Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
Bremerton, fish and chips, and overflying houses
Very briefly, Kristin and I took a flight over to Bremerton yesterday to get some flying in and eat fish and chips. Pretty tasty.
We also took the opportunity to take some pictures. Enjoy!
Posted at 11:44 permanent link category: /aviation
It occurred to me a day or two ago that if I do go through with the idea of building an airplane, and if I stipulate that I'd like to be able to carry passengers, it doesn't make sense to do that if I can't carry every probable passenger. This leads, of course, to building a bigger plane.
The one I was originally so excited about, the Classic, would have a maximum passenger weight (assuming I built it exactly to spec and weight) of about 160 lbs. That rules out a number of people I'd want to fly with. What fun is that?
So now I find my eye lighting on the Celebrity by the same company. It's bigger, and would allow me a theoretical maximum passenger weight in the 300 lb range, which is more than enough. Of course, it also allows me the opportunity to use one of these beautiful radial engines.
The downside to all this is that the costs are getting right up there. The bigger plane kit costs $2500 more. The motor is insane, costing $14,000 for the engine, and $7500 for the installation. That's a lot more than the $8,000 for the smaller engine which would power the smaller plane. Of course, the bigger plane will take other engines, which don't cost as much. How much less? Unknown at this point.
It still makes sense, if I do go through with the idea, to start with the bigger, more capable plane. Or, if I decide that passengers are a bad idea, I can go back to a simpler, lighter, cheaper kit, and commensurately simpler and cheaper engines.
Fortunately, I still have a lot of time to research and decide.
Posted at 11:43 permanent link category: /aviation
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater