Dave's XL F-71

[Tom XL-7]

Dave in your sketch there is a solid behind the seat. Is that a baggage shelf? 
Back to the question at hand. I have strongly considered a center wing tank. I was simply going to make the wing mount square tubes longer.
 The extra tubes as in your drawing do make tank mounting more flexible and the wider cabin top would certainly give you more room for those who feel the need to add doors.
I don't like adding weight. 
 If I do make a center wing tank It would hold less than 5 gallons as I would like to add a small header tank mounted forward of station 2 with a sight window.
 When the header is not full you know what time it is. I have always used and appreciated the reserve standpipe on motorcycles. That extra fuel has saved me many times. 
not everyone would like the fuel overhead. I'm not too sure fuel directly behind a hot engine is a great idea either. Both have been done since the beginning of aviation. The solution is to not land nose first.
Tom XL-7

[ArcticDave]

Thanks for the replies! It's given me some more food for thought...

Scott: Absolutely, weight will always be the elephant in the room in regards to aircraft...especially 103 compliant ones. At this stage I'm still weighing options before I start welding. I haven't decided if 103 is practical for my mission yet. There are many details to consider, and in my case, longevity is paramount due to the rough areas I have available for landing strips. We have lots of rocks in Arizona...lots and lots of rocks. Landing gear upgrades alone could push me over 103 limitations. The parachute trick may allow me to squeak by...we'll see. Thanks for your input it is much appreciated.

Dave: I can see a cabin version of an XL extending your flying season by quite a bit. I looked at my Kitten plans this morning after reading your reply and noticed that it calls for 1" .035 in that crosstube I have labeled as A in my drawing. That is of course for a fuselage that is full width at the top. Mr. Steere did  full width when he built Bodacious so it has been done. Since you are not bound by the same rules we are here in the States...go for it!

Tom: Yes that is a cargo shelf. The extra gross was why I decided on the XL. Camping or prospecting gear will fit nicely back there.
I had not considered just widening the wing mounts a little. It is a plausible idea. A quick calculation says a 6" wide tank made to fit between the wing attachments would have a capacity of over 4.5 gallons(26L"x6w"x7h"). Combined with your header tank that would be a nice setup with very little weight penalty.
As close as we sit to the action in these little craft...I'm not there IS a safe place to have a fuel tank!

Thanks again guys for the responses. More things to ponder while waiting for funds to finish the shop.

Dave

[Dave Stroud]

Dave, could you please tell me what the size of the  " B " tube is on your Kitten plans ? Thanks..

[ArcticDave]

It just says 5/8. I would assume the same .035 used for most of the fuselage.

[ArcticDave]

A happy day in the big AZ this mornin'. Finally completed a suitable work area and built my workbench. Managed to blow $150 on wood for the bench, but it's stout and level. 
I'm going out after it warms up a bit to finish the layout lines and start on station 1. 
I have a question...does anyone remember how long the 1 1/8" mount tubes are? I don't have a set of the Cont. bushings handy to measure. I have seen a couple of diagrams on how they go together, but no length measurement on that tube.  I would like to weld those in before standing it up. 
Thanks!

[ArcticDave]

Since I didn't get any input on the length of the engine mount tubes, I tacked up station one naked and will fill it in later after the correct dimensions are discovered.
After smoking the plywood I used for the station one jig, I decided to block up the lower longerons to give enough space under the fuselage that would allow me to slip in a heat shield. That should save my bench from some of the charring.
The tubing is fitting together great. I used some thin card stock from a case of wobbly pops wrapped in tape around the tube to do my fitting. Works very well. I got the crosstubes and diagonal fit in the seat area last night.
Now that the project is moving forward, Im suprised at how quick it is to fit each tube. A flap wheel takes care of most of the notch and a carbide deburring tool on a die grinder is perfect for finishing the cutouts.
Should start looking like an airplane soon. :-)

[Poorman2]

Dave, on page 8a of my le xl plans it shows the mount tubes are 1 1/8  outside dia. x 1 1/8 long x .125 thickness. I figured someone else would of answered by now. I'm sorry , I didn't have time to answer when I first read your post. I was headed out the door to go to work.

