Jun 01, 2023     Another month of reading plans - (2.0 hours) Category: Research

Another month of preparing to continue my project. Buying some nice tools and reading up on what to do next.

  Apr 03, 2023     A cold and wet Winter - (2 hours) Category: Research

Although it has been a few months since I have actually placed tools in hand to work on my project - I have been researching what to do next. My fuselage is in the barn and many a weekend has been either very wet or the path to the barn has been through up to 2 feet of snow. My next phase of the project is to begin the main wings and for this I need to move my fuselage to the workshop. I need a clear dry weekend to do this - maybe further in the Spring.

  May 04, 2022     read through plans - (2.0 hours)       Category: Research

My stabilator sat on the workbench this month while I read the plans for what to do next and stared out my work window at the airport. But the Builder's site sent me emails asking if I did anything. So this is what I did.

  Sep 15, 2021     VP2 for parts       Category: Research

This past weekend I drove to Canada with another member of our EAA Club. I went up and picked up a VP-2 that a builder had 70% completed. But must have lost interest. 1200 miles round trip and 3 days, but I have lots of parts I will use on my VP1. And some I will try to sell if anyone is interested in a VP2 with optional skis.

  Aug 10, 2020     Craigslist       Category: Research

Just for fun... actually a roll of the dice. I thought that perhaps I would get lucky so I put an ad in Craigslist "I would like a Volksplane project for parts or to complete. I am building a Volksplane and if anyone has an incomplete project or a decommissioned plane for parts please contact me. I am not interested in a complete flying aircraft." So far I have had 2 responses 1) a person with a Parker Teeny Two and 2) a person with a VP1 in pieces. If it pans out I'll post it...

  Jun 15, 2020     polymer       Category: Research

During lunch hours this week I did some research on POLYMERs. The below information is from ReadingPlastic.com
UHMW is a low-cost plastic that can be found in everything from hip replacements to military vehicle armor. Its properties and benefits include:
• Highly resistant to abrasion and corrosive chemicals
• Low friction
• Extremely low moisture absorption
• High impact resistance
• Suitable for machining and fabrication
UHMW has surface and chemical properties that are rare to find in high-performance polymers. It is very resistant to most chemicals, UV radiation, and micro-organisms.

  Jul 20, 2019     Wing       Category: Research

With the plywood and spruce order I also received 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch ply as "protective wrapping" to protect the spruce and Okoume. So I decided to take a piece of the 1/4 inch ply and make a "wing template". Here I found an interesting "engineer thing" (oddity?) - perhaps every other place in the VP1 plans measurements are in fractions (fortunately in American Standard vs. Metric). However, on the wing the designer (Evans) uses 100's of an inch? So I go to the web and search for decimal conversion to fractions in 1/64ths. It wasn't until about a month later at Home Depot I found a 6" ruler calibrated in 100's for about $5. So I used my ruler and made a template for the wing ribs. After I bought my 100's ruler I checked and sanded any variations between my 64ths measurements and the 100ths.

  Mar 18, 2019     VW Conversion Category: Research

I sent a picture of my VW Engine to a Volksplane group and one member thought it looks like a European style - so after some searching I found the UK LAA site (Like the EAA) and they had a CD for sale on VW conversion for only 30 Euros. (about $33.75 American)

  Mar 15, 2019     VW Conversion Category: Research

Now that I have a VW Engine I decided to buy some VW Engine conversion materials. First is the Wicks Aircraft VW Engine Conversion book. ($32.50)

  Nov 17, 2018     Beginning the Volksplane       Category: Research

Perhaps this will be the first entry. Around the end of November 2018 I decided to join the local (Bennington VT) EAA chapter 1325. I also decided that the Volksplane (VP-1) was the aircraft that fit my desires and modest woodworking skills. I purchased an engine stand on Craigslist and started looking for a VW Air cooled engine. With my decided aircraft project I also started looking for the required technical manuals. I bought a VW engine overhaul book by Tom Wilson.($18) I also found a very detailed builder's site http://www.stefanv.com/building-a-volksplane Stefan Vorkoetter is in Canada has not completed his project and has spend about 12 years (on and off) building it. The other site I visit often is Fritz Wagoner's http://www.zianet.com/fwagoner/. I also bought and adjustable drill bit for my drill press ($14) and the Volksplane complete plans for $114.