Of Ribs, Family, and good Friends.

I put the temporary gussets on the final rib for the right wing and gingerly popped it out of the jig this morning. I've been practicing getting my angle cuts perfected so that each piece of RS-1 (1/4" Spruce square) fit's snugly against every other piece. The plans say everything can be cut at right angles but I wanted to practice my craftsmanship because in other areas of the plane that precision is required. I was thankful for all that practice on the other ribs because for this rib you have to epoxy the spruce together and not rely so much on the gussets.

Looking at the empennage, it's a lot bigger than I expected. I realize now that this too will require a work bench. I can't wait to get that built so I can carry on.

Incidentally my Easy Cutter Ultimate tool grew dull. For those of you who have this tool I can tell you it's easy to sharpen. You just remove the lock nut and bolt and the blade slides right out with the handle that is attached to it. Then I sharpened it like I would any good knife and slid the parts back together. The spring is a leaf type and is mounted firmly to the handle that supports the cutting base so you don't have to worry about it bouncing into a pile of sawdust never to be seen again. Once reassembled the cutter worked good as new. Now that I know how easy it is I'll sharpen it often.

Finally, best news ever, my dad (a pilot himself) offered to pitch in and help me out not only with my plane but also my flying lessons. Dad if you are reading this, thank you very much sir, indebted to you. He ordered me another rib kit from TEAM and set me up at Cheasapeake Aviation for an intro flight.

I've come a long way from moving some boxes in the barn and building a rib jig on a folding table. My wife (who is an aviation buff herself) is on board. I now have a friend (Peter) 30 minutes away who is building the same kind of plane and helps me in many ways and the support and wisdom of my Dad who is has been flying various types of aircraft from ultralights on up to Boeing 747's for over 40 years. Not to mention everybody at TEAM and on this forum. I am truly blessed, thank you all.

So.... I started building this plane..

Folks I've railed against the injustice of modern recreational aviation and how it's all so expensive, etc, etc.  I am tired of being a spectator to flight, it's time to be a participant.

So I've taken the plunge and happily accepted a free set of drawings from TEAM Minimax.  I've decided to build the Hi-Max 1700 variant which ideally uses one of a number of  Rotax power plants.

I started building last fall and thus far have about 33 hours of work on this project.  My routine is that I go down to the barn in the wee hours before work and put in at least an hour a day cutting and gluing.

Given my budget (or lack thereof) and available time to work (or lack thereof) I am not overly concerned with project completion.  I suspect it will happen one day but I try not to dwell on it.  Instead I've learned to embrace the simple joy of building the plane.

Mornings filled with tunes on the radio, a hot cup of coffee, and the smell of fresh sawn spruce have the cumulative effect of putting a smile on my face for the rest of the day.  It's good medicine for a man who dreams of flight.  For while I am not yet flying, I am involved in getting there and that counts for something. 

Thus far I've built enough standard ribs for one wing.  Which seems like a lot but the time just flys by really. 

A few ribs are special on the High Max for they have to carry the aileron bearing brackets and also act as "end ribs" for the wing.  I'll be focusing on these for the next little while.These special ribs require a wider range of skills and tools because they include some metal work.  I'll keep you posted.

I feel my decision to go with TEAM has been a very good one.  While I've built models over the years and helped my Dad work on real planes some growing up, in a very real sense I am a novice.  I wanted to work with folks who are willing to answer questions on the fly.  David at TEAM has been very supportive and has made things easier.

Also the max has an avid builder/owner forum the East Tennessee Lonesome Buzzards and just about any question I could dream up has already been asked on there.

I'll drop in here from time to time and upload some photo's to let you all know how it goes.