Cold weather = lots of time inside

It has been very cold here for the last couple of days. I'm lucky in that my job does not require that I come in every day...so I've been working from home since last Friday. Hopefully things are better tomorrow and I can go into the office before I take 2 weeks off for the holidays.

On Saturday I went hunting (my other passion) with my uncle Manny for elk just outside of Sweet Home, Oregon. We saw some deer but no elk. It was a nice hike in the snow and cold...good exercise! Even when I don't see any animals I always have a good time. It is a chance for me to recharge my batteries and think about life.
Only a couple of weeks left in the year for hunting...hopefully I can get out there one more time. Then maybe I'll start thinking about winter steelhead or goose hunting.

With all this time inside, I've been working and playing. I created a Tetris game on the PC that I am porting to BlackBerry and Windows Mobile. Had some time to catch up on reading. Began working on my new course material for the Software Quality class I teach at OIT. And of course...thought about flying and building airplanes. I got a free DVD in the mail from AOPA. It was a basic intro to the joys of flying. The best part for me was seeing this 40ish guy take off and land for the first time. He looked like an 8 year old kids that was just handed a $10,000 Toys R Us gift card. I can't wait to experience that and share it with others.

I invision weekend trips to centeral Oregon. Fly in and camp...and then fly back. I've always loved road trips because you get to see the country. Unlike airline travel where you are 30,000 feet high and can't make out detail. That is where flying small planes melds the benefits of the two together. You get their faster...but you still get to see all the scenery and detail.

Unless I get rich...and can afford something like a Diamond DA40 or a Cirrus SR 22, I would most like to own a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. (I actually had a remote control 172 that my dad and I build back when I was in junior high). Something with some updated avionics would be nice and should come in <$50,000. For the type of flying I eventually want to do, this would be a great plane.


And here is a view of the cockpit. This plan can carry 4 people plus some "cargo". Looks cool huh?




Anyway, once the holiday are over and all the decorations are packed into the attic, I will shift gears and focus on getting a work area setup in the garage. 2009 is going to be a great year!

Private Pilots License

There is something to be said for momentum. When I went back to school, I started with the understanding that I would get my associates degree (and keep myself busy). Once I started taking classes and got into a rhythm, it got easier and I set my sites on finishing my bachelors’ degree. Looking back, it would have been easy during a rough time of balancing family, work and school to take a couple of terms off. I knew that if I did that, I would lose my momentum and maybe my interest in even finishing school. Therefore, I kept my head down and got it done.

If I am going to build an airplane and learn how to fly, I’ll have to apply the same determination…and keep that momentum going.

Flight school is going to be expensive. I’m looking at $6000-$9000 to get my private pilots license. I could go with a lesser license, but there are too many limitations. It’s just like going for the bachelors instead of the associates degree.

The private pilot license is going to get me the following…

- Unlimited size aircraft can be flown (special rating require for larger planes)
- Can take up more than one passenger
- Can fly at night
- Allowed to fly in more airspace and outside the US
- No maximum range or speed

More info here.

So, once I start I’ll be going for the “real” license! This is much more than I need to fly the plane I will be building. However, there are two sides to my desire to fly. One is to build a plane that I can actually fly…something inexpensive and easy. My other desire is to share flying with other people. This means a bigger plane and more training. I can use this inexpensive plane (not only to built but to fly) to log a lot of hours and get some good experience, before I move to the bigger and more expensive planes.

Accidents happen

I saw on the news this afternoon that an ultralight experimental airplane crashed at the Mulino airport. It sounds like something happened on take off, and the pilot ended up crashing a couple of hundred feet from the runway.

The pilot ended up with some cuts on his face and a broken ankle. At first I started to question what I was getting into with this whole idea of building and flying plane. But, when you think about the time you spend in a car, you are more likely to get seriously hurt in a car crash...then in a plane.

Here are a some really nice attributes of small planes...
- Slow take off and land speed (usually <30 mph - speed kills)
- Slow stall speed (very hard to make it fall out of the sky)
- Lightweight (less mass = less inertia so hits are not so hard)
- Good pilot protetion (In the event of a crash, there is not a lot of "stuff" that can come off the plan and hurt you)
- Support balistic parachute recovery systems (a big parachute for you and the plane)

I found all the plans for the A-plane (Affordaplane). I've been looking online for prices on aluminum square tube and sheets. It's expensive...but I guess it is all relative. I need a single sheet of 2'x4' aluminum for the body. Just that one piece of metal is about $65! Since I don't have any extra money right now, I'm going to focus on reading about flying and renting some DVDs to watch.

UPDATE - 11/30/2008
Turns out the engine stalled shortly after take off. The pilot was only 150 ft in the air when it happened. The pilot of this plane was very lucky though, he's in the hospital doing fine. - Thanks Ben!

Oh ye of little faith

My friends Jayanthi and Ekan read my blog for the first time today. I asked Ekan if he wanted to get into flying with me. He said he liked being alive. I then told him we would only fly in planes that I did not build. To which he still replied, "I like being alive". Hrmmm...getting people to go up in a plane with me might be more difficult than I thought. How about if I give you a parachute to wear? Still no?

Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful for and look forward to spending some quality time with my family and friends.

To the three people out there reading my blog, God bless and enjoy the turkey.

Safety First

Ok, so I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking. I have decided on what path to take....I'm going to build a powered flying machine.

When I thought about the glider, I really got excited about the ease of construction and the ability to tow and launch just about anywhere. (Give me an open field or a hill and I could launch). Then as I looked in more detail at the contruction of a glider, I realized it poses the same problems as building a powered plane. So, to be safe, it would take just as much $$ and energy.

