Aztec, Cibola, Zuni, Estevan Quivara and related gold-like conjecture

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HIO Peeps: Interesting thingie, strictly a fun gadget, but would love to have one, prob even more, I want the "Pilatus Porter" that he jumped out of sigh.

Side thought, he used 4 model aircraft turbos to produce 200 lbs thrust, hmm can this replace James bond's gadget? this would easily give vertical movement for the average person and having 4 engines gives a form of redundancy for extremely low altitude movements.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Highmountain]

HIO Peeps: Interesting thingie, strictly a fun gadget, but would love to have one, prob even more, I want the "Pilatus Porter" that he jumped out of sigh.

Side thought, he used 4 model aircraft turbos to produce 200 lbs thrust, hmm can this replace James bond's gadget? this would easily give vertical movement for the average person and having 4 engines gives a form of redundancy for extremely low altitude movements.

Don Jose de La Mancha

Morning Jose:

Did you notice the 'spurs' he has strapped to his lower legs? That and the two angles at the ends of his wings are the only obvious thing he has for stability thataway. You suppose he's steering skydiver style, or varying the thrust from the turbos?

I spend a lot of time last night doodling and sketching how a person might design something small and cheap for a single purpose in high mountains. It's a tough balancing act needing lots of wing and clean sometimes and a lot less wing and induced drag other times. But being able to reduce the size of the overall wing might be the only way to deal with lenticulars and other vortices and still have the wing survive.

I'm thinking newfangled tent poles and cheapcheapcheap nylon tent fabric might do the trick for the fabric and airframe. Maybe foam plastic sheets of the sort with lengthwise holes running through it and tent-poles running lengthwise through for the wingbottoms. Same stuff but thinner for the cantilever. Tough call between more wingspan or shorter wing more chordline .... I'm leaning to stubbier wings with a long cordline at the moment only because they might be less susceptible to turbulence.

But I'm fond of vertical and horizontal stabilizers, figure I'd want rudder and elevator control. Ailerons maybe just separate stubby wings working opposite one another below.

Just drawingboard I think the weight of the thing could be kept down under 50 pounds minus the push prop and weedeater driving it. A little heaver if a person wanted to mount it on a bicycle-type undercarriage, but still less than 75 pounds.

Surely would take a lot of testing with taxiing, lifting a few feet, taxiing, lifting trying shallow turns, risking a few feet higher etc. Weight and balance questions would probably cause it to have to be re-built a few times before it got right.

Jack

 

[somehiker]

Keep those ideas coming Jack.We could be witnessing the evolution of a great aerospace engineer here on TNet.I agree with Real's wishful choice of the PC6 "Porter" as what might be the ultimate go-anywhere toy which,by the way,is the only aircraft that I'm aware of that could give you a head-on view straight down the Dutchman's vertical mineshaft.It's big enough to carry a couple of ATVs,as well as a month's worth of margarita fixins and chili for those back country trips.Unfortunately a well used,but airworthy example will set you back about 1.2 mil.Lots of info for the curious-----
http://www.pc-6.com/
And--If you can spare an hour or so to watch an old documentary that PBS and the MSM would prefer you didn't,go here.Some excellent footage of the Porter in action as well as other versatile aircraft and personnel.
http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/AirAmerica/FMFM/index.htm
Regards:SH.

 

[Cynangyl]

I am gonna go watch it now! I have time before the show about the crystal skulls is back on.....that one I fell asleep during the other night. lol Thanks for the link man!

 

[Highmountain]

Keep those ideas coming Jack.We could be witnessing the evolution of a great aerospace engineer here on TNet.I agree with Real's wishful choice of the PC6 "Porter" as what might be the ultimate go-anywhere toy which,by the way,is the only aircraft that I'm aware of that could give you a head-on view straight down the Dutchman's vertical mineshaft.It's big enough to carry a couple of ATVs,as well as a month's worth of margarita fixins and chili for those back country trips.Unfortunately a well used,but airworthy example will set you back about 1.2 mil.Lots of info for the curious-----
http://www.pc-6.com/
And--If you can spare an hour or so to watch an old documentary that PBS and the MSM would prefer you didn't,go here.Some excellent footage of the Porter in action as well as other versatile aircraft and personnel.
http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/AirAmerica/FMFM/index.htm
Regards:SH.

