/r/homebuilt
A place for anyone interested in building and flying homebuilt aircraft. Welcome!
A place for anyone interested in building and flying homebuilt aircraft. Welcome!
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/r/homebuilt
Before he passed away last year, my father was an EAA member and was working on his own homebuilt (I believe it was going to be either a Zenith 701 or a Hummelbird, he talked about both quite a bit).
He didn't get very far with it due to his failing health, and now I have inherited several rolled sheets of 6061-T6 aircraft aluminum. Currently it's in climate-controlled storage in southwestern Kansas but I can move it to central Texas. My question is, does this material have any value and if so, what is the best way to sell it? Aero Trader? Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.
I’m about to start getting my license and I was curious what planes that are out there. I like the look of the t6 Texan ii and similar military trainers I was curious if there are any kit planes with a similar look.
Curious if any Zenith builders or other builders might be able to provide some feedback. I am dreaming of owning a plane for some local flights and as I research the high cost of the older certified aircraft and all of the limitations that come with them I keep finding my way back to experimental kits. I love the idea of a new airframe that is corrosion free and the ability to do more of the maintenance down the road. . I am really interested in the Zenith Cruzer kit and starting to explore how feasible a build would be. The sheet metal and airframe seems within my comfort zone, I am a handy person and mechanically inclined when it comes to things like home repaire etc. I can’t recall the last time I hired someone for plumbing, electrical, framing etc but I have never been great with engines etc. I am very intimidated by the power plant, fuel system, avionics etc in a build. It also seems like from my limited research that the kits do not provide a great deal of instruction in those areas since many people really customize and or there are so many options in those areas.
My question is first, am I right in my assumption that aside from airframe you are more on your own when it comes to the build? Am I over stressing about those components of the build? And lastly would you recommend or have considered buying a kit and building and then hiring if possible someone like an A and P to help with the power plant and systems? Any feedback would be great and I apologize for the long question.
Many thanks from a nervous I will be in over my head first time builder-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0Qq3QDpsEo
I found this airplane on Youtube. Does anyone know where one can purchase build plans for this small airplane?
Does anybody here have experience with this plane? I have scoured the internet, but first hand experience is almost non existent. It looks like a great little bird, but there doesn’t seem to be that many in the air.
Has anyone ever given thought to using the propeller utself of a fixed wing aircraft as another means of directional control.
It would be able to pitch the blades as they spin to induce pitch or yaw in the same way a helicopter utilizes a swash plate to control its pitch and roll with its cyclic.
The system seems like it would be best on single engine turbine or piston aircraft with a single or contra-rotating (eliminate p-factor, prop wash, torque roll and torque steer) propeller
The idea seems like it might be beneficial because you would still have directional control from the propellers thrust, even if your controls are nolonger effective or your wings have stalled. I see this being the biggest win for aerobatics guy, STOL or the big utility aircraft.
I understand the swash plate system is complex to use, so my solution is to link and sync the input actuators with existing controls. The yoke/control stick and rudder pedals. Other aircraft link existing controls like the yoke and rudder (Beechcraft Sundowners for example).
Or, conversely, it could have its own 4 axis hat switch, trim style control on the side stick/yoke or somewhere on the panel.
What are you guys' thoughts on a system like this? Worth the hassle, cost and complexity or not? And if so, for what applications?
Edit: For clarification, the propeller hub itself does not swivel. Only the blades change their angle of attack as they rotate about the propeller hub. Depending on where that blade angle change occurs, there will be dditiona thrust on the intended side and less on the other, inducing a yawing or pitching force on the nose. So if I want it to yaw left, it will increase pitch on the blades as they pass the right side, decrease pitch as the pass the left side, Inducing left side yaw.
This is a call to all the experts, engineers and enthusiasts in GA to brainstorm a design for a small 6 seater GA aircraft that can fulfill a mission from NYC to London non stop. The configuration should comply for that mission and should burn around 30 gal/hour, speed above 450 knots, pressurized and fly above weather. Has to be affordable too.
The inputs will be consolidated and maybe can be modeled in software in the future and flown on many of the flight simulator programs to experiment digitally.
The tech is there, but the economics are not. This exercise might lead to new ways of solving for this mission. It is 2024 and nothing remotely seems possible for this mission in the affordable experimental GA world yet.
If I want to build my own homebuilt jet aircraft like the SubSonex, but I don't want to buy a kit and prefer to design everything myself(my own design), what do I need?
Do I need an engineering degree or any specific licenses?
What is the process for obtaining permission to make my plane airworthy and flyable?
