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Lowrider LSA

Well...I'm a failure...had my septic line inspection today and I failed. 140 feet of 4" PVC, 3 cleanouts, two at the house and one at the shop and a 24 hour leak test all went fine except for one (yes ONE) fitting at the septic tank and he failed me. I used a tee instead of a sweep and he failed me. Apparently. poop can't make a hard left turn into the septic tank...who knew. Following some discussion with the inspector, he convinced me that I would have problems with effluent build-up at the tee so I relented and agreed to buy a 90 degree sweep to replace the tee and off he went to formally tell the world that I failed.

I could dwell on the outcome but since I've built one and a half more airplanes than I have designed and installed a septic line system and the inspector has never built any airplanes I figured I was still ahead of the game...at least in my little brain.
 
I have maintained a few apartments for the last 25 years. Any furture septic drains I build wil have 22.5 maximum bends. Even 45 degree bends become a problem some days.

Glenn
 
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They always find one thing. He's right though, sweep good, san tee/short radius 90 bad. Digging that up when full-o-potty in the middle of winter and installing a Fernco or slip coupling to get a sweep fought in place to make stuff go South again isn't much fun. Don't ask me how I know this, I've never failed, no, not ever...
 
Yes sir...22's are better for sure. I now have a 45 sweep which is what I was told by the inspector would work fine. Tee's apparently are OK for vertical runs but not in the flat. Hopefully cleanouts will allow running a snake and take care of any clog...with no Winter digging needed.

Finished the gable OSB and siding today. Trim and Z strips left to be done but I can get thru the winter if I must since everything is water/snow tight.

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It's actually not funny, nor was I surprised at the inspector's reaction when I made the change to the fitting as he requested. Then he gave me a green sticker, smiled and said have a nice day. Guess I'll get better guidance for the house plumbing rough-in and watch more internet videos so I get it right the first time. I think I've learned so far that it's best to put in more vents than necessary just to be sure.

I back filled my septic tank and cut off the rough in pipe for the toilet in my shop and set the toilet flange...if I just had water to flush with...maybe a 5 gal bucket per day oughta get a couple flushes.
 
I know...you folks are getting tired of hearing about my shop and hanger but we finished the last panel for the hanger door today, passed the water line inspection yesterday and that line is mostly back filled. We've put in the ground rods for the electric inspection on Monday and as I was just flipping thru some channels on the boob tube I found something called the World Series...who knew they were into the 4 game...tied 4 to 4 in the 8th...maybe I'm spending too much time on the tractor.

Water meter scheduled for next weekend and propane tank due on the 7th of next month just in time for the end of Daylight Savings time so I can probably charge the hydronics in the shop with anti-freeze and water and get some heat in that cold bitch. That will also give me an excuse to assemble the 9k lb car lift that goes into the shop so I can get to my trucks and tractor to do some much need maint. standing under them and not laying on my back...getting harder to get up from down there.
 
If you haven't gotten your copy of that beautiful Supercub.org paper date keeper with all the pretty pictures you should do it before they are all gone. They are beautiful shots of a variety of different locations and members and a worthwhile addition to any hanger or shop wall!!

I've been more than busy 7 days a week catching up on things I put aside in the shop and hanger. Water is running, toilet is flushing, shower is showering, sink is...working and it is sooo nice to not need to go to the outhouse in the cold and rain. Hydronics is running with a steady 55F thanks to the 3" high density foam insulation we put in on the 40' door between the hanger and shop. Just yesterday got the 16' x 12' roll up front door installed and insulated with the same foam which is suppose to provide R 21 and we took the time to fill every nook and cranny in the door. The home built door it replaced was meant to be temporary and had way too many leaks and it's wonderful how the new commercial door stops air infiltration allowing the heat to run less and everything stay warmer.

We got the 9K pound car lift installed and following a major hyd leak caused by a cross threaded fitting (I didn't do it) #2 son has his 1974 Chevy Blazer project up in the air and his new plasma cutter is whacking off chunks of rusted body. He's building a "rock crawler" with HMVEE tires, 1 ton truck axles, 6" lift and maybe a diesel engine. I had a new 1970 Blazer when I was stationed in AZ and the '74 brings back lots of memories of desert crawling and pulling my horse trailer up on the Rim.

Lowrider LSA fuselage, wings and just about all it's parts are now moved down to the new shop and stashed in safe places ready to begin construction as soon as the house is completed. Long wing Challenger is still sitting with the Rotax 503 and waiting for another and I hope better 4 stroke engine to push it around the sky. My 170 is still parked and waiting on some work too...if I just didn't need to sleep and eat!!

