Badland Part 103 Pilots and Builders Forum

Well, I pulled the bird out and fired it up. Started right up but only ran it for 10-15 minutes. It was the $1500 engine w/50 hrs since rebuild. Still have to do the dial in and tweaking to get it right where I want it.

Must have been a great sound!

Actually surprised that it started quickly. Only rolled over about 3 blades.

That's a good thing. EGT/CHT look pretty good?

Didn't run it long enough to really get it hot. First impression is that they are running on the low side. Will invest in some better gauges and find out. Had the Tiny Tach set to the wrong setting from the Polini so RPM's were reading double. But I can work out any issues with the EGT/CHT temps. Bing carbs are pretty simple to dial in.

Nice thing about a 503 is that there are enough of them out there running in all kinds of birds that any issues you come across, there is someone who has solved it before. Hopefully Polini will get to that point. But I think the Thump-Air will slow down the Polini in UL's.

That all sounds really good. Got to laugh as I'm sure for a brief second, you had a funny look on your face with the tach doubled....one of the No Way moments. The tuning of the carb seems to be a big issue in most small engines. I think sometimes the manufacturers are trying to hard to tune the engine perfectly at every RPM. I prefer the KISS approach. Complex is good in some situations, but standard civilian light aircraft, not always a good thing.

I was a little surprised, yes. Then it dawned on me what was happening. Rotax has done their homework on tuning for the correct mixture thru all RPM ranges. Two smokes run great at the mid to higher ranges so that is where they are tuned for. And running cool isn't a good thing for them as one would think. Or you would have a carbon gummed up engine in a short time. Syn oil solves the carbon issue but it will still gum up. The Polini is a great basic engine, I just think they could do a little better on the electrical part of it.

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 still had my Tiny Tach set on 360 for the Polini. and it needs to be 180 for the 2 cyl 503. Grandma always told me "no reason to get stupid if you can't prove it now and then". If my knees folded the other way I could kick myself in the butt.

Got the 503 fired up and tweaked so idles at 2000 RPM and purrs like a Kitten. Still have to set the static RPM but too cold today.

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

With a fixed pitch prop you are stuck with whatever it is. A ground adjustable (mine) allows you to increase or decrease the pitch by adjusting the blades (on the ground) to get it just right. Your 'E' prop was supposed to be made for the Polini so it should be pretty close correct. Less pitch= more static RPM. More pitch lowers static RPM. Approx 1 deg moves it about 250 RPM's. Static RPM or prop loading has a big part in your EGT's if everything is adjusted properly.

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

I ran a Tenn prop 60X44 on my old 503 and it came out perfect on static RPM. In all honesty I really liked the 'E' prop. Even at best, it's a guess as to what pitch will give you the correct static RPM. Ideally the static should be approx 200-300 RPM under full throttle. On a fast bird you'll gain 300 RPM in WOT in flight. On a slower bird, maybe 150-200 RPM gain. The Badlands and my SR 1 are slower birds.

Mountain Cat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 16, 2023 10:47 pm The Badlands and my SR 1 are slower birds.

Have to laugh on this statement. How slow are our UL's? Well, our VNE is typically 10 knots slower than most STOL cruise at

Most really good STOL birds hit the speed wall at about 90 give or take. With the Badlands family of birds you might get there 10 minutes later but they will have the sandbox cleaned out for you. We like to be fashionably late to the party. But HEY! We are at the party!

Everybody still hung over? Not much action lately. Me, I am froze up currently.

Mountain Cat wrote: ↑Tue Dec 26, 2023 7:17 pm Most really good STOL birds hit the speed wall at about 90 give or take. With the Badlands family of birds you might get there 10 minutes later but they will have the sandbox cleaned out for you. We like to be fashionably late to the party. But HEY! We are at the party!

It also means we get to leave first and let them all catch up and pass b Hey what a great opportunity for photo shoots!And yes, we are the party!

Mountain Cat wrote: ↑Mon Jan 08, 2024 7:12 pm Everybody still hung over? Not much action lately. Me, I am froze up currently.

All last week was my cross country move to Florida. We made it to my brother-in-law's and sister's house late Friday night. Unpacked the U-Haul Saturday morning, and slowly going through all my stuff, trying to return to a fairly normal life. Still have to get medical set up and other important things, including contacting Chris and Holladay Aviation about lessons. So much to do. Now that the computer is set up, I'll hopefully soon have more activity here, including g the flight lessons and hopefully soon, the start of building an F5 from kit.

