Free Airplane!

[thayne]

Sweet! look at the email I just got! With any luck I'll have an airplane by this weekend! I called right away and left the guy a message, so hopefully it's first come first serve

Members,

Looking for a project? Dan "Splat" York is making his damaged Kolb Firestar fuselage, wings, and empennage available to anyone for free. Give him a call.

JJ

[tekkieman]

Just don't offer any rides if you happen to get it rebuilt! :P

[thayne]

Just don't offer any rides if you happen to get it rebuilt! :P

This one is too small, it's a single seat ultralight. My plan will be to rebuild it from the ground up, fly it for a while, then sell it and use the money to get a 2 seater Light Sport plane

Wish me luck!

[thayne]

here is a pic of what they look like:

[tekkieman]

here is a pic of what they look like:

Looks nice! Let's see the pic of the one the guys giving away!

[thayne]

Yeah I know... Wonder if he got his nick name, "Splat", in it???

The cool think is it's made entirly out of fabric covered aluminum tube. So all I really have to do is replace any broken or bent tubing, recover it, paint it put an engine and intruments in and I'm good to go!

[Doramius]

I'd be safer in a paper airplane.

[thayne]

I dont think it's gonna happen, the guy never called me back

[Doramius]

It's probably for the best. If man were meant to fly, god wouldn't have allowed LSD to have been created.

[thayne]

Someone else beat me to it. That's okay it probably would have cost as much to repair as just buying one ready to fly...

[Doramius]

But half the fun is making a project out of it. Why do you think guys still buy old car bodies and try and put them together in their own way?

[thayne]

That's true, but I don't seriously know if I have the patience for it. We're talking several hundred (at least) or thousands of hours of work here....

[Doramius]

If you get frustrated and damage it, let out all your agression on it and sell it as an art piece. You could make thousands.

[DVD_Ripper]

here is a pic of what they look like:

What kind of horsepower is required to move that around in the sky -- 70, 80 horses?

[Doramius]

If it's light enough, you probably could just use a battery powered fan and use it primarily as a glider.

[butler1]

here is a pic of what they look like:

What kind of horsepower is required to move that around in the sky -- 70, 80 horses?

I think I read somewhere that 1 hp would be enough to keep a glider up.

[thayne]

No, it's not a glider. 25 -35 hp is about what it needs. That gives you a cruise speed of about 65 MPH. 80 hp would be way too much for this airframe and the engine would be too heavy.

[DVD_Ripper]

No, it's not a glider. 25 -35 hp is about what it needs. That gives you a cruise speed of about 65 MPH. 80 hp would be way too much for this airframe and the engine would be too heavy.

Sweet... did the dude call you back.... wonder if it is repairable? Do you have a good sized garage or work shop... or is this something you have to rent some 'hanger' space at a community airport .

[thayne]

Yeah someone beat me to it I couldn't get a trailer lined up quick enough.

I was going to rebuild it in my garage, I have a big garage! And just take to a small airport down the road on a trailer when ever I wanted to fly it. The airport is only 2 miles from my house.

[Doramius]

You could get 35-40hp out of some small riding lawn mowers. You don't need much instrumentation on a plane like that. Unless you're planning long trips or extensive flights. With that, I'd just fly around town for fun. You could probably call local airspace and pilot it out of a corn field.

[thayne]

The largest lawn mower type engine I have seen is 20 HP briggs and straton, which doesn't quite cut it. You need power on take off, it might be enough to sustain flight, but it would be herd to get off the ground....

There's an airplane motor made in italy called a Victor 1, that's the motor I want! I think it's based off of a ducati motorcycle engine. Problem is they are a pain in the ass to get in the US, they have to be imported from canada.
http://www.ultralightnews.com/simonini/victor1.htm

I think I would end up going for a 37 HP 1/2 VW engine. They aren't cheap ($3000), but performance and reliability is good. They also get much better fuel economy compared to standard 2-stroke ultralight engines.

[DVD_Ripper]

I think I would end up going for a 37 HP 1/2 VW engine. They aren't cheap ($3000), but performance and reliability is good. They also get much better fuel economy compared to standard 2-stroke ultralight engines.

Reliability would be numero uno on my list of priorities....

[Doramius]

Are you talking about push mowers or rider mowers. I know some rider mowers that are around 60-80hp used for clearing light wooded areas. Aren't there Jet ski motors that carry that hp on a 2 stroke level? I also don't think a motor itself would cost $3k. I'm sure you could find a reliable new one for half that.

[thayne]

Are you talking about push mowers or rider mowers. I know some rider mowers that are around 60-80hp used for clearing light wooded areas. Aren't there Jet ski motors that carry that hp on a 2 stroke level? I also don't think a motor itself would cost $3k. I'm sure you could find a reliable new one for half that.

Rotax motors, which are used in jet skis, are the most common used, but they arent cheap. They range from $2500 for a low end to $15,000 for a 115 hp model.....

Here is some interesting cost info:
http://www.ultralightnews.com/rotaxinfo/912vs582.html

[Capmaster]

You could probably go to the junkyard and get a motorcycle engine from a wreck for real cheap. Light, and lots of HP

[thayne]

You could probably go to the junkyard and get a motorcycle engine from a wreck for real cheap. Light, and lots of HP

Wont work. MC engines have transmissions built into them, which won't work on an airplane.

[Doramius]

That's what I was thinking. I know a place nearby myself where I can find good condition motors from wrecked jetski's. A lot of them get dumped away because of just major damage to hull and/or jet pump assembly. That is expensive repair in itself. The engine can be bought for $100 or $200 at some places. Some people get the engines for building desert runners (big wheeled go-karts).

[thayne]

That's what I was thinking. I know a place nearby myself where I can find good condition motors from wrecked jetski's. A lot of them get dumped away because of just major damage to hull and/or jet pump assembly. That is expensive repair in itself. The engine can be bought for $100 or $200 at some places. Some people get the engines for building desert runners (big wheeled go-karts).

I think the problem with jetskis is you would have to spend more modifying it than it would cost to buy one already set up for airplane use. You can't just bolt it on, the cooling has to be refitted becuase jetskis cool with lake water, you also have to mount a drive reduction unit to make the prop spin at the right speed compared to engine rpms...

I'm no rocket scientist, but I think if it were feasable, a lot of people would be doing it....

[Doramius]

what do you think I'm trying to build in my garage right now? The robotic females don't count because they're Flan's and the cars are just getting a tune up that's taking a little longer than expected. Other than that it's a genuine bonafide nut and bolt to a real airplane I might build someday when I get a motor and frame to use it on. Right now all I do is spin the bolt in the nut to turn my wife on.

[thayne]

I may have found my first airplane! Only $3500 and in flying condition! Not much to look at, but it flies and I can get my solo time and some practice flying before moving up! This one only cruises at 50MPH

It's called a Cobra Ultralight. Here's a link with a pic of one:
http://www.ultralightnews.ca/sails/cobra.htm