Tuesday, December 02, 2003
I'm wireless!
Well, the frequency of my posts should increase now since I added Wi-Fi to my Dell PDA. I can connect to my blog now from anywhere with wireless access.
Back on topic, this is the same PDA I intend to use as a navigational instrument with GPS in my Flying Flea!
More to follow...
Back on topic, this is the same PDA I intend to use as a navigational instrument with GPS in my Flying Flea!
More to follow...
Friday, November 28, 2003
I have an engine
It seemed to me that the engine would be one of the more difficult (and expensive) aspects of this project. So I early on I started looking into a suitable powerplant for my Flying Flea as I felt that the engine would determine the choice of Flea. I originally thought I could use a 20-ish HP unit from Briggs & Stratton, Honda or one of the more available less-expensive commercial engines (commonly used in riding lawnmowers). They were still coming in around $1,200 for a 25HP V-twin, before a reduction drive (redrive). More importantly, they were all too heavy (90lbs dry before redrive & prop). Briggs & Stratton were very helpful and sent me an e-mail strongly advising against using their engines for flying applications.
I checked with Chris Falconar, who recommends a Hirth engine, and spent much time on eBay looking for Hirth, Rotax, Kawasaki and other "bargains". After many unsuccessful bids, I came across a 30Hp 2-stroke Kawasaki from a very nice guy Andy Zeller. Andy takes in these engines from snowmobile upgrades. Since most ultralight engines are also used in snowmobiles, this too was an area I had been looking into. I was unsuccessful in my bidding but had started an e-mail dialog with Andy. He had another engine and gave me an opportunity to purchase it before he placed it on eBay. This one was a Kawasaki TA440 40HP unit, and came with electric start, manuals, carb, manifolds, and all the bits I needed for the project. All for $450. I couldn't pass up the bargain, and a recent eBay sale of a matching pair of '70's project dirt bikes (Yamaha RT360s) funded the transaction. I'm now the proud owner of an excellent power-plant ready for a plane :) Here's a pic of my engine:
In my subsequent searching for a redrive. I picked up one for a Kawasaki 440 for $51 on eBay (again!) and am now set. As you can see from the picture below, it's a large unit, taken off another ultralight. I'll have to do some modifications/chopping to make it suit, but the basics are there. A redrive unit for a TA440 would otherwise be about $450+. The redrive also serves as an engine mount, as it has a mounting platform that also holds the propeller shaft. I figure if I build it right I could create a frame that would allow adjustment of the engine placement to facilitate final weights and balancing adjustments.
This picture from the eBay listing shows another older Kawasaki 440. So, for the moment, I think I'm set for a suitable powerplant. Now I can focus on the airframe.
I checked with Chris Falconar, who recommends a Hirth engine, and spent much time on eBay looking for Hirth, Rotax, Kawasaki and other "bargains". After many unsuccessful bids, I came across a 30Hp 2-stroke Kawasaki from a very nice guy Andy Zeller. Andy takes in these engines from snowmobile upgrades. Since most ultralight engines are also used in snowmobiles, this too was an area I had been looking into. I was unsuccessful in my bidding but had started an e-mail dialog with Andy. He had another engine and gave me an opportunity to purchase it before he placed it on eBay. This one was a Kawasaki TA440 40HP unit, and came with electric start, manuals, carb, manifolds, and all the bits I needed for the project. All for $450. I couldn't pass up the bargain, and a recent eBay sale of a matching pair of '70's project dirt bikes (Yamaha RT360s) funded the transaction. I'm now the proud owner of an excellent power-plant ready for a plane :) Here's a pic of my engine:
In my subsequent searching for a redrive. I picked up one for a Kawasaki 440 for $51 on eBay (again!) and am now set. As you can see from the picture below, it's a large unit, taken off another ultralight. I'll have to do some modifications/chopping to make it suit, but the basics are there. A redrive unit for a TA440 would otherwise be about $450+. The redrive also serves as an engine mount, as it has a mounting platform that also holds the propeller shaft. I figure if I build it right I could create a frame that would allow adjustment of the engine placement to facilitate final weights and balancing adjustments.
This picture from the eBay listing shows another older Kawasaki 440. So, for the moment, I think I'm set for a suitable powerplant. Now I can focus on the airframe.
Monday, October 06, 2003
The Flying Flea: Why I chose this design
About 3 years ago (2000) I was looking at homebuilt aircraft plans on eBay, with a notion that I would start such a project. I purchased a "set of plans". They consisted of 3 letter-size pieces of photocopied paper, with barely enough information to describe an aircraft, much less build one. Well, what do you expect for $10?
The plans were useless, but the design intrigued me. It was the Mignet Flying Flea design, which can be called a very staggered biplane without a tailplane, or a plane with a huge fixed tailplane. In my research into these plans I found out quite a bit about the Flying Flea, Henry Mignet, and his homebuilt designs, some dating back to the 1930's.
The attractive aspects of this design were that
- it could be built easily and quickly in an 18-foot garage
- it could be flown easily and safely
- it is completely controlled by an integrated joystick (no need for rudder pedals)
- it is considered stall- and spin-proof
- there was a more modern variation (the HM-293E) that met ultralight requirements
I decided to invest $45 and buy a binder from The Flying Flea Archives. The Webmaster, Raymond Buckland, is very helpful. Their binder of information and reprints from Henry Mignet's original 1935 book were more than enough to light the fire.
