Q-talk 6 - LETTERS
- Details
- Category: Q-Talk Articles
- Published: Saturday, 31 October 1987 06:11
- Written by Jim Masal
- Hits: 2629
Dear Jim,
I was at Airsho 87 in Harlingen and saw my first Q-200. It was 20 yds. on the other side of the fence, but it was BEAUTIFUL! All I could think about was how to get a closer look and meet the owner. I finally got the bright idea to copy the N-number and look it up in Q-TALK.
I found that N84RC belonged to Cowles of Texas and today my Sport Aviation featured it in "what our members are building". That is one beautiful plane!
Can you send me Russel Cowles' address so if nothing else I can at least tell him how much I admire his plane? It looks like one of those examples of good workmanship you told me to study.
Lee Jinks, Edinburg, TX
(ED. NOTE: Glad to oblige, Lee. After hundreds of hours of toil and sweat, there's nothing nicer than to have someone admire your creation and be told. Right guys?)
Dear Jim,
When I was a student in '75, I had heard of Oshkosh but didn't suppose I'd ever go because I never had a lot of money or traveled much. I got a ride up in '79. After I realized it was a homebuilders show, for a couple years I thought "could I do it", then a year about "should I do it", and in '84 "which one should I do."
I bought a Q-200. I got a little start, but got interested in go-cart racing and having an 8-year-old son, it looked like fun for us. I never made the commitment I know it takes to build my Quickie. But, I have just come back from Oshkosh and have decided I want to build that airplane more than anything else as a life's accomplishment. I want to do a good job and build it for an instrument rating. I'm writing to join the QBA.
Clark Betts, Des Moines, IA
Dear Jim,
Your newsletter is very much appreciated and necessary. I have been stuck at the famous "Wall" for quite a while, hence the lapse in my subscription, but I am finally over it.
For a population of only 240,000 people, Iceland probably has pretty many homebuilts "per capita", or 9 built in recent years and at least 4 known being built. I am building a Q-2 and my father and brother are flying an Avid Flyer built in only 4 months last winter. In Iceland flying is the main mode of transportation and recreational flying is very popular. We have around 1 plane per 1,000 and 1 homebuilt per 18,500 inhabitants.
Ragnar Ingolfsson, Isafjordur, ICELAND
ED. NOTE: Geez, we think WE have trouble building in the U.S. with all our resources close at hand. Thanks for the glimpse of aviation in your country, Ragnar. I encourage all overseas builders to tell us such things. You are part of our world family and we are here to help when we can.
Heard in conversation with Norm Howell: EVERYTHING TAKES LONGER THAN YOU EXPECT IT TO TAKE...EVEN WHEN YOU EXPECT IT TO TAKE LONGER THAN YOU EXPECT!
Dear Jim,
Count me in as a QBA supporter for another year - dues check enclosed. The Forum at Oshkosh continues to improve, and "cowls off" on Monday was especially helpful. Let's try to make that a tradition for Q builders coming to OSH.
Art Jewett, Louisville, KY
Dear Jim,
It was too bad that the heat drove my wife and I out of Oshkosh on Sunday, but I certainly enjoyed both the back porch meeting as well as the evening meeting on Saturday. For me the afternoon get together was particularly meaningful, probably because it was a smaller group and I got a chance to have a dialog with a number of builders including you. It was real nice meeting you, Jim.
David Calkins, Acton, MA
ED. NOTE: I thank you. I'm glad to have met you and many other QBAers. It makes Oshkosh like a family reunion each year and I can attach faces to letters. Perhaps it's time to resurrect the "Sometimes Annual QBA Wine 'N Cheese Social" at the University next year?
Dear Jim,
Enclosed are my dues for 1988. Keep up the good work, I am still finding the newsletter invaluable even though I have been flying for 3 years.
Kim Andrews, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Dear Jim:
Reading '87's issues so far, I noted some people felt as I have - that I have nothing much to contribute as a tyro among experts. I've been flying for 47 years now and am slowly edging up on 11,000 hours, but that doesn't cut much ice with people who can take a pile of raw materials and persevere for years and thousand of hours of sometimes frustrating labor to end up with a beautiful airplane that flies as good as it looks.
Enjoyed meeting you and Norm Howell in Miami. If you or other Quickie builders come this way, drop in, 10 W. of the city on the Kissimmee River.
