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Kolb factory participation vs "barnyard engineering&quo

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flyingfox(at)copper.net
Guest

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:35 am Post subject: Kolb factory participation vs "barnyard engineering&quo

 	  Quote: 	
		  From personal experience you are not going to fit well into a Kolbra and a

Hawk will be okay. The Kolbra photos are somewhat deceptive because they are
	


showing the aircraft being flown by folks who are significantly less than 6'

tall. It is still superior in construction to a Hawk.



A couple other things to consider;



Dacron coverings. They are not going to last well in sunny hot high UV

environments. You really need to use fabric and dope.



Hawks don't fold. Kolbs have bomb-proof wing folding and while you might

think you will never use this feature, in the event you have a storm or some

other need to rapidly get the machine indoors, in a matter of 15 minutes or

so you can fold a Kolb and get it into a garage or other small space.



Single place light airplanes and ultralights all tend to be tight for big

guys.



I know that they look neat and it makes one feel like they are flying a

fighter etc, but even the Sky Arrow is a tight fit for me. The Kolb Firestar

is actually a pretty good fit for me but that is without a full enclosure.

The Kobra canopy is too steep up front to clear my head. Since it is

experimental you could modify the canopy to achieve head clearance but that

would be here in the USA. I have no idea how the SA government treats such

matters.



The Rans S-18 fits pretty well but you can't fold wings and I personally do

not like the shape of Ran's tails. They look goofy to my eye, but this is

just aesthetics.



Titan Tornados are also way too small up front.



I think you ought to look over the Mark IIIs. The fact is that the

visibility out of those airplanes is incredible. You are not cramped for

space, you have plenty of room beside you to put maps, cameras, or whatever

and they are fast by comparison to other models. They are not tandem



I can sent you a reference photo of me 6'3" 245 pounds sitting in the

factory Mark IIIX  and you can get an idea of what I am talking about. My

Mark III will have a lot of Lexan around the front end. I am basically

looking to get something like a Seabird Seeker SB7L-360 to allow me to

augment my aerial photography work. But I want the structural integrity of

the Kolb design. As well the folding wings to get it stored cheaply and

trailered easily to work sites.



Send me your email and I will forward you the photo.



Kind Regards,  Todd

On 4/13/06 9:52 AM, "Len du Preez" <Len(at)i5t.co.za> wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   

 

 

 Thanks

 I am exactly 6' and weigh in the order of 115kg (240 odd pounds, I

 think?)... 

 


	


-- 

Todd Fredricks, DO

Flying Fox Services



Visit my Blog at www.flyingfoxhangar.blogspot.com



POWERED BY MAC



Do not archive

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jstewart(at)inebraska.com
Guest

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:56 am Post subject: Kolb factory participation vs "barnyard engineering&quo

The Titan Tornado S and SS (I'm the co-designer of the SS) are very large

in front, and the SS has ample room in the back for me.  I'm 6'2", 220 lbs

and have no problem.  The center bar hinge swings the door way up so entry

is easy.  I have 4" of front and 2" of rear headroom in the S.  Add 2" to

both of those for the SS.

	There are S and SSs in South Africa to look at.  The wings don't fold,

though.

	Just wanted to set the record straight.  Now, back to your regular Kolb

programming.  :>)



J.D. Stewart

UltraFun AirSports, LLC

http://www.ultrafunairsports.com

Challenger e-mail list

http://challenger.inebraska.com

Titan e-mail list

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Titanaircraft/



<snip>

 	  Quote: 	
		   Titan Tornados are also way too small up front.

<snip
	


 	  Quote: 	
		  

 Kind Regards,  Todd

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Len(at)i5t.co.za
Guest

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:56 am Post subject: Kolb factory participation vs "barnyard engineering&quo

Thanks for the info...send me those photos please!



len(at)i5t.co.za



Kind regards

 

Len du Preez

083 453 7806

Len(at)I5T.co.za

--

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jbhart(at)onlyinternet.ne
Guest

Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:07 am Post subject: Kolb factory participation vs "barnyard engineering&quo

At 08:57 PM 4/12/06 -0700, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  

...........................

I hear you guys talking about the various mods you're doing to your 

airplanes and I can't help but wonder if they're approved by the engineering 
	


types that are still supporting the various Kolb designs.  Or if they're 

just someone's idea of a better mousetrap, however well-intentioned they may 

be.  And the uninformed may grab the idea & run with it, not realizing 

there's no engineering behind it at all!

 	  Quote: 	
		  ...........................


	


John,



What would you do if you spent several years building and spending some 

where around $10,000 and ended up with a ultra light vehicle that was 

difficult to fly?  At cruise, roll control was almost impossible, so I 

changed from 15 to 9 inch chord ailerons and modified the "T" bar length.  

Before the change I queried the factory and was told "Its an ultra light, 

don't fly in the middle of the day".  At this point, one can fly it any time 

of the day and it can be flown off an on the ground in cross 

winds.



The flaperons were useless because the control handle was placed too far 

forward and low on the right hand side of the cockpit.  The control handle 

could not be reached while wearing a five point harness.  Also, there was no 

way one would change hands on the stick to manipulate them in rough air or 

on final.  I installed new control on the left side under the seat so the 

throttle hand could adjust the flaperons.  This change along with vortex 

generators, let me three point the FireFly at lower speeds than 

before.



I changed engines so that engine start up can be performed while sitting the 

cockpit.  My right shoulder is a wreck and I am too old to try an get in the 

cockpit with the engine running and the plane trying to run me down.  The 

engine change was tough, but worth it.  Currently, I am consistently 

cruising at less than two gallons per hour.



At this point the FireFly is a joy to fly during any time of the day.  I 

prefer to fly at 2pm when the air is the most active.  It goes where it is 

supposed to go when one displaces the stick and rudder pedals and without 

complaint (excess if stick or rudder forces).



These are the major changes that I have made. Currently the FireFly weighs 

just under 250 pounds dry.  So I have four pounds to use up.  And so it 

goes!!!  



The good thing about this list is that people report what they do, and 

others may or may not debate whether the effect is good or bad.  But when it 

comes down to you, you have to assume responsibility for your own aircraft.  

If you are going to fly it up at Vne etc., you might want to beef it up and 

accept additional weight degraded performance.



To be fair to Kolb, they cannot be held responsible for what others are 

going to do to their designs.  There is no way they could put out the hours 

that an old retired guy can to check out mods to their design.  They would 

go broke, and this would deprive others of the chance to fly a Kolb design.



Jack B. Hart FF004

Winchester, IN

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mustangsally(at)semo.net
Guest

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:38 am Post subject: Kolb factory participation vs "barnyard engineering&quo

I am 6'1" and fly a Challenger II, I sat in a Kolbra  and thought it was 

roomy. I haven't flown one but I didn't see any problems.

Jerry

---

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