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  1. BoKu

    Sparlite 52 unidirectional pultruded carbon fiber rectangular strip 5mm x 2mm

    Just a quick reminder that I have plenty (several kilometers) of Sparlite 52 in stock. This product is unidirectional pultruded carbon fiber rectangular strip with cross section 5mm x 2mm. This is a perfect size for making high-strength carbon fiber spar caps that are tailored to match the local...
  2. BoKu

    Envelope Expansion or Normalization Of Deviance?

    Not that I want to argue the point, but what is the difference between "normalization of deviance" and "expanding the envelope?" Is it about how methodically you approach it? Where is it sensible to draw the line between the two?
  3. BoKu

    Tapered carbon fiber wings for RV-6, -7, and -8

    Those of you who follow VAF have seen that the tapered carbon fiber wings we've been developing for RVs have finally flown. Test pilot Bob Mills reports good handling and benign stall characteristics. Envelope expansion to follow. Steve Smith did the design and engineering, Steve and Bob Mills...
  4. BoKu

    Does anyone here have an AOL email account?

    I suspect that my ISP has a problem with sending email to AOL addresses. Does anyone here have an AOL email account that I could send a test message to? Thanks, Bob K.
  5. BoKu

    Sparlite 52 pultruded carbon fiber strip

    We still have several 410-foot spools of Sparlite 52 in stock, and we're getting another shipment in next month. For now the price is still $348.50 per 410-foot spool. This is 5mm x 2mm pultruded carbon fiber strip, and our test coupons show compression strength and stiffness (the critical...
  6. BoKu

    Pultrusion party

    I'm thinking of convening one of our Akaflieg build sessions to work with pultrusions, maybe in August at our Montague CA workshop, for a three- or four-day session on the design and fabrication of pultrusion-based wing spars. We'd probably do the usual rental cabin and have an engineering...
  7. BoKu

    Russian ekranoplan pitch-up, hard landing

    This just came across my Youtube feed: Most of the comments are in Russian, so it's hard to tell if anyone knows what happened. Just based on a few seconds of video, my money would be on uncommanded pitch-up due to a weight distribution not conducive to flight out of ground effect. My...
  8. BoKu

    Free HP-18 sailplane fuselage shell Arnold CA

    I'm getting rid of an old HP-18 fuselage shell that I've had around the shop for years. It consists of the molded fiberglass forward fuselage and the aluminum aft fuselage, all assembled. Some cosmetic damage, but generally flight worthy. I'll even throw in the aluminum canopy frames and the...
  9. BoKu

    Bubble party--acrylic canopy transparencies

    FYI, our next Akaflieg build session will be a bubble party--we're going to learn the art and technique of stretch-forming acrylic sailplane canopy transparencies over male plugs. I'll collect the plugs for HP-14, HP-18, and HP-24, and we'll pull a few bubbles and see what we get. If you have a...
  10. BoKu

    Facebook Marketplace today

    This didn't belong in the Ebay or Craigslist threads, so I started a new one. Buick & Olds 215 V8 engines $1200 https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2848039898625488 Pictures show five engines, two complete and three others in pieces. Location West Sacramento, CA These aren't mine, I just...
  11. BoKu

    Single-seat ultralight puddlejumper: the "Carbonmax"

    In response to a couple recent threads, here's an idea for a fun little toy airplane: Take the dimensions of the Minimax and develop an airplane that uses the same engine and general configuration but with a simplified carbon fiber airframe. Before continuing, let me describe the general...
  12. BoKu

    Who made the better Merlin?

    Interesting article on the mythos of the Packard and Rolls Royce rivalry, such as it was. https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/classic-cars/a30763715/rolls-royce-vs-packard-who-built-a-better-merlin
  13. BoKu

    Where to drill that bulkhead hole?

    I made this rig several years ago to find where to drill a hole through a bulkhead to allow the passage of a push-pull tube (photo below). It would work find for cables as well. In practice it isn't perfectly rigid, so it can't be perfectly precise. But it is perfectly good enough for most...
  14. BoKu

    Superior buys back all XP-382 and XP-400 engines

    https://newsline.kitplanes.com/2019/02/28/superior-buying-back-all-xp-400-and-xp-382-engines/ There are some good threads on the XP engines on VAF, but I thought we might have some discussion here. These engines have wide applicability outside the RV community, but are specifically intended for...
  15. BoKu

    Name that glider

    In this earlier thread, I introduced a simplified 13.5m version of the HP-24, project code "Scooter." I'm now strongly considering going ahead and making one for myself, with an eye towards it being a development prototype for an LSA-certifiable club glider. Project highlights...
  16. BoKu

    G Dale decribes bailing out

    I think every sailplane pilot should watch this video. It's quite the eye-opener about how messy, chaotic, and stressful bailing out really is. It makes me think that more gliders (and airplanes) should have BRS.
  17. BoKu

    Consumables Mass Quantities

    Just a quick heads-up about trends that I've noticed in the composites supplies market. Small-ish composites shops like mine exist in a sort of middle ground between hobbyists (RC sailplanes, telescope bodies, etc) and huge factories (car bodies, production airplanes, yacht hulls). Unlike the...
  18. BoKu

    Namu II

    The Pete Bowers Namu II turned up at the Father's Day Fly-in at Columbia Airport (o22) this weekend. It looks like it's in pretty good shape:
  19. BoKu

    OpenTrainer: New crowd-sourced open-source two-seat primary training sailplane

    I've just started a Facebook page to discuss and promote the idea of an open-source crowd-sourced two-seat primary trainer certified as SLSA or whatever makes it eligible for commercial ride, instruction, and rental use. I envision something about halfway between the ASK13 and ASK21 in...
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