Kitplanes articles from May 2000

Kitplanes archives from May 2000

FAA considers a small-aircraft pilot's license.(Federal Aviation Administration)(includes other kitplane news)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Ending 6.5 years of volunteer work, Chairman Tom Gunnarson and members of the sport pilot Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) submitted their proposal for a limited new sport pilot's license to the FAA in late December '99. The FAA...

Letters.
May 1, 2000... Let's get density altitude right. In the March "Density Wise" article, I think you folks kinda messed up. The text says if temperature and barometric pressure are 59 [degrees] F and 29.92 inches, density altitude and field elevation will...

Building to Win.(building an RV-6 kit plane)
May 1, 2000... An exceptional RV-6 is its own reward (but the trophies are nice). Hello, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Convention headquarters. How may I help you?" said the friendly voice on the other end of the phone. The voice was 1782 miles and two time...

Judging at Oshkosh.(judging homebuilt planes at EAA's AirVenture)
May 1, 2000... Deciding on a Grand Champion homebuilt is no walk in the park. Of all the rituals of EAA's AirVenture at Oshkosh, none is so strict, so painstaking and so tedious as the judging to determine the Grand Champion custombuilt aircraft. In...

A new diesel engine flies.(compression ignition turbo exhaust charged engine)(includes other kitplane news)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... A new engine technology called CITEC (compression ignition turbo exhaust charged) recently flew in a Europa kit airplane in the United Kingdom. The three-cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine was developed by Wilksch Airmotive, Ltd. in England....

ONE HECK OF A REBEL.(Murphy Aircraft Super Rebel SR2500)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2000... Check out Murphy Aircraft's big SR2500 Super Rebel. Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing Limited of Chilliwack, British Columbia, has sold more than 1400 plan sets and airplane kits since its inception in September 1985. Of that number, more...

Time is Money.(homebuilt aircraft companies offer builder-assist programs)
May 1, 2000... Some builders are taking advantage In the early days of homebuilt aircraft, if you wanted one, you had to build from scratch. That meant acquiring every shred of material on your own and using the designer's detail drawings (sometimes...

Let's tackle the gyroplane horizontal stab controversy.(utility of horizontal stabilizers on gyroplanes)
May 1, 2000... I've been flying gyroplanes for more than 10 years, and for most of that time there has been a lively controversy about the utility of horizontal stabilizers on gyroplanes. One group contends that they are indispensable aids with respect...

Let's consider laminar flow.(airfoil design)
May 1, 2000... A significant portion of the parasite drag of an airplane is caused by skin friction on the wetted area of the wing. A designer seeking to reduce this drag has two choices: Reduce the wing area or reduce the drag per square foot of the wing....

The Jet Spectrum.
May 1, 2000... Two turbojet kits are ready for your approval. Jet engines have lurked around the edges of the homebuilt aircraft movement for decades. But neither one-of-a-kind custom jets like the Hammer-Hart Zipper nor the kitbuilts like the BD-5J...

The Fighter Feel.
May 1, 2000... It's influenced by response to inputs... and by first impressions. Billy Joel, in his popular song, "The Stranger," says, "We all have a face that we hide away forever, and we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone."...

Build your own headset tester.
May 1, 2000... We've all been in the situation where we aren't sure if it is the headset or the radio that isn't working quite right. While we have done a little work on making sure the radio is OK (see the transmitter tester in the April '00 KITPLANES[R]),...

Let's Review Edition Two.(Evaluation)
May 1, 2000... KITPLANES[R] adds features and flexibility to the new Homebuilt Aircraft Directory CD-ROM. If you've followed developments in computers and software, you might have noticed that nothing stands still. Everything seems to be evolving all...

Four ways to get 100 hoursepower.
May 1, 2000... In recent issues, we have discussed the factors necessary for an engine to develop power, and the formula that deals with P (pressure), V (volume), M (mass), R (the constant for air), and T (temperature). These are the elements in the formula...

Bang for Your Buck.
May 1, 2000... The KMD 150 multifunction display packs small and performs big. One thing many homebuilders discover is how tight space becomes when attempting to maximize cockpit capabilities. And while the project progresses--or even when it's done and...

Ideal marriage: mating a stylish trike to a rigid-wing hang glider.
May 1, 2000... In the 1990s, trike ultralights won a measurable share of the market in America and confirmed this type of aircraft as the most common ultralight in the world. In Europe, where trikes are dominant, experts say they comprise more than 50% of...

New Products.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Noise Reduction System Quiet Flight, LLC, in cooperation with Cooper Tire & Rubber Company's Engineered Products Division, announces the Quiet Flight electronic noise reduction system for general aviation aircraft. This system actively...

Here is No. 20 in our Glasair building series.
May 1, 2000... Last month we discussed in some detail what goes on during the finishing phase of aircraft construction. Now let's take a look at painting and putting on the trim colors as it relates to my Glasair Super II FT. This has to be one of the most...

Kit Stuff.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... JUST ABOUT ANYONE CAN USE A WIRE-FEED WELDER BUT.... OK... HMMM? NOT THAT WAY... NEXT! IT TAKES A REAL MASTER TO HANDLE A TORCH! YOU HAVE TO BUILD UP A "TOUCH"! I THINK YOU ARE ALREADY "TOUCHED"!