Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater

Wed, 27 Jun 2007

Ok, yeah, scary

I found this video linked on one of the airplane forums I frequent:

Me, personally, I find that video to be full of the scary. Horrible portents and all that, dystopian sci-fi films, all the way down to the ominous Soviet-sounding march/dirge in the background. The over-zealous announcer clinches the deal.

I mentioned this on the aforementioned airplane forum, and was reminded that, whatever I may prefer to believe, I'm probably the only guy interested in building an airplane who's also interested in seeing us stop building more and more efficient ways to kill each other (since we invariably use them -- one reason I never want to carry a gun, ever). The response of everyone else was overwhelmingly positive on the new plane.

So yeah, note to self: don't engage in political discussion on Internet forums. Check.

Posted at 18:11 permanent link category: /aviation

Tue, 26 Jun 2007

A vignette: traffic

For various and sundry reasons, I was on the motorcycle today. I finally extricated myself from work around 5:45, and headed for home. This is a silly ride, since I now live 5 minutes walk from work, but I had the bike, and wanted to get it home.

I travelled by scenic byway for the most part, but the last 1/4 mile was by the relatively heavily-used Bridge Way. Bridge Way is not only busy, it is relieved by a short traffic light at Fremont Ave, meaning that backups are common, particularly at commute times.

So, background laid. I left turn onto Bridge, and match up with traffic. Into the right lane -- the left lane railroads you onto Aurora southbound, which I definitely don't want. Traffic comes to a stop ahead, but I get through the light before Aurora. But traffic is stopped.

I notice that there's a truck in my left blindspot which hasn't passed me yet. He probably wants over, but I wasn't sufficiently aware of him not-passing until I was stopped with no room for him. Tough luck, I guess.

I look up as he passes, and see a puffy, fat face with a wannabe-policeman moustache and tousled brown hair sitting at the steering wheel. He's driving one of the recent-model trucks, maybe a Ford, with the step-side bed; the kind that makes me think of ex-frat boys with baseball caps and beer bellies. He inches forward until he's wedged his truck in between the island on the left, and the Subaru Forrester on the right. The Forrester doesn't move, because, of course, there's nowhere for it to go.

Suddenly, I'm aware of the loud, barking sound of a sportbike with a racing exhaust ("OFF-ROAD USE ONLY") behind me. I hear it pull up, and then it's next to me. I look over.

"Yo jamba wonga doo hee?" asks the rider. I have no idea what he actually said, but I'm sure he's asking permission to pull in front of me in the traffic line. I shrug non-committally, because I know it won't matter what I say; he would pull in front of me anyway. In he pulls, the exhaust yipping and snarling at me. I see that he's wearing thin-looking bowling shoes with no socks, nylon running shorts, a T-shirt, a full face helmet, and chunky, high-bling motorcycling gloves. His one-strap backpack rests listlessly across his back. Classy.

He sees the truck wedged in ahead of us. I can see his helmet move as he checks it out.

The traffic starts moving. Truck-man has sufficiently cowed the Subaru driver, who sits still and waves him in. The truck wobbles forward, into the newly empty space. I see Mr. Sportbike shake his head in despair at the rude truck driver.

He rides off, with his right blinker incessantly signalling, from back when he pulled in front of me. His mind is full of despair at the state of drivers today.

Posted at 18:33 permanent link category: /motorcycle

Sun, 24 Jun 2007

Quickie: carbon fiber cello pics are up

Just a quick note that my pictures of the Luis and Clark carbon fiber cello are up:

Posted at 18:42 permanent link category: /misc

Color me photographed

Just for randomness value, I set up a Flickr account for myself, since I want to start posting photos. Figured I'd give it a try.

Posted at 00:49 permanent link category: /misc

Sat, 23 Jun 2007

Crazy plans, crazy planes

I feel like my "maybe, could be" plans about building a plane are starting to firm up. To recap:

Mid-July last year, I had a sudden and powerful yen to build an airplane. I talked myself out of it as being too expensive (which it is) and horrible for the environment (which it is). Then, in June this year, I came back to the idea, and it started to sound good again. It's still expensive, but has always been manageable. It's still bad for the environment, but I'm kind of looking at it as using my "gas ration" that I'm not using any more (the last time I bought gas was... weeks ago, maybe?). Between living in Fremont (ie, 5 minutes' walk from work), and being able to bike damn near anywhere I need to (including Boeing Field and the top of Queen Anne hill -- I'm almost invincible!), I'm not feeling so bad about the whole fossil fuels equation any more.

