Hi Dan,
I did a search on 'Steen Skybolt' on hotbot, and
hit your page. I am a prospective builder, and enjoyed reading
about your efforts. You need to keep posting, so I won't have
any surprises when the time comes to start cutting the tubing.
I am perfectly happy to learn from others' experiences.
Any pre-plans purchase hints?
uh...get your head examined? :-) (Sorry, I
couldn't resist).
Seriously, there are some books to buy, & I
can add a few pointers:
- Join the EAA and a local chapter. There's a link from my
home page.
- All rag & tube aircraft of this nature seem to
consume between 2500 & 3000 hours to build (including
paint). There's not much that can be done to reduce that.
You'll spend 2 - 3 times that in thinking about your plane
(planning the next task, research, etc.)
- This plane originally flew in the '70s, and is a
well-known, well-understood design. Don't muck with the
plans!
- The plans tell you what parts to build, but not how to
build them. To learn how to build them, buy a) anything ever
written by Tony Bingelis (available through the EAA), b) the
IAC's Tech Tips (all 4 volumes), & c) the EAA's books on
the Acrosport. The Acrosport is similar to the 'Bolt in
construction methods, so the advice in those books is
applicable.
- Don't try to out-think everyone else. When I started, I
actually researched the metallurgy & the welding
processes available! (Everyone uses 4130N steel tubing, and
they weld with an oxy-acetylene torch). If you use a TiG
welder, you'll still need the gas rig to stress-relieve your
welds.
- Buy your steel from Dillsburg Aero. They have a very
small ad in the back of one of the airplane magazines - I
think it's EAA's Sport Aerobatics. Dillsburg buys the stuff
directly from the steel mills, and they supply Wicks and
Aircraft Spruce.
- Make sure you always have a current catalog from Wicks,
Aircraft Spruce, and a couple others (see the backs of the
magazines). I spent almost a year getting my rudder pedals
right, only to see that in a later Aircraft Spruce catalog, I
could have purchased them for $250!
- It's not one big project - it's hundreds of little
ones.
That's all I can think of for now.
Good luck!
Dan
Dan Pichelman ____ _
exSkybolt builder | __\_\_o____/_|
<[___\_\_-----<
dlp@winternet.com | o'
http://www.winternet.com/~dlp/