SH: Probably a bit late in the day for me to become an aircraft engineer. I'm nipping at the heels of Jose age-wise. But I do love flying and was always bad about hanging it out over the edge.

PC6 looks like a good-un, but if I ever get around to buying another aircraft [other than special purpose] I expect it will be a Maule. Wanted one for most of my life and never got around to it. Not taking anything away from my old 1947 Cessna 140, but it just never grew up into Maule-hood. http://www.mauleairinc.com/

 

[somehiker]

C120s were a good little puddle jumper,especially with the metal wing conversion.This was my toy way back.Some beer buds waiting for the oil to warm up in the woodstove.I would have to drain the oil in the evening and heat it up in a boiler pot in the morning before flying,otherwise none of these guys could swing the prop....SH.

 

[Highmountain]

C120s were a good little puddle jumper,especially with the metal wing conversion.This was my toy way back.Some beer buds waiting for the oil to warm up in the woodstove.I would have to drain the oil in the evening and heat it up in a boiler pot in the morning before flying,otherwise none of these guys could swing the prop....SH.

Nice 'un.

When they got thinking men need to go somewhere in airplanes without propellers it was probably the beginning of the end of civilization coming that just hasn't caught up yet.

Jack

 

[somehiker]

True,but it's way more comfortable looking down at lightning,than looking up at lightning.At least for me it is....SH

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Gentlemen: I see that we have a strong common interest, flying. The porter is my ultimate love, with Maule a close second, but the old fashioned Stearman with the P&W 985 engine and controlable pitch prop will take them forjust short field, fun flying.

Empty, I have taken one off across a taxiway, perhaps 30 ft. Hold brakes, apply full throttle, low pitch then . release brakes, it will take off in a three point configuration.

As for landing , side slip it until almost in ground contact, straighten, hold it off at 45 indicated, over end of field, cut throttle, then touch down in a three point configuration . Landing roll of maybe 100 ft +

actually it is a Carrier approach tech.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

OHIO the little 120 was also a fun aircraft. I used to fly it at Oakland international. On base, while turning on final, I wouls kick open the inside door and it would act as if it had run into a brick wall, drop likw a rock then close door and enter a normal final.. Scared the hell out of observers, especailly the tower Instread of a normal wide turn, it would littlerally pivot on the wing tip.while dropping like a rock.

I can go on for hours on the silly or stupid things that I have done and lived in spite of them. I can only presume to guess that it was for me to find Tayopa and Atlantis ehehe

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Cynangyl]

well I am awfully glad you lived in spite of them! lol I have never flown a plane but have taken advantage of every chance I got to ride with someone else. perhaps someday I will be able to afford to learn to fly one but if not, I will just have to ride when I can.

 

[somehiker]

BTW--did any who viewed the AAM Documentary happen to note the scene nearer the end which demonstrated a jump team exiting from a B727-100 in flight?Via the aft stairway.Hmmm.....SH.

 

[Highmountain]

True,but it's way more comfortable looking down at lightning,than looking up at lightning.At least for me it is....SH

SH: With that Stearman you wouldn't have to worry about looking at lightning [or anything else]. You can't see anything, which gives them a motive for getting out the waay.

That's a 140 in the pic. Not a 120. Had a pair of little drag flaps to give it status and not much else.

Jose: I like your taste in airplanes.

Jack

 

[Highmountain]

well I am awfully glad you lived in spite of them! lol I have never flown a plane but have taken advantage of every chance I got to ride with someone else. perhaps someday I will be able to afford to learn to fly one but if not, I will just have to ride when I can.

Cynangyl: I think if I wanted to learn to fly today I'd just pick up one of the simulators available these days and log a few thousand hours on it in my spare time before I ever visited the local FBO and asked about flight instruction. Air time with an instructor's gotten gawdawful expensive for anyone who just wants to learn to fly. If you've done all your homework ahead of time and learned what those simulators can teach you these days you might cut the cost by a few thousand.

