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Lowrider LSA

I used it for about a year. I used it on my 10" ASUS tablet with internal GPS antennae, no cell tower coverage. It was cheap for around $50/yr. with updates. GPS is a wonderful thing to have. Two things... 1). I fly a spam can. External antennae probably would have made it work better in the 172. Lots of guys at my field use Naviator on a tablet in Champs, J5, Piper short wings, and Chiefs. They don't seem to have the issue with the loss of GPS reception that I sometimes had. I believe they all use just internal antennaes. I think you might have the same outages in your machine because of the Al wing without an external antennae. 2). The screen is really hard to see in bright sunlight. At night, no problems seeing and GPS didn't cut out as often. Naviator worked great, it was the hardware and the user that caused me to let my subscription lapse. I found when I used it flying VFR, I was looking at the screen and fiddling with the gadgetry more than looking out of the airplane. It's quite unnerving if you are flying somewhere new, monkeying with the GPS, not paying close attention to landmarks, sectional chart, and the damn thing blips out. Take it for what it's worth though, my kids and wife lovingly call me their computer cripple. They are convinced the wheel is still new technology for me.

Jim
 
Great report Jim...and thank you very much!!!

I'm planning to use one of the LG G pads which is fairly new technology and supposed to capture GPS pretty well. Glad to hear the software was good and you were happy with it.

The "head outside" issue is pretty common with IFR rated pilots so I think the use of glass cockpits just contributes to the urge to watch the gauges and glass and not what's around us. I had students that worked very hard getting their instrument ticket and I'd do an BFR a few years later and they spent way too much time with their heads inside so you're not alone in that regard. I had a sheriff's deputy Sport Pilot student that was so into setting up the "glass" that he ran off the taxiway and got stuck in the mud on his way to the run-up pad...we all laughed about it but I put a picture of the plane on the bulletin board at the FBO with the caption "Get your head out of your....cockpit".

Think I'll order it today.
 
...The "head outside" issue is pretty common with IFR rated pilots so I think the use of glass cockpits just contributes to the urge to watch the gauges and glass and not what's around us. I had students that worked very hard getting their instrument ticket and I'd do an BFR a few years later and they spent way too much time with their heads inside so you're not alone in that regard.

I don't mean to digress from your post but, you bring up an important safety item of which all need to be aware. I have flown with hundreds of airline pilots in jets which are always on an IFR flight plan. During this time I have paid particular attention to where the "other pilot" was looking, particularly when below 10,000 feet. Hint: they were not looking out the window, even on a CAVU day. The point being, WATCH OUT FOR THE OTHER GUY. He most likely is NOT looking out for you! The more equipment that is in the cockpit, the less likely the pilot is looking out the window. A quick glance is NOT looking. When you hear the other guy acknowledging traffic to the controller, Don't you believe him for a second. He didn't even look for you. I have stories. But not for here. All I can say is, trust me. Watch your butt!
 
I agre with the last couple posts. Its one of the bigger reasons that I am opting for a simple, old school panel. Nothing but steam guages. Like a recent Sport Aviation article said: "Nothing to do but fly and look out the window". I may cheat a little on long cross country flights with a hand held GPS. Still not even sure about that one though. I was half way through my commercial license before I ever used one. Still managed to figure out where I was going.
 
One word of advice, when ordering any type of electronics, plan around it and order it only when you are ready for flight... else you might miss on the next great thing coming out, and/or the darn best price for your equipment. When I bought my Garming gear 496 at the time... I nearly paid $700 more for it if I would have bought it on the impulse of neat... I can play with it for a while... same hold true for my friend in reverse... bought his Dynon, then two years later he is ready to fly, but does not have a skyview in it which is at the same price point that he paid for his now discontinued Dynon... best to wait until you really need it IMHO. Same holds true for tool, computers and such... Tools I like to buy exclusively when I need them in my project and it gives me time to shop around. :)
 
Spain,

You're correct of course, but I have 2 other planes I can use it in before I get my LSA in the air. One of the reasons I want to get this system and play with it is to determine what is useful and what isn't. I'm with the keep a watchout for the other guy crowd (as Wronghand said) and I don't think I will use most of the features available in the newer technology anyway. The traffic warning technology is great aid for the big guys who go high and fast but I think the little guys need to be watching for traffic and other stuff that can hurt them!!

My wife bought a new I Phone 5S yesterday and I'm moving up to her 4 year old "smart phone" from my "only makes phone calls" dumb phone. It's not that complicated and I figured if I can build an airplane I can master the old technology smart phone, but, I suspect I'll use less than 10% of it's capability. My wife on the other hand is a "closet geek" so she'll use the new features. Gotta admit the new "sire" commands are pretty cool.
 