Are there any limitations, such as size or weight?
(Disregard the skills involved.)
The guys at DarkAero looked like they were doing a hell of a job. But had 2 red flags.
The were no target dates and the first flight date seemed to get pushed back forever.
They needed some business skills. If you asked to make a deposit on a kit they sent you a form and never followed up.
Now their social media that was so active so reliably for so long is quiet. Anybody know anything?
Having built an early Velocity, can I now use that authority to qualify on my new Velocity build?
Hey guys, does anybody know what the max speed of the standalone Starlink mini with the mobile priority plan and in-motion?
Is the 250kts limit actually a thing? Because the website says, "10mph limit removed," and, "no speed cap." (Can't tell if that's referring to data speed of in motion speed)
I have aviation applications of various altitudes and speeds. (true/ground speed possibly exceeding 250kts)
Fell in love with the concept of a homebuilt aircraft when I bought a magazine featuring the Cozy Mark IV in the 90s. I keep revisiting the concept every so often. A recent video on the Dyke Delta made me revisit things.
I've had a hobby of CNC and 3d printing in the last decade. After seeing the video on the Dyke Delta I was curious if this has become popular for producing parts? I remember the Cozy Mark IV required woodworking to manufacture components and then laminate those parts in fiberglass. Have any planes been built or kits been designed with CNC / 3d printing as a core?
This goes out to those with more experience dealing with mechanics, legislation and inspectors.
I wanted to know if there's anything wrong with, I'll advised or illegal about adding in-flight entertainment equipment into an experimental that isn't particularly made for the purpose... aside from the obvious weight penalty to my insert 4 seat kit aircraft here
Think Iridum portable wifi or seat back entertainment screens (yes, like the ones in cars).
Apart from the woopy fly, I haven't seen any ultralight aircraft using reverse delta wing configuration. I am thinking that a reverse delta wing would need less metal bars to construct as compared to a traditional delta hang glider wing. I have made a 3d model of this reverse delta that looks like this:
This consists of just one thick horizontal bar stretched along the wingspan, a thin front-to-back bar with the fabric stretched tight to the wing tips and the tail end, as well as battens sewn into the fabric. The pilot hangs on the midle of the main bar, with two control bars on each side.
Here is the 3d model: https://www.mediafire.com/file/hntj5t99hdbktbo/glider.3ds/file
I realize I'm posting about another forum on reddit, and I'm doing it anyway.
I'm trying to create an account on the zenith.aero site and it was all going great until I got to the part about verifying my email address. The verification email hasn't arrived. I've waited over a week, and tried resending it several times. I've double-checked my email address, too. Nothing ever shows up in my inbox or spam folder.
There's a link at the bottom of the main page for reporting an issue, but you have to log in to use it. 🤦♂️
Anyone have any idea how to fix this, or how to contact the admins?
Update: It's been a week and still no response. Is that forum dead or are the admins on vacation? This isn't a very promising start to my Zenith build.
Hi, my father passed away last spring and we need to sell his homebuilt. Before he winterized it last fall, it was in perfect working condition. Any advice, or links to helpful advice? He was very concerned about potential liability when selling (it's a Wittman Tailwind, for those asking).
Further advice needed: We cannot give demo flights in the plane, since we're not pilots. Would you buy a plane without a demo? How does that work? Currently can't even find a Tailwind pilot nearby.
I drive trucks for a paving company and make lots of overtime during the warm weather season, but get laid off every year between late October/early November until April (don’t expect to hear about reporting to work until April 1st). Essentially, I’m free to do as I please during that time period. Would it be feasible to expect to build an RV 9 kit at a build facility in that amount of time?
Barring the week between Christmas Day & New Years, I would be able to be at the build assist facility first thing in the morning, and be among the last to leave when it closes in the evening. And while I’m legally required to perform 51% of the build process, I understand that they will show me exactly what to do and line all the parts up so there’s pretty much zero time spent studying blueprints, etc. and figuring out what to do. Could I potentially have the build completed in this amount of time?
I’m aware that I’d want to take some building classes so that I’m familiar with all the different tools. If I’m working at a snails pace due to being unfamiliar with the tools (manual dexterity never has been my strong suit), naturally that would slow things down. And it’s worth mentioning that while I want a good airframe that flies well, by no means am I looking to build an award-winner (no super fancy paint job with glass cockpit, etc).
In my local area, I have seen several people try and sell partially built kits in the past. No experience in building myself yet. I figure that I would check with my local EAA chapter to see if someone would be willing to do a pre-buy inspection.
