CONTINUE STUDY OF DRAWINGS, ENGINE RESEARCH, MODIFICATIONS TO AIRFRAME

I've been doing mostly research for engine options, checking weight & balance ideas, looking at the upgrade of the landing gear and wheel & brake installations. One thing for certain I will not install any controls for the rear seat area as I have decided that the rear area will be used for a fuel header tank and a rack for camping gear aimed at long distance cross country flights.

My desired engine choice is the Viking Aircraft Engines 90 HP engine. It was designed to replace the Rotax 912 series and weights slightly more than the Rotax but at a significantly lesser cost. The torque value is much higher and this I feel will deliver much better cruise speed and fuel gallons used per hour than any Rotax can offer. The big issue isn't the weight, that can be adjusted for with CG calculations in the build process, and as for engine torque on the airframe I believe one can make additions to strengthen the fuselage to handle that issue as well. For example adding more tubes to the forward fuselage area, maybe to reinforce the exsisting structure, and also thoughts on beefing up the wing spars and ribs as well. Making the rudder slightly larger will also give me better torque control particularly on the take off power settings.

If it were possible to build a set of wings with stronger spars, and ribs much like the Kitfox or Top Rudder Ruckus design, this would enhance the airframe in strength and possibly some performance enhancement? Truth is I'd prefer the Top Ruder Aircraft Ruckus but cannot afford the $75,000.00+ price tag as built properly. So to make the Air Bike into a true Alaska Bush Plane I need to take what I can do, and do it better. The AIRBORNE RANGER way.

My early W&B calculations using the formula from the builders manual and looking at the drawings tell me that this aircraft can be easily modified using the basic fuselage as built IAW the original plans. Upgrading enough to use the Viking engine is mostly a matter of keeping the W&B in the correct range from EWCG all the way to the EFCG and EACG ranges along with strengthening those areas needed to compensate for the added torque. I once had a friend who modified his Excalibur with a 80 HP Rotax 912 engine and then had his rudder cables fail in flight due to the torque of the engine as applied to the airframe. The Air Bike, by design, uses a stronger airframe of 4130 chrome molly tubing and one can easily do better cables as opposed to those in the original plans since much advancement has been made since the first design was built.

Something else I am considering is a very light but effective RC type trim system which could, if properly used, mimic an autopilot type set up. Basically all I will need is some form of stable trim system, and a very accurate directional control mapping system. An iPad with foreflight or even a Garmin type system will suffice, and could also provide ADSB out and possibly encoded altitude into the unit as well. This would then provide me with the ability to use controlled airspace. Oh, and to avoid being shot down by the fighters protecting Air Force 1 should we have a chance to be close to one another ....

Building an airplane involves a lot of brain work before, during, and especially after the build. Phase one flight test needs extremely careful record keeping and planning, to that end I am going to order the EAA Flight Test manual setup and develop my program to reflect the wisdom of many others much smarter than me ....I dream about this project, I am building a printed diary of my thoughts and research. I am keeping this log so history can record one mans dream. Why build the Air Bike? Because it fills the niche I need to fill, to fly in as basic an environment as possible, to prove that this design isn't just a fair-weather bird, yet one that can fulfill the ultimate dream I have: to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation to help children battling cancer so they too can have a chance to live at least one dream .. that is my make a wish for me ...to use this to give hope to others. If I do this, then I will have lived a good life. And you thought that all I wanted was to build an airplane ...