) The augmenter tube rings loudly, particularly at certain RPMs, like a wind chime. What is the simplest, lightest way to quell the ringing metal? The tube...
  9. mstull

    Ascent Variometer

    My MicroTim digital altimeter finally died after several years. I decided to replace it with an Ascent variometer. The little variometer is definitely two steps up. It displays altitude and vertical speed simultaneously with large digits, updating both every second. So it's like having 2 (or...
  10. mstull

    Fan Cooling

    Fan Cooling The U/L I'm building now (my 8th original design) is my first with a tractor engine. The fan cooled Kawasaki 340/440 has the fan in back and blows the hot air straight out the front. I'm wondering if the ram air pressure and prop wash would work against the fan enough to matter...
  11. mstull

    Exhaust Duct

    I stumbled upon this extreme temperature duct in the McMaster-Carr catalog. It's high temp enough to withstand indirect exhaust, yet flexible and able to connect something that vibrates (like an engine) to something that doesn't (like a muffler or something that's attached to the airframe). I...
  12. mstull

    Belt Re'drive Mount

    I have a question for y'all. I'm designing my next plane, considering different engines and engine mounts, trying to save weight and complexity. One idea came up that I don't have any experience with, or heard of anyone trying with a belt reduction drive: Can you solid mount the prop pulley...
  13. mstull

    Quik-Check Fuel Testing Solution

    I bought some Quik-Check fuel testing solution: https://secure.eaa.org/stc/tester.html If you haven't heard about it, one drop in a sample of fuel with a quick shake will test for ethanol and water. If the fuel turns blue-green, it has ethanol in it. It won't tell you the percentage of...
  14. mstull

    Sun-n-Fun 2010

    I just got back from Sun-n-Fun. Here's my report. Since this is "The Light Stuff" forum, I'll only talk about the things in the U/L area, Paradise City. I didn't attend last year. So I can only compare to two years ago. Dennis (from Tennessee) and I got there Monday just after noon so we...
  15. mstull

    Aero Friedrichshafen

    I have 2 one-day admission ticket vouchers for Aero Friedrichshafen air show (April 8 - 11) that I don't have any use for. If anybody needs them, let me know and I'll mail them to you. Lanitz-Prena Folien, the makers of Oratex UL600 covering fabric, will have a large booth there with 3...
  16. mstull

    Sun-n-Fun 2010

    Sun-n-Fun is right around the corner, starting April 13th. I hope to meet as many of you as possible there. Look for me by my bright yellow U/L, Lucky Stars, near the SE end of Paradise City. Let me know you're from this forum, so I'll recognize you. I plan to fly as much as possible every...
  17. mstull

    4-Stroke Snowmobile Engines

    I researched 4-stroke snowmobile engines. 4-strokes are fairly new for snowmobiles, with gradually increasing acceptance. But there aren't many choices yet, and they are too heavy and powerful for my U/L. Unfortunately, all the 4-stroke snowmobile engines are water cooled, and are very high...
  18. mstull

    U/L Fuel Tank

    I found this plastic fuel tank from a Baldor generator, that is easy to mount on two rails. The generator specifications say the tank holds 4.6 gallons. But it measures out at exactly 5.0 gallons. Virtually all of it is usable. This is the most ideal U/L fuel tank I've ever seen. Note the...
  19. mstull

    Aileron Location

    To get the best roll rate from a given span aileron, where is the most effective place to locate them? Putting them right out to the wing tips would give them the most leverage to roll the plane. But the airflow spilling around the wing tip makes that part of the ailerons less effective...
  20. mstull

    Folding Prop

    Does anybody know where to get a folding prop. A friend needs one for his Swift motor glider. The engine is a 22hp @4300rpm König three cylinder radial two stroke in pusher configuration, running direct drive. So it takes a very small prop.
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