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  1. KevinThorp

    Rutan Ski-gull

    Rutan likes to hot-wire wing cores from foam blocks. You fasten airfoil profiles to both ends and "trace" around them with the hot wire. Using this method you can create straight or tapered wings, but not elliptical. A 2 part straight/tapered wing approximates an ellipse, but is much simpler to...
  2. KevinThorp

    Survey - New designs from JDT Mini-Max

    As some of you know, JDT Mini-Max produces wood & fabric ultralight & LSA kits & plans. I've been helping them a bit by making 3D models of their potential new designs, to gauge customer interest. We posted a collection of those images here. Please have a look, then take the survey at the...
  3. KevinThorp

    New Sonex/Onex

    Nope. That's the ingenious part. The aileron control engages automatically as the wing unfolds. About 5 seconds per wing and you're ready to fly. It took longer than that to remove the rudder gust lock from my C-150.
  4. KevinThorp

    New Sonex/Onex

    I saw the wing fold procedure at Oshkosh and it's the simplest & quickest I've ever seen - 5-10 seconds per wing, single-handed. And at 540 lbs. I don't think it'll be too hard to roll on/off a trailer. Can a public airport ban access? My closest airport gets $300/month for hangar rent...
  5. KevinThorp

    Where are the fast high wing LSA kits?

    Thanks. I'll take a closer look at the Bushcaddy & Buttercup. But I still don't understand why the major players in the kit plane business don't offer 120 knot high wing LSAs when those are the best-selling factory-built LSAs.
  6. KevinThorp

    Where are the fast high wing LSA kits?

    Sorry - I should have specified a price range. I guess there's no such thing as a cheap aircraft. "Affordable" might be a better term, but that depends on the person writing the check. Affordable to me would be $20-25k for the kit, less engine & instruments. That's about the price of the...
  7. KevinThorp

    Where are the fast high wing LSA kits?

    You are correct - and that number is 120 kts (138 mph) full power, at sea level.
  8. KevinThorp

    Where are the fast high wing LSA kits?

    No I didn't know about the Pipistrel kits. Their Virus SW has very impressive performance on 80 HP. But $75k-82k for a kit is out of my price range, even if it includes the engine. I posted the original question partly for myself, but also to try to understand why none of the major players in...
  9. KevinThorp

    Where are the fast high wing LSA kits?

    Another high-wing grand-dad plane: ;)
  10. KevinThorp

    Where are the fast high wing LSA kits?

    The Flight Design CTLS claims a 133 mph cruise, the Remos GX 130 mph, The Cessna Skycatcher 136 mph. These are the top-selling factory-built LSAs in the US. Why have kit plane designers decided nobody wants a fast high wing LSA?
  11. KevinThorp

    Where are the fast high wing LSA kits?

    The Glastar (now called the Sportsman) is a great design but it's too heavy & fast to be an LSA. Also, the kit is $50k, not including engine or instruments. Yes, LSAs are limited to 120 kts, but all the high wing kits I can find cruise at only 85-90 kts.
  12. KevinThorp

    Where are the fast high wing LSA kits?

    If you want a (relatively) fast low wing LSA kit you have many choices: Zenith CH-650, Vans RV-12, Rans S-19, Sonex/Waiex, etc. these have cruise speeds of 120-138 mph. But if you want to build a high wing aircraft it looks like you're limited to a 95 mph cruise - 25-40 mph slower than the...
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