This Winter I'm building the walls (unlike Trump) for the house in the shop and will set them on the foundation with the tractor as soon as things thaw and weather improves. House trusses are scheduled for April 19 and I have a crew to put the roof on and we should be pretty dry by the time weather warms to shorts and tee shirt weather. With any luck I'll come up with sheet rock help and folks for the other pesky tasks needed to finish the house out. Great fun so far!!

That brings me to today and my wish for all of you to have a Merry Christmas and healthy and prosperous New Year!!
 
4 of 10 exterior walls (68') complete and pre-wired for receps. I found out it's not a good idea to make walls more than 12' long...made one 20' and that extra 8' made it a bitch to move from the shop to the hanger. The balance point is also lot's harder to figure out when it's that long and has window and door frames to further complicate things. Another 16' then I'm into the garage walls with two 9' wide roll up doors. Bottom line...it's progress anyway.

It's not commonly known that we lost custody of our Lab doggie to #2 son...the two bonded and what's a Dad supposed to do. We've shared the Lab for a couple years now and frankly it's time to get another dog for my wife and I. I spotted a perfectly fine 4 month old housebroke German Short Hair Pointer in Wrangle and I was pretty sure that was the perfect shop dog for me. Yeah it was going to cost a few bucks to have it flown to Spokane but then perfect shop dogs don't come along everyday. My wife saw a picture and declared that it was the ugliest dog she had ever seen. Well, that didn't have any effect on it's merit as a shop dog...at least to me. Following some long distance discussion (she's back East going to a wedding) with my wife, I set out looking for a new shop dog...finally came upon a Golden Doodle (Golden retriever crossed with a black full size Poodle) 4 months old and not house broken. We arrived at a price and we began the process of qualifying for the purchase...needed 3 pet related references saying we were good pet parents and outlining our qualifications to properly attend to the pup and after completion of the interviews by the breeders we were approved. I gotta say this was only a bit short of the process to get a TOP SECRET security clearance. I picked up the little girl on Monday and she has been quite at home in the shop. My wife doesn't know yet that she wiggled under a greasy 12 bolt Chevy axle and has a black grease streak from the top of her head to her tail...planning on that being a surprised for her when she returns next weekend. Actually, she's a pretty cute little pup and appears to be smarter than our Lab and maybe #2 son.
 
As we get closer to Spring I've finished ALL exterior walls and have them safely standing up inside the hanger. Now on to the layout of the plumbing rough-in.

After almost 2 months of puppy training she is house broken, obeys 6 out of 10 commands, comes most times when she is called and responds positively to any food that hits the floor. Absolutely no sign of any loose hairs on the floor...no chewing on furniture, shoes or anything else...gotta believe is a good omen. She is up to 40 lbs at 5 months and the Vet lady thinks she may make it to 70 lbs in a year. We have upwards to 5' of snow on the ground and little puppy loves to bust out of the doggie door and play in the snow...best I can do with proof:

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Yes Sir...you're right Sky...wonder if that's a spelling error...one silly little "r" can make a difference. I had a professor that didn't care about spelling as long as you get the point across...it clearly matters here!
 
Low, I suspect that is the correct spelling as it mentions Boeing as being the only other entity which had them approved. AND it was the bad ones which Boeing was using. It's easy to get them wrong as people don't pronounce words the same as the next person. These two different battery compounds always seem to be pronounced the same, even by being abbreviated to "Lithium". I made up a little phrase to remember it by. "Strong like Iron".
 
Happy St Patrick's Day!!
Tip a brew or two after wheels down for the day!!

Spring like weather is here in North Idaho and the weather guessers say we're loosing an inch of snow per day so we're moving in the right direction!! Shorts weather can't be far behind.
 
Back to aeroplanes...warmer weather is getting some planes in the air and pilots out of the house. Some off and on rain is holding up putting my walls up and I bumped the truss delivery a couple weeks due to road weight restriction...pretty much like AK but hopefully will open up sooner.

I had another discussion with a couple AI's, one of which used to build VW race engines back in the day...he's a fan of Vdubs in the planes and he's making me think about putting one in my little Challenger Long Wing in place of the 2 stroke 503 again. Last time I brought this up we (those who responded) were pretty much in favor of Lyc or Cont. in place of the Rotax. Guess I'm still looking for pro's and con's to get 60+ hp on the little airplane. Weight and CG are not really an issue for the Challenger since I almost always fly solo anyway and the long wing has a pretty healthy gross weight/useful load.

