Yes indeed, there are many web logs of experimental projects. I follow multiple. An in-depth video series would chiefly be a means of evangelism. The new world of media that we are living in is starving for content. So, a well made video series would be welcome.Originally Posted by Sam Buchanan
I, for one, have been reading everything I can get my hands on for help in building my Junior Ace. I have not, however, found anything that fully tackles the depth of information I'm looking for. Perhaps an appendix of links to all these "tons of online builder logs with very detailed descriptions and photos" would be quite helpful.
Even the hints for homebuilders are a general overview and gloss over specifics, and often ignore the "why" of what we're doing. I agree that an in depth, long-form video series would be a welcome resource, and suspect it will also be a form of evangelism as conodeuce suggests. Much like the "Build this plane for under $800 including engine!" article in Popular Mechanics kicked off the homebuilding movement, using the media of today; Youtube, Facebook, forums etc; could help revitalize the home building movement, bringing it back out of the realm of $40K kits and retirees, bringing it to the forefront for younger generations.
Granted, a truly "affordable" homebuilt would do a lot to encourage this as well; the $800 airplane of 1955 would be about equivalent to a $7000 build today, but that's a different soap box for a different time.
Edit:
As it is, people like Peter Sripol are filling this void in media for younger generations by cataloging his inexpensive ultralight builds. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the depth of experience that many older members of the EAA family possess, and may lead the younger generations to making uninformed and potentially dangerous decisions. Nothing against Peter, he's just the most prominent creator of this type of content that I can think of at the moment.
Last edited by Tench745; 06-29-2018 at 09:02 PM.
I understand what you are advocating and am sympathetic to the novice builder who doesn't have the technical background of the gray-beards. There are two obstacles to inexpensive homebuilts that immediately come to mind:
1) The desire for immediate gratification with the latest and greatest flash and bang. Yes, the legacy designs have their own charm but not the appeal of new aircraft. This desire to have strong performance, quick builds, and the latest tech drives the community of builders into the "$40K kits".
2) The lack of a reliable, field-proven, low-cost and readily available powerplant in large quantities. The $7000 aircraft doesn't happen because there is no way to fill these powerplant needs in this price range. A decent used Conti or Lyc is going to consume that $7000 budget with nothing being spent on the airframe, and good used engines are becoming quite rare. The "alternative" engines are plagued with low-time field history/reliability and often sketchy support.
I wish we had a good solution to your question but I suspect it is just going to be necessary to raise the $$$$$ bar to achieve the reliability and performance desired.......and the market has already done that.
I appreciate the sympathetic ear, Sam, and understand the harsh reality. The powerplant issue certainly came to mind and is a seemingly insurmountable obstacle until demand is great enough for the industry to take notice. Of course, you'd still have no field history and questionable support.
I'm afraid I took this thread off track and away from my intended point, that a well made, in depth series covering the build and test flying of one of the more inexpensive homebuilts would be a valuable resource for us beginners and potentially a useful outreach tool for the EAA.
On a related note, if there exists a resource or resources already containing this information, I would personally be very appreciative of a list of them. There are many technical manuals out there, but it's not always clear which ones are valuable for a specific task and some information may be lost without wading through technical specs in multiple volumes. At least, this is my experience so far.
Try the Pete Bowers Centennial Fly Baby Page:
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/PB100/index.html
And click the "Jump to Construction Information" link.
I've got some references to key Tony Bingelis articles (scroll up a bit), information on setting up the shop, some info on hardware, and some basic workmanship guidance.
In addition, there are in-depth articles on wing and fuselage construction. Not directly related to a Junior Ace, but wood is wood.....
Ron Wanttaja
Yep, the FlyBaby page would be at the top of my list. Also, a set of Bingelis books is mandatory for any novice builders of 'legacy' wood aircraft:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo.../bingelis5.php
Thank you.
Yup, I've got two of the Bingelis books already, very good information, but even still good information on the same/similar topics is spaced out over the two volumes, making it harder to remember where I've seen it when I need to refer back. I'd like to compile a database of information/resources as I build to help myself and future ace builders, much as Ron has done for the Fly Baby.
In that vein, over time I would like to get together a list of current suppliers for materials as well as articles, etc on how to actually assemble an aircraft.
That's enough of me derailing this thread for now. I'll likely post more as I go in my Corben Jr Ace Build thread.
Be the change you want to see, or something like that.
Reading is good, building is better. I just finished my third Stearman but only one plane was completed! OR... find a local museum and help restore some aircraft. That is what I did at the Air and Space Museum and the USS Midway, now I am the fabric guru (I learned from Frank who built TBMs on Long Island in the 40s) Can't read about that in a book.
C.B.,
I would like to learn how to install a capacitance type gauge for a Fiberglas header tank. Also where to install the gascolator.
For fuel gauges (cap. type) what indicators must be used with which capacitors etc.
I'd like to see a video on cleaning and preparing a steel tube fuselage that has been over 20 years in the making for priming/painting.
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