Introducing myself

[coolamber]

I have posted a bit so I felt that an introduction was overdue.

I have just ordered an Aerocanard set of plans and a few tools from Al. He made me a great deal on a new epoxy pump so I picked up one of those as well.

I am a network engineer/information security specialist working for a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman in Las Vegas, NV. I have been interested in aviation my entire life. My father was a C130 and C135 pilot in the USAF, after he got out he flew for a charter company in Texas for a while before he took a desk job.

A funny story from that is one time he took me on a checkout flight for a brand spanking new Gulfstream. I sat in the back in the executive seats/couches. A combination of the chili dog for lunch and all the zero g's steep turns, touch and gos and other various maneuvers caused me to eventually blow chow all over the carpet and upholstery of that Gulfstream, at the time it was no big deal. Now when I think about it its hillarious what I did to that Gulfstream.

I have flirted with piloting for a long time. I even managed to get an appointment to the USAF Academy out of High School, only to have it taken away when I had an odd skin reaction to the PJ's they gave us. I am finally at a point in my life where I can think about getting my own aircraft. I love building things, from highly technical wide are networks to PC's, and RC trucks, helicopters and airplanes. I love to tinker, for example I took a tippman paintball gun and modified it so it fit into a shell from an airsoft P90. I even made a select fire from single shot/full auto for it.

I was attracted to the canard design since I saw the Raytheon/Beech Starship. What convinced me on the Aerocanard was the seating (4), low cost of entry to get started, composite design and amazing performance. I selected the Aero over the Cozy for the slightly larger room, and I liked what Al had to say.

So my next step is to prepare my garage, I am going to clean it out, finish epoxy painting the floor and get my spaces set up. I liked the set of tools recommended by cozygirrrl so I picked those up. I still need a band saw and I have to figure out my workbench. For now I am going to see if an old huge dining room table can be adapted to start. Its 8x3 and it was build in the 70's , so it should be sturdy. Eventually I will need a larger one but if I can make this one flat it will do for now (I hope).

Anyway good to meet you all see you around the forums.

[Phil Kriley]

Welcome!

[argoldman]

Originally Posted by coolamber

I have posted a bit so I felt that an introduction was overdue.

I have just ordered an Aerocanard set of plans and a few tools from Al. He made me a great deal on a new epoxy pump so I picked up one of those as well.

I am a network engineer/information security specialist working for a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman in Las Vegas, NV. I have been interested in aviation my entire life. My father was a C130 and C135 pilot in the USAF, after he got out he flew for a charter company in Texas for a while before he took a desk job.

A funny story from that is one time he took me on a checkout flight for a brand spanking new Gulfstream. I sat in the back in the executive seats/couches. A combination of the chili dog for lunch and all the zero g's steep turns, touch and gos and other various maneuvers caused me to eventually blow chow all over the carpet and upholstery of that Gulfstream, at the time it was no big deal. Now when I think about it its hillarious what I did to that Gulfstream.

I have flirted with piloting for a long time. I even managed to get an appointment to the USAF Academy out of High School, only to have it taken away when I had an odd skin reaction to the PJ's they gave us. I am finally at a point in my life where I can think about getting my own aircraft. I love building things, from highly technical wide are networks to PC's, and RC trucks, helicopters and airplanes. I love to tinker, for example I took a tippman paintball gun and modified it so it fit into a shell from an airsoft P90. I even made a select fire from single shot/full auto for it.

I was attracted to the canard design since I saw the Raytheon/Beech Starship. What convinced me on the Aerocanard was the seating (4), low cost of entry to get started, composite design and amazing performance. I selected the Aero over the Cozy for the slightly larger room, and I liked what Al had to say.

So my next step is to prepare my garage, I am going to clean it out, finish epoxy painting the floor and get my spaces set up. I liked the set of tools recommended by cozygirrrl so I picked those up. I still need a band saw and I have to figure out my workbench. For now I am going to see if an old huge dining room table can be adapted to start. Its 8x3 and it was build in the 70's , so it should be sturdy. Eventually I will need a larger one but if I can make this one flat it will do for now (I hope).

Anyway good to meet you all see you around the forums.

Welcome "Cool"

You are indeed now a member of an exclusive, however inclusive group of incredibly creative individuals.

you are about to embark on a great journey--quest-- toward the completion of your aircraft.

You will hear comments, painted with broad brush strokes, and those painted with a single hair brush. Listen to them all, evaluate them all research the validity of them all and build ahead.

If you plan to modify your craft from the plans, know that the major drawback will be TIME. (assuming that your modifications are safe.) In aircraft, there is no such thing as a minor modification.

This statement is not to dissuade you from modification, as that is how our crafts morph into better airplanes, but rather to make you aware of the time component of modifications, of which all of us who have modified are aware (many times painfully).

Keep reading and contributing.

A single hair brush suggestion---

It has been my experience that gravity plays a tremendous role in the construction of the aircraft, and that the floor is the ultimate recipient of all kinds of epoxy drips, epoxy saturated saturated glass cut-offs ---and, of course, it will never happen to you,--- epoxy spills.

My suggestion is to not epoxy the floor, at this time, but to wait until the project is done, after which you can remove all of the stalagmites that your building process has created and then finish the floor.

You might be better off by just sealing the concrete, if even necessary.

