A little background. In January 2020, still masked as we all were, I took my 1st helicopter lesson with the goal of someday flying one that I built (or at least assembled) with my own hands. The helicopter that I had in mind was a Composite FX XE290 “Mosquito”. Later that year I flew the Pitts to Oshkosh to mostly learn about and perhaps purchase a kit. But then I got distracted by another company, RotorX. Where the Mosquito is little more than a single place scooter attached to a rotor, the RotorX A600 was a “real” 2-place design. It was to be powered by a new 180 HP engine, removing the one glaring weakness of an otherwise lovely and proven design. Weeks after returning to NJ I wrote a check to the company for the full value of the kit. The rest of that ugly story is here:
Last summer felt like the film Groundhog Day. I again flew to Oshkosh. I again worked myself up to the point of anguish, struggling with the idea of throwing yet more good money at another dream. Aviation has blessed me. Aerobatics has shown me my limits. This should be enough. Why risk a second fortune on a machine that’s even less capable than the first?
Some questions cannot be answered. After spending the weekend in Florida camped among a spanish moss-covered old-growth copse next to the factory, I loaded up a uhaul and drive it home. Well, MOST of it. I am afraid to admit that the company “Composite FX” is very literally a mom and pop “shadetree” operation. It gives me terrifying vibes of RotorX. I almost drove home on Thursday, ready to give the whole thing up along with my deposit. I was either walked off the edge of the cliff, or TO it. We won’t know until I have the full kit. For now I possess no rotormast, no motor, no gearboxes.
End of the year they say. Apparently getting titanium of the appropriate strength has been a challenge. The motor is a modified Suzuki 2-stroke originally used for snow mobiles. The factory makes a few modifications then ships to me. I was hoping to fly in the Fall but that was probably unrealistic anyway.
I’m really happy for you and look forward to watching this take shape. I admire the bravery, I don’t think I could have done this again after the previous one.
The positive is that you have the experience banked and there’s no doubt a lot you’ve learnt will come in handy.
Forgive my ignorance, are there any bits from the last one you can re-use, will any of it come in handy?
You might not ever have the bandwidth to return to your original project, but perhaps with time and the EX290 complete, the situation with RotorX will change and you’ll feel like taking another shot. But as @keets so aptly put, we admire your courage and tenacity in building a helicopter.
Funny that you mentioned that @chipwich. A group in FL are working on testing a ULPower installation on a Rotorway. It will be aircooled and produce 150 HP. They have a ship on display currently at Sun n’ Fun.
Back to the Mosquito. Spent yesterday sanding and polishing the gear bows and skids. Spent today measuring, drilling and riveting the gear using a jig that I made a few months ago. The design requires the bows to be tensioned and wire braced. Made two of the