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First post, This is Me

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Kiwi303

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2015
Messages
418
Location
En Zed. Aka The Shire.
Ok, I'm, not Tunnels....


I thought I would get that out of the way since I'm A) from New Zealand, B) lived in, and may well go back to, China. c) am comfortable using composites.



I'm currently in the research phase of "do I really WANT to build myself a plane?"

Do I or Don't I, that is the Question...



I'm about to dip my feet into the world of flying with my NZ Microlight Pilot Certificate and I mostly want to be able to hop in a plane and head to such places as the BoI or off to Napier, or maybe Hamilton. Where taking the car is prohibitively expensive because of not just fuel, but the bloody ferry fee across the strait. Given the prices for air fare in NZ here, it's a rort where trips to Fiji from or Brisbane can be considerably cheaper than domestic routes, hopping in a plane and going won't be that much cheaper, but far more fun.

And fun is what counts after all...


I've been flying a few times before and enjoyed it, so why not do it myself.






There is the matter of what to build... I would rather build my own and know it is done right than buy someone elses haggard old wreck, while factory built new craft like the Cirrus S22 are out of my budget by quite a bit. For me, New and Done Right and Affordable effectively translate to be DIY home built.


Currently I am looking at the Jodel D.11 with a 155Hp EJ20T and Autoflight 160Hp PSRU, IvoProp Magnum with electric variable in flight drive and CS controller as a tentative prospective build list. First to learn to fly, then to build something to fly.


Why the D.11 and not the D18? the D.11 is heavier and slower than the newer D18. But the 100 litre tankage in the design plus the aussie mod of 2 x 20L wing tankage for 140L over the D18's 65 litre single tank give a longer range.

I want something that I can make a transtasman flight in, or buzz up to the islands via New Caledona and around the pacific.

It will be years before I have the flight skills to make that sort of flight, BUT, it takes years of weekend work to build a plane doesn't it? Build up hours and experience on club aircraft, and by the time you can take off to fly the wild blue yonder, you should have been able to build something to do said exploring in... I doubt any club is going to be happy with you taking one of their club craft they also use for training, and disappearing for a few weeks in it!



What I would Like to do, is work out the structural requirements to replicate the D.11 box spar in Carbon Fibre lapped with glass and foan ribs and a glass and foam sandwich panel skin, the requirements are pretty straightforward, the maths for structural integrity should be within my capabilities with a calculator and some help.


At the moment tho, I'm just stuck in the read-it-all research phase... which is where I found the need to distinguish myself from Tunnels
 
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