Forgot to mention that I'm pretty impressed with the Stewart's Ecopoxy primer in it's cured state. It's very tough and should provide a very good base for paint.
 
AMA aims to defeat driver's license medical
At a meeting this week in Chicago, American Medical Association delegates voted to oppose the Federal Aviation Administration's proposed driver's license medical rule change after testimony from a variety of experts. Only two experts supported the rule change. The group plans to direct lobbying efforts to Washington, D.C., to defeat the FAA's proposal.

In case you folks haven't heard about this, I would direct your attention to the medical thread on the site. Sounds to me they are concerned about a loss of bucks in their pockets if the 3rd class is done away with...a little self serving I believe.
 
Just a quick question...is there a need to use special bits to drill Lexan Polycarbinate? Also, what is the best way to cut it?
 
Most guys seem to like the unibits (step drills) to make holes without cracking the edges. Table saw and/or jig saw with a fine tooth blade for cutting?
 
I tried the table saw this morning with a 60 tooth carbide blade and ended up with a fairly rough edge on the lexan. The same blade cuts wood really well and smooth. I think it may be the tooth set on the blade that just doesn't do well on plastics. I tried some scrap plexiglass too and it was also pretty rough.

A 20 tooth metal cutting blade on my saber saw left what looked like burn marks on the edge of 0.040 Lexan. There is almost no kerf on that blade but it cuts smooth on 4130 and I think it is heating the Lexan regardless of blade speed.

I'm going to try my router with a 2 cutter bit in the AM and see how that work out.

Roger on the unibit...just wondered if there is a better way to drill.

Thanks Wrong!
 
I haven't used lexan. The following is how I treat plexi.

Table saw with a plywood blade set for just a little more than the thickness of the plexi. Or a band saw with about a 16 tpi blade. Too many teeth and it will clog, too few and it will chip the plexi. But, negative on a skill saw. It jumps around too much and heats and chips out the plexi on the down stroke. After using a regular drill turning backwards for years, it was suggested here to use a unibit for drilling. I'll never go back, they make a nice clean hole with little or no risk of chipping.

File and/or sand the edges to make them smooth, particularly if you will be putting a bending force on the materiel.
 
I've used a large pair of good tin snips for years when working lexan. The stuff is MUCH less temperamental then plexi, just don't get gas on it.!
 
Sky,

Tried the saber saw with a 14 tpi blade on some scrap plexi and it cut without a crack but left a ragged edge. It's gotta be the tooth set that makes the difference. Most of the blades I have in that tooth range are wood blades with a fairly large tooth off-set that kinda rips pieces of plexi as it moves along...slow cut or fast...same thing.

My band saw blade is a metal cutting blade that works well on aluminum and fairly well on plexiglass but I need to cut large pieces out of a 4x8 sheet so it won't work for this application.

Courier,

I've used snips on Lexan too and they work well but I have all four sides that are exposed so I need really straight cuts and my "snip cutting" hand is not that good at following a line...at least not as good as a saw and a straight edge to follow.

I have a Milwaukee laminate trimmer with a 1/4" carbide bit that I'm trying next...I'll let you know how it works.
 
On the skill saw and table saw try putting on the blade so it spins backwards. . If I remember correctly that is what we did at the plastic fab shop I worked at as a kid. The blade doesn't grab the plastic then.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
MM,

I think I've heard of that but never tried it....worth a go.

SKy,

Plywood blade set up as you mentioned and I got cracks every 3 or 4". The blade was not new, but still fairly sharp. I tried different feed speeds and it didn't seem to help with the plexiglass. The Lexan did cut fairly smooth with the plywood blade.

Now, I pulled out the laminate trimmer and it cut the Lexan like a dream...smooth sharp edge that was easily knocked down with 600 grit wet/dry paper...a keeper, but fairly hard to keep it cutting straight on the edge of a table. That 16K rpm makes a difference!!

On the plexiglass, the trimmer shattered the edge at one point after about 8" of pretty nice cut and I'm glad I had my safety glasses on. That was a BAD idea for sure. It happened when I was moving from one foot to another along the cut so I may have slightly tipped the trimmer and caused it to happen. I didn't try it again after getting showered by little bitty pieces of plexiglass.

I'll try the backward blade in the AM...thanks MM.
 
Many years ago I toured a couple of NASCAR shops in Charlotte,NC. They used a Beverly shear to cut the rounded shapes of the Lexan car windows. I think the windshield was .125 and the sides were .080. It looked like it worked real slick. You can buy the chinese version of the beverly from Harbor Freight aircraft supply.
 
