Sunday, July 3, 2011

By the river

We have registered the Ultracruisers now and are flying off our 40hrs. I finished the first polish pass on mine and we hope to have Rick's done soon as it is such an embarassment to fly with an unpolished UC :)
I am also designing and soon to be testing a secondary Magnetron-based ignition system.






5 comments:

  1. Why did you guys register with an "N" number instead of an ultralight "E" number? Are you guys over the weight limit for FAR part 103?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They were 275lbs. Not aware of an 'E' number or if it would have any regulatory significance.

      Delete
    2. EAA has a registration program, as well as the USUA:

      https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-communities-and-interests/ultralights-and-ultralight-aircraft/getting-started-in-ultralight-flying/ultralight-registration/ultralight-vehicle-registration

      and

      https://www.usua.org/PDF/VehicleApplication2016.pdf

      275 lbs definitely doesn't cut it :(
      How did your planes get over weight?
      One of our EAA chapter members is building the UC and I truly hope his doesn't go over 254 lbs, that must have been heartbreaking when you weighed the planes. Do you both fly under Light Sport now? Was it expensive renting a 2-seater for instruction before you could get into your UC's? Were you able to solo in the UC while still a student?

      I love your build blog by the way, thank you for taking the time to post all the pictures, it's been helpful to our EAA member, as he's currently struggling with the wing trimming at the moment.

      Delete
    3. Starting at 275 and removing the canopy (4 lbs), brakes(2 lbs) and spinner (2 lbs), as suggested to make an ultralight, would get us to 267. We built to plans. A little disappointing and I could only think the sheet aluminum we bought was all on the high end of thickness tolerances - IDK. I already had a PPC. Thanks for the kind words about the blog. Which EAA? Have you checked out the Yahoo UltraCruiser Group?

      Delete
    4. EAA chapter 275 in Lompoc California. Our member is scratch building his UC as well. I haven't checked out the group yet. I've been wanting to help him out on Saturdays, he's retired so the build is a little slow going as a fun project for him, he said he's about 5 years in and about 2 more to go.

      Delete