Highlander 393

For general discussion of the Just Aircraft family of aircraft.
Includes: Highlander, Escapade, Summit and SuperSTOL.
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BucF16
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by BucF16 »

Hi Shawn, I have only covered the tail feathers, flaps & ailerons. I was very careful to make sure everything fit before gluing and shrinking. I’m down in Dallas right now teaching at American, I don’t go home till Friday. I have all day Saturday up in the hangar working on the project. I have some Oratex stretched over copper tubing that I will overheat. I’ll let you know what I find with the dark material.

I will say, that a lot of the issues you had with the yoga pants issues, I don’t see on the darker colors. That may be a consideration of those who want to use Oratex in the future.

Cheers,
Bruce

ps. Like Shawn has said, I still like the stuff!
Bruce Johnson Highlander # 393
"Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth"
Builder web site:
http://www.bruceshighlander.blogspot.com
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BucF16
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by BucF16 »

IMG_3482.jpeg
Well, we've had a cold wet Spring. It seemed like it went from late winter to Summer in a week. So spring farm chores took up most of the last month or so. BUT, yesterday I was able to get a couple of fellow builders of come out and mount my wing on the fuselage for the first time! :D I got the fuselage stand idea from Steve Henry. This makes working on most components right a hand level.

My mentor AP/IA Sam Huff (right), Pietenpol Builder Chris Ferguson (left) and fellow Highlander builder Max Rentz. Of course I asked Max for the obvious reasons. A spar on each shoulder and his head up through the ribs made for an easy stand! :lol:

Now the fun stuff starts to happen!

Bruce
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Bruce Johnson Highlander # 393
"Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth"
Builder web site:
http://www.bruceshighlander.blogspot.com
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BucF16
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by BucF16 »

I haven't posted to my Blogspot in a while. But I have added a couple milestones here on the Wings Forum. I want to give a BIG Shoutout to Jim Pekola and Tony at T/K Racing. I finally got to the integration of the pneumatic system and the Tundra Lite tailwheel. I had Paul Newman weld my pneumatic mounting bracket, and then it took about half a day to jig and drill the mounting holes. Jim Asked, at the time of purchase, where I was going to mount he locking release; I told him on the fuel shutoff triangle. When I unraveled the cable it was a perfect fit!!!!!! (You can just see it in the picture below)

2 weeks ago I mounted the flaps and ailerons and rigged the control cables.

My fuel system is now installed and the ELT bracket and wiring are in place. Today I start on the baggage door and frame. After that it will all be disassembled and prepared for covering. (The tail surfaces flaps and ailerons are already covered.)

I'll be at OSH so I hope to meet those in attendance.


And yes his name really is Paul Newman. I introduced him to our Line service guy (really a kid) recently, I said "Not the real Paul Newman". The kid looked confused, and the replied, " Oh yeah, I love your salad dressing"! :shock: I guess I'm getting Old :|
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Bruce Johnson Highlander # 393
"Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth"
Builder web site:
http://www.bruceshighlander.blogspot.com
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BucF16
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by BucF16 »

Oshkosh..........
For most of the summer I was not going to attend OSH. BUT as it neared, I needed to see Steve Henry's Apex installation, Better Aircraft Fabric's new process of "No Stitching, and No Tapes"! and lastly I wanted to discuss my MGL setup with Matt at MGL. Sooooo.. Monday at 0430 I'm on the road with my "Bugout" camping bag in the back of my SUV. 9 Hours later I'm 2 miles from the camping registration and it takes me 3 hours to get to my campsite. 4 rows from the freeway, 30 feet from the Porto-John, abeam titts road (some aviator had white-outed the "S" from (Ray) Stitts Road). I saw Steve, and watched him perform a 203' combined TO/LDG on Monday night. All were great, and a lot of fun to watch.

MGL was straight forward info. BUT Oratex's Red Carbon Cub with no Rib stitching and Tapes, was amazing!!! I'm sure this will cause much debate and will drift over to other sites, but Lars has "Data" that supports; with 1 inch cap strips and the new hot melt glue, that we no longer need to stitch our wings, flaps, and ailerons. This Carbon Cub looked like it was covered with a composite material. 787ish.

I was only there for 24 hours. I left OSH Tuesday at 1730 local and made to to Merrelville IN. Laid-up and then pressed on to Ohio.

The place was as crowded as I have ever seen it.

There is a YouTube vid about "STOL competition 2019" Check it out. Steve's Yee Haw 7 gets off in 2.71 seconds! So Cool.
Cheers;
Bruce
Bruce Johnson Highlander # 393
"Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth"
Builder web site:
http://www.bruceshighlander.blogspot.com
Clark in AZ
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by Clark in AZ »

Thanks for the report, quite a whirlwind trip. What info did you get from Steve about the APEX install? Of course, if you can share...

