Badland Part 103 Pilots and Builders Forum

My brace for the tail end of the folding wings is in line with the tailwheel spring, so it would be at the same distance as the existing lights on the trailer. I'll have to keep brainstorming this. And maybe I just need to add a "third brake light" to the plane and let it double as a strob...

Not a bad idea on the third brake light somewhere...I would just need to figure out where and how to mount it.

As for the current brake lights, the trailer already has LEDs. I was very happy for that!

Todd, what you described is essentially what I am going for. The ramps will be removable and I can just drop them in the bed of my truck (Tundra). As for the full bed, I still need to figure out how to make this happen in a manner that is both easy and cost-effective. Same with covering the insides ...

I guess I should count my blessings that there is plenty of open terrain not too far away, relatively speaking. Ah yes, the lovely mud dauber (as I've heard them called in these parts). I'm not sure I have any locally, but I do worry about any insects nesting in the airframe somewhere. Funny thing -...

I actually welded up brackets for both the root and near the tip of the wing. I figure that should be plenty of support. I was hoping to find a picture of the brackets I built for the rear supports, but don't seem to have any on my work computer. For the root I used the existing bolt holes on the sp...

Haha, a helmet is a good start. And any training is better than none. If you can get good at landing the Beech, and then maybe transition to a high wing (152 or 172) even better. Of course the best option would be a Cub or something similar, with stick and tailwheel.

I am looking to tow nose front, just to prevent any possible oscillation of the tail control surfaces. Nose rearward would certainly be easier for loading, but the idea of having the tail into the wind makes me (possibly unnecessarily) nervous. My intent is to put a wide roller (12" or so) in t...

Bruce, funny thing, but I have been doing the same as you...determining exactly what 40MPH feels like, then 50MPH, while driving down the road. I don't have a country lane to take my motorcycle down to test this on a bike so the car will have to do for now. One thing to consider that Chris told me s...

Today would have been the day to do it...120 years to the day since Orville and Wilbur took that leap of faith!

Ah yes. I forgot you are running a ground adjustable.

Yes we do love to chat, so any updates on progress (hell, even lack thereof) are more than welcome!

Kurt, correct me if I'm wrong...its essentially very effective masking tape, correct?

Ha! I do sometimes count my blessings in regards to the dry climate in Cali. It's definitely much kinder to metals than where you are at.

I've used the vinegar bath trick to clean the rust out of coolant passages in an iron block (my 67 Sprite). It's impressive to say the least.

I would hardly call myself a welder, but I'll take your compliment (which I appreciate) as the first vote for "that weld will hold". Haha. I'm curious to hear what some actual welders would say, assuming we have some on this forum. I had seen your trailer build here...it was a push in the ...

Since (nearly) completing my F-3 build, I've been mulling (or perhaps fretting is a better term) over a way to transport my little folding wing beauty. After all, the folding wings are the reason I settled on a Badland over most other options. Storage space is at a premium, and hangar space is not a...

How does one go about setting static RPM? I always figured it was a set quantity if tuned correctly.

Unfortunately I don't have the space for taxi testing (living in the heart of the San Fernando Valley) here in Los Angeles, and I keep brainstorming for locations closer to home than El Mirage lakebed to do so. El Mirage is about a ninety mile drive. Hopefully I come up with something much closer ju...

Hi Gary, and welcome (officially) to the group. We would love to see some pics of the bird, the hangar and the strip if/when you get a chance. I'll bet even just taxiing was pretty exciting and probably felt like a milestone. I am getting closer to that step myself...in the process of building a tra...

And a fine bit of thievery it was! I am still in the process of breaking it in, but the gauges are all connected and functioning. And it brought MY CG forward to where it more likely will suit me...win win!

To add to Todd's point, if the engine ran fine on the stand the issue has to be something you added during the install. These engines are meant to be a "closed circuit", since they are usually affixed to someone's back (and I can't imagine that "someone" being used as a ground. I...

If you are grounding to aluminum it definitely won't work. If you recall exactly how it was sent by London return it to that state and go from there.

I have heard that the starters for the 303 can be suspect so also try pull starting. Sometimes there is not enough juice for both.

Nice to hear you had a chance to fire it up! And funny...i had the same issue with my tach initially. I thought "this can't be right". It wasn't.

I didn't get any either; it sounds like it's an option and needs to be ordered separately. Let us know how it works out!

What does the fixing tape look like in comparison to the edge tape? Since she mentions that the edge tape is colored, it kind of suggests that the fixing tape is clear. You've piqued my interest!