The floors in both the basement, of my house, where I built most of the sub assemblies of my Dragonfly, and my hanger floor, where I finished my dragonfly and built my Aerocanard are similar to a history book of various accretions. Perhaps I can use a picture of the floor to justify my 51% to the FAA.

(or perhaps I am just a epoxioslob)

[Dust]

Originally Posted by coolamber

For now I am going to see if an old huge dining room table can be adapted to start. Its 8x3 and it was build in the 70's , so it should be sturdy. Eventually I will need a larger one but if I can make this one flat it will do for now (I hope).

it will be just fine, wax it with Johnson's paste wax or other non silicone material and

ger rev ma agut - thank you in irish Gaelic

and see below

[Steve parkins]

Originally Posted by argoldman

Welcome "Cool"

You are indeed now a member of an exclusive, however inclusive group of incredibly creative individuals.

you are about to embark on a great journey--quest-- toward the completion of your aircraft.

You will hear comments, painted with broad brush strokes, and those painted with a single hair brush. Listen to them all, evaluate them all research the validity of them all and build ahead.

If you plan to modify your craft from the plans, know that the major drawback will be TIME. (assuming that your modifications are safe.) In aircraft, there is no such thing as a minor modification.

This statement is not to dissuade you from modification, as that is how our crafts morph into better airplanes, but rather to make you aware of the time component of modifications, of which all of us who have modified are aware (many times painfully).

Keep reading and contributing.

A single hair brush suggestion---

It has been my experience that gravity plays a tremendous role in the construction of the aircraft, and that the floor is the ultimate recipient of all kinds of epoxy drips, epoxy saturated saturated glass cut-offs ---and, of course, it will never happen to you,--- epoxy spills.

My suggestion is to not epoxy the floor, at this time, but to wait until the project is done, after which you can remove all of the stalagmites that your building process has created and then finish the floor.

You might be better off by just sealing the concrete, if even necessary.

The floors in both the basement, of my house, where I built most of the sub assemblies of my Dragonfly, and my hanger floor, where I finished my dragonfly and built my Aerocanard are similar to a history book of various accretions. Perhaps I can use a picture of the floor to justify my 51% to the FAA.

(or perhaps I am just a epoxioslob)

Your search - epoxioslob - did not match any documents.

Suggestions:

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[neverquit]

The 8 x 3 table sound like a good start but do yourself a favor and go get a 4 x 8 slab of MDF and put it on top. Then a 4x8 piece of masonite on top of that. Only 20 bucks and here you save the table top from wheel cuts and dripped epoxy. You can sand down scratches and epozy real easy on the masonite. And you probably have a split table for a leaf. The masonite will eliminate the pain in the patoot you'll get when you cut over or lay out your fiberglass over it. ; )

I found lots of epoxy sanding dust on the floor helps to keep the raw epoxy and pieces of epoxied glass from sticking to it.

[coolamber]

Originally Posted by neverquit

The 8 x 3 table sound like a good start but do yourself a favor and go get a 4 x 8 slab of MDF and put it on top. Then a 4x8 piece of masonite on top of that. Only 20 bucks and here you save the table top from wheel cuts and dripped epoxy. You can sand down scratches and epozy real easy on the masonite. And you probably have a split table for a leaf. The masonite will eliminate the pain in the patoot you'll get when you cut over or lay out your fiberglass over it. ; )

I found lots of epoxy sanding dust on the floor helps to keep the raw epoxy and pieces of epoxied glass from sticking to it.

That was the idea. I was going to put a slab on top of the table. One question, How do you seal the masonite to the mdf?

[Dust]

small finish nails - pre drill as they will not go through the mdf

[TMann]

Dust.....I though you were using contact cement for that?

[coolamber]

I do have several cans of the 3m spray on adhesive. Back when 3M changed the formula and added acetone I stocked up on it because I used to use it to attach really thin sheets of plywood to RC wing foam cores and the stuff was great for it. As soon as I discovered they were changing the stuff I bought whatever I could find of the old stuff in the stores. I was wondering if that would work but I decided against it since it may add varying amounts of thickness to the attachment.

[Phil Kriley]

R/C wing cores - reminded me of a trick I was shown many years ago - take yellow wood glue (such as TiteBond), thin it a little with water, and brush it on the foam core and on the balsa (or hardwood veneer) you are going to use to sheet the wing. Let dry. Then IRON the wood onto the wing core. I only did this one time because I've only made one wing with a solid foam core for R/C, but the one wing turned out great! The plane was destroyed in a crash at a pattern competition, but one thing I remember is that the wing skins stayed bonded to the various pieces of the wing.

Food for thought - not sure if it has any applicability to the Cozy.

[Dust]

I have used this technique for wood veneers many times, yellow glue stays thermoplastic for a day or two.

I will never use it again as i always get an area that does not glue.

No applicability to the cozy that i can think of

[neverquit]

I was wondering if that would work but I decided against it since it may add varying amounts of thickness to the attachment.

You'll be fine. Just bond the masonite so it sticks but weight it down. I used Elmer's glue. I figured if I ever wanted to replace the masonite I could rip it off. Had it for 3 years now.

Tip: Use a sharpie and put 90 and 45 deg. lines about 3 to 6 inches apart. Sometimes they come in handy for cutting guides.