Between the stuff below, a copy of Stick and Rudder, and a copy of the FARs a person could probably become a middling competent pilot with about 2 hours of instructor time. Those simulators allow you to select between different aircraft, different flight conditions, just about everything that can happen in an airplane.

Home / Flight Simulator / Hardware

http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&Product_ID=11491&DID=19
http://snipurl.com/29wvf [www_sportys_com]

Jack

 

[Cynangyl]

Definitely going on my want list! Thanks so much for all the info! Copied it all down already.

 

[Highmountain]

Definitely going on my want list! Thanks so much for all the info! Copied it all down already.

I don't recommend it to anyone else, but when I decided I wanted to learn to fly I bought that old 140 in the pic, went over to the Killeen, Texas airport and found a guy with an instructor rating who owned a 120. Did a few hours dual with him before he pulled the wings off his 120 trying to do some maneuvers it wasn't designed for and killed himself and his passenger [another pilot].

I hadn't soloed yet, but I was at loose ends and felt comfortable with things, so I flew that old bird around for several years and logged over a thousand hours without going through any formalities. Eventually the rumor went around at the airport where I kept it tied down that I didn't have a flying license, which nobody much believed except a busybody FBO operator who liked to call the FAA about people anyway, and who didn't care for some of the runway tricks I was fond of.

Flew over to Austin one day, made my first entry into Controlled Airspace, flubbed that something awful, and took my FAA checkride and became a legal pilot about five years after becoming a just a pilot. [FAA man said I took the record for his 24 years giving check rides insofar as hours logged before doing the right thing.]

Not suggesting anything here, just saying that flying is flying and the rest is just the other stuff people dreamed up to keep you from doing it.

Jack

 

[Cynangyl]

I think if I learned enough I could talk my uncle into taking me up in one of his planes when he was in the area so I could try it but he would expect me to learn first. lol

 

[Highmountain]

I think if I learned enough I could talk my uncle into taking me up in one of his planes when he was in the area so I could try it but he would expect me to learn first. lol

You work that simulator hard enough, long enough and push the envelope enough on it you could probably give old uncle a surprise, a thrill, and an iron determination not to ever turn you loose in one of his airplanes.

Jack

 

[Cynangyl]

rofl I would have to get really good at it...he is a bit of a daredevil himself. He is off racing motorbikes last I heard. I certainly would like to give it a heck of a shot though!

I am off to get ready for my 24 hr shift so I will be back tomorrow morning sometime to catch up on all you guys have been doing. Have a fantabulous day and thanks so much for all the info!

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HIGH---Yer nuts, crazy, I can just imagine the bad habits you picked up learning by yourself heheheh. Incidentally, I was stick trained and am still partial to them. In the USAF we started at hr one with the old
AT-6. One of my instructors developed ulcers, you know who received the blame of course.

After about 3 hrs I was scheduled for a full blind - instrument -take off. My instructor, Steve Canyon, lined me up with the runway then told me to take off when I had clearance. As usual I was so nervous that I had both feet hard on the rudder pedals, after we started rolling my right foot slipped off and naturally I gave it full left rudder. we left the runway and I proceeded to bound several times before the poor aircraft staggered into the air by itself.

When I looked in the rear vision mirror at Steve, he had both feet on the cross bars smoking a cigar and looked as nonchalant as it was possible. When he noticed me looking at him, he picked up the mic and said " Curry, that was a bit ragged, let's go back and try again".

Later I found that that I had literally bounced over 4 runway lights. If I had hit one, we probably would have stalled and I wouldn't be writing this. How he could sit there calmly smoking a cigar without trying to correct a serious problem always escaped me, he was COOL.

My other instructor, Capt Ballard was famous in ww-2. He never completed a mission without being shot down. So, having two instructors kinda batty explains to an extent my present status. We mesh nicely gentlemen heheheh.

Don Jose de La Mancha

p.s. I presume that you all agree that I have located Atlantis without a doubt?

p.p.s. Some hiker, I would love to hear of some of your cold weather flying problems. Perhaps we should start another thread.