new member

[fairchild]

Hi- My name is Tim. I am in Orlando, Fl. I have been searching for something to either restore or build for about 5 years on and off. I have been looking at wrecked Maules on barnstormer. Looked at Bud Davidson's pilot reports of both the maule m-7 and the bearhawk(S). Looks like the maules would have to be torn down completely and blast the tubing to make the tubing welded repairs- They seem to run 10 to 18 K $ for the wrecked maules........ Then It occurred to me that I could buy a pre-welded bearhawk
fuselage for 11-12 K$. Also- Davidson's pi-reps seemed to indicate that the bearhawk does everything better than the Mule.......
Then I remembered the company that pre-cuts the steel tubing (Cartesian tube) . I was looking forward to Tig-ing the frame but wasn't looking forward to doing all the tubing copes.
So I am thinking that the Cartesian tube kit is the best of both worlds. I am thinking that once I have 2 building tables built- I think I can tack and finish weld the basic fuselage
in about 2 or 3 months........ Anyone else gone this route ?

I will probably order plans in the next week or two..........

Seems like the work I would do on a wrecked maule I could do on a new bearhawk and have a BETTER plane when done (with no corrosion or rust or any hidden cracks to look for)

I was thinking about making 2 work tables - made probably from 1+1/2 steel square tubing with 3/4 or 1 inch MDF tops and leveling legs of some kind. Make the tables so they could be joined end to end -or joined side by side.......
Can anybody give me some feedback on what the top dimentions should be? (probably end to end for fuselage and wings and maybe the other way for tail feathers...... )

Tim in orlando

[jaredyates]

Welcome to the group! About the only thing that a Maule would be better at would be carrying people or property for hire or providing instruction, since the store-bought airplanes aren't restricted to uses that further your education and recreation.

[fairchild]

You mean "commercial " type activities. Yeah...... the maule seems like the old Harley Davidson........ not really trying to better their product for 30 or 40 years and pretending the consumers just wont notice........ until a better product come along- then they are pooping in their pants to make improvements- instead of a gradual and paced evolution......
The only other home-built planes I like are the DR-109 and the plans built TravelAir 2000/4000. Wish they would make a steel tube version of the Emaraude - like they did for the culver.
so far no one has yet......... A steel tube fuse. emaraude would be heavenly ........ maybe modernize the wing to be a little stronger too... ! Much nicer lines than the CAP which came from it.
Tim

[Battson]

The regulators make it pretty expensive to continually upgrade your design. There's a reason why Maule were well priced.

[X'N]

Just an idea for your work table. Look into LVL or LSL's at your local home improvement stores. They are beefy and straight and can be bought really long. Usually cheaper than a steel tube too boot. My suggestion is build your table frame in one piece if possible. Bob Barrows has a drawing of how to construct your fuselage table that are located in the bearhawk book that come with your plans. I believe he specs it out at 4'x18' (I have a patrol so the table specs may be different between the 2)

[fairchild]

I have built lots of stuff using 1+1/2 inch square tubing. Its fairly cheap and easy to fab with. Sounds like 2 4x9 tables would be OK. It could be made fairly rigid too. 6 legs on each .

Once I weld it together - it will be 1 Piece ! :-)

And pretty strong too !

Tim