Grant Swartz, Okeechobee, FL
ED. NOTE: Not true, Grant. Most of us (95+%) who even have completed aircraft would NOT admit to being experts...nice of you to think so, though (ask Norm about the 70 year old non-pilot, living on social security who is just about ready to take his Q-2 to the North Perry Airport in Ft. Lauderdale). Don't make the mistake of thinking you won't, for example, figure out a simple way of drilling a difficult hole and then you don't tell us how you did it. It's the simple tips I get in my mailbox that are often the most astounding! As an example, take a look at this one:
Dear Jim,
QBAers may be interested in a source of cardboard mailing tubes with which to whack workshop-intruding cats, dogs, children and other pests.
Upholstery shops. The one I contacted gave me about 100 feet of tubing -- on the condition that I take all of the tubes cluttering up the shop, not just what I needed.
A busy upholstery shop collects 2 or 3 new tubes every day UPS delivers.
Quent Durham - Orinda, CA
Dear Jim,
I gotta put the bird up for sale. I had her ready to fly, but wasn't very comfortable with the Revmaster powerplant. I decided to step up to the 0-200 for peace of mind, but after a lot of work, 2 things intervened: Marriage and a 4 year overseas tour!
Rob Kasper, Alexandria, LA #2552
Jim:
I got this letter from Jim Irwin of Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Co: "Thank you for your request for quotation on a 5-inch extension for the Cont. 0-200 engine. We can furnish this extension for $273.00 and delivery would be 10-21 days...made of 2024T3 aluminum and our fabricator makes the finest quality extensions we have seen on the market..."
Ted Fox, Mansfield, OH
Dear Jim:
I was able to get a "Kit Under Construction" policy with AVEMCO insurance company 1-800-638-8440. EAA endorses them, and they offer a conversion to flight and ground or ground only (maybe for those who don't fly their creations??). My aircraft is exposed to theft and vandalism (no small consideration if you live in the drug capital of the USA) and I got the policy for $456 covering $20,000 (parts and 5 yrs. off-and-on labor). This is a new coverage and who knows how long they'll offer it - until they get burnt badly, I guess.
Phil Kelly, Miami, FL
Dear Jim,
Yes, at 14.0 hrs. the tail assembly of my N31DJ snapped off where the glass meets the metal. I know I will not rebuild it as per plans. I am in contact with other QBAers trying to come up with the best alternative. Wish now that I had connected the rudder cables directly to the rudder and then ran the spring cable to the tailwheel. By the grace of God there were no injuries.
Secondly, I really enjoyed Norm Howell's article in Sport Aviation. I took UPT at Vance AFB as well. We learned all about crosswind landings, right Norm?
Thirdly, to the enthusiastic person inquiring about doing aerobatics in the Q-2...DON'T! This is not an Acrosport or Pitts. I won't even attempt an aileron roll - and I have done my share...in suitable aircraft.
Fourthly, if you choose to use electrical knockout plugs to gain access to the tire valve stems (Q-TALK 5/6) consider using a brace and bit. The bit makes a nice hole and you can practice first on a pine board.
Finally, Q-TALK has even more value to me now that I am in the test flight phase. Observations by other flyers make much sense. Thank you, Jim, for your dedication.
Daniel Judge, Cut Bank, MT
Jim,
Relocation from MD to WA has provided me with a workshop, time on my hands and much energy to get Q-200 #2849 underway. Thanks to all contributors; my QT files are highlighted with your experiences and suggestions...QAC plans really are appalling.
I've thrown away some awful old hardener and resin milky with sediment, however, I have 6 gallons of resin identical in appearance and consistency with new resin just purchased; it is dated B4 (Feb. '84). What are your thoughts on whether to use it?
Fred Klein, Orcas Island, WA
ED. NOTE: My thoughts have not changed from those expressed in QT 3/4. Don't rely on an amateur hack like me to allay your fears, call Hexcell Customer Service, a resin chemist or rely on your own best judgment.
Dear Jim,
Just read Q-TALK #5. I have 130 hours on my Revmaster with no heat problems (CHT or oil temp), however I get the sick feeling that along with a defunct QAC, we are seeing growing evidence of a less than quality engine. I was told the 2100DQ was good for 1000 hrs. before major rebuild. Like Howe, I'm using the Fram PH-43 oil filter (the toilet paper filter cracked during a cold weather start). I'm using Valvoline 20/50 but will change to a lighter grade as there is no starting the Rev in the winter without pre-heat and trying to prop with an engaged starter is a real pain. Has anyone mounted a geared starter on the Revmaster that will disengage when you let up on the starter button?
