Hi, Dene
Thanks for the info. Considering how much knowledge of that aircraft you
have, I think it is you, not me, that should have bought her! ;-) . I
agree, the empty weight is still reasonable by engineering standards, but
it is going to be a legal challenge to get her declared airworthy with two
on board and some fuel.
Thanks for the warning about the bolts. I prefer not to know what Rob did
with this aircraft. But I should feel safe: knowing him, the plane must
have been tested to its design limits! ;-)
Certification in France is agreed upon in principle, but is going to be
difficult in practice. The law here makes absolutely no provision for an
imported homebuilt aircraft. Homebuilts have to be inspected during
construction. Basically, it means I have to make ZS-WEC more
"inspectable". The plan is to make plenty inspection holes and hatches,
make all bolts accesible for torquing, etc. While preparing these, I
realized that the bolts that hold the WAFS have some resin and paint on
them, and therefore, cannot be torqued anymore. So, it is going to take
some work to make the aircraft easy to inspect.
The trouble is: I got a new job, meaning a high workload and no leaves for
a while. And I am 150 km far from my aircraft, because I have yet to find
a hangar closer than that. Real estate here is a problem, and airport and
aircraft are not welcome. And I still have to get a pilot's licence here,
which is another story.
So, I have decided to take my time, and improve both inspectability and
finish. Repaint the bird, among other things. And I will try to register
only when I consider the aircraft completed. You never know. By the time I
reach that stage, I might be in another country.
Serge Vidal
KR2 ZS-WEC
Paris, France
"Dene Collett (SA)" <dene.coll...@telkomsa.net>
Envoyé par : krnet-boun...@mylist.net
2004-10-14 22:38
Veuillez répondre à KRnet
Remis le : 2004-10-19 23:37
Pour : "KRnet" <kr...@mylist.net>
cc : (ccc : Serge VIDAL/DNSA/SAGEM)
Objet : Re: Réf. : KR> drills$WAF's
Hi Serge
Thanks for the info, she hasn't put much weight on considering all the
mods
done. Rob welded those wing tanks himself and I don't know how you could
make them any lighter than they are. I suppose he could have used slightly
thinner ally but that wouldn't have saved much.
Have you managed to get it certified to fly over there yet?
As for the cast ally gear attach brackets, they were aparently a local
casting done by someone in SA.
Just a word of caution, keep an eye on the bolts holding those castings to
the spar. I once found one of them with its head snapped off under the
passenger side. It was probably due to a rough landing he had on one of
his
outings to a bumpy strip somewhere.
Go well
Cheers
Dene Collett
KR2S-RT builder
Port Elizabeth
South Africa
mailto: dene.coll...@telkomsa.net
P.S: checkout www.whisperaircraft.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Serge VIDAL" <serge.vi...@sagem.com>
To: "KRnet" <kr...@mylist.net>
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2004 9:36 AM
Subject: Réf. : KR> drills$WAF's
Dene,
ZS-WEC was last weighted on July last year, just before I left South
Africa. She had had some modifications since her first flight. First, at a
certain point in time, Rob Van der Merwe added aluminium long range fuel
tanks (in the stubwings), and I suspect these are a bit on the heavy
side. Then, I made a much heavier instrument panel, meaning also more
wiring, etc. Last but not least, I changed the engine to a 2.4 liter VW,
with full dual electronic ignition. And many more small things that add on
and on...
Result: 321 Kg empty (that is #707, for those who still use Units of
Measure from the "stone" age ;-) )
Now, talking about the spring steel undercarriage, it sure is heavy, but
not that much, and boy! It is reliable and forgiving, that much I can say.
What I could never figure out is the brackets that link the U/C to the
spar. They are L-shaped, and look as if they are made of cast aluminium. I
always wondered where they came from.
Serge Vidal
Paris, France
(Gee, how much I mis South Africa!)
"Dene Collett (SA)" <dene.coll...@telkomsa.net>
Envoyé par : krnet-boun...@mylist.net
2004-10-07 23:50
Veuillez répondre à KRnet
Remis le : 2004-10-09 22:27
Pour : "krnet" <kr...@mylist.net>
cc : (ccc : Serge VIDAL/DNSA/SAGEM)
Objet : KR> drills$WAF's
Thanks to all who responded to my questions regarding long drill bits and
the attaching of the WAF's. I took a regular 3/16 bit to a new friend
today
who runs a business making all sorts of control cables for
auto/marine/industrial and other. He is getting one of his staff to
lengthen
it for me so it looks like I will get the job done this week end.
As for the weight of a retract system compared to a fixed gear, remember I
said we mostly used leaf spring material over here because it is readily
available unlike the exotic aluminuims like 2024. For interest sake, does
someone have the weight of a Deal gear leg and of the attach bracket +
bolts.My design does not have any attach brackets to speak of as they
piggy
back on the WAF bolts (aluminuim plate straddling the two WAF's) also no
wheel fairings. Although the steel legs are heavy, ZS-WEC was built to a
weight of around 620# originally so it needn't mean an overweight bird at
the end of the day.(Serge, I would be interested to know what it weighs
now??)
Dene Collett
KR2S-RT builder
Port Elizabeth
South Africa
mailto: dene.coll...@telkomsa.net
P.S: checkout www.whisperaircraft.com
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