Motivation: Keep Building!

[MichaelFarley56]

I hope I don't bore you all to death, but I had to so much flying this past weekend I wanted to share...

Over the long holiday weekend, in between stuffing myself silly with large quantities of food, I was fortunate enough to squeeze in a few flights in my AeroVee powered Waiex taildragger. On Thanksgiving, I was able to go up for an early morning local sightseeing flight that only lasted a quick 25 minutes before I had to get back. With nowhere to go during this flight, I paid extra attention to the engine readings, just to confirm the AeroVee is running well. Thankfully, after spending the second half of the summer rebuilding my AeroVee, I continue to be thrilled at how well the mighty little engine is running. After establishing a cruise power setting in the cold November air, I perform a quick scan of the engine readings: 3000 RPM is resulting in a cruise speed of 130 MPH indicated airspeed at just over 5 gallons per hour. Despite only having 10 hours on these new cylinders, pistons and heads, I’m seeing 280-310°F on the cylinder heads, 1100-1200°F exhaust gas temps, 65 PSI oil pressure, and 175°F oil temp. All values I’m thrilled to see!

The very next day, I was able to make an afternoon flight and practice some formation flying with my friend Scott Meyer as he took his AeroVee powered Sonex up for a flight as well. On both of these occasions, the realization of how much fun I was having really struck home; here I was, having an absolute blast while flying around in MY airplane, and in those moments I gave thanks for picking such a fun airplane to build!

Before the weekend ended, I was able to get one more quick flight accomplished. This time, my 6 year old aviation-loving son was in the right seat next to me, and he was having just as much fun as I was as we (he, mostly) flew over our neighborhood and waved at our neighbors as they were busy putting up Christmas lights. What a great way to end the weekend!

As I sit back now and think about how much fun this weekend was for me, I want to pass along an important message: for those of you who may still be working on your project, I assure you, it will be worth it when you’re done. Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged or lose focus; I know for I’ve been there. But remember, the airplane you’re building, modifying, or upgrading is going to be an absolute blast to fly once it’s finished. Keep working on it, do your best work on it, and trust me when I say it will all be worth it once you’re done.

You’re going to love flying your airplane so keep up the good work!

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a great week!

Mike

[Bryan Cotton]

Thanks Mike! I am looking forward to the completion. I am sick of not flying!

[N111YX]

Great post, Mike! I can still relate to your experience after 8.5 years of flying. Of course, things can get routine after a while but I often feel the same way after certain flights.

Sometimes I look at the small details of my airplane and perhaps take a peek at the plans and wonder how I accomplished all of the work now that my greatest concern of the day is whether I need to pull the Waiex to the self serve pump or which flying friend may be available to meet up with.

I've always hoped that my videos posted to Youtube have motivated others as I was motivated by those before me. However, sometimes a simple written post like this hopefully will get someone back in the shop (and it's certainly a good time during the North American winter) and keep plugging away. As others have said before, it's not the Space Shuttle. It's relatively simple and with a little help you can get over any hurdle.

Many of you may be renting airplanes while building. As to whether it's cheaper to rent is for another thread but I notice my "renter" friends still deal with all of the classic hassles. "The airplane is still in it's 100 hour". "Jim has the 152 booked from Thursday through Monday over Thanksgiving". "I need a quart of oil. The last guy ran it low and here's his Mc'Donalds bag". "We will reimburse you for fuel at our rate". "We need the airplane back by 3PM".

Imagine opening your hangar and your airplane is exactly as you left it, ready to go. You are a way less than 1%'er. Enjoy the fruits of your labor! After the sun is down and you've wiped the bugs off of the airplane, do you just sit in the hangar for a bit and admire your rental C-172 like Mike and I look at our creations? Probably not. You will in the future and be slightly late for dinner a few times.

While I'm at it, remember that the airplane should be in a state of completion much longer than under construction so plan for the long term.

1) Work to get things right the first time so you can fly more and take the cowl off less, even if you want to finish it up and move on.
2) Look for ways to make maintenance easier such hinge pins versus screws (baffle/spark plug access) and access panels (tire valve stems/oil dipstick).
3) Consider accessibility of fasteners for later access. An engine accessory bolt on my Jabiru (top alternator mount bolt located below the fuel filler neck) installed opposite from that installed by the factory is the difference between unbolting the engine and not when replacing the alternator.

