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Channel: Chris Madsen
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Flight to Cape Canaveral to watch a SpaceX launch

It was Philip’s turn to go on a long flying adventure.  We considered Sun ‘N Fun, but the scheduled launch of SpaceX CRS-8 to the International Space Station with the inflatable Bigelow Expandable...

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Dog Island Airport (FA43)

I’ve wanted to fly to Dog Island, Florida since finishing my Sonex.  There’s just something appealing about flying to an island that you would otherwise need a boat to get to and landing on a...

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Dynamic Propeller Balancer

I’ve been curious about the balance of my propeller/engine combination.  Rather than find someone with access to a dynamic balancer, I decided to design and build my own.

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Fuselage Jack

I typically use a bottle jack on cinder blocks with 2×4’s on the bottom of the fuselage to lift one wheel at a time when working on the landing gear.  This time, I needed to remove my axles to repair...

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Backwards Flight

I was watching the weather forecast and noticed a strong south wind would be blowing in the morning ahead of some evening storms. The surface winds were only predicted to be 10-15 mph, but at only 3000...

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Current through Start Button

There was a discussion on the Sonex forum about what size fuse to use on the Start Button circuit with the Sky-Tec AeroVee Starter. A builder was immediately blowing 15A fuses when pushing the start...

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Main Bus Voltage while Starting Engine

There’s some debate on whether avionics should be on during engine start. The concern seems to be voltage transients due to engaging and disengaging large solenoids and the starter motor. I captured...

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Secondary Ignition Current

I measured this on my workbench with a magnet attached to a drill spinning next to a spare ignition trigger. I measured the coil as 3.2 ohms and set my power supply to 14v. I used a shunt resistor at...

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3d printed equatorial platform

Here is the platform in operation. Notice the 3d printed phone holder attached to the eyepiece. I also use a DSLR with a 2x barlow. The north segments are the only potentially unique part of the...

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Searching for a lost winglet

I read online that a passenger airplane lost its winglet in turbulence while crossing Alabama and had to land early in Birmingham. I was unable to find any news about where the winglet fell and...

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