Another shortfall: the medium grade steel exhaust system, which rusts away while you watch it. I am faced with early replacement and think I will go with 4 straight pipes exiting the bottom rear of my cowl. Revmaster indicated they are not hyped on the "tuned exhaust".
Fred Wemmering, Fayetteville, NC
Dear Jim,
Quickie N43EC (Q-Talk #1 1987, pg. 6, with the LS canard and inboard gear) was test flown for a runway hop in ground effect and found to be nose heavy. I had to practically drop the bird in for the landing about 200' from the fence at the end of the 3,000' runway after the 15-25' high flight. I got off with only a slight bend in one gear leg and no harm to the gear attachments built into the canard. I decided to add 9.5 lbs. at about sta. 150 and will repair and try again off of at least a 4,000' runway next time. P.S. I was 72 in November - Old and less bold.
Ed Chalmers, Oceanside, CA
Jim,
After reading (and re-reading several times) your comments in QT 3/4 under the heading "FINISH THE DAMN AIRPLANE", the last paragraph made more sense to me than anything I've come across for quite some time. I've spent 7 years to get the fuselage nearly complete and it's beginning to be a thorn not a pleasure anymore. So, enclosed find my classified ad for my Quickie project.
Bob Bailey, Mason, MI
Hello Jim:
Greetings from a past Q-2 owner and flyer. I still look forward to receiving Q-TALK with as much anticipation as always although I no longer have a Q-2. All the news and information really keeps me in touch with a part of my life that I sorely miss (ED. NOTE: Arnold totaled his Q-2 in a crash returning from Oshkosh '84). There are 4 flying Q-2's in our area so I still am able to at least look. The aircraft here all seem to be flying A-OK with the owners all collecting pleasure from all the time and effort spent on construction.
I have built LeGare's Seahawk and find I have very few problems with construction due to my previous experience building the Q-2. My Hawk is nearly ready for taxi tests and first flight.
Arnold Forest - Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA
(ED. NOTE: You know the Q-2 and now the Seahawk, Arnold; any tips you have that we could apply to the Q-2 are welcomed. I see that you are using your former Q-2's registration on your new Hawk: C-GUER. I hope the ghost of your old bird keeps you safe).
BACK ISSUES - QUICKTALK AND Q-TALK - All 30 issues of QUICKTALK are still available for $2.00 each ($2.50 Overseas). All 6 back issues of Q-TALK are available for $3.00 each. Six years of tips, ideas, pilot reports and history at your fingertips. Complete your collection or use it as an extra bonus if you decide to sell your project. More fascinating than a James Michener novel!!!
QBA BUILDER ROSTER - At the end of each year our roster is as fat as it gets. Still available for $5.00, the QBA member roster contains nearly 400 names, addresses and phone numbers of fellow Q-builders. Now is the time to have a list of contacts to further discuss an idea or flight report that you read about in Q-TALK. $5.00
CHRISTMAS IS HERE!
A great gift for you and/or your favorite co-pilot is this very attractive, gilt, 3 dimensional Q-2 casting made up as a tie-tack or collar pin. Pins are approx. 3/4" long. $13.50 each and still available in time for the holiday. Great for explaining your project at those boring holiday parties full of non-fliers.
'88 DUES '88 DUES '88 DUES '88 DUES
As of NOW, Q-TALK for 1988 will cost $20. You should remember that each and every single one of you must have renewed before the first issue of January or you don't get it. It's been that way for 3 (three) years now, so don't write me any goofy letters in March asking 'wha hoppend."
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RD 3, BOX 107 B
SOMERSET, PA 15501
(814) 445-8506 OR (814) 445-8608
Plans - complete kits - customer technical support - building service - composite workshop - Cowlings for Q-2 Turbo and Q-200 - all metal fabricated parts - Tri-Q sparless canards - builders assistance - plans for all Q-Birds.
Custom Composites has been in the custom fabrication business since 1981 and has built over a dozen Q-2's and dozens of composite parts for Q-2's and other types of planes. As the new dealer in the eastern U.S. we now offer building services for the Quickie and Q-2 and can supply you with a complete Q-2 kit including those hard to find items. We are service oriented and will respond to the customer's demands. "Our goal is to provide the potential kitplane builder with the best in kits and the best in customer services. We welcome your inquiries and will honor your business."
You can order a PDF or printed copy of Q-talk #6 by using the Q-talk Back Issue Order Page.