Earthstar Forums

I received my Earthstar info pack and video today, haven't laughed
that hard in awhile. Seeing that tiny little plane bounding through
the underbrush set all my fears regarding strength and durability to
rest once and for all! I also noticed there is a fabric or metal wing
option. Why would anyone prefer a fabric wing??

A G2000 is in my near future, just have to sell my 30' blue water
sailboat first, and I'm working on the options I really want...metal
wings, flaps, fat tires and a 503 or 3202 is it so far. Any
suggestions? Do's or don'ts? Max speed is NOT a priority, all my
flying buds cruise at 55-60.

I would opt for the four stroke. I have the 503. Although the 503 is a very
capable engine. I would not take the kind of cross country trips that Jim C
and Chad Hilbert do without the four stroke.

My gull flies quite nice with the 503 however.

George

--- In ThunderGull@yahoogroups.com, "adwsail01" <adwsail@b...> wrote:
> I also noticed there is a fabric or metal wing
> option. Why would anyone prefer a fabric wing??

You probably need that if you want to try to keep it a fully
compliant part 103 ultralight, but then you would also need to go
with the single cylinder two-stroke engine option, and 5 gallon fuel
tank. I have a hunch it also takes a lot less time to build with the
fabric wing, but that's just a guess.

> A G2000 is in my near future, just have to sell my 30' blue water
> sailboat first, and I'm working on the options I really want...metal
> wings, flaps, fat tires and a 503 or 3202 is it so far. Any
> suggestions? Do's or don'ts? Max speed is NOT a priority, all my
> flying buds cruise at 55-60.

Well the fat tires might help to knock of a few MPH off your cruise
speed. :-) The two Thundergulls in my neighborhood cruise around 90-
95 MPH configured the way you describe with a 503. Of course, you do
not have to cruise that fast. :-) I just ordered a G2K last month,
with an HKS engine and DUC prop. With a 10 gallon tank, you should be
able to outlast your bladder on a cross-country cruise, with that
combination. I went that way, since my interest is more in cross
country flying. Of course, short distance cruises are still possible
with a fuel efficient engine. :-)

--Dave

I hadn't thought about the 103 aspect of it. You're probably right.

Maybe I need to be thinking more along the lines of a 447 or 2302 :-)

That does seem to be the hot combo, just a few grand out of my price
range unfortunately. I look forward to seeing pictures and details of
the construction process. Please keep us informed!!! Dave, where in
the country are you?

Yes, I had to really bite the bullet on that one.
I'm a bit of an efficiency nut, and the ThunderGull HKS combination
just seemed too good to pass up. Fortunately, my wife is being very
supportive about this project! :-)
One of the things I remember best about my trip to Mark's factory to
get a demo ride in the ThunderGull, was Mark mentioning that he
averaged 37 MPG on a recent long trip with the HKS engine on his
plane.

I look forward to seeing pictures and details of
> the construction process. Please keep us informed!!! Dave, where in
> the country are you?

I live in San Diego, California, which is about a six hour drive from
Santa Margarita where the ThunderGull factory is. I plan to take a
lot of digital photos for my builder's log, and I might even try to
set up a Web site to show them off. I'm not much of a web site
builder though. If you want to see some photos of a ThunderGull
Odyssey under construction you can see them right now at the the site
below:

http://www.theworld.com/~ejb/odyssey/index_odyssey.html

I have been getting some good building tips there. Unfortunately the
builder is still only at the wing stage, but I think that might be
one of the biggest parts of the building job.

Regards,
--Dave

Save your money and go the extra couple of grand. You won't be sorry you
did.

George

--- In ThunderGull@yahoogroups.com, <george@t...> wrote:
> Save your money and go the extra couple of grand. You won't be sorry you
> did.
>
> George
>

I just got back from a short two day mini vacation in San Luis
Obispo, and I also took a couple of hours to go up to Santa Margarita
to visit the Thundergull factory and ask Mark more questions. Mark
gave me another demo ride in his Odeyssey with the HKS engine and DUC
prop combo. I have to agree with George, if you can find any way to
do it, go for the HKS engine! It seems to be a perfect match to the
ThunderGull, and Mark's installation for it is ultra clean and well
thought out. The HKS is a big cash bite up front, but it's great
performance on the ThunderGull and much lower operating costs should
make it really worthwhile in the long run.
I shot a few digital photos of the engine installation on Marks
Thundergull, and also a few other photos around EarthStar, if anyone
is interested?

--Dave

I'd be interested, and I'm sure others would too. Why not upload
them to the Photos section. You could create the folder as HKS.
Thanks, Dave.

Will

I'd like to see those pictures, for sure. I have been so disappointed with
the performance difference between my old 'J', and the Kitfox I replaced it
with that I am thinking about buying an Odyssey kit with an HKS. That
should be la crème de la crème! No more laying awake at night crying my
eyes out <g> (See below)

Ron Carroll

Life isn't like a box of chocolates...it's more like a jar of jalapeños.
What you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow.

See my previous message regarding the pictures.

Please send them to my e-mail, as I rarely go to the website. ok?

Thanks,

Ron Carroll <still crying a lot>

e-mail: RonCarr@Q...