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Not at all. You have to pay attention to your airspeed in the climb. You're not going to get very high, but it will work nicely for 50 ft obstacle avoidance

I used a good quality square to mark a line with a sharpie, scored it with a punch, then cut it with sheet metal shears. Nothing special about it

Thanks. Music is way too subjective and individual, I recommend to everyone not to use it, or use it sparingly. Similarly, I hate videos where the sound volume is too low so I work to improve recording volume or edit the sound to make it louder

czcams.com/video/FImGxphcRkU/video.htmlsi=wxM8L01hNv8jtE8X

my plane flown by others, with either a kawaski 400 or rotax 503, i dont know, 9 seconds. 2 stroke 4 stroke doesnt matter. thats proven by the thumpair and briggs (top rpm 4400 with 1.8 to 1 redrive). czcams.com/video/fn2hEtDPB8k/video.htmlsi=TYpCyTWmYApzs-Kd

same legal eagle briggs 23 much lighter pilot 11 seconds czcams.com/video/S20GaT-fRuk/video.htmlsi=-AlRXuwQNqlv15HF

What you see is typical for the 1/2 VW engine which is known to have an anemic climb rate of about 400 ft per minute, and I will grant you this configuration with me at the seat is hitting max gross weight. All that said, I have been making best use of the kit I bought knowing full well the limitations of the VW engine. This kit turned out to be a near total pig, once I got it flying I was pretty unhappy with it and made a big boy decision to make the best of what I had. I know full well the capabilities of 2 stroke engines and went for the vintage sound of the 1/2 VW. Building and flying planes is all about tradeoffs, and I as a fully informed builder made the decision I was happiest with. Consider me fully considered, and thanks for the comment.

@@JimPfarr thanks

How many hours of ultralight time do you have? Always looking for more enthusiasts, and we are in dire need of instructors.

Yes I did, using exterior grade latex paint. They sent me white, not what I wanted, so I adapted. Worked great!

Yes I would, and I do. It does cost a little more but it sure is fast - and avoids the challenge of painting.

Hell yes. I've gotten to know a bunch of Belite owners, none are happy. I made the best of it though and through lots of effort made it a pretty decent plane.

@@JimPfarrmy ultracub caught fire under the dash none of the wires were crimped the fuselage was twisted the prop was off another engine had marks from a different hub it was out of balance the plane would vibrate across the hanger floor at idle the wing root on left side had about 3/8 to 1/2 inch slack up and down wheels kept coming apart even with locktight on the bolts brakes kept locking up the list goes on I didn't touch it for 3 months I went over the the hanger it was in and the rivets holding fuselage to the cab area pulled through just setting in the south Texas heat and the plane collapsed in the middle James saw a sucker and capitolized

That sucks!! Yep, Weibe is a piece of work and he's hard at it again trying to sucker people into buying his next creation. He started a Patreon to bill folks out of their money.

@@JimPfarr I really liked James he seemed like a real airplane guy . Guys with aircraft have always been kind of a big family but like I said he saw a sucker. The paperwork says as is I should have know but I have always tried to take ppl at their word

This is a Belite Ultracub, it is no longer being made. It has flaperons, combined flaps and ailerons. You asked me this before on another video, why are you asking me again?

I can't help you with your perception of the sound, it flew just fine as the 1/2 VW should. This build has flaperons, not separate flaps and ailerons.

@@JimPfarr THANKS FOR REPLY MAYBE THE SOUND ON MY PC IS BUGERED UP :; - ) I SEE MANY OF THESE BUILDS CRUSED AFTER TAKEOFF AND LANDINGS. I AM ALSO ENGINEER AND WANT TO KNOW IS IT NOT BETTER TO BUILD WING BIGGER WITH WOODEN RIBS AND WITH ONE FOOT FLAPS AND AILERONS LIKE THEY USE IN SUPER STOLS LIKE THE LITLE STOL PLANE

This is not my design, it is a kit I built called a Belite Ultracub which was based on the original Kitfox Lite. As in all engineering there are tradeoffs between performance and capability. Bigger wing is heavier, more drag, requires more engine power. This plane is an ultralight and weighed 320 pounds, so the weight must be kept to a minimum, and has very little STOL capability. The engine is small (40 hp). Thus the flaperon is a convenient compromise for this style of aircraft.

Oh yah, built it from scratch. Ok design, but the company (and the owner) was as sketchy as the day is long. Flew good when the engine was in proper tune, but I had to fly at max gross wt. Crashed last August with an engine problem and sold the whole thing for peanuts.

@@JimPfarr yea it's an awesome look but the way the fuselage attached to to cab area is sketchy James put a used prop on it and it was way out of balance you could see an imprint from a different hub on it the fuselage was twisted the left wing root had 3/8 inch slack up and down on takeoff you would hear a clunk when the air lifted the wing all the wiring had loose connections and it caught fire 4 times underdash before I found the problem needless to say just the Texas heat destroyed the sailcloth and even melted the cheap glue the wings were put together with I only had 2 wright brothers flights and 1 2 mile round thru the pattern at 250 ft before I had to pretty much give up and park the junker sad I really like James and Cathy but they saw a sucker and capitolized

Sorry to hear that you got sucked into the Weibe charade. Come join my Badland/Ultracub page on Facebook, the Badland planes are a cousin to the UC and a huge improvement (owned by Chris Deuel - an outstanding indivdual)

@@JimPfarr yea iv seen the planes on CZcams after I got weibed lol new word for screwed

Had to get a set of vice grips for sheet metal work, they have a pair of 3 inch wide metal plates attached for small work. Wasn't a key part of the video soooo ...