That's enough rambling. I'd be at the airport if it was not windy and cold here in Atlanta!

[Gordon]

Turbo AeroVee..........?

Mike Farley......great post....! Since I haven't followed this "discussion group" on a regular basics and am not really "up to date" on some things........my question to you is ......do you still have the turbo on your engine?

I have seen a number of your videos from the past testing the AeroVee turbo and really enjoyed them. Some builders have removed their turbo's.....just wondering if you have....and if so... why?

Gordon.....Hummel 2400.......Onex

[MichaelFarley56]

Hi Gordon,

At this moment I do not have the turbo installed on my engine. When I experienced the turbo "coking" issue a few summers ago I removed the turbo so I could send it back for inspection and repair. Not knowing how long it would take, I elected to revert the engine back to normally aspirated for the time being. At this point I'm having so much fun I cringe at the thought of downing the airplane to reinstall the turbo, so I'm happy just flying it as is!

Kip, well said! Excellent points to consider when building. Hindsight is always 20/20 but looking back now I wish I would have allowed more access behind my instrument panel for future upgrades or repairs. And I totally agree; owning an airplane is never cheap, but as compared to renting, there is something magical about having your own airplane available anytime you want it!

[Sonerai13]

Great post Mike, and spot-on! There are many trials, tribulations, set-backs, and other minor discouragements during the building of an aircraft. But it truly is a wonderful experience to get in and fly something that you built yourself. Don't give up! It's worth the effort!!

[fastj22]

So, my flight interests have altered over the past year, I got my commercial glider rating and got checked out to tow gliders in the club Pawnee. It really took most of my flight time over the summer. The Waiex sat mostly idle. I also got the opportunity to deploy to Antarctica for a month this fall which of course kept me on the ground, at least as PIC (plenty of time riding in C-17 cargo holds and middle seats commercial). The weekend I got back from the Ice, I checked my log book and found I hadn't logged any time for 6 weeks. Need 3 touch and goes right? The weather was good, the Waiex was tanned, rested and ready. I fueled her up, warmed up the oil, and did 45 minutes of totally awesome yanking and banking. Having your own personal magic carpet is beyond satisfying.

[Fastcapy]

This summer I have been crazy busy with my new hot air balloon ride business and I have been focusing on flying balloons way more than the Sonex. As much as I love ballooning there is something to be said to taking up the Sonex and pulling some G's and doing some high speed passes over my land! (plus I dont need a support crew when I want to go flying! Lol). Now that my commercial ballooning season is over I look forward to a little more yanking and banking! I had thought of selling my Sonex and buying another balloon but just can't bring myself to give up the fun of flying a plane like the Sonex.

[builderflyer]

Not to demotivate anyone but a builder of these aircraft, in my opinion, must find the actual construction process as a worthwhile, satisfying expenditure of their valuable time, separate and apart from any enjoyment they may ultimately receive from flying their completed aircraft. It should be obvious that unless a builder is very young and they keep and fly the completed aircraft for many, many years, they will never log as much time flying it as they spent building the aircraft. This axiom is most certainly true for us older plans builders but is also applicable to most all kit builders as well. So, my point is that while completing and flying your project can be the "carrot at the end of the stick", don't fail to savor and appreciate all your building efforts that got you there because that period of time, as opposed to "flying time", will likely be the principle consumer of the entirety of the time spent with your aircraft from the day that building began until the keys are finally turned over to someone else.

Art,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Sonex taildragger #95 (over 13 years flying),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Jabiru 3300 #261

[John keith]

Thanks for sharing Mike, glad to see positive feedback on the Aerovee because I feel this is a excellent engine at least from my perspective. I now have 38 hours on it and it is the turbo Aerovee. Wanted to ask someone who has had a turbo to see how many hours you had on yours before you had turbo problems and what exactly happened to yours as I believe you use to have but have since removed your turbo. Could you see the oil galleries coked off when you remove the oil supply and return lines? Just curious what to look for. Appreciate the feed back if you get a chance.