marksires

marksires's Activity

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   marksires added a post in a topic Real Pilots    9 February

   Maybe, but I want to live more than 2 weeks personally.  They also didn't have to deal with crosswinds - Aerodromes (big round fields) not airports.
   Quote from Wikipedia:
    One man asked to be moved back to his infantry unit, where "he could be safe." 
    
   

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   marksires added a post in a topic Flew a Legend Cub today    5 February

   Without a doubt the most fun I've ever had flying was in this
    
   
   

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   marksires added a post in a topic Kitfox 2 $8500 on barnstormers    31 January

   "Fox Flipper" would definitely get more viewers - but they probably would be expecting something else 
   

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   marksires added a post in a topic Horsepower/Torque    28 January

   For airplanes, HP is the best gauge - the engine will spend most of the time working at or near peak HP, so it doesn't matter how it gets there - High RPM/low torque, or Low RPM/High torque.  Low RPM/High torque means you may not need a gearbox, which can have some advantages, but those engines usually weigh more so the advantage is primarily in simplicity.
   If you are pulling train cars, stumps, multiton trailers, or drag racing, torque wins every time.  If you are oval racing, HP is usually the king, unless you don't have enough aero to take the corners at close to full throttle.  Road courses need a balance.
   Mark
    
   

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   marksires added a post in a topic U.S. Military jamming east coast GPS?    22 January

   All the hand ringing about VOR's is irrelevant anyway - any event that takes GPS out of service will likely close all the US airspace to anything except military, police, and air ambulance flights, just like it did after 9/11.
   

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   marksires added a post in a topic U.S. Military jamming east coast GPS?    22 January

   Neither ILS nor VOR's are going away.  There will be fewer VOR's, but the FAA has established a minimum set that will be maintained indefinitely that will enable navigation across the US if GPS is out of service or degraded.
   There won't be any new ILS approaches, they are too expensive to install and maintain compared with an LPV approach.  I also wouldn't be surprised if some smaller airports with limited commercial traffic get decommissioned when they become too expensive to maintain.  But the major airports will continue to have them for the same reason.
   ADF's however, have definitely joined the Dodo bird in history.  A few are still out there, but when they need major maintenance they are decommissioned.  I liked ADF approaches, but time and technology marches on.
   Mark
    
   

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   marksires added a post in a topic U.S. Military jamming east coast GPS?    21 January

   Me too, in Texas, where like Florida, everything looks exactly the same at 2,000ft AGL and above.  But that was 30 years ago, and I've become an addict of the mauve line....
   

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   marksires added a post in a topic U.S. Military jamming east coast GPS?    20 January

   They do this in that spot 2 or 3 times a year.  I'm in the 50 ft ring, and I've never noticed a problem, on the ground or in the air.
   

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   marksires added a post in a topic Getting close for an engine choice    17 January

   They indicate on the page the picture is just and example of the aircraft type, and state that the pictured aircraft is not UL powered.
   They do have a firewall forward package for the Avid.  I priced it a few years ago, and it was around $18,000 as I recall
   

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    marksires added a post in a topic Photo Record of Extended Wing Build    17 January

    There would have to be a LOT of excess resin for that to happen!  The biggest hazard of wet layups is weight.  One of my other (very) long term projects is building a Cozy (Rutan Canard).  Since the entire airplane is moldless layups, even a little excess resin on each layup can add up to a lot of extra weight.  Excessively wet layups mean the part is too heavy, but usable.  Post cure evidence of a dry layup (white spots usually) means you either remake the part if possible, or cut out the dry section and repair it.
     
    

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    marksires added a post in a topic Getting close for an engine choice    16 January

    I have followed UL engines.  They look great, and have good weight/power ratios.  They aren't cheap, but then neither is a 912.  If I was considering a 912, I'd definitely consider the UL engine.
    

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    marksires added a post in a topic Photo Record of Extended Wing Build    16 January

    Dry layups are much worse than overly wet ones.  Overly wet ones are just excessively heavy, but not dangerous.  Overly dry, the glass/carbon layers work independently instead of as a unit and are only as strong as the strongest layer, which in compression is basically zero.
    

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    marksires added a post in a topic Pulse pump    15 January

    Cause it really isn't gravity feed, not enough head pressure for all phases of flight.
    

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    marksires added a post in a topic Getting started/setup for Welding?    14 January

    That only works if the two circuits are on different 'legs' of the incoming service.  Household single phase breaker boxes are designed so that adjacent circuit breakers are on different legs, that's why a 220v breaker covers two positions.  Hooking up to two breakers that are on the same leg will still just result in 110v.  You can't make 440/480v from a household single phase service, I don't care how many breakers you connect.  440/480v generally requires 3 phase commercial service, and that voltage is on each of the 3 legs.
    USA A/C power is 60hz, which it means it oscillates between + the rated voltage and - the rated voltage 60 times per second, so 110v oscillates between +110v and -110v 60 times per second.
    Single Phase household service has two 110 volt (nominal) legs.  The phase on these two legs are 180 degrees out of phase, so when one is at +110v, the other is at -110v, the difference between the two is 220v, and that's how you get 220v in a household single phase service.  Without a transformer, you will never get any more voltage than that.
    Mark
     
     
     
    

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    marksires added a post in a topic Getting started/setup for Welding?    13 January

    I have a Hobart Mig and a Hobart Tig.  Hobart is made by Miller, and the ones that look identical are identical except for the color and the price tag.
    For our birds you need Tig, Mig is not approved for aircraft unless you are a manufacturer and have an approved process.  Yes, I know it's experimental so that doesn't really apply, but the rule exists for a reason, and a beginning welder should respect it.
    Tig will need a bottle of argon, so be sure to price getting a cylinder also - some places you have to buy and exchange, some places you have to lease, just depends on your supplier.
    You could also use gas welding.  More expensive in the long run, but cheaper to start out.  It shouldn't cost much to get a 30amp 220 outlet put in your workshop/garage.  The 110v welders aren't worth the amount they cost in my experience.
    I did one of the EAA Tig welding seminars, it was a good introduction.  I also did a continuing education class at my local community college.  Only thing I learned in the class was that more schooling wasn't going to help, the only thing that would make me better was practice, which I haven't done of course :-)
    Mark
     
    

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