51–60 of 83 posts
I watch a few aviation YouTube channels and this plane has popped up a few times. I had no idea of the story behind it, that is super cool! Minor article nitpick, bushplanes are more like the Land Rover Troopy or Enduro motorbike bike of the sky, and not at all like an SUV. SUVs are lumbering, fragile and impractically large people busses, often with all the luxuries you can think of. Bush Planes are nimble, barebone…
Woo, turbines are great; fantastically reliable, awesome power-to-weight, able to use cheaper and safer fuel than gasoline piston engines. They are pretty expensive though, wikipedia says the PT6 used in this project starts at around $500K. There's a few companies designing smaller turbines (100-200 kW size) for aircraft, http://www.turbotech-aero.com/ and https://www.turb.aero/ , competing with Rotax 912, Lycoming,…
Plenty of the small PT6s coming off older airframes for -135 upgrades or airframe retirements.
This interview with him is amazing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqhI4MeCn1c To have the money AND the skill and what an amazing attitude! The video highlights all the changes he made- including lights from a 737 :D
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Go watch the build videos and you'll understand how he got it done in 5 months. The guy is definitely "special" in the sense that he's incredibly driven, very positive, and a bit scary. Apparently, he only sleeps a few hours a day.
The playlist is here [0], and it's definitely worth watching! The completed plane is just insane, and I was amazed at how much of it he made from carbon fiber. 0: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9OFkVHYEhoEfWmN0lQRZ...
I watch a few aviation YouTube channels and this plane has popped up a few times. I had no idea of the story behind it, that is super cool! Minor article nitpick, bushplanes are more like the Land Rover Troopy or Enduro motorbike bike of the sky, and not at all like an SUV. SUVs are lumbering, fragile and impractically large people busses, often with all the luxuries you can think of. Bush Planes are nimble, barebone…
I definitely agree with bush planes being pragmatic vehicles of utility, and are generally stripped down pretty bare. But I've heard more than one bush pilot refer to his plane as the SUV of the bush, generally these were larger planes like Beavers or a 206 though. Seeing a full size fridge placed sideways in Beaver (with the doors removed and the ends sticking out either side) and you'll see why that say that!
I've heard that for the old 206's, if you could fit it through the doors you could haul it. (Insert long discussion here about that being a good way to kill yourself. Presumably there's some bush wisdom to prevent that from happening)
This interview with him is amazing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqhI4MeCn1c To have the money AND the skill and what an amazing attitude! The video highlights all the changes he made- including lights from a 737 :D
I couldn't stop watching Mike's build videos. This guy has an infectious Steve Irwin level of enthusiasm for aviation
This is very cool. I had to look around a bit, but I found a link to DRACO taking off at at a competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp3402SOk8A Apparently this distance is about 100ft. Stats are all over the place, but "DRACO will climb at 4,000 feet-per-minute (FPM) and cruise at 180 mph (290 km/h) at 16,000 feet." which apparently blows everyone else out of the water (and it should for a 1M+ plane) Also, 5 m…
That short take off took me totally by surprise. That's not even 100m
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Insane timeline indeed! I wish I had a work ethic like that. It's interesting how he tells that as a child, he was encouraged by his parents to "always finish his project, no matter how much you disliked it". I wonder what the reliability of this beast is like, but I guess only time will tell. If anyone is interested in this kind of stuff (fiberglassing fuselages, building cockpits...), Peter Sripol, a model plane en…
> "always finish his project, no matter how much you disliked it". Yeah, I wish my parents would have taught me this when I was young.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Insane timeline indeed! I wish I had a work ethic like that. It's interesting how he tells that as a child, he was encouraged by his parents to "always finish his project, no matter how much you disliked it". I wonder what the reliability of this beast is like, but I guess only time will tell. If anyone is interested in this kind of stuff (fiberglassing fuselages, building cockpits...), Peter Sripol, a model plane en…
> "always finish his project, no matter how much you disliked it". Yeah, I wish my parents would have taught me this when I was young.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And most true in aviation. With enough funds you can buy some very magical things. But it isnt a bush plane if it cannot be fixed in the bush . Things like turbines and carbon fiber dont lend themselves to repair in an actual field.
Carbon: One of the most popular high performance light bush planes at the moment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubCrafters_Carbon_Cub_EX Turbines: The money makers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-3_Otte... (plus it's twin cousin) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherpa_Aircraft_Sherpa So these aren't bush planes? Edit: further, there's nothing inherent to carbon or turbines that make them unsuita…
Surely a prop is better suited for this? You could even carry a spare "just in case".