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  1. R

    Flow Separation Sensors

    Would love to see these refined, the airspeed range slightly lowered, and made in quantity by TI or some other semiconductor firm for a buck or so each: Airflow Sensors They'd be great for flight testing and profiling wings, engine cooling airflow, etc.
  2. R

    Build Insurance

    Did a search, but can't seem to find anything on the forums about builder's insurance. Has anyone ever bought it? EAA offers a 'free quote' online through Falcon, but when I run through the forms it asks all sorts of non-pertinent questions like N-Number, airport based at, etc. None of the...
  3. R

    Rivets - simple misunderstanding or misled by liars?

    So, most of the solid rivets we use are AN426 or AN470. Here's one carried by Aircraft Spruce: AN470AD-4-2, specified as 1/8" diameter x 1/8" length which seems to match the AN decoder ring. Now, pretty much every experimental aircraft site I visit states that the 'exposed tail' of the rivet...
  4. R

    Ion Engines

    Non-carbon motive power AND no more bugs on the wings. Zap! Ion Engines
  5. R

    Landing Light: Wing or Nose?

    Here's a question a quick search didn't turn up: what are the benefits and drawbacks of a wing leading-edge mounted landing light versus a landing light mounted in a cowl shining through a prop? Does the prop interference cause any issues with the effectiveness of the light? Does an LED landing...
  6. R

    Spray-On Ice Removal

    Maybe Aircraft Spruce will carry a spray can of this someday? https://phys.org/news/2019-01-breakthrough-ice-repelling-materials.html
  7. R

    Forecast OD conditions?

    OMG...I though teenagers were bad, but now IDEK...Soaring Magazine? What is it with pilots and their TLAs? Anyway, the June 2018 issue of Soaring has arrived, and in it is an article from Marianne Guerin about an unruly passenger on a cross-country soaring flight. Three times she mentions 'OD'...
  8. R

    Another sort of carbon fiber

    https://www.sciencenews.org/article/superdense-wood-lightweight-strong-steel?tgt=nr If something like this ever reached commercial production it might have some utility in aviation. Hard to tell at the moment given the paucity of specs.
  9. R

    Windshield brace tubes? Why?

    Note the two diagonal tubes in the windshield in this picture: First question: is there a generally accepted name for those tubes other than "those two diagonal tubes in the windshield of every high wing steel tube fuselage plane ever made"? Now, here's the front view of a Cessna 152: Just...
  10. R

    Another "Inexpensive Engine" Discussion

    Moderator Note: Forked this discussion off of the Why Inexpensive? Results and Conclusions. thread. This is a good discussion, but becoming more and more off-topic for that original thread. --------------------- It's still my opinion that the primary reason there's a dearth of inexpensive...
  11. R

    Over-Engineered?

    The Machine Design website just blogged this: 4 Incredibly Over-Engineered Aircraft | A Skeptical Engineer Over-engineered? Are they really 'engineered' any better than other planes of their era, or are they simply the right design at the right time for their mission? Interesting that all...
  12. R

    NASA Electric Aircraft Design Winners

    I saw this article today in a trade magazine about a recent NASA design contest: Students Electrify NASA with Future Airplane Designs | Motion Systems content from Power Electronics Unfortunately, it only shows the aircraft exteriors, and doesn't discuss much about the technology the students...
  13. R

    Pterodactyl combat jets

    Tired of thinking in metal? Looking for your next composite challenge? Try these: These pterodactyls combat jets are so **** cool and Formidable biologically inspired airplanes by Al Brady The cockpit ingress mechanism is certainly unique. I wonder if the trailing wing extensions can be used...
  14. R

    Rotating Bi-Directional Flying Wing

    Well, this isn't exactly 'homebuilt' technology, but it is interesting: Radical bi-directional flying wing design gets NASA funding A 'bi-directional rotating flying wing'. From a stability and control perspective I have a really hard time seeing how this thing would be anything other than an...
  15. R

    Composite Shell Attachment to Chromoly Tube

    I've been having a hard time finding much detailed information on the tips, tricks and techniques of attaching composite shells to steel tube 4130 structures; construction similar to the Glastar. The composite books talk composites, the steel tube books talk steel tube, Google is coming up...
  16. R

    Mechanically controlled variable pitch props vs the constant-speed variety

    There are a few posts close to this topic, but none that really answer this question: why are there so few manual adjustable pitch prop hubs for smaller engines (Rotax, Jab, VW, etc.)? All of the bigger engines seem to use constant-speed units, with hydraulic governors and their associated...
  17. R

    Vacuum Gauge vs Manifold Pressure Gauge

    No, not that itty-bitty little gauge that tells you if the vacuum pump has failed... Does anyone know of a link that describes the difference between a manifold pressure gauge as used in an aircraft and a vacuum gauge as used by every engine mechanic in the world, other than the scale and the...
  18. R

    Dihedral on outer portion of wing span

    In Raymer's book "Simplified Aircraft Design for Homebuilders" 1st Edition on page 30 there is this statement: I can't find any mention of this 'uncontrollable rolling' effect in his textbook (3rd edition). Nor can I find any mention of it elsewhere. Does anyone know of any other reference...
  19. R

    Convenient welding tank size for 4130 tube structures

    I've decided (with help from the Tinman: https://www.tinmantech.com/) that O/A welding is the way to go for the welding I want to do, using a Meco or other similar small torch. (Maybe someday I'll buy a TIG outfit just because one can never have too many tools, so try not to let this become...
  20. R

    Monolith Engines

    A friend sent this link to me: Monolith Engines 200 HP and 75 pounds (95 pounds in the diesel version). 24x12x5 inches. Being a two-stroke, I suspect it also requires snake oil injection... (BTW, I do believe the proper spelling for this forum is 'aircraft', not 'aircaft' :grin: )
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