Waiting to Flit...

It's been three weeks.

Waiting for an airplane kit is the worst part of the project. Ya just wanna get to work. But, waiting gives you a chance to prepare. That's what I've been doing.

First I ordered catalogs:

Leading Edge Airfoils
A fine company with the best ultralight parts web site I've found.

California Power Systems.
Another fine company. With lots of cool ultralightr stuff. But a web site that, as of this typing, needs effort. The catalog is a must-have for Rotax drivers. And a great source of other goodies.

Aircraft Spruce & Specialty
770-228-3901 East US, 714-870-7551 West
They don't have a web site. But they've been around for a while. I ordered a compass and an altimiter. My guess is I'll be ordering Poly-Fiber covering cloth and chemicals from them. Ya gotta get to know these folks.

Speaking of Polyfiber. Even if you plan to use another covering system, their manual, video and catalog hold a wealth of good info. Aircraft Spruce is their biggest dealer. Plus, Polyfiber has a good web site... It lead me to:

Alexander Sportair.
Once Alexander and Aircraft Spruce merged, the Alexander name became associated with the wonderful hombuilder's workshops they are running. Unfortunately it's too late for me to sign up for any of the workshops scheduled for here in the Chicago area. Maybe next year. Or maybe, after OSH, I'll just go do one... I feel the need to weld...

SkySports
Hangar 1
Linden/Price Airport
Linden MI 48451
1-800-AIR-STUFF


These folks have some good stuff, for some great prices. I ordered a Winter airspeed indicator from them. They sent the wrong one. I got a 0-120 MPH version but had ordered a 0-100. In the box with the ASI was their catalog. I fell in love with the 540 degree sweep ASI, though it was a bit more costly. I gave them a call.

It turns out they had no 540 degree ASI's in stock. And no 360 degree 0-100's. Worse, because Winter instruments are built in Germany, new orders wouldn't be available for 1-2 months! Bummer.

The good news is that they had a 0-75 MPH ASI in stock. So, since the Flitplane's Vne is 70MPH, I figured that was good enough. Hey, if things get bad, do I really care how far I've gone beyond the redline?

The Winter is a fine ASI. I loved the one I had in my old Tierra. And, given the great prices at SkySports, I hope this screw up is not a bad sign from Hung (the god of thermals). I want to buy more toys from SkySports.


Pause, Ponder, Prepare.

When ya think about it, waiting for the kit isn't all that bad a time.

It gives you a chance to get over "buyer's remorse." "What have I done?" turns into, "Hey, I'm building an airplane!"

It gives you a chance to talk over the process with those who care about you. Not to mention telling your neighbors why you'll be out there in the garage 'till all hours. If you're as lucky as I am, all involved will begin to feel the fun.

And you have some time to set up your mind, and your Flit-Factory. (Last weekend I re-wired the garage. All the outlets are now Ground Fault Interrupted, and tested.)

And paper dolls... I've been planning my instrument panel. I scanned some images from the catalogs and scaled them to roughly full-scale as MS Paint prints them on my printer. Now, they're stuck the the refrigerator. While I wait for the microwave to make me a cup of tea, I make instrument panels from my paper dolls.

Here are some paper dolls to call your own:







It's getting near the time to call Wings of Freedom and ask, "Hey, friends, where's my Flitplane?"
I'm almost ready to start buildin'...



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Email:
Del Ogren