Blue Plane Blue Sky

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First flight of a blue Belite....

Blue Belite flies overhead on first flight

  Many more pics of this experience can be found on Belite's flickr account.

Tail of aluminum Belite ultralight airplane.

Lift strut attachment at wing.

Belite flies by.

Floats, Tricycle Gear, Turtledeck, Builder tips

Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!


Something for everyone...

One sneek picture of an amphibious float is somewhere below...

Pics of the Sky Blue plane with a turtledeck on it, builder tips for those builders seeking help, photos of a tricycle gear fuselage under construction, photos of a primed fuselage, carbon fiber spars, all for the ultralight Belite Aircraft.

By the way, my heart goes out to designers of amphibious floats.  Hardest design project, ever.

Carbon fiber spar with jury strut fitting.  Wrapped with carbon fiber rope and epoxied.

Sky Blue Ultralight Belite with turtledeck.

Another view of the sky blue ultralight Belite Aircraft.

Blurry picture of lift strut fitting, with carbon fiber rope and epoxy.

Messy job on the glue, but aluminum doubler (2.75" OD) over carbon fiber spar.  Tripler on inside root.

New design Belite door.  Coolest ultralight aircraft door, ever.

CNC cut frame on inside of door frame.  Note two pins for locking door closed.

We added corner pocket windows to this Belite.  Edge of  polycarbonate door panel is visible.

This side of the plane has a polycarbonate window installed.  Easily removable 'cuz we used Nutserts.

Swing the door up.  Someone really ought to add a gas lift strut.

Door hinge installed on top of door.

Picture of amphibious float.  How'd this photo slip in here?

Really bad photo showing one way to overlap fit trailing edge material together.

Another way to fit trailing edge together.  Works with wood ribs if you use a left and right gusset.

Tricycle gear airplane under construction.

Finishing tail of tricycle gear airplane.

Underside of rear deck, showing structure. 

Gusset detail on tricycle gear airplane. 

More gussets.

This gusset is doubled, as gear hinge will be bolted here.

And here as well.  Doubled.

Another view of the bottom of the rear deck.

View of the front.  Nose gear not yet installed.

Detail of front of fuselage.

Detail of front of fuselage.

Some aluminum primer, some paint.  This bird nearly ready to cover.

Motor Oil mixed with Grinding Abrasive, Challis, Cabin Creek Airstrip, a Cessna 172, a Fuel Leak, and a Friend

Motor Oil mixed with Grinding Abrasive, Challis, Cabin Creek Airstrip, a Cessna 172, a Fuel Leak, and a Friend

by James Wiebe

I had developed a habit of flying into Idaho, nearly every summer, to go camping in the Wilderness. 

This trip would follow in the annual tradition.  I was flying with Mike Andrews, my pastor friend from Colorado, and we were headed to Cabin Creek airstrip, near Big Creek, home of world class cutthroat trout and world class cabin.  Cabin Creek is a gnarly little airstrip, and curls up the side of the hill like a well used jeep track, hidden in a mountain valley.  It curves, it climbs, and it ends abruptly.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Challis, Idaho is a very important little town to me.  It's where I learned the ins and outs of mountain flying, way back in 1996, at a mountain flying school.  It's close to the backcountry, where wilderness, rivers, wildlife, and airstrips intertwine, but no roads:  there are no roads in the wilderness.

Challis has a diner or two, a couple of motels, a great airport, 2 or 3 FBOs, a backcountry air taxi service (or two), an outdoor store and some houses.  Maybe a gas station. 

Challis is an excellent spot to spend a last night, before hopping into the wilderness.

The weather was perfect:  blue skies, reasonable winds.
The airplane was packed with all our camping equipment.   Backpacks, flyrods, water bottles, food.
The airplane itself:  my old friend, a 'Superhawk' Cessna 172:  180hp in a light airframe:  great performance, great useful load.  A superb backcountry bird.
The friendship:  Mike and I are tight.
The destination:  as good as it gets:  fishing, camping, wilderness, isolation, friendship, a fire under a sky as black as coal; stories between friends. 

Mike and I were nearly ready to depart.  I walked into the FBO, and requested a quart of oil before we departed.

I unscrewed the lid of the oil container.  I found it odd that the lid snap ring was already loose.  I was too stupid to make this stop me from what I did next.

I started to pour the quart of oil into the engine.  Oil came out; also a white milky substance in the oil.  I watched the white milky substance run down the funnel and into the engine.  I stopped pouring the oil into the engine.  I walked back to the FBO, and told them what I had just seen entering my engine from the oil bottle they had just sold me.

The FBO Man immediately knew that he had committed a great sin.  He had sold me a bottle of motor oil, except that he had given me a used bottle of grinding oil, filled with grit from an abrasive wheel.  He confessed his sin to me.


HE HAD GIVEN ME A USED BOTTLE OF GRINDING OIL, FILLED WITH GRIT FROM AN ABRASIVE WHEEL.


I HAD POURED IT IN MY ENGINE.