I actually enjoyed covering with the Oratex. I found the glue application to be easy, and I like the fact that it's odor-free and water soluble, so I was able to cover several parts in the warmth of my living room. I loved the idea of not having to paint, as it's something I'm not great at, nor can ...

It doesn't look terrible...but certainly a little rough. One thing you might consider is to not wrap the fabric so far into the flat area. It really just needs to cover the curve and reach the flat area, as I recall. The Oratex instructions can confirm this. The cowl looks great - it really pops! Yo...

I've covered RC planes before, but it's been a long time. When I did the Oratex covering, I didn't use the felt pad when working curves. I just pulled the fabric taught with one hand and applied heat with the other. The felt pad was introduced later, to press the fabric down for the final bond while...

How would this work if you are looking to remove the scalloped edges though? To properly stretch the fabric around the corners you would have had to heat it well over the 122oF threshold, right? Let us know how it all works out! I am very curious. I still have plenty of fabric left, so you might mot...

I'm sure you would have figured it out once you got to the actually mounting of the brackets. haha

Hi Bruce - for the brackets on the wing spars I installed the brackets first, then cut slots in the fabric and applied it over the brackets. I trimmed the excess material to leave the actual mounting points exposed, then cut doublers of fabric to reinforce the edges. I'm not sure I understand exactl...

Haha, I'll take it (scalloped edges and all).

Are you comparing it to mine?

What is the active ingredient in nail polish remover? If none of the aforementioned, perhaps worth a shot. It seems to be the go-to for a lot of other things!

I used a magnet on a stick. It took some doing but worked. I also ran the bolt through from the inside and fastened the nuts on the engine side.

If you're referring to the yellow F3 in the gallery that would be mine. I went with the 1/3 naked look because I also like the trellis look and figured crosswinds would have less of an effect. It also makes inspections much easier. I am very happy with the look of mine. But as mentioned, it's entire...

I had the same scalloping but left it. I figure it's fine and from what I understand Oratex is pretty hard to remove. It wasn't worth the effort to me. Let us know how the removal goes!

Very nice! It looks fantastic. What finishing work do you have left to do?

And let us know how she runs!

Why not test it with your colors first, on a small metal (or wooden) frame. It couldn't hurt.

Hi Bruce. Yep, I (Peer) am LA F2 Flyer...Weird name, I know. haha Let me see if I can dig up any pictures of the various things you are asking about. As for your pics, you are correct, the bolt hole in the stick is for the bottom end, to mount it to your pivot block (using the AN bolt you currently ...

Hi Kurt - what I did was lay the piece to be fitted over the fitment location, and use small strips of tape to mark the outside edges of where the glue lines needed to be. I didn't want to try to remove pencil lines, so this was the easiest solution in my opinion. I also didn't worry about "pai...

"Nothing says you have to buy the bolt"

You sneaky devil!

Now THOSE are pretty!

Interesting...I wonder if the machined groove is meant to provide a guide if you need to cut the aluminum linkage down to fit? I would test to see how deep the threading goes. Perhaps you could take a piece of safety wire (or a narrow gauge paper clip or something similar) and bend the last millimet...

Todd, I think you're right - all of Chris's designs seem to be another layer of Oratex over the existing covering to create the patterns. Another issue with overlapping colors is the bleed-through from one color to the next.

Auto decals aren't a bad idea.

As both aircraft builders and men, I think we can all agree that we prefer to keep the shrinkage to a minimum.

Todd, are you talking about doing something similar to a finger joint when working with wood? (Sorry, I am having a hard time determining what your graphic is demonstrating. I blame it on only being on my first cup of coffee.) If so, that seems like a lot of work and a lot of precision cutting of th...

Also, I believe the difference between the edge choices is purely a matter of preference.

I thought they were both called pink (or "pinking") tape, but I could be wrong.

I'm not sure if they have the same shrink rate as the other fabric, as I didn't use any on my build. For any small sections that I thought would benefit from an extra layer, I cut my own.

It's looking good! Based on the pictures, I would say you have less scalloping than I ended up with. I believe the trick is to leave plenty of excess fabric, and get it hot enough to stretch when applying. This allows you to wrap it around the curves.

Bruce, is the drilled end of the tube for the control stick machined, or just flat cut with a hole in it? And can you provide a picture? My kit had a raw tube for the actual control stick, and a machined piece for the bearing and pushrod as well as the pivot point, but the design may have changed - ...

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