Arlington 2018

[mkoxxy]

Here are a few photos from last weekend's EAA "fly-in" at Arlington. (Yes,
there were many fly-in aircraft, but it felt more like an airshow / fair.)
We had 3 Earthstar aircraft on display, and we flew my Quark several times,
as well as Kess' Blue Streak. Friday traffic was slow but with more
potential buyers, and Saturday was very busy - I had nearly lost my voice
by day's end. Sunday was slow again, but in all, we had many good
conversions with genuinely interested visitors and fellow builders. It was
great fun letting a dozen or so kids sit in the Quark and stir the stick;
you could tell something clicked in their heads...

Mark was glad we had the Quark there - reactions went from "cute airplane"
to "electric - really?", especially from the younger crowd. And the flight
demos drove the point home that electric flight is here.

I shot a number of videos with my smartphone that are worth sharing, but I
need to edit them and figure out how to make them available on the web.

Mark and Mike are now at the Frosts in Elmer City near Coulee Dam, on their
way to Richard's and Oshkosh.

OK, time to finish putting the Quark back together and take advantage of
the good weather. Later!

Martin

[blaswichk]

Oh yes, what a time! We were the aerial performer’s showing an aerodynamically souped-up 503 against the up to 80hp Quark. Kicked my butt in climb and I couldn’t catch him with me doing well over 100mph. He later told me he saw 112mph when we were chasing each other. Nice airplane you have, and really enjoyed flying with Mark. He can fly hard and fast like me and is a hard act to follow.

[cossitt.alan]

Is that a new engine? Do you have a link. I searched but all I got was
quantum mechanics. ;)

-Alan

[mkoxxy]

Yes, the Zero motorcycle wreck we bought included a more powerful motor,
51kW or 69 HP, and 108 lb-ft torque. Very modest weight increase over the
30 or 40 kW motors, so, why not. Might save my butt some day, and wows the
crowds.
Flying qualities hardly changed despite 80lb more battery, and the future
cowl will help with glide ratio and endurance.

[blaswichk]

Martin, a very long time to respond, but I just bought a little electric mini-bike with fat tires for dirt and motorcycle type frame. Comes with a 105cc 2hp gas, or a 1000watt (1.25hp) motor and 3-12V battery's in series to have 36V at 15ah. The thing will smoke the tire and is rated for a rider up to 180lbs, and I’ve lost weight down to 150lbs. when you twist the throttle you better have a good tight grip or it will run right out from under you and drag you along if you don’t turn loose. So I’ve been on-line shopping for high ouput Zero’s for my Gull. After Marked dusted my Blue Streak with your Quark, I need that power train. The 503 with C box should be worth $2500-$3000. The 14.4’s are going for 10K plus for a whole ride-able low mileage one.
Lemme know if you have some ideas, otherwise I’ll try to bug Mark. Oh, more good news. Me and Pat are buying into a new hangar project and will be around the corner as he has a big double size end one and I’m next door with a future inside door to go back and forth. Super good for fly-in as if we need hangar time, just taxi down next to 29 and we are right where the X was last year. Our hangar will have a 50A service, air, water, 4” poop pipe, skylight, loft 25X20 with stairs, all sheetrocked including the ceiling, hydraulic doors with a man door imbedded. All for 77K, but all up front into his building account as we are the bankers. We shall see.

[rahulchoudhary73]

Show me the bike, Kess.

Have some teen (grand)nieces on the farms, wanted to get them a 50cc moped couple years back. it was called "Luna" here, bit scooter like around the legs with a low footrest. mum had one when I was a kid they don't sell them here any more it seems

cheers,
Rahul

[rahulchoudhary73]

please don't read; mean't to mail it to Kess direct
Rahul

[mkoxxy]

Yes, the torque and thrust from electric propulsion are amazing. That
little motor will put out close to 90 hp, for something like 20 seconds
before the motor gets too hot and the controller throttles it back. I
normally take off at 30kW or so, still gets off the ground quickly and
climbs fine, but does not consume so much of my precious charge.
Charge / range is the flip side. Even with the new bigger battery pack
(12kWh usable) I get 60 minutes + reserve, good for 60 miles or so. And
then it will take 6 hours or more on 115V for the recharge, making it
difficult to fly somewhere outside a 25 mile radius. But most of the time,
I fly for an hour in the morning, then could go again in the evening - if
it's not too blustery.

That reminds me: I said earlier that flying qualities have not changed much
after the battery/motor upgrade (110lbs net weight gain, between battery,
new charger and larger motor, and after removing 10 lbs ballast from the
nose). I have to qualify that a bit: the Quark still handles well and the
controls are harmonious, but I can tell we have more weight. Where I could
fly straight and level with just 10kW before, I now need 11.5kW, and my
glide rate and stall speed have suffered, too. I hope to improve that
somewhat by adding a full cowl, but you cannot cheat physics. We need
better energy density! But for now, buying a recent Zero wreck appears to
make sense. Mixing and matching components from different models and model
years is for Zero insiders - not as simple as one might think. Maybe we
could ask Mark to publish a manual on how to extract the required
components from a wreck, and how to prep the harness for eGull use. Some of
us may be able to do the necessary frame mods ourselves, eliminating the
need for a trip to Santa Margarita. But you would still need the motor
mount and speed reduction.

Congrats on the new hangar project! Sounds like someplace I'd like to hang
out. OK, I'll consider coming back to Arlington next year! Maybe bring my
motor home - have gotten too spoiled for tent camping...

[blaswichk]

There you are! Hangar will be 240 charging station, air to blow up, (er, fill up), our tires, tools, dry storage, and a view of 29 and the Fly-In deluxe. Pats hangar of course faces 29, with my adjoining on the east side. His will also the optional view window facing 29 to see fly-in and make lunch, drink beer, have sex ( uh, maybe at our age!). We will have fun this summer. I stopped at the Seattle Zero dealer and saw one at 1
$1000 factory price and talked the salesman into getting me a quote of just the propulsion system, no frame or wheel, or lights. I left him a card and took his. We shall see. Hopefully the 503 is worth $2500-3000, money towards the Zero. If I can start soon I can park next to Quark and Mark (if you’ve never heard a hair-lipped dog, his bark is “mark, mark, . . . . ,mark) Old joke please don’t take offense Mark! The one I want is 70hp, with 14.4KW battery. I’ll buy Mark’s e-Gull motor mount and any other things I need. Now to text, or call Thunder Gull.

[earthstaraircraft]

Cool!
I assume you mean$10,000?
That would be fantastic.

I like dogs!

Happy Flying,
Mark

Sent from our iPhone