Glad the move went well. Settle in. You bailed on North Texas just before winter strikes. I'll be climate checking the new propane shop heaters soon enough.

Also glad it went well. Now for starting a new chapter in your life. ENJOY!!

I wish I was still hung over from the holidays....after a bout with Covid I am finally feeling fair enough to get back to building (and to the forum). Progress on the trailer has been slow, since I am waiting for a shipment of steel to finish the frame work. More on that to come on my trailer build thread!

Todd, nice to hear you made it safely. Keep us updated on next steps and forward progress.

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays!

Well Todd, you finally made it. Florida is nothing like Texas. I prefer Florida myself.

We go to Pensacola now and then to watch the Blue Angels fly and visit the Naval Air Museum there.

Now you can get your new location set up for starting out on that F5 build!

...and how many miles from Florida to Truman MN???? (you might just set the distance record for the bunch)

ksatter26 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 7:09 am Glad the move went well. Settle in. You bailed on North Texas just before winter strikes. I'll be climate checking the new propane shop heaters soon enough.

Thank you Kurt. We actually hit just a few days of the cold, but got everything loaded. The cool weather turned out to be perfect on the vehicles. Pulling a 32' travel trailer has a tendency to make my truck run pretty warm under normal summer heat. I was able to click along without any issues. The surprise is that just a day after we arrived here in Florida, it got cold. Mornings are in the low 40's, and we're only reaching mid 50's by late afternoon. I did have my forced air propane heater available if needed!

Mountain Cat wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 8:03 am Also glad it went well. Now for starting a new chapter in your life. ENJOY!!

Thank you sir. That's the plan. I'm going to contact Holladay Aviation this week or early next. First step - get the ultralight training in their Breese before they sell it! Later on I'll get instruction in their Cub for some tail wheel experience. What I'm finding is there's simply not enough hours in the day to get all I need to get done. Finding new medical doctors, getting insurance going for Florida from Texas, just getting things unpacked and those things not needed repacked into plastic tubs from cardboard boxes...etc. Lots of things to keep me busy.

LA F2 Flyer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 9:43 am I wish I was still hung over from the holidays....after a bout with Covid I am finally feeling fair enough to get back to building (and to the forum). Progress on the trailer has been slow, since I am waiting for a shipment of steel to finish the frame work. More on that to come on my trailer build thread!

Todd, nice to hear you made it safely. Keep us updated on next steps and forward progress.

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays!

I hear ya. Especially with Covid = no fun at all. Covid, seems to be the new annual flu! Looking forward to the continued trailer build project.

Bruce_L wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 9:33 pm Well Todd, you finally made it. Florida is nothing like Texas. I prefer Florida myself.

We go to Pensacola now and then to watch the Blue Angels fly and visit the Naval Air Museum there.

Now you can get your new location set up for starting out on that F5 build!

...and how many miles from Florida to Truman MN???? (you might just set the distance record for the bunch)

I'm getting use to the driving here in Florida. It's a bit different from Texas, for sure. I do admit that coming over some bridges and seeing the ocean and other waterways was really cool. I've never been much of an ocean person, but just like when I moved to Las Vegas (stationed at Nellis AFB), it took a few months to appreciate the beauty of the desert. I'm sure the ocean will take on its own beauty in time as well. I already have plans to visit several of the air museums as well as NASA facilities. And it's 1463 miles from where I'm at to Chris's place. I need to find a place to build the kit once I get it. I thought that my brother-in-law's shop would be big enough. However, he decided to start rebuilding his mid-60's Mustang, so it's occupying most of the space. I'm sure I can find someplace, maybe have a place of my own by the time I get the kit. Looking forward to getting it started. Everyone in a build or part of a build project here are making me jealous.

I love that you have the distance to Chris's place worked out to the mile. haha

If you get Chris to get your plane 100% flight ready and pay for him to add a really mega-huge fuel tank, you can fly home non-stop in 24.8 hours at 60 mph.

All of that titanium should offset the extra 150 gallons of fuel of course.

Plus your engine would now be completely broken in as a bonus.

Don't forget your mittens!

Maybe tow the fuel behind the Badland in a small glider, so you don't break 103 rules!

When you do that 1400 mile X-country, pack plenty of those little pine tree air fresheners and plenty of Depends! Here today, 25 mph gusting to 50 mph. Rule of thumb is, wind over 1/2 your stall speed, park it! And hopefully it one piece.