Any thoughts??
 
Well, the lack of response certainly prevents dispute.

One of the contentions raised during the VW discussion was that a "designed for airplane" air cooled engine that had it's roots in an opposed German car engine using modern design, technique and materials should be just as reliable as any Lyc or Cont., both of which have had design improvements and upgrades over the years. I stand by that thought since my Harley's engine doesn't in the least resemble a 1903 or early motorcycle engine but it is still a 2 holer "V" and air cooled...argument seems to hold water.

New airplane engines designed in the last few years resemble car engine evolution and not following old style airplane movers. Maybe that makes sense to follow auto technology that improves on an almost daily basis.
 
Well, I was thinking of building a Heath Parasol until it became apparent that it would be difficult to get a Henderson motorcycle engine in a good airworthy condition. :evil:
 
https://www.ebay.com/i/153437170755?chn=ps and a good machinist can solve that problem for you. I'd like to follow that build!!
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A Detroit Henderson cutoff motor. WE WILL FIX IT!
 
Sorry I've been AWOL but the house is coming along...roof is on and I'm half way thru the siding. Electrical rough-in is mostly done and just about finished interior framing and trying to get inspections behind me so we can get insulation and sheet rock underway.

Haven't lost interest in the LSA and with any luck I'll be back on it when the snow flies. Keep the faith!
 
The curse of being handy. I know guys who aren't handy, hire everything done but seem to have all the time in the world. They always say, "I wish I could do that." My response, "You can, but be careful what you wish for." You'll get what you think is important to you done. It might not be in the time frame or order you were hoping for, but does it really matter? As long as you have a to do list and enjoy working on the list more or less.
 
You're right Jim...sometimes it is a curse. My son and I are doing 90% of the work and it's great having his help and he's learning new skills and he grumbles a bit but still likes to be working with me...that makes it all worthwhile. I grew up working with my Dad building houses in the 50's/60's in Central Florida and the feeling of accomplishment is still there...I just can't work as fast or hard as I did back then. With the help of our state plumbing inspector we both learned enough to get thru that...NOT that I want to become a plumber...one day at a time and things get done.
 
Getting propane hook up in the morning and will have hydronic heat and hot water by the end of the day. We're making good progress but still won't be complete until the first of the year. Just getting started on the cedar ceiling in the "great room" and still have about 900 SF of Pergo XP flooring to get down...old back, knees and other parts are not exactly happy about it but we'll be doin it anyway. Back sidewalks and patio concrete get a run of hydronic tubes to keep the snow melted but still have the 6' snowblower ready to hookup on the little orange tractor front end loader and blow the stuff away from the house. Heat in the shop feels good but the hanger isn't insulated yet and probably won't be for awhile. 4 kayaks, 2 canoes and 13' Alaska Kaboat are pushed into the corners and will be hung up from the trusses before too long. Harley and dirt bikes were sorely neglected this summer as were the boats...no hunting this Fall but I did get good look at a full grown cougar a couple miles from the house...a neighbor shot a very nice one about 3 years ago while he (the cougar) was breaking into the chicken house. My wife got a Golden Doodle for last Christmas and it sure isn't a hunting doggie so maybe I need a new German Short Hair pup from Santa.

Wishing everyone a great and pretty Fall, good health, blue skies and calm winds...I remain...Lowrider... with at least one plane to finish.
 
Don't get excited yet, but my house is almost done, less the variety of concrete around the outside of the house which will wait for Spring thaw. The plan is to get the shop and hanger squared away as soon as possible (they are FULL of stuff which my wife refers to as "crap" but in reality is very valuable items), take a few Spring motorcycle trips (Harley or Goldwing) since I have only had one long trip in the last 3 years. I need to get the uncovered wing in the jig, rob a bank to get money to buy alum skin (building house is expensive) and dust off the other parts of the Lowrider LSA with the intent of finishing it in this lifetime. Other distractions include fishing, a canoe trip or two, another camping trip to Moab and general area, riding the Road to the Sun in Glacier NP and eating that wonderful Montana beef while in the area...Whitefish has a great steak house or did last time I was there.

Plans are focused and I plan to execute in some orderly fashion...more to follow.

Stay warm...Spring is coming!
 
