Model engines

[tcbetka]

This is what I'm looking forward to doing this winter. I have plans for three of these engines: 9-, 14- and 18-cylinders. The 9-cyl is a single row, but the other two are double row. They were designed by a fellow named Hodgson back right after WWII. His son Lee now sells the plans, and I bought three sets 5-7 years ago. Just waiting to get a shop set up to get going on them. I have a BUNCH of stuff to do before getting started though, lol...

[Jules]

The crop dusters we built usually had Pratt and Whitney or Garret turboprops, but we also built many with P&W 1340 and Wright 1820s. I may have screwed some numbers up. Nothing like hearing a plane with an old WW2 radial.

[tcbetka]

Never flew a crop duster, but I have close to 3000 hours of flight time in a bunch of other stuff, including 400 or so as a "bush pilot" flying cargo in Alaska, back in the 90s (before med school). That was all twin-engine time though, and no floats. My only float plane time was here in Wisconsin, in the late 1980s...oddly.

[drummermark]

Cool engines! Are these intended to go into an RC plane or just for the sake of building an engine? Also, fellow (ex) pilot. Have my single engine land cert but I haven't logged any hours since 2009. Never done it but that Alaska flying is no joke!

[tcbetka]

Cool engines! Are these intended to go into an RC plane or just for the sake of building an engine? Also, fellow (ex) pilot...

I don't know that they're made of materials (ie; alloys) suitable for sustained usage in flight, to honest. That said, these are pretty big (physically) engines...especially the 18-cylinder double-row-of-9-cylinders model. I have plans for all three: 9, 14 (two rows of 7) and 18 cylinder units. I don't intend to "fly" any of them, to be honest...but I'll wager someone has tried, lol.

[tcbetka]

... Have my single engine land cert but I haven't logged any hours since 2009. Never done it but that Alaska flying is no joke!

I don't fly much anymore either, sadly. It's very expensive to buy an aircraft if you aren't training in it (I'm also a flight instructor), and to do that the insurance is still incredibly expensive. I used to fly charter in Alaska, and then also for the state of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WiDNR), but left that gig to go to medical school circa 1993. I've done a bunch of flying since then, but not too much since 2020/2021.

[drummermark]

... Have my single engine land cert but I haven't logged any hours since 2009. Never done it but that Alaska flying is no joke!

I don't fly much anymore either, sadly. It's very expensive to buy an aircraft if you aren't training in it (I'm also a flight instructor), and to do that the insurance is still incredibly expensive. I used to fly charter in Alaska, and then also for the state of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WiDNR), but left that gig to go to medical school circa 1993. I've done a bunch of flying since then, but not too much since 2020/2021.

Great that you had a flying career! I know some of those gigs are time builders. Did you intend to go part 121 or corp?

I mostly puttered around in a rented Cherokee, causing havoc in the SoCal airspace. The cost and a major life event eventually pushed me out of it. I wasn't able to fly enough to be comfortably proficient. I keep my log book in a safe and periodically think about becoming current again. But then I buy drum gear . And my wife says no to flying but yes to drums. Who am I to argue.

[tcbetka]

Great that you had a flying career! I know some of those gigs are time builders. Did you intend to go part 121 or corp?

No, never wanted to work for a 121 carrier. The 135 stuff (on-demand charter, for those playing along at home) was plenty for me. We came back from Alaska so that I could go to medical school, as I was "pre-med" in college...and had the grades to do med school. But in the meantime, once I got back, the job with the state came up, and I scored #1 on the written "questionnaire," so I interviewed and got the gig. I had already applied to med school, and then they accepted me about 5-6 months after I started in the flying job, so I deferred for a year. Ultimately though I had to made a decision and it sort of came down to a coin flip to be honest--and away to med school I went. There have been many days I've regretted that decision, lol.

I mostly puttered around in a rented Cherokee, causing havoc in the SoCal airspace. The cost and a major life event eventually pushed me out of it. I wasn't able to fly enough to be comfortably proficient. I keep my log book in a safe and periodically think about becoming current again. But then I buy drum gear . And my wife says no to flying but yes to drums. Who am I to argue.

Nice old airplanes--I've given a fair bit of instrument instruction in a Cherokee 180, and a bunch of private pilot instruction in a warrior (pa-18-151/161). Both are great aircraft.

It's tough to get back into flying after you've been out of it for a few years. Lots has changed. Every two years I have to renew my CFI ticket, and because I'm not flying the 12hr ground school course takes me over 20 hours. It's a self-paced thing anyway, as long as you're done before the ticket expires, you're good. They give you three months to renew, so I just start a month or so before the expiration date...and finish with plenty of time. Then I'm good for another two years of not flying!

I don't know which is more expensive though: Flying, or drums. You might want to look into that--it might work out in your favor with the wife!

[drummermark]

Great that you had a flying career! I know some of those gigs are time builders. Did you intend to go part 121 or corp?

No, never wanted to work for a 121 carrier. The 135 stuff (on-demand charter, for those playing along at home) was plenty for me. We came back from Alaska so that I could go to medical school, as I was "pre-med" in college...and had the grades to do med school. But in the meantime, once I got back, the job with the state came up, and I scored #1 on the written "questionnaire," so I interviewed and got the gig. I had already applied to med school, and then they accepted me about 5-6 months after I started in the flying job, so I deferred for a year. Ultimately though I had to made a decision and it sort of came down to a coin flip to be honest--and away to med school I went. There have been many days I've regretted that decision, lol.

I mostly puttered around in a rented Cherokee, causing havoc in the SoCal airspace. The cost and a major life event eventually pushed me out of it. I wasn't able to fly enough to be comfortably proficient. I keep my log book in a safe and periodically think about becoming current again. But then I buy drum gear . And my wife says no to flying but yes to drums. Who am I to argue.

Nice old airplanes--I've given a fair bit of instrument instruction in a Cherokee 180, and a bunch of private pilot instruction in a warrior (pa-18-151/161). Both are great aircraft.

It's tough to get back into flying after you've been out of it for a few years. Lots has changed. Every two years I have to renew my CFI ticket, and because I'm not flying the 12hr ground school course takes me over 20 hours. It's a self-paced thing anyway, as long as you're done before the ticket expires, you're good. They give you three months to renew, so I just start a month or so before the expiration date...and finish with plenty of time. Then I'm good for another two years of not flying!

I don't know which is more expensive though: Flying, or drums. You might want to look into that--it might work out in your favor with the wife!

I know more than a handful of 121/135 pilots who started flying, went to law or med school, only to end up back in the cockpit. Some of them lament that decision but I suppose grass is always greener. The money can be good but time away from family is obviously rough.

Did almost all of my primary training in a 161 and started (didn't complete) my instrument in a 180. Even if I never get back to it, was a great life experience and worth every penny.

My wife's aversion to me flying has more to do with me killing myself. However I remind her that drumming can be almost as dangerous

[tcbetka]

I have had to duck once or twice while playing, yup...

Of course student pilots are always trying to kill their flight instructor too (on pretty much every flight), so she's probably right.

I retired from medicine back in early 2012 due to a medical injury following surgery. It's a long story though, for another time. Now I write software for embedded Linux systems...which is another long story.