Earthstar Forums

Now you touched another nerve.

We're being held hostage by Big Oil, Big Money, and Big Everything Else. We should have been preparing for solar years again. Hey folks! Solar power is free!, at 1200 watts per square meter. Yes, we have to spend the intial cost of installation, but then? Oil is convenient, and as long as it can be sucked out of trhe ground, electric propulsion with be on the back burners. But hey, we are experimental plane pilots, and if we can continue to seek electric propulsion, let's go for it.

My dream airport is right here on my 10 acres, with my runway (590'), a shed hangar with a large solar panel on the roof, y e-Gull with the large electric motor option and battery pack, is parked inside getting it's battery/fuel tank filled up for free. Go out for an hour or two, come back and fill up in a day, or sooner with a plug-in charger.

Just dreaming again, meantime I want to build one of the fastest 503 powered planes.

kb

I like that, and would like to retrofit it to my Gull 2000. Can I do that?

kb

That would work. I'm at the beyond beginner by about 25 years and 950+ hours, and have enjoyed the Gull immensely, as it is such a natural plane to fly. If you want to just putt, it does that quite fine, and when you want to throttle up and go, it does that real well too. The electric gull should be delightfully quite too, once the prop speed is dial in for minimum noise.

kb

Well, I have the strip (900) and a hanger at my house. Now all I need is a solar panel and or windmill. If I use them for a plane only, it should be way cheaper than doing the 110 converting stuff. A windmill can be made fairly easily using plans from the net and solar panels could pay for themselves in fuel saving in a hurry. I see gas going up every day or so now.
I live in the desert where wind and solar are plentiful. I could get by with 2 hours fly time but because of the winds and long distances here, I would much prefer another hour of time.
Looks like that may be coming soon. Of course as soon as I had that, I would want another hour or two. ;-)
Oh yeah,,,,  I also need a Gull, the bats, a motor, prop, etc, etc. I don't think I could do so well with my Phantom.
BTW,,,  I have thousands of windmills a few miles south of me and two of the biggest solar plants in the world are not so far north of me. Right over the hills to the south, there is a big geothermal plant. I am all for any and all of them.
Loren

--- On Thu, 2/3/11, kessb <kessb@wavecable.com> wrote:

From: kessb <kessb@wavecable.com>
Subject: Re: [Earthstar_Aircraft] Re: Spinner trial
To: Earthstar_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, February 3, 2011, 11:07 PM





















Now you touched another nerve.
 
We're being held hostage by Big Oil, Big Money, and
Big Everything Else. We should have been preparing for solar years again. Hey
folks! Solar power is free!, at 1200 watts per square meter. Yes, we
have to spend the intial cost of installation, but then? Oil is convenient, and
as long as it can be sucked out of trhe ground, electric propulsion with be on
the back burners. But hey, we are experimental plane pilots, and if we can
continue to seek electric propulsion, let's go for it.
 
 My dream airport is right here on my 10
acres, with my runway (590'), a shed hangar with a large solar panel on the
roof, y e-Gull with the large electric motor option and battery pack, is parked
inside getting it's battery/fuel tank filled up for free. Go out for an hour or
two, come back and fill up in a day, or sooner with a plug-in
charger.
 
Just dreaming again, meantime I want to build one
of the fastest 503 powered planes.
 
kb
 
 
 
 

----- Original Message -----
From:
Loren Shelby

To: Earthstar_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 11:02
AM
Subject: Re: [Earthstar_Aircraft] Re:
Spinner trial

 






Yabut, the power producers can't even seem to keep up
with the ipod and iphone chargers
Now if you set up a solar system
and windmill to charge the bats. Could probably be done for less than
fity grand.
Loren

--- On Thu, 2/3/11, kessb <kessb@wavecable.com>
wrote:


From:
kessb <kessb@wavecable.com>
Subject:
Re: [Earthstar_Aircraft] Re: Spinner trial
To:
Earthstar_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, February 3,
2011, 10:23 AM





Rahul,
No problem when I pass gas in flight.
There is enough air leakage around the door that it must go away
somehow. And as far as an e-Gull, I think that it is the coolest thing
since sliced bread. If I had extra bucks, I would like to experiment
with a Prius electric motor, and the Prius Plus upsized battery. It
would make a Gull go like hell. The French and Germans are rocking out
with their electric planes, (test examples), and eventually we will be
able to afford the drive trains. Cessna is working with the Chinese
for an electric C-172, and Sikorski is working on a electric
helicopter. Stay tuned.
 
kb
 
 

----- Original Message -----
From: Rahul
To: Earthstar_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, February 03,
2011 7:58 AM
Subject: Re:
[Earthstar_Aircraft] Re: Spinner trial

 

Cheers Kess Super Gull, Get them titaneers scratching there
heads at yer 503 supercruiser and it'll be an honor to be your
wingmate, r2c2 eGull in due time. for all i know, maybe the egull
sounds like a CQ morse code.. but seriously, without an active air
extractor in the cockpit - wonder what happens when a pilot breaks
wind after too many beans at lunch.. oh, and no breathing up there
butts


Rahul



On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 9:48 PM,
kessb <kessb@wavecable.com>
wrote:


 




Thanks, Fred.
 
I probably won't go for the
stabilator and verticle stab tips, but I do want to try and get
the nose wheel fork inside the front wheel pant, if it doesn't
make the pant look too wide and weird. The Titan guys put theirs
inside the front fork, which still leaves a fair amount of drag at
the nose wheel.
 