The weather was no longer perfect:  blue skies, reasonable winds and an airplane with an engine filled with grit.
The airplane was packed with all our camping equipment.   Backpacks, flyrods, water bottles, food, and engine oil contamined with grit.
The airplane itself:  my old friend, a 'Superhawk' Cessna 172:  180hp in a light airframe:  great performance, great useful load.  A superb backcountry bird, especially when the engine does not have grinding grit in it.
The friendship:  Mike and I are tight.  That is not affected by grit in the engine oil.
The destination:  as good as it gets:  fishing, camping, wilderness, isolation, friendship, a fire under a sky as black as coal; stories between friends, and all of it hopelessly unattainable, due to the damn grit in the engine. 
The FBO Man said:  "I will thorougly flush your engine and refill it with oil; I will fly you and your friend into the wilderness, I will make this right."

FBO Man began his repairs.

Mike getting in the Superhawk; cowling removed and engine flush under way.

Later in the day, he flew us into the backcountry.  We landed at Cabin Creek airstrip later that afternoon. 

Looking uphill at Cabin Creek; watching a departing aircraft; the black strips are rubber water diversion drain strips.

FBO Man dropped us off, and Mike and I started the hike from the airstrip down to the river.

We ended up at an ideal camping spot, not more than 20 yards from Big Creek.  Our tent was pitched under some trees.

Over the next few days, Mike and I entered into an easy routine of fishing up or down the river, using a mostly grasshopper imitations and other high floating dry flies.  Fishing was easy; cutthroats kept coming to the fly. 

Big Creek is an extraordinary river.  Upstream, it falls over boulders and descends so that pools and bends are hard to find. 

Downstream, it gathers itself in a sharp run that might fish well.  Inbetween, it wanders through a series of cuts and bends that kiss the opposite bank.  Tall grasses flop over the edge of the river.  Cutthroats hide under the tall grass edges. 

A beautiful hole is in the mid-valley.  Far deeper than most of the river, it's occupied by some trout that love depths and disappearing.

Cabin Creek (of which the airstrip is named after) flows into Big Creek.  Cabin Creek is a tiny trickle of water, and surprisingly, it holds big trout as well.

Now it's night time.
The sky is coal black.
Mike and I settle into our sleeping bags.
Mike asks questions about my spiritual condition.  He helps me focus on my faith in Christ.

The weather has been perfect:  blue skies, reasonable winds.
The airplane will once again be packed with all our camping equipment.   Backpacks, flyrods, water bottles, food.  Except we've eaten the food; not much is left.
The airplane itself:  my old friend, a 'Superhawk' Cessna 172:  180hp in a light airframe:  great performance, great useful load.  A superb backcountry bird.
The friendship:  Mike and I are tight.  
The destination was as good as it gets:  fishing, camping, wilderness, isolation, friendship, a fire under a sky as black as coal; stories between friends. 
It's time to go home.

FBO Man has flown my Cessna Skyhawk into the airstrip, and it is waiting for us.  (I will not pen the logistics of how all that happened, or how we communicated with the outside world.  It's not worth it, and besides, this story is a little more mysterious if you don't know all the details, such as how I had a satellite phone and used it as necessary.)

I start the engine, and taxi it from the low end of the airstrip up to the high end, so we can turn around and takeoff downhill, into the valley.  It's impossible to take off uphill, just look at the first picture in this blog.  Uphill takeoffs are impossible!

At the top end of the airstrip, I turn the engine off.  In hindsight, I don't know why.  I guess I wasn't ready to take off.  I got out of the airplane, and looked at the engine compartment.  While inspecting the nose wheel, I notice that it has a drip of liquid running down it continuously.  If I had taken off, the gas would have run out the front of the airplane, and the engine would have soon quit.

Gasoline is running down the nose wheel.!! This was the second breakdown of the trip.  This time, I was in the wilderness.

FBO Man flew back into the airstrip, in his Cessna 206.  He brought tools and parts with him.  He proceeded to disassemble the gascolator on the airplane and replace a gasket.  The fuel leak had absolutely nothing to do with the oil flush and replacement he'd done with the airplane earlier in the week.

So he billed me for this wilderness gascolator gasket repair:

Flying into the wilderness:  $280 roundtrip from Challis in his Cessna 206  (a bargain).
His time:  2 hours;  $120 total. 
One 'O' Ring gasket:  $1.

Total bill:  about $400.

Mike and I headed home.

Really Cool WoW Plane Photos

Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!


I've just got pictures today.  Here's some more photos Gene took today at Sun N Fun 2012:

Blue Skies, Belite Ultralight Airplane

Severe Climb Angle? with Belite Ultralight Airplane

UK and Ultralights

Interested in a British legal SSDR ultralight aircraft?  You can sign up here for our upcoming formal product announcements.

But before the formal product announcement comes out, I wanted to talk to you, my loyal blog readers, about a substantial upcoming addition to Belite's aircraft lineup.  It incorporates a significant design change, resulting in lower takeoff and landing speeds, along with increased climb performance.