Anyway, so now, I'm starting to develop a coherent plan. The most appealing choice of plane so far is the Ragwing Special II:

This is a plane which is only available as plans (which I previously considered extra-crazy, but have come around on), and the plans are $100. That means it costs me $100 to dip a toe in the water and see what I think. First thing I can build is a rib, which is a built-up structure about 3 feet long and shaped like a geometrical fish. I'll eventually have to build ~40 of them, so building one gives me a taste of what I'm in for without spending more than a few bucks in wood and a couple hours of time.

The plane that eventually springs forth, fully formed from the aether (ahem), flies at around 90-100 mph cruise, and will use around 3.5-4 gallons per hour. That's over 25 mpg in reasonble circumstances. I'll be doing better than the majority of cars.

It'll have two seats, and the weight capacity to carry a moderately heavy passenger, particularly if we make it a short flight with minimal fuel (to keep weight down). That gives me a chance to fly my dad around, which is one of my definite goals, even if I only ever do it once or twice.

The current engine of choice is called a Jabiru 2200, and is an 85 HP four-cylinder, designed specifically for airplane use. It's spendy, but over the likely 2-4 year timespan of building, I can probably find one used for a lot less than the new price. I read somewhere that the recommended maximum weight for the engine is 180 lbs, so that knocks out most of my other choices, such as the Rotec R-2800 radial, or a Continental C-90/O-200. Besides, if I keep the engine light, then I have that much more weight capacity available for passengers.

I know I'm going to want at least a basic electrical system (I could in theory build a plane with no electrical system at all, and hand-prop the engine -- it's lighter, but I'd rather not). I'll want electric-start on the motor, as well as lights so I can fly at night, and enough equipment to fly over Seattle (a transponder and a radio).

I've had some interesting thoughts about lights using some of the new super-bright LEDs they're putting in flashlights. I figure that using 6 of them together is enough for a landing light, and they can also be used for position lights on the wingtips and tail. A major advantage of LEDs is they use much less power, so the wires don't have to be as fat -- and that means less weight (see where I'm going with all this?). Also, the less equipment I have to run, the smaller the battery can be, etc. etc. Light weight is key.

A worry I'd had on this project was pondering spending $8-20 a foot (not board-foot either!) for aircraft-certified spruce. That is, until I found out that the local lumber yards carry spruce, and for about 1/8-1/15 the cost. I can self-certify the wood according to the same spec and methods the Army and Navy used in WWII (when a lot of wood went into a lot of airplanes), and come out spending much less money. I even have clever plans for how to test ultimate strength on the wood I choose, so I know how it compares to the wood with the official seal on it. That combined with information on wood equivalencies make me pretty confident I can do this without breaking the bank.

In fact, the only big tool I "need" which I don't already have is a table saw (or radial-arm saw, I'm not sure which is a better choice yet). There are also about a million clamps and doubtless a small truckload of other things I'm not thinking about, but none of it feels overwhelming or scary.

After all that, the one thing I haven't decided yet? Whether I'm actually going to do it. It sounds grand, but I haven't come solidly to the conclusion that it's a project I should undertake. That one will come with time. Check back in a year or two, and the answer should be clear.

Posted at 23:33 permanent link category: /aviation

Wed, 20 Jun 2007

A little light practice

The weather was so nice today that I dropped everything, and headed for the airport after work.

I took a Cessna 152 up, and practiced steep turns. I also flew over Harvey Field, trying to find it again by pilotage (no GPS; shocking, I know). I found it, partially by aiming for the hot air balloon:

I found myself over Harvey, and snapped a few pictures from the air for the heck of it. None of them turned out very well, but this one is kind of clear:

Then I flew back to Paine, and flew some touch-n-goes. I must have been distracted for a few of them, because my patterns sucked and my touch-downs sucked. When I actually paid attention, I was able to set the tires down without a problem, but a couple of those landings were atrocious. 5 landings, with only two of them worthy of the name. Ah well, I got other stuff right. It didn't help to hear the grinding noise wind up as the tires got up to speed -- them's some dying bearings.

After I got the plane back to its spot and tied down, I was struck by the casual symmetry of all these airplane tails alternating down the line:

It was a pretty nice flight. Landing goofiness aside, I did well. Thinking about it consciously this time, I definitely think I would have enjoyed the flight more if I'd been in an open-cockpit plane. I'll have to work on that.

Link to all the pictures from that flight

Posted at 23:33 permanent link category: /aviation

Thu, 14 Jun 2007

A pretty night

I was riding back from Boeing Field tonight, and re-discovered to my dismay that the Fremont Bridge was closed. Being on a bicycle (and lemme tell ya, Fremont to Boeing Field and back is no slackerly ride), I was, shall we say, dismayed. I had to ride up the hill to the Aurora Bridge to get across the water.