Got the backhoe on the tractor today and ready to dig some footers for the back patio and front walk. Still planning to put hydronic PEX tubes on top of the 4" foam under the patio to melt snow/ice in the winter. #1 son is pressing hard for me to use solar to heat the slab but I'm borderline sure we don't get enough sunlight here in the winter to provide the heat necessary to heat the 4" slab and melt snow. Besides, my wife doesn't want to look at ugly collectors while sitting on the patio. I'd love to use sun power instead of propane to heat the slab...not convinced it will work. Or, gerbils on a treadmill but then you must feed the little critters and there is probably a gerbil workers union that wants their cut too.

Life is great but complex at times.
 
I've been using solar thermal panels for rad heat for 35 years, but not for preventing snow build up on an outdoor slab. You are correct, that is a poor application for them. For that you really need a trick controller that will anticipate the temp drop and preemptively, or nearly so, warm the slab enough to PREVENT any build up to start with. Eliminating it after the fact takes a whole lot more BTU's. I have 6 on my shop/hangar, and 3 on my home, so am quite familiar with what they can do.

I've never had enough spare cash to consider a auto slab melt system, I also don't try and heat my house with the doors and window open. A similar concept, it takes a LOT of BTU's (from any source), and the only times I've seen it used to any practical advantage was on VERY high end projects, the Sun Valley ski area lodge for instance.

When I wanted a power source for my crane shed's rad floor system, rather then go with thermal hot water solar panels, I installed a 2 KW PV system. Thanks to my utilities grid tie arrangement, I am able to keep the slab (in a well insulated building, not outside) at 50 degrees all winter, using a small electric boiler, using the KWH credits I build up spring, summer, and fall. I just shut the system down last week, having used all my credits, but not having to pay for even 1 KWH, now my balance will start building again. A very simple system, as compared to thermal plumbing, takes up less space also.
 
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Hey Courier!!
GLad to hear you're doing well!!

I'm guessing you folks down south get a bit more sun in the Fall and Spring than we do up here. Two other issues, both involving trees...the ones that shade the house/patio and my neighbor's trees across the taxiway that shade my hanger and some of the shop in the Winter when the sun heads South and drops down low. Summer time I get plenty of direct sun when I don't need to melt snow or heat anything. I told my neighbor that when he comes back from Arizona in the spring he may find his trees laying and not standing...he was not receptive of that idea. I took down 85 trees to clear for the house, shop and hanger and I don't want to cut anymore. I have considered using electric solar panel for my shop heat and I could sell to the coop in the summer but I couldn't get a break even point to make it worthwhile.

STILL thinking about solar and thanks a lot for the explanation on your heat/power from the sun!! If you get up this way, by all means stop in.
 
Just watched Bill Rush's AK videos. If you haven't seen them they are worth an hour out of your day. Just walked out to the hanger to make sure I put float fittings on my fuselage and I did. Makes me want to start building floats but I suppose I need to finish the airplane first.

I got started on a brief re-carb job on my DRZ-400 and as usual it's turned out to be a much bigger project than I anticipated. Harley and Gold Wing are both available but not worthy of off road work in Moab.

Wife is not happy I'm not planning a vacation this summer or that if I do, it may be without her...must compromise. Still have hanger work to do and need to get busy on the LSA. Just not enough room or time...downsizing is a bitch and my wife has too much stuff!

Hope everyone is well and had a nice Easter under the circumstances.
 
Lowrider, if you don't quit working on all that domestic stuff, you'll never finish your plane! That stuff can wait.
 
Don,

You're so right and I keep telling my wife that and seem to get further behind as a result.

She asked me to get the 18" diameter fir stump out of the front yard (or what will be) so I jumped on the chore first thing this morning. Had the backhoe on the tractor and it seemed to be 1 hour job and everything went well until I got on the 3rd side of the stump when I grabbed a root about 4" in diameter, started to curl the bucket,heard a grinding noise and I lost all hydraulic power. Climbed off the backhoe and looked at the PTO hydraulic pump and saw a small crack on the side of the pump gear box that didn't used to be there and fair amount of grease was ooozing out of crack that was suppose to be inside the gear box. Pump appeared to be fine but the gear box was trash.

Don, this just reinforces your point...domestic chores suck and should be ignored in favor of airplane work. Now, I must fix the backhoe and still don't have the damn stump out of the ground...some days there is no justice. I can't lift the boom up out of the hole and can't remove it from the tractor to replace the gear box. Tomorrow may be a good day to go fishing since it's day 21 of a 3 week "stay home" thing that seemed like a good idea at the time and that would rule out domestic work.
 
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