Park it with winds over half stall speed ... good rule.

It's normally crazy-windy here in North Texas. Ultralight flyers go for early mornings or evenings when the winds sometimes taper.

I was taxi-testing my newly completed MiniMAX 1103R early one afternoon. Getting it out of the hangar, shared with 12 other A/C, I did my taxi out to the ramp and was making the decision to put her back in the hangar, when the unofficial airport manager (on his golf-cart) motioned me over. I pulled off onto the verge adjacent to a large hedge, shut it down and got out to walk over to him. I got maybe 3 steps when a gust under the lower-than-low port wing flipped it over. Nobody hurt ... I was out of the A/C. The hedge saved a good deal of the structure but I had to rebuild the starboard flaperon and vertical stabilizer tip.

Mr. Unofficial Airport Manager just wanted to tell me that the forecast was for lighter winds later that afternoon.

LA F2 Flyer wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 9:46 am I love that you have the distance to Chris's place worked out to the mile. haha

It would be a bit shorter if I flew, but then I wouldn't need to. I'd already have my plane!

Bruce_L wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 6:17 pm If you get Chris to get your plane 100% flight ready and pay for him to add a really mega-huge fuel tank, you can fly home non-stop in 24.8 hours at 60 mph.

All of that titanium should offset the extra 150 gallons of fuel of course.

Plus your engine would now be completely broken in as a bonus.

Don't forget your mittens!

Heat is on my wish list, but way down and only if weight allows. I know our planes are designed for low and slow, but sometimes just getting up a few thousand feet, it gets really cold really fast!

LA F2 Flyer wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 6:27 pm Maybe tow the fuel behind the Badland in a small glider, so you don't break 103 rules!

Now would that be legal? The rules do say no more than 5 gallons on board, but they don't say which plane!

Mountain Cat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 2:24 pm When you do that 1400 mile X-country, pack plenty of those little pine tree air fresheners and plenty of Depends! Here today, 25 mph gusting to 50 mph. Rule of thumb is, wind over 1/2 your stall speed, park it! And hopefully it one piece.

Yep, the plan is to have a ground crew with me and there is no time limit. I love trains as well and have worked on many as a volunteer. The railroad saying is "Safety First", and I apply it as well to flying. And as my former CFI told me, planes love to fly, dumb pilots make them crash!

Badland-F5 Pilot wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 3:45 pm

LA F2 Flyer wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 6:27 pm Maybe tow the fuel behind the Badland in a small glider, so you don't break 103 rules!

Now would that be legal? The rules do say no more than 5 gallons on board, but they don't say which plane!

Well, it's not "on board"! haha

LA F2 Flyer wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 6:15 pm

Badland-F5 Pilot wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 3:45 pm

LA F2 Flyer wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 6:27 pm Maybe tow the fuel behind the Badland in a small glider, so you don't break 103 rules!

Now would that be legal? The rules do say no more than 5 gallons on board, but they don't say which plane!

Well, it's not "on board"! haha

I really wish they would bump us to 8 gallons, but it is what it is.

There would be some who would want 10 gallons, or more. Soon we would be flying a gas tanker with a seat and an engine. Maybe a KC-135 tanker that's PT 103.

Mountain Cat wrote: ↑Sat Jan 13, 2024 4:42 pm There would be some who would want 10 gallons, or more. Soon we would be flying a gas tanker with a seat and an engine. Maybe a KC-135 tanker that's PT 103.

I'm very familiar. My dad was MSgt. Bill J. Crenshaw. Boom operator for the SR-71's stationed at Beale AFB where I was born. A fairly ordinary looking aircraft with the exception of the boom, but an amazing aircraft once inside. The technology for the time of its creation was outstanding. So Chris needs to design and build the Badland F(T) for tanker version!

My uncle was also boom operator. All over the world. I still have his A-2 jacket with all the patches. After 32 yrs he retired.

I got to fly back during my TDY in Germany on a KC-10. What a difference that plane is compared to the 135. Laying on your stomach looking through two little windows where the KC-10 was a proper sitting position and a monster window out the back. It almost looked like we could step out when the boom operator opened the doors on the rear window. We had F-16's with us flying back, and the command allowed us to rotate down and watch the boom operator (and pilots) do their thing. God Bless them for doing a highly dangerous job at a rough time in the world between Russia and the USA.