Comments for KITPLANES

Comment on Building Unusual by Gary Motley

Gary Motley — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 02:41:51 +0000

Very.nice article Scott

Comment on Forward by Degrees by Mike P

Mike P — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 03:20:13 +0000

E-Mags have “shower of sparks” as a starting feature. In observing spark operation prior to first engine start, I saw (and heard) a “zzzzzt.” at the normal firing angle. At OSH, a few months later, the E-Mag rep told me that below a certain RPM there are 5 consecutive sparks for each firing. My Superior IO-360 with three-blade Whirl Wind typically starts on the second blade.

Comment on 2023 Propeller Buyer’s Guide by Aurelio Soffli

Aurelio Soffli — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 16:02:11 +0000

In reply to Scott Royall.

Auruspropellers, made in Italy http://www.auruspropellers.com

Comment on Geared Drives Remembered by jack kean

jack kean — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:04:51 +0000

just saw this story. I knew Buddy back in the late 60’s and 70’s when he was still racing nitro cars and fabricating parts that we needed I knew he crashed, but never read a story with this much detail. Thank you. Buddy was one of the good ones.

Comment on Homebuilt Accidents: Emergency Landings by Weston Liu

Weston Liu — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 19:57:02 +0000

If you do not have a nice field to try to land in, do not fear the trees. Here in New England there are more trees than open fields and I personally know a number of pilots who made successful tree landings. Fly minimum sink, don’t attempt to flare, and keep kicking the rudder to avoid the tree trunks until the expensive noises stop. Really. Day or night. Trees are soft. There is even a video on youtube of a tree catching a Cessna and as gently as you could ask putting the airplane down in a parking lot. Search on “Small plane crashes into tree, flips and slams down in parking lot”.

Best of luck.

Comment on Automotive Plugs in Lycomings by Russ LaValle

Russ LaValle — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 05:35:15 +0000

Another option is to spec your engine to have 14mm spark plug holes. This is what I did on my ECI engine.

Comment on Homemade Open-End Wrench by Larry Larson

Larry Larson — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 22:42:15 +0000

That’s awesome Mr Swim. Very cool.

Comment on Homemade Open-End Wrench by Will Swim

Will Swim — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 22:11:24 +0000

I’m glad to see that someone else likes to make their own tools! I’ve been called crazy more times than I can count. I’m a heavy equipment mechanic and make a lot of my own tools. It started when I thought it was crazy to fill my truck with huge wrenches so I came up with my crane wrenches. Starting with worn cutting edges, I cut the hex shape with a cutting torch and then put a hole about a foot from the center of the hex. I trim it down with the torch and finish it with a grinder. It only takes me about 15 minutes to make a wrench. To use it, I put a shackle in the hole, place the wrench on the nut or bolt, and then hook the truck crane line to the shackle. I smile as I watch the guys that called me crazy strain and struggle with a wrench that’s four feet long and weights a hundred pounds or a one inch drive breaker bar with a four foot cheater when all I have to do is toggle the rocker switch on the crane’s remote. And it’s great to make a tool from scrap that’s free when a single wrench or even a socket can cost upwards of half a grand.

Comment on Building Unusual by Michael Huffman

Michael Huffman — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 21:16:56 +0000

I knew Miles Westfall in the early 1970s when I moved to Oklahoma and joined EAA Chapter 24 there. Miles was an active aviator and a very happy, easy going guy with a good sense of humor. For instance, he had a cockpit instrument he called the “NaviBird,”–he had taken the guts out of an old 3-1/8″ instrument and installed a small model of a duck facing the nose of the airplane. He said all he had to do to navigate was just “follow the duck!” One of those years at an EAA Fly-In in Tahlequah, OK, he gave me a ride in 32E; I remember being half terrified as he commenced to do aerobatic maneuvers without any advance warning! Miles was a true Oklahoma aviation pioneer!

Comment on Hummel Happenings by Thomas Planer

Thomas Planer — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 21:16:12 +0000

I have purchased a ticket for 2023’s EAA AIR VENTURE. The main purpose will be to quickly get guided to meet Matt and Laurie and bend their ears about the Part 103 Ultracruiser. I may even purchase a full kit and pick it up at the new facility, towards late August.. I want to be real busy this Fall, Winter and Spring to be ready to fly it.
See you at Oshkosh in July.
Tom Planer,