It looks like this:

What's different about this Belite?  It has lower weight, and a bigger wing.

Belite Aluminum Ultralight Aircraft Cabin Construction, #3

Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!


This is a third in a series of article on how to build a Belite aluminum cabin.

The first in the series may be found HERE.

The second in the series may be found HERE.

Random reminder:  All of the standard warnings and disclaimers apply.  Flying a Part 103 Ultralight Aircraft may be dangerous or deadly.  These aircraft are not certified under any FAA regulations.  They are not built from certified aircraft materials.  You are required to sign our standard liability release before we'll ship you a plane or a kit.  You take full responsibility for your aircraft and its operation, per federal law, and per our liability release, no matter who built it.  (Us, you, or someone else...)

Sigh...  American liability...   Now, onward.

****

The cabin in the Belite Ultralight Aircraft has several noteworthy, eyebrow raising features.  For instance, I am very pleased with the number of storage / baggage compartments which I've been able to design into the plane.

Before we get started with today's construction, let's look at some photos which preview the results of your construction project!

Belite Ultralight Aircraft Cabin Assembly, with teal blue Oracal

Three individual storage / baggage compartments, with solid aluminum bottom

Chart compartment, on left side of cabin

***

Now, directly on to the construction.  We'll pick up where we left off in the last installment.

Cut thin wall square tubing for the front seat cross box, and then cleco the two skins to that tubing.

Thinwall tubing for Front Seat Cross Box.  Note one short center piece missing.

You'll need to cut and fit the short tubing piece and cleco it in place as well.  I'm sorry it missed the above picture, but it is in the next picture, below.

Skins, clecoed to tubing for front seat cross box assembly.  Short piece is clecoed inbetween.

Now we'll work on the baggage divider for the front compartment.

Baggage Compartment Divider

There are three baggage dividers.  Select the one for the front compartment, which looks like the photo, above.

Front Baggage Divider, after bending tabs.

After bending tabs in a box break, the divider will look like the above photo.  The divider is then clecoed in place, and it will help to support the front seat cross box assembly.

Front Baggage Divider, clecoed in place.

Front Baggage Divider, riveted in place.

Front Seat Cross Box, riveted together

Front Seat Cross Box, riveted together with quartering view

Then we proceed to the Middle Seat Cross Box.

Middle Seat Cross Box, cleco assembly identical to Front Seat

Now we need to make a notch in each longeron, immediately after the Front Seat Cross Box.  Make a mark as shown below:

Mark in longeron.

Cut notch in longeron.

The notch will allow us to bend the longerons up, about 5 degrees.  The actual angle is determined by the precut side skins, which are coming soon.

Side skin being cut.

Side skin clamped onto side of cabin assembly.

The bend in the side skin determines how high to bend up the longeron.  A clamp in the above photo is holding the longeron against the side skin, so the angle is perfect.  Note the clecos already holding the side skin as well.

Closeup of overlapping star gusset.

Note how everything overlaps.  The top door side skin (not yet installed) will overlap into the same area and determine the final angle of the vertical longeron, and that is why its holes have not yet been drilled through.

Even more clecoes in the side skin, while Lucky snoozes.

One of our shop cats got in the photo.  Our cats are named Second Chance and Lucky.  Both are gorgeous and friendly.

Bottom Cross Lift Strut Tension Member and rear structural angle parts

Cut the three parts as shown, above.  The bottom Cross Lift Tension Member is 1x1x.063 6061T6.  It is NOT thinwall tubing.  At 6Gs of (hypothetical) lift, this piece is carrying around 5,000 pounds of tension.  (And on paper, it's good for it.)

Error in side skins

When this production prototype was under construction, the side skins did not have a rear 1 x 1 notch.  Yours should have a notch, but the longeron will still need to be cut out, so that they look like this:

After notchout and longeron cut.

The cross member will form the base of the rear cabin.  Construct the rear cabin cross box:

Rear cabin construction begins.

Rear Cabin Cross Box with rear skin.

Add the thinwall tubing.

Thinwall tubing for top of Rear Cabin Cross Box.

Thinwall tubing placed into Rear Cabin Cross Box.

Now, it's time for some riveting.  Note rivet sizes as always, based on the photos:

Rivets on Cross Boxes.

More rivets hold side skins and cross boxes.  WARNING:  Extra rivets shown!

The warning refers to a few extra rivets which have been placed, and which will have to be drilled out to attach Rear Fuselage Gussets.

The Cross Boxes must be aligned perfectly with the pre-drilled holes on the side skins.  I failed to do this on one of the Cross Boxes in this production prototype, and you can see that the middle Cross Box is leaning towards the camera, perhaps by one degree, in the photo below:

Mis-aligned Cross Box, (very slight).  Don't make this mistake!

Lucky strikes another pose, with rear of cabin assembly

Another view of rear, this time with rivets drilled out and replaced with clecos.

This is a good time to stop for the day.  The Belite ultralight airplane cabin is beginning to look like a cabin!