Skip forward to 2003. While tucked in the back of my mind for the intervening years, in early 2003 after discussion with my father, the Flying Flea bug kicked in again. Dad has had a dream of building and flying his own aircraft for as long as I can remember. His flying tuition (and dreams of flying) were cut short about 41 years ago by the needs of his family and the arrival of his eldest son (that would be me). What better way to pursue my goals than to do so with my father and along the way support him in realizing his dreams of flight? In a way it's a form of payback.
Dad's dream plane is the BD-4 seen here in a museum:
The BD-4 is a splendid craft, a 4-seater with excellent characteristics by all reports. Unfortunately the kits are no longer sold and completed examples are difficult to come by. Dad does have a set of plans for a from-scratch build, but this is a considerable time and money investment, and some of the specialized parts, such as the aluminum tube wing spars, are specialized and difficult to find.
Back to my HM-293E: This aircraft can be built at home with domestic tools and easy-to-find materials. The original Flying Flea could be built for about $50 (incl. engine!) back in the 1930's, and the designer claimed that anyone with sufficient skills to be able to build a wooden crate should be able to construct this plane.
From my research I would seriously question this claim (unless one is talking about a very strong, finely finished and lightweight crate - with wings!) but his point was that average woodworking skills were sufficient to accomplish this. One must remember that Henry Mignet almost single-handedly created the homebuilt aircraft craze with his Flying Flea and shattered the arrogant hold the aircraft manufacturers had on the field at the time with their claims of high-tech and expensive requirements for such an endeavor - well beyond the reach of the average Joe. In fact, the importer of this "technology" into England at the time had two of his employees build one in a weekend! Now that's my type of project.
One influential article I came across peaked my interest. It was about a 13-year-old French school kid Pierre Antoine whose summer project was to build such an airplane. You can read more about him and his project here. For an English translation, use the Altavista Website translator.
So, figuring that if a highschool kid can do this, then it must be well within the realms of my capabilities. We'll see.
Later I'll report on the location of plans, the engine, evaluating alternate aircraft projects, and getting ready to build.
The plans were useless, but the design intrigued me. It was the Mignet Flying Flea design, which can be called a very staggered biplane without a tailplane, or a plane with a huge fixed tailplane. In my research into these plans I found out quite a bit about the Flying Flea, Henry Mignet, and his homebuilt designs, some dating back to the 1930's.
The attractive aspects of this design were that
- it could be built easily and quickly in an 18-foot garage
- it could be flown easily and safely
- it is completely controlled by an integrated joystick (no need for rudder pedals)
- it is considered stall- and spin-proof
- there was a more modern variation (the HM-293E) that met ultralight requirements
I decided to invest $45 and buy a binder from The Flying Flea Archives. The Webmaster, Raymond Buckland, is very helpful. Their binder of information and reprints from Henry Mignet's original 1935 book were more than enough to light the fire.
Skip forward to 2003. While tucked in the back of my mind for the intervening years, in early 2003 after discussion with my father, the Flying Flea bug kicked in again. Dad has had a dream of building and flying his own aircraft for as long as I can remember. His flying tuition (and dreams of flying) were cut short about 41 years ago by the needs of his family and the arrival of his eldest son (that would be me). What better way to pursue my goals than to do so with my father and along the way support him in realizing his dreams of flight? In a way it's a form of payback.
Dad's dream plane is the BD-4 seen here in a museum:
The BD-4 is a splendid craft, a 4-seater with excellent characteristics by all reports. Unfortunately the kits are no longer sold and completed examples are difficult to come by. Dad does have a set of plans for a from-scratch build, but this is a considerable time and money investment, and some of the specialized parts, such as the aluminum tube wing spars, are specialized and difficult to find.
Back to my HM-293E: This aircraft can be built at home with domestic tools and easy-to-find materials. The original Flying Flea could be built for about $50 (incl. engine!) back in the 1930's, and the designer claimed that anyone with sufficient skills to be able to build a wooden crate should be able to construct this plane.
From my research I would seriously question this claim (unless one is talking about a very strong, finely finished and lightweight crate - with wings!) but his point was that average woodworking skills were sufficient to accomplish this. One must remember that Henry Mignet almost single-handedly created the homebuilt aircraft craze with his Flying Flea and shattered the arrogant hold the aircraft manufacturers had on the field at the time with their claims of high-tech and expensive requirements for such an endeavor - well beyond the reach of the average Joe. In fact, the importer of this "technology" into England at the time had two of his employees build one in a weekend! Now that's my type of project.
One influential article I came across peaked my interest. It was about a 13-year-old French school kid Pierre Antoine whose summer project was to build such an airplane. You can read more about him and his project here. For an English translation, use the Altavista Website translator.
So, figuring that if a highschool kid can do this, then it must be well within the realms of my capabilities. We'll see.
Later I'll report on the location of plans, the engine, evaluating alternate aircraft projects, and getting ready to build.
Sunday, October 05, 2003
My first Post:
What a lot to catch up on. I'll add topics as I go, recapping on aspects of project. My goal is to build a modern version of what was known as the "Flying Flea" This aircraft, the HM-293E, is an easy-to-build (I'm told) ultralight class aircraft with many characteristics that I found particularly attractive as a first-time builder and pilot. Here's a diagram of an open-cockpit version of the plane.
What a lot to catch up on. I'll add topics as I go, recapping on aspects of project. My goal is to build a modern version of what was known as the "Flying Flea" This aircraft, the HM-293E, is an easy-to-build (I'm told) ultralight class aircraft with many characteristics that I found particularly attractive as a first-time builder and pilot. Here's a diagram of an open-cockpit version of the plane.
