/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.217004]

Hello /diy/,

I'm seriously considering spending a major amount of my time in the summer, building a very primitive, simple and lightweight aircraft.

I live in Belgium, and I have yet to start my research in the legality of this project.

Do any of you have any type of expertise and/or advice in this area?

Thanks.

[Anonymous No.217010]

Very nice. I plan on making a rocket. I wont research legality, because I am above the law (get it) plus I don't plan on coming back. I hope my corpse stays up there for centuries.

[Anonymous No.217014]

Get a kit. Someone has done the engineering for you, the flight characteristics are known, and the seller should be able to point you in the right direction for any permits.

[Anonymous No.217024]

>>217004
This thing looks interesting, though its probably not what you would expect- (Woopyfly ultralight)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6CvycZux0E
they say that the inflated wing structure weighs only 35 lbs, and you'd never get a conventional spar & rib wing that light without spending MAJOR dollars for carbon composites. The engine (and the wing itself) looks pretty small even for an ultralight,,,, another benefit of having such a low overall weight.

I wondered about doing this sort of thing (an inflatable wing) when I saw a neighbortalented /diy/erwith a inflatable kite made kinda the same way. It didn't last very long (it was made of the silver Mylar shit) but it would fly on days when there seemed to be almost no wind at all. PLUS,,,,,,, if you were rich you could inflate with helium, for extra lift...
if you wanted conventional (solid) construction, then the flying-wing types are said to be the ones that are among the easiest to get airborne (lots of lift and not much power needed)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AmeriPlanes_Mitchell_Wing_A-10
but they lack the maneuverability that something like a Quicksilver Sport would have-
http://www.quicksilveraircraft.com/sport2.htm

[Anonymous No.217035]

>>217014
>Get a kit. Someone has done the engineering for you, the flight characteristics are known, and the seller should be able to point you in the right direction for any permits.
I can understand the sentiment, if all you want to do is FLY SOMETHING. A lot of people who have tried building aircraft never got them off the ground at all, and a lot of others that did get them to fly have gotten critically hurt or killed within 20 or 30 feet of the ground.

For some people tho building it is half the fun. Today you can get stronger materials than ever, plus there is more methods now to help,,,, we have drafting software, and you can build RC models to get an idea of actual handling characteristics, if you are really wanting to pour serious money into the full-size project.

Pic unrelated: my other post was auto-edited.... uhhh... apparently the word "k*i*d" is banned? welp okay

[Anonymous No.217038]

>>217035<br /talented /diy/er? or killed ?

[Anonymous No.217040]

woah, it really does censor that. Why? that's dumb.
What if I wanted to know about how to raise my children DIY style?

[Anonymous No.217066]

>>217035

If building it is half the fun and flying half then get a kit-built and do some mods to it, especially if this is your first plane. If Engineering is 90% of the fun for you then hit that CAD software and build some prototypes.

If you are starting from "I know nothing about planes" then take flight lessons before anything -make sure you like it.

[Anonymous No.217085]

Have a look at the Cri-Cri. It's a French ultalight that is fully aerobatic and basically runs on 2 chainsaw motors.
http://www.cricri.zoomshare.com/

[Radiofag No.217092]

>>217040
Some asshat was being an asshat.

>>217004
http://airpigz.com/blog/2009/3/1/back-to-the-future-80-dh2-replica-from-airdrome-aeroplanes.html

This is one of my favorite kits on the market. It is very easy to assemble as a beginning kit builder. Legally, it's an ultralight... however, it is 80% the size of the real Airco-DeHavilland DH.2 The engine is a simple motorcycle v-twin.

[Anonymous No.217101]

>>217092
Okay, that is neat.

[Radiofag No.217111]

>>217101
The funny thing...it all spawned from a request from an aviation themed bar owner. He wanted one to hang from the ceiling. Well, Airdrome Aeroplanes doesn't build non-flying airplanes!

They offer their kits as a "parts package" too. You don't have to plunk out $5500 for the full kit. Own an apartment, but expect to own a house soon? Not sure if kit building is for you?

You can buy JUST the plans & the rudder assembly for $195. That'll get you started. If you're comfortable with building the rudder, you'll be comfortable with building the whole aircraft.

[not_me No.217139]

The most challenging part will be the naysayers, but don't let that stop you. Look where ignoring the naysayers got Burt Rutan!

>Clear skies and tailwinds!