My question is more about what the actual paperwork and documentation gotchas in such a situation would be, the 51% rule, etc.? Anyone have any guides on what transferring ownership and finishing a kit involves as far as time to get it in the air?
Good day, I am writing to you because I'm a tad stumped with designing an ultralight aircraft which fits nicely in Part 103 restrictions. I was looking to use a Predator 670 engine (with some modifications) and what's stumping me is the propeller itself. I'm modeling my proposed aircraft after the Yakovlev Yak-18T and I've designed the wings to have an aspect ratio of 9. The thing about the propeller that's stumping me is the diameter and pitch. Could somebody provide me some insight as to the ideal propeller diameter, number of blades, and pitch so that my proposed ultralight can at least get airborne?
There was a concept of an inflatable wing aircraft called woopy fly. It performed very well.
Now I have a eureka moment to expand on this idea. Instead of inflatable material, the wing can be made of PET plastic compressed with air. PET plastic is light and available in abundance e.g in water bottles. The plastic can be fused and melted into a shape of this wing , filled slithly with air and sealed. It will no longer be as collapsible and portable but it will be cheaper than a typical hang glider or ultralight wing.
I'm going through the process of researching kits for what will be my first build, but hopefully not my last.
After watching many, many build videos on YouTube I've noticed that there's a common pattern along the lines of, "I didn't know I needed that part, I've ordered it, it'll be here in a week". Then the part arrives, and the cycle repeats for the next part. The pattern seems to hold regardless of the kit or a builder's particular proclivities, and it seems to account for a large chunk of a kit's build time.
How do I avoid falling into that vicious cycle?
In the PC-building world there are websites like pcpartpicker.com that help you plan your build before you start. Obviously, building an airplane is a lot more complicated, but there has to be some way to know what parts and tools are needed before starting the build. We've been building airplanes for over 100 years at this point; it's not rocket science!
I've found the KitPlanes Buyer's Guide, which was a very helpful overview, although a little cumbersome and possibly outdated. It's not what I'm looking for though. Is there something else out there that I'm missing?
Hey guys, I'm a pilot and an avid fan of experimental aircraft. I fly professionally on the clock and tinker on experimental kit builds and amateur builds for scenic abd cross country flights off the clock.
As a lover, builder and flyer of experimentals, nothing really annoys me more than the slow pace of technology trickle down from commercial to GA and experimental. The experimental category has, in theory, unlimited freedom when it comes to onboard tech and Avionics, but a surprising lack of implementation on certain technologies. One such technology is the illusive autothrottle. I get it's complex, expensive piece of kit, but I'm surprised few have actually made an attempt at it.
So, I've decided to take a stab at it. I'm smart enough to know what I want and leverage what I know and understand and where my limits are.
Like the great Neill DeGrasse Tyson once said; " one of the great challenges in this world is knowing enough about a subject to think you're right, but not enough about a subject to know you're wrong."
So I put the project to you and ask for your views, thoughts, opinions, etc. Who knows, with enough interest and engagement, I might make and sell these like Marc Ausman did with the Vertical Power VP200.
• ArduPilot TECS Autothrottle ( https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/tuning-cruise.html ) ( https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/tecs-total-energy-control-system-for-speed-height-tuning-guide.html#tecs-total-energy-control-system-for-speed-height-tuning-guide ) ( https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/parameters.html#throttle-nudge )
— thrust retard (min thrust) — approach speed (throttle nudge to approach speed/minimum control speed) — max continuous power button (throttle nudge to 75-90%) — to/ga button (max thrust for 5 minutes) — taxi power button (throttle nudge to 10-45%)
Yes, I know it says ArduPlane is not to be used on manned aircraft. Of the proof of concept for this system works, I'll invest into having software of a similar nature written for my purposes, that way I don't continue to violate people's licenses.
The plan is to have this thing be able to be dropped in and work with any fadec engine. My personal applications will be with the Adept Airmotive 320T and the JetBeetle HGF500 engines.
Hi - have been deciding to build one of my own for some time now. Finally, embarking on the journey. I know I am not going to fly it a lot and rental makes more sense, but I still wanted to do it.
members who have built one recently, please help me compare CH650 to VAN 12is or other kits, on cost, performance, ability to trailer from home and not look for hangers or tie down at airports, easy to build and not having to get stuck machining my parts.
I have a simple setup to build. No complex tools but I plan to purchase necessary tool that comes with the kit, like zenith guys sell.
much appreciated.
Anybody knows something about Belite?