Where I work we cut Lexan and plexi al the time. Just a 10" table saw 80 tooth carbite blade. Then sand the edges with orbital sander with 120 grit then 180 then 220 and brake the edges over
 
I'm beginning to think I have a brittle batch of plexiglass. I'm having no problems with the Lexan and I've successfully dealt with plexiglass before with no drama...I wonder?

Larry,

I've used the same saw and blade (60 tooth) before to cut plexiglass and maybe the extra 20 teeth will make a difference. I did learn to use the orbital sander and not my hand from your post...thanks...apparently I'm not smart enough to figure that out alone.

I've drilled the plexi with the pointy bits made to perform that function and they work fine, as do the unibits...cutting on the other hand is not working. I'm calling the supplier Monday AM to see what they have to contribute, but I'm sure it won't be their fault.
 
MM,

Tried the backwards turning blade and all it did was super heat the plexiglass but didn't actually cut it. Worth a try anyway.

I spent a couple hours this afternoon convincing a fellow flight instructor that he should allow me to continue to fly for another 2 years. Glad he didn't want to know how to cut plexiglass.
 
Talked to the vender of the plexiglass where I purchased it and they don't believe it is bad plexi, but they will sell me Lexan at their cost if I want to use that in place of the plexiglass....no refund of course on "used" plexiglass. Not an unexpected outcome so I'm going to buy the Lexan and use it for the windows.
 
Different subject...is there any reason that the wing strut attachment point at the main wing spar should not be a rod end with appropriate strength rating???
 
Shouldn't be needed?? A bit more weight and expense? Rig it perfect, as in perfect diehedral, and forget about it, move on, would be my way to do it. IF you have some out of trim issue later on, I'd deal with it elsewhere. KISS applies here I'm thinking. Of course the 5 kitplanes I've built had front and rear lift struts....so I can see why you're asking. It would be worth contacting Barrows for that one.
 
Courier,

I like KISS too but I also like flexibility and adjustability...no tellin what might need to be tweaked at some point, but you make a good point as usual...thanks for the thought!

My idea in using one is to allow for length change as well as allow easy movement of the strut attach point in relation to the wing while it moves and flexes rather than using a rigid fork. Does that make sense?
 
My idea in using one is to allow for length change as well as allow easy movement of the strut attach point in relation to the wing while it moves and flexes rather than using a rigid fork. Does that make sense?

None of the single strut metal winged Cessnas have any adjustment at all. The only reason to need an adjustable rod end, would be to fix a screw up in making the attachment hole or not making the two struts the same length. I believe that the only reason that Piper has an adjustment on the front struts, is to simplify the manufacturing/welding process. Remember that, in those days, airplanes were built in the least expensive way possible.

For example, do you know why the door opening on an Aeronca Sedan is shaped the way it is? It is because, Aeronca had a lot of left over doors from the Champ production that they wanted to use up. An engineer who I used to work for told me this.
 
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I'm perfectly happy with the "do it right the first time" idea and I support that thought.

In Cessna's case I'm pretty sure they built their parts on jigs that allow repeatable (within some standard) results that were established based upon flight testing of prototypes engineered by their design and production staff. I'd also bet that Boeing, MD, Airbus, Beech and all the other production companies follow a similar protocol.

I'm thinking I'm like the early years of Piper or Cessna in the prototype stage. I plan to make 2 wings and 2 struts to what "should" be very close but I bet they won't be exactly the same and like Piper, probably will need to be tweaked at some point...hence the desire to use adjustable rod ends on the struts. If I make one piece struts exactly the same length and they need some adjustment to make the plane fly correctly, then I will need to make new ones. I think adjustment is good if needed.

I took a BFR a few days ago in a Tecnam with 350 hours and it had a factory rudder trim tab about 3" x 8" and I still needed to keep my right foot on the pedal to center the ball and it was built in a factory on a jig I bet. That's what made me think I better put adjustment capability in the struts. Am I wrong?
 
Lowrider, when I rigged my airplane I used a smart level and spent lots of time trying to get everything is perfect as possible. I have no strut end adjustments, fortunately the airplane flew hands-off first time. Minor adjustments can be done with flaps if you have them.

don
 
Gee , why make it so hard ? You only have one strut per side right ? Put the wings on the plane measure 2 times, ok, then drill the struts. done.
What would you gain with being able to adjust them ? with just one strut per side I don't think you could fix a trim problem.
Doug
 
Alright, you guys are beginning to wear me down. Smart level and maybe a laser level should make things easier and more precise.

I feel like the old saying..."I know you think you understand what I said, but I'm not sure you realize what you heard is not what I meant".

Any other thoughts or suggestions?
 
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