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  1. G

    Operate from 450 feet of grass?

    Wondering what the options are for operating safely from a short grass strip. I have 450 feet of flat ground to work with, aligned with the prevailing winds for the area. On each end I have about 50 feet of trees, approx 30-40 feet high. I'm ok with trimming the tops down to 20' or cutting...
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    Impractical fun planes you would build if you had the time and money?

    Seeing as I don't have the time with work to even build one plane, when I finally get the time to start I feel I need to pick something that can do as many missions as possible. If I had the time to build 3 or 4 planes I would love to build a knight twister. It would serve no purpose other than...
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    Snowmobile engine

    Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on using a 4 stroke snowmobile engine in a light helicopter? They are lightweight, high power, and meant to be run at high power setting all day. I'd image tbo would be rather short, but a personal helicopter likely won't see many hours a year so it's...
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    What is the obsession with lowest possible hp?

    Seems many here get really excited about the idea of flying on 5 or 10 hp. I personally don't understand, the cost saving between 40hp and 10hp is very minor and the performance and safety issues are huge. Assuming one is going to put in the effort to design and build an aircraft and pay for...
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    A faster bush plane...

    Thinking of something like a ch701, but with effort taken to reduce drag as much as practical. Most aircraft with the low speed abilities I want top out at 80-100 mph, but also drag reduction in this category of aircraft is pretty much ignored. I'd like to set a goal of 150 mph top speed with...
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    Seaplane deadrise

    Google tells me standard deadrise is between 15 and 25 degrees. If operating from smooth water (1' waves max, 4-6" typical) can this be reduced to draw less water and get on step faster?
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    VGs on blunt fuselage

    Looking for some test results of vortex generators on the aft portion of a blunt fuselage. The aircraft I'm thinking of is an osprey II where the back of the canopy is pretty much shaped like 1/4 of a sphere. Lengthening it isn't an option due to prop placement. The only photos of VGs on the...
  8. G

    Why not more motorcycle engines?

    A 1000cc sport bike engine weighs 150lbs dry and produces 170hp. Why not reduce rpms to bring it down to ~125hp and have a package that weighs under 200lbs? A suzuki 1300cc weighs 20lbs more an gets another 20hp running at a lower rpm for an extra 20lbs. And people modify those to over 500hp...
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    Landing in rivers?

    Considering an amphibian/floatplane since my favorite thing to do on a nice day is to go down the river and enjoy the weather. Just wondering what the limitations are as far as operating out of moving water? It's not rough, and not too fast for swimming, and people operate small boats in the...
  10. G

    Offset flapping hinge - teetering rotor

    Curious if having the hinge offset on a teetering rotor system would be possible. Thinking offset the hinge 6" or so and link the 2 sides together so they still flap. If my understanding is correct this should give me a better cg range without having the attitude of the fuselage vary so...
  11. G

    Wingtips

    Just wondering what the current theories are for wing tip design for light aircraft? Specifically those with constant wings.
  12. G

    Clipped wings

    I've wanted to design and build my own plane for years, but after all this time of being on my to do list I haven't been able to find the time, and don't see it happening in the forseeable future... So I'm thinking of modifying an existing kit to be close to what I want and cut my build time...
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    Low cost (relatively) commuter

    My work has me doing a lot of traveling lately and I'm getting really sick of driving 6-7 hours on a somewhat regular basis. So... I'm thinking of actually getting some use out of my ppl and getting a light plane for commuting. Pretty well everywhere I go has a paved runway long enough for...
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    flaps&flaperons

    couple of quick questions... plain flaps vs slotted. using the method in daniel raymer's simplified aircaft design for calculating stall speed with flaps, i found a 3kt reduction in stall speed with slotted flaps over plain flaps. stall went from 50kts to 47kts. does this sound accurate? if it...
  15. G

    So i want to design and build a helicopter...

    Basically as the title says. Right now at the thinking and sketching stage and looking for some outside opinions so that i can end up with a better aircraft. First the basics: 2 seats Composite construction 100-125hp 1000lbs gross 500lbs empty 17' length 17.7' rotor diameter disc loading...
  16. G

    aircraft i first solo'd in crashed :(

    http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_21878.aspx sad day for me, had some good times in that machine. wondering how many others here have flown aircraft that had gone on to be destroyed?
  17. G

    cooling fan ideas

    I'm looking for some input/ideas for cooling on a 2 seat helicopter of around 100hp. Every helicopter i've seen (piston) uses a fan similar to what an aircooled car would use. The drawback to this that i see is that the fan is really only needed for hover and low speed flight, in cruise it...
  18. G

    high wing/fuselage interaction

    I'm wondering if the wing leading edge protruding ahead of the windscreen on aircraft such as the wittman tailwind causes a significant drag penalty? to those not familiar with the tailwind here is a pic
  19. G

    folding/removable tail for trailering

    wondering if this has been done before on a homebuilt? I want to use wet wings on my design, so removable wing would be a challenge and too heavy for one person to handle unless fuel was drained every time. so thinking of making the tail removable from just aft of the cockpit and the aircraft...
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    bonded aluminum construction

    looking for more information on this type of construction, advantages, disadvantages, etc. I'm working on the design for my ultimate personal plane, which was going to be built from composites, but now a future move looks like it may have to be stored outdoors in a hot place so I am...
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