Badland Part 103 Pilots and Builders Forum

Ksatter, don't forget your oratex issues! Greetings Acemakr! As the apparent pot-stirer on the forum, I wish you good luck! Get your order and deposit in, post haste, or your youth may well have fled entirely by the time your order is filled. Chris is in quite a pickle, with a need to both expand, a...

Ok, we're stuck here. Like I said, ALTERNATIVE ENGINES. Oh gentlemen of the Wise Council, allow me to plead this case. I present to you a link https://youtu.be/f53ud2PH9MQ?si=HknPEelcq5Ezwft3 Here are some photos for your review: Pratt_&_Whitney_R-2800_Engine_1.jpg Harley_Davidson_Engine.png...

Todd, I built the 350 small block in my suburban. I used quality parts, many aftermarket and performance modifications, etc. It did not magically become a "Kaveman 350" it's still a small block Chevy, and still has all the inherit issues of a pushrod V8. The thump air is a very nicely buil...

While "Add gas and fly" would be nice, I've never smoked anything that would make me dream that big! It's not that there's no alternatives out there, it's just most are far too heavy. I pointed out the two rotary engines I knew of first, because I know they list great power to weight ratio...

The link to AIE can be found on the Badlands engine page, as I'm sure you all have looked and drooled. Then you saw the price! 17k+ To be fair, I contacted them about seven years ago, and the quote was 16k, so inflation hasn't hit them too hard, apparently. Needless to say that large RC project ende...

Todd, you bloody rock! I'm going to muse over this a bit, and pursue your links. Mountain Cat, please elaborate! I'm a felon, due to a moment of indiscretion, resulting in a major assault charge. I don't feel like getting caught out again! I've never had a problem with obeying rules as written, and ...

Mountain Cat, I think you and I are actually on the same page engine wise. I point out the "unreliability" of two-strokes to make the initiates aware, meanwhile I make my living from two smokes. And you're more than right on the cost of rebuild versus replacing too. I've been looking into ...

If I want to be perfectly honest, there's basically nobody around to weigh my plane, and without a transponder, nobody would even know I'm in the air or where. There's nobody to bother, and nobody to bother me. That said, a complete lack of oversight is not carte blanche to do as I please. Shocking ...

Here's the link to the source document, from a government website, the first Google result. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-103 Pursuing this short document, you'll find: Weighs less than 254 pounds empty weight, excluding floats and safety devices which are intende...

When y'all run in one of these engines, what's your procedure? I know I'm kicking at a hornets nest here, as there's as many ways to run in an engine as there is to build one. I tend to run them rich, both in terms of mixture and I add extra oil to the fuel. Once I'm confident that the rings have se...

I haven't made time yet to sniff through part 103 to try to find the legalese, but it is my understanding that "not necessary for flight" is pretty broad. I can't understand why the cowl wouldn't be covered but a door or seat cushion is. That said, it may be the top speed that bites your b...

I do love a warm welcome! Thank you guys! Todd I agree fully with you about about the Merlin. The cabin to tail transition looks like it would concentrate the stress at the small joint. But what do I know, Draco seems a good plane. Plus it is really pushing on the weights. I was looking at the line ...

Oh Lord, here we go. Steel, aluminum and titanium and in fact most metal alloys, are "mixed" to a certain formula, governed by industry standards. No such standard exists for CF. Breaking that down a bit further, there's nothing dictating, exactly, the formulation of the fiber itself, and ...

I've been watching the SC2 for some time, and I think it's very promising. I have yet to come across one in the wild, so there's that. However, I did purchase my first fuel injected 2 stroke last year, and all I can say is WOW! To be fair, I do tree work, so my EFI 2 stroke is a chainsaw, the Stihl ...

I just spent way too much time writing out a reply to this rather old question, and then my phone deleted it. So here's a shorter version, just to try to get the discussion going. A younger me would absolutely use carbon fiber tubes to build something like a quick silver. After an unknown number of ...

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/suffolk/small-plane-crashed-in-suffolk-pilot-received-minor-injuries/291-9f6f6fc1-ff22-4042-b177-45bfcba77f6e Above is a link to a local news story. The embedded video includes a second photo, showing the front of the plane. The thing was pretty sn...

Hiya, Bob! I hadn't heard of the incident, but after a bit of googling I found it in Aviation Safety Network's website. After pursuing all the links, I did happen across a tiddly bit more info and a single, grainy photo. Apparently they "had to extricate the pilot", and he was air evaced t...

Greetings all! I'm Kaveman, an arborist from northeast Arizona. Not to bite any one, but I've dreamed about a UL from an early age. I had a neighbor, east of Snowflake AZ, who owned what I can only assume is an aerolite or some such. It had a fabric wing and he hung in a tricycle with a fairing and ...