As far as the fastest speed for a
503, so far that belongs to a Czech company that built a low wing
single seater with retractable gear. But you can't get the plane
here, so maybe I will have one of the fastest 503's here, unless
somebody puts one in a Hummel Bird.
 
kb



 
 

----- Original Message -----

From: Fred

To: Earthstar_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, February
02, 2011 7:34 AM
Subject:
[Earthstar_Aircraft] Re: Spinner trial

 

Go for it Kess!!!
Just a thought. I have often thought
that the elevator tips and the top of the rudder would look
better with a molded, rounded, steamlined add on. I would talk
to Mark first to see if it would be a bad idea. I am not an
engineer he is. But I would think this would add some more
streamlining to the blunt tips and so reduce drag.
Like the
race guys I do work for say. Its not that one thing makes a big
difference, but when you add up all the little improvements you
do get a big improvement.
I make my mad money for my hobbies
by doing mockups, molds and parts. I have already figured out a
way to attach these fairings to the tips.By doing them by the
infusion- vacuum bag technic, they should weigh next to nothing.
In carbon fibre they would weigh even less.
What do you
think?
Fred
P.S. You go for that 503 record.

---
In Earthstar_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com,
"Kess" <kessb@...> wrote:
>
> Well, I'm
finally getting around to using the big spinner that my
hangarmate gave me to play with. It's got a really racing
looking shape, and it hides the electric in-flight adjust motor.
It needs a paint job and filling of gaps, but hey, it's
free.
>
> My goal is to coax the fastest airspeed I
can out of the 503, and the spinner will help smooth the airflow
from the engine cowling. My last speed mod will be wheel pants.
Mark, help me out here!
>
> My final goal is to
authenticate my true airspeeds, and calibrate the static source
for the airspeed indicator. That way when I post my airspeeds
that will be WAAAAy faster than the 912 powered Titan 2's with 2
people onboard. They just can't fathom that a 503 plane will go
much faster than 100mph. Titan owners, just watch out for "Super
Gull", he will be breathin up yer butt!
>
>
kb
>

more than the Big ones what perplexes me are the 5-10 year stickups to
general use of stuff better than the status quo. a123 engaged to ge, leaving
crumbs of dewalt drill packs. eestor engaged to lockheed martin, with
nothing to see for don't how much longer. eLippse propeller only shows up in
reno for seven years, just engaged to some uav firm. like dr. evils after a
gazillion dollars?

Gull folks have niice places to call home. yes, a 2place 2hr eGull, one hop
from suburbia into the boreal forest, a small hill, a grassy strip, lake, a
yurt to begin with, a barnaby beta fishie. hydel power is decent too. one
hop to a few towns nearby with friends/family. some fun surfing clouds
playing peekaboo with the sun. looks like a safe five year dream, time will
tell. we ought to have a gull video like this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs94r8CcAAg - hmm.. recharge of the order of
a day.. within lunch/snacks ought to be ok today as well. anyways, time to
get the rainbows in the macbook screen fixed now

thanks,
rahul

WEll Kess, now that you sound like Howard Hughes going for a speed record with his H-1, you just know that you are going to have to go for flush rivets. Thats a lot of drilling! Better get started spring is around the corner.
Fred

Loren,

I've always like the desert, and the unlimited amount of sunshine for solar projects. About 15 years ago I was hot on moving to north of Phoenix, around Cottonwood, to build an off grid getaway. An adobe covered hay bale cabin, with an underground water storage tank for heating, a solar panel tracking array for a big battery storage, and propane for cooking and refrigeration. Now I'm still in the northwest where sunny days are scarce

Oh, and your Phantom. My hangarmate had a Phantom, and right after I got my Gull 2000, I flipped him the keys to go check it out. He came back with a big grin and started kicking the tires on the Phantom. He quit flying the Phantom and dreamed of a Gull. He settled for a Titan 1 with a 503 that needed some work, and now is happy as a clam. We were flying side by side at the same airspeeds and rpms until I started my drag reducing mods. So he put a 65hp MZ engine on it (looks like a Hirth), and started pulling away from me. So I just put my electric in-flight adjustable prop back on, (the drive needed fixing), and now my top speed has gone up again. I will be looking to chase him down again.

kb

In a message dated 2/3/2011 4:37:38 PM Pacific Standard Time,
alan.cossitt@frontier.com writes:

Mark, will your nose wheel pant fit on older/unmodified front wheels?
-Alan




Yes and no,
The main wheel pant may fit the nose wheel but I haven't tried it.
Happy Flying
Mark

In a message dated 2/3/2011 11:09:49 PM Pacific Standard Time,
kessb@wavecable.com writes:


I like that, and would like to retrofit it to my Gull 2000. Can I do that?

kb

In a message dated 2/4/2011 5:42:22 AM Pacific Standard Time,
gayford@golden.net writes:

WEll Kess, now that you sound like Howard Hughes going for a speed record
with his H-1, you just know that you are going to have to go for flush
rivets. Thats a lot of drilling! Better get started spring is around the
corner.
Fred




Hi Flush rivet fans. The place that flush rivets would help is on the
leading edge, but alas, there are no rivets to flush on the leading edge of the
Gull series aircraft. it seems that some body used glue there instead of
rivits. :O)
Happy Flying
Mark