With a glider, I also worried about the temptation to just jump in it and think I could fly without any training or lessons. (You don't need a license to fly gliders <250 pounds) I could just see myself feeling invincible one day, taking the glider to 100 feet, just to have it nose dive and kill me.

So, the plan is to start building the Affordaplane. This plane is well designed and has been built and flown by many people. It will probably take me close to 600 hours to complete everything. This give me plenty of time to get some training on taildragger ultralights at the Mulino airport. If nothing else I can train in a Cessna 152 and get my private pilot license. This would allow me to fly just about any plane, without many restrictions. (This usually runs $3000-$6000)

The other option is the Sports Pilot license. (This is the one I am leaning towards). It is geared towards people who will only fly during the day, under 10,000 feet and will use small light aircraft.

The restrictions placed on a Pilot exercising the privileges of a Sport pilot certificate are:

- No more than one passenger
- Daytime flight only (civil twilight is used to define day/night)
- No flight above 10,000 feet (3,000 m) MSL

The best part is that I get to take a passenger! Everything is better when you get to share it with someone. So, who is first to sign up for a free flight with pilot Kim?

In the next posting I think I will talk some more about the Sport Pilot license, as well as AN standards (aircraft contruction standards - you can't just use any old bolt or screw from Home Depot to build a plane!)

Kennedy Space Center

I was in Orlando Florida over the weekend for the National Association of Realtors annual convention. My flight didn't leave until late Monday night, so I rented a car and headed east towards Cocoa Beach and the Kennedy Space Center.

As I approached the complex, along this long expanse over open water...I could see the staging area for the shuttle as well as towers for other launch pads. I only had an a couple of hours to visit the center, so I made quick work of visiting each of the exhibits.


<-- Rocket Garden

- Shuttle Launch Experience
- History of space exploration
- Future of space exploration
- Inside the shuttle
- Gift Shop

It was pretty amazing to see a Mercury capsule that had actually been in space. I took some pictures with my cell phone (they didn't turn out so well).


There was a large memorial dedicate to those who lost their lives in pursuit of space exploration. It was very touching and a tribute to the sacrifice they made in the name of science.

All around the park there were signs that showed how NASA space technology has been used to make everyday items. It was kind of neat to see how our tax dollars (used to fund NASA research) ended up benefiting us all.

They offer bus tours of the entire facility (takes about half a day) as well as a space camp, lunch with an astronaught....next time!!!

The planes, the plans...and the plan!

A couple of years ago, when I first really started looking into building my own airplane, I ran across some home built web sites. They had a lot of designs <$3000 and met some of my other requirements.

- Must be expiremental one seater (does not require license to fly)
- Small and light
- Easy to tow or transport
- Should not require and special skills to build (welding, milling, etc.)

The plan is to build an airplane, piece by piece in my garage over the winter and spring months. Then in the summer, take it out to an area around Burns, Oregon for some test flights.

I had wanted to design my own plane...maybe build the wings using a foam core design. Then I started to think...do I really want to strap myself into a plane that was designed and built by someone that knows nothing about aerodynamics and ariframe design? Nope...I don't think I'm up for that risk or the time it takes to learn and test a design. I want to build and fly!

There are two paths I am looking at going down.

1. Glider
Mike Sandlin is the expert on inexpensive home build gliders.
Basic Ultralight Glider




2. Powered Flight
I bought the plans for the Affordaplane a couple of years ago. Simple construction!
Affordaplane



In the next couple of weeks I am going to do some more research and then decide on what design I want to go with.

Model rockets and trees do not mix

A couple of weeks ago Hunter and went to the hobby store to "look around". We never end up just looking of course. We walked out of the store with a model of an F16 and a model rocket. When we got home, Hunter started building the jet model and I started working on the rocket. I have to say that we both did a pretty good job.

Hunter was very excited to launch the rocket, but we never seemed to have the right weather or time. This last Sunday though, I packed the rocket and launcher into the back of the car...in hopes that after church we could launch the rocket at the parent's place in Redland. It was overcast and a little windy, but I thought a front yard launch would be safe. I prepped the rocket...

- Motor
- Igniter
- Connect the alligator clips
- Insert the key

I handed Hunter the launcher and all of the cousins began the countdown. 10...9...8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1 LAUNCH!

The rocket shot straight up to about 800ft. (All of the kids oooooh'ed and aaaaaaaaaah'ed - ok, so did I) At apogee the rocket popped out, but the chute did not open. I could see the rocket coming down fast and headed for some big trees in the neighbors yard.

Well, as you can guess, the rocket got stuck about 20 feet up in a tree. For the next 40 minutes me and the cousins tried to get the rocket down with now luck. Heather attempted to climb the tree in church clothes and flip flops (sorry Tani). I'm pretty sure that girl is part monkey as well as responsible for at least a couple of my gray hairs. Han, Hunter and Christian worked to find anything to throw at it in an attempt to knock it down.

In the end the rocket remained in the tree...a grim reminder that rockets and trees do no mix. Hunter has forgiven me (I was the one that really wanted to launch the rocket) as I have promised him a new rocket (he wants the flying port-a-potty rocket.....oh crap!)

Escape from Crete

For as long as I can remember, I've always dreamt of flight. Specifically, home-built, self powered flight. I made many attempts in my youth...none if which resulted in success (or major injury to myself or others). After a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum I was bitten by the flight bug once again.


This blog will document the construction progress of my personal flying machine.