Thanks,
Clark
Building SuperSTOL Kit 512
Cave Creek, AZ
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SheepdogRD
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by SheepdogRD »

No stitching sounds wonderful. Too late for me... N570L has stitching and tapes... pinked tapes. Very Old School. :shock:
Richard Holtz
Highlander N570L -- Ms. Tonka -- in gestation

If just enough is really good, then too much ought to be perfect.
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alan
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by alan »

My Highlander is the second airplane I've covered using Stits that I didn't stitch. Neither one has any fabric separation after almost 30 years on the first and 13 years on this one. The technique was well described in the Kitfox II build manual. Using just Stits, oops...Poly Fiber, materials. Easy process. If anybody is interested I'll describe it.

Alan
If I had known I would live this long I would have taken better care of myself.
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BucF16
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by BucF16 »

Hi Clark and Alan, Not much to report about Steve's Apex. He had to cowling off for the Monday evening STOL Demo when I arrived. His Turbo setup made it difficult to see much of the install. I also didn't get much of his time as he had just arrived (the light sport runway had just opened do to Friday nights rain). I will say, it is a beautiful installation! In fact the entire aircraft looks fantastic! I think he was awarded another Lindy.

Alan, now that you mention it, I do remember Jim and Dondee Miller saying that the KitFox II was a glue only installation and did not require mechanical fasteners. With technology advances, we should expect that old paradigms to die.

Cheers,
Bruce
Bruce Johnson Highlander # 393
"Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth"
Builder web site:
http://www.bruceshighlander.blogspot.com
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BucF16
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by BucF16 »

I started covering my wings with Oratex last Thursday. I just finished my Left wing today. Oratex, As I've stated on an earlier post, allowed Highlander builders to attach the fabric without riveting and no tapes. Just Glue. So, in 5 days I finished one wing. With the learning curve being as it is, I anticipate finishing the other wing by Friday. I'm going to take a couple of days off and then start in on the fuselage. The covering should be complete by Mid October. This process is very fast. If you what to build a Highlander fast, this is your process. I really like this stuff. No stinky chemicals, no sanding, and no painting (unless there is trim paint). Fit, Glue, shrink and fly.
Cheers,
Bruce
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Bruce Johnson Highlander # 393
"Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth"
Builder web site:
http://www.bruceshighlander.blogspot.com
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Tralika
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by Tralika »

Bruce,
Your time saving in the covering process is insignificant compared to your time saving by not painting. Don't forget to look into using vinyl for trim rather than painting.
Glad to see your progress.
John
John Nealon
Wasilla, Alaska
Highlander Extreme #191
mykitlog.com/jnealon
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danerazz
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by danerazz »

I think I am on day 12 of active paint work, everything but the wings. I couldn’t even tell you how long I spent on fabric. This has NOT been my favorite part of building...

Also, never painted before, so...not exactly professional results, plus one hell of a learning curve!

If I had not already committed to fabric/paint when I first heard of oratex, that is the way I think I would have gone. Just didn’t want to pay for it twice.

At least my garage floor got painted.
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Dane

Paralysis by analysis
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BucF16
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by BucF16 »

Thanks John! My intention is to absolutely use vinyl for all of my trim. It’s gonna look like a German storch in the end.

Dane, I know you were leaning that way two years ago when we met up at Oshkosh. At that point I had not selected my fabric process as I did not include it in my original order. Keep up the good work, let’s try to finish by next year... hopefully. I hope work is not getting too much in the way.

Cheers,
Bruce
Bruce Johnson Highlander # 393
"Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth"
Builder web site:
http://www.bruceshighlander.blogspot.com
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danerazz
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by danerazz »

I’m trying, goal is to have it all back together in the spring.

I wish I had a decent space to work on it, I’ve been doing most of it in WAY too small of a basement and a 3/4 full two car garage. Does not help with efficiency!
Dane

Paralysis by analysis
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BucF16
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by BucF16 »

I wanted to add so photos of my magnetometer and AOA pitot connections. I'm going to film a description of my project and post it on YouTube like Troy Branch did some years back. Those vids were very helpful for me. I hope mine will be the same for ya'll now. Of course you might find my mistakes. If you do let me know before it's too late. :mrgreen:
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Bruce Johnson Highlander # 393
"Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth"
Builder web site:
http://www.bruceshighlander.blogspot.com
taildrgfun
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Re: Highlander 393

Post by taildrgfun »

I’m sure you will but from looking at those pictures all I would say is just make sure your wires are all tied up so they cannot rub on the fabric.
Steve Henry, Wild West Aircraft
(the Dead Stick Take-off Guy)
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