Rather than gripe about it, though, I took advantage of the opportunity to take a picture of the singularly pretty evening we had:

Seattle's Lake Union at night

This picture was taken looking east over Lake Union. The hill with the towers on it is Capitol Hill. Downtown is just visible on the far right edge of the picture.

I just got a fancy schmancy new camera, so this journal may be the vessel of further Attempted Art. You've been warned.

Posted at 23:45 permanent link category: /misc

Mon, 11 Jun 2007

A Day in the Life

I was working on the house yesterday, having ridden myself there on the Xtracycle, laundry in tow. Painting and doing the thousand tasks you forgot you have to do is tiring, and around 2, I decided it was lunch time. I considered my options, and decided that the Subway shop a few blocks away sounded good.

In a fit of laziness, I decided to ride there instead of walking -- I also didn't want to waste too much time, since all this house work seems to be at least 50% wasting time anyway. I mounted up, and started riding.

I came to a stop at the stoplight, and waited for it to turn. There was the typical weekend rush of cars headed for Ballard on 105th, which I ignored. The light changed (if I hit the sensor just right, this is one of the lights I can actually trigger on a bicycle), and I started across the intersection, looking for moving cars.

I heard a short horn-honk, and looked up. I was expecting to see someone mad at me for some reason, but instead I saw a bright red convertible. There was a woman sitting at the wheel, with blond hair and large sunglasses. She was waving at me, that sort of palm-formard, fold-at-knuckles, "Heya sailor" wave. I didn't recognize her, and am pretty sure I don't know anyone with a red convertible. I nodded, and rode on. I thought half a block later that I should have honked back, but it was too late.

I don't know what to make of it, but there are some funny spins: does she dig pasty guys on cargo bikes? A fan of the environment, cheering on alt-transport? Beer goggles? The mind reels at the possibilities.

I'll just assume for now that she's a fan of pasty bicyclists with oversized legs. Everyone's ego needs a little support now and then.

Posted at 09:52 permanent link category: /bicycle

Sun, 03 Jun 2007

A good day

Finally, things pretty much went right today. Not that things have been going horribly or anything, but it was somewhat remarkable to have a day where everything just clicked.

The day started with a 9 am meet-up with my house painter. He was already going at it, as I pulled up at 9, and we chatted briefly. Things looked to be on track, so I left him to it.

I got myself inside, unsure if I was going to be overwhelmed by fumes or not. "Not" ended up being the answer, so I pulled on my paintin' clothes and went to town. The bedroom is fully primed, and the hallway and the office are fully painted... well, pretty close, anyway.

After lunch, I didn't have enough time to start painting with real paint, so I got up on the roof and started pulling down antenna wires, so they wouldn't be painted onto the house. As long as I was up there, I also took down two of the three antennas on the house (the last one will take more than one person).

That accomplished, I cleaned up a little bit, and saw that I was exactly in time to head home, take a shower, and get ready for a performance in the afternoon. I played cello in a brief song at a wedding. Not actually anyone I knew, but the singer in our group was presenting the song as a wedding present, and I was in the band, so I performed too. It was interesting and fun, and that was my first public performance on the cello since about 10th grade. Didn't do half bad, either.

Music done, Kristin and I had a lovely dinner at Paddy Coynes, our favorite Irish pub (if you go there, try the potato leek soup; yum!). Suitably stuffed with pub food, we went home to relax for a bit.

Now, I've had airplane on the brain for the last week or so, and I finally decided to do something about it. I scheduled myself for two hours of airplane + instructor at my favorite FBO this evening, after dark, so I could re-certify for day and night flight.

So, I sat down to do my homework before the flight. I checked the weather by web and by phone, and reviewed the various speeds for the airplane I was going to be in. The weather looked ideal (warm and clear with minimal wind). The speeds were quickly memorized.

I packed up, and hopped on the bike. After a frustrating circuit of Wallingford due to repaving work on 45th, I was on the freeway, headed for Everett. The ride out was nice, the temperature perfect, and traffic relatively light.

The flight itself went off perfectly. I finally found an instructor I like, and I grabbed his card this time. He had me do some stalls and steep turns, and we did some stop-n-goes to get me night legal. I got my sign-off, and happily tootled back home on the motorcycle.

Finally, a positive flight experience! It's almost enough to get me all atwitter about flying again. It certainly doesn't dampen my resurgent enthusiasm for building a plane.

Posted at 00:44 permanent link category: /misc

Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater

Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net.