Not really, if there was any it would have been subtle on this engine. Primary goal was noise reduction, with hopes of some small gain in performance.

I see you're a Montana fan. Where from? I lived in Plains back in the 70s, graduated MSU in 85

Total gross was close to 550 pounds. The Ultracub with the 1/2 VW is known as a poor performer, partially due to wing loading, partially due to design, and partially due to the inherent performance limitations of the engine.

That's an interesting observation, thanks for pointing it out. I think you're right, combining the exhaust stack into a single pipe might be worthwhile. I know they do this in Europe where noise concerns are a bigger issue. I never looked at the manifold pressure but intuitively I think the piccolo exhaust would lower the pressure, and impact performance. Combining the exhaust in a Y under the engine, then applying the piccolo modification would yield good results for both noise reduction and higher manifold pressure.

Yes you bet, lapped the valves after the new guides ... but not until AFTER ran it for a little while and noticed the poor compression. Predictably, after lapping the valves the engine performance improved noticeably.

You may have static coming from the engine and spark plug wiring. Be sure your engine block is grounded to the frame because rubber shock dampeners will insulate the engine from the frame. Shielding over spark plug wires is a good idea, but be sure the shielding is also grounded to the engine and frame.

There's a half VW forum on Facebook, lots of helpful folks there who can help you.

Makuni carbs are simple and easy to adjust. Hard to sink because there spread out. Check valve lash, timing, advance mec. Idle air screw. To big of prop. 4 strokes like it lean. I'll be there because I have a 45hp to mount an run. Wondered the same.

The ferrite core would go on the power cord to the radio. You may have current being induced on the power wires by other electrical components. Place the core as close to the radio as you can, that will do the most to trap and reduce the noise.

No I don't think it will handle diamond plate like that. It's a small light weight tool best suited for the thin regular sheet metal

You betcha Martin! When and where, I'll be there. If you come to EAA AirVenture I'll be easy to find at the Ultralight Field

60 miles straight shot, heading 350.

With an emergency parachute and careful weight management you can build an UC to stay below 278 pounds (Part 103 compliant). The 1/2 VW is on the heavy side but that's the price we pay for having a 4 stroke engine.

If you can get behind the panel and put the ferrite core on the wires then you'd be better off. I don't know if putting a core on the cable would work but it would be super easy to try.

I do not fly with a compass so I don't know for certain how it would affect one. The magnetic cores are not terribly strong so I expect very little effect on a compass outside of a 2 or 3 inch radius

Interesting question - cores are basically not magnetically polarised (not strictly true but any renmance is extremely minimal and will not affect a compass deflection significantly) Additionally, the cores, even if split, for a torus and like toroidal inductors minimises flux leaage due to their shape. I won't say that surrounding a navigational compass with a lot of ferrite cores won't affect it, but certainly we're not into compensation or adjusting territory here. Theoretically, if there's a heavy current flowing through the wire and the orientation is just so, then yes, a mangnetic field will be concentrated by the ferrite core but not as much as you would imagine - supression cores are designed to be "lossy" to reduce their loaded Q-factor. This means that although there is a transformer or coupled inductance effect, it is in no way comparable to a solenoid-style inductors or transformers where losses are minimised to optimise EMF efficiency. As high current wiring should not be positioned close to a nav compass anyways then I doubt there will be any significant effect in a typical installation scenario. If there is, a quick compass base check will prove or disprove problems. Not the ferrite cores we're talking about here are very specifically for EMC/RFI suppression and are not random magnets - like I say above the composition is very specific and totally different from magnetically polarised materials. In addition, note that ferrite materials used for suppresion purpses are distinct from those used as RF transformers (baluns or ununs) though to the casual observer they may appear similar. As a general rule, split cores (surrounded by a plastic clip) are almost always suppression cores. Whereas ring cores (unsplit, a complete torus shape) maybe sometimes be for supression, OR transformation/inductor purposes. Stick to split cores. edit: not all ferrite compositions are magnets, though some magnets are ferrites

Funny though note: In the past, I've always used a steel ruler edge on the end of the wood work bench, but "HEY!!" ":D!" "Not no more!" "Lol!" Awesome... Keep learning about tools folks, the more you utilize them, the more independent, self sufficient you become. Though... there is a reasonable limit, it's nice, when able to afford and have businesses you can trust, to "To give them local businesses some business..." It's what we do. Be safe, work smart, be efficient, and... "don't get eliminated!" (Word's from an older version of Whacked Out Sports", Host Kenny and another host, it was of a Japanese recorded series, translated for us, "loved it!"

I have a 54 x 24 with a slight modification to narrow the tip by 1/4 inch or so. My engine is a 86 x 94 (bored and stroked) so I'm getting around 42 hp.

@@JimPfarr what rpm is ur cruise and what speed are you getting?

@@Frank-uj5cr @3500 rpm I'm seeing 65 mph or a little more. I cruise at 3300 (I'm high on the gross weight) and get 60 mph or so

@@JimPfarr appreciate it, is your prop a culver? I have a old woods and was told the pitch from some of the older manufacturers was not as precise as those like prince or culver.

@@Frank-uj5cr Yes a Culver prop. I've spoken to Alaina Lewis there on several occasions, she'll customize a prop for you to meet your unique performance requirements.

It’s hard to think of this as a short field capable ultralight when the quicksilver is about a 3 Mississippi from stationary to airborne.