[scottiniowa]

Dave, on page 8a of my le xl plans it shows the mount tubes are 1 1/8  outside dia. x 1 1/8 long x .125 thickness. I figured someone else would of answered by now. I'm sorry , I didn't have time to answer when I first read your post. I was headed out the door to go to work.

Poorman has this correct, that is what is shown on page 8a    I have questioned this to death, and have never got any answers saying yeah or neigh on the fitting..  As I have not found any conti-A65 rubbers cut at the shown 45 degrees...I guess most are just going with the miss-match of shapes...(side slope of fittings to rubbers) 

Always welcome thought on this area, seldom hear anything about it.

Best of success

[ArcticDave]

Thank you Poorman!
I looked at that page top to bottom and couldn't see that. I just looked again...and there it is in black and white. Lol
I never could understand why there were square pyramids on there....duh.
Thanks again!
Yesterday was fruitful. Got station 2&3 crosstubes tacked in place. Tailpost jigged along with upper longeron of the tail. Both bottom longerons are bent up and ready to be fit and tacked. Had to scarf the lowers cause I didn't know any better and only ordered 12' tubing. Oh well, they extended sections are straight and reinforced correctly thanks to my low buck scarfing sled.

Thanks for pointing that out Scott. I assume the rubber will conform to whatever angle the tube is when compressed...but it certainly couldn't hurt to cut the angles to match the continental bushings. That seems like the correct way to go.

[ArcticDave]

I would like to thank those that have chimed in here to help with my questions.  
After a lot of internal deliberation on what I want in an aircraft. I have decided to make some changes to mine. These changes are enough that it really won't be a Legal Eagle XL. It'll be very similar, but a bit different. As such I feel it's appropriate to stop posting the build here. I made the decision yesterday while framing up the front section of my fuselage. The last thing I want to do is offend Mr. Milholland by claiming it's a Legal Eagle. He has given me a fantastic base to build MY aircraft, for which I am truly grateful.
If some of you are interested enough to follow along, please feel free. You can find the Desert Eagle build here...

https://www.facebook.com/ArcticDave/

There is nothing for sale there...just me building a little airplane. It's all about my journey to the wild blue yonder... ☺

Thanks again to all who have participated. Take care guys and happy flying!

Dave

Mods: If my link is violating some rule...feel free to remove it.

[Dan_]

Mods: If my link is violating some rule...feel free to remove it.

Unless you have had some different conversations with Leonard, to my knowledge he has always just asked builders call their modified plane a special or something other than Legal Eagle.  He has always held it will take you longer to get in the air, your plane will invariably be heavier and you will be a test pilot if you stray significantly from the plans, but he knows it is your plane and your time and money.  

So where's the beef..?  I hope you have not been offended here, and hope you feel free to continue to ask questions here and share your progress.

There is absolutely no problem on plugging your aviation business pursuits or links to aviation activities.  Hell, we have a Category for anything you want to post as long as it is family appropriate.

How about calling it "Dave's XL F-71 Special"..?

[ArcticDave]

Thanks for the input Dan. I have no beef whatsoever. I apologize if my post came across that way. This a great forum and there are some very helpful people here. 
I just didn't want to step on any toes with my build. 
There are some changes I have planned that will more than likely take my craft out of 103 compliance, but will increase it's usefulness to me...and longevity.  It's a tradeoff, increased red tape for increased function. 
Since admin is cool with it, I'll keep posting pics and asking questions. 

Thanks 
Dave

[Dan_]

Cool..!

[ArcticDave]

Todays progress. I got the front section framed in and tack welded. 

I had to clean off the bench...it looked like a trailer park in the aftermath of a tornado. 

[Dan_]

Todays progress. I got the front section framed in and tack welded.

I had to clean off the bench...it looked like a trailer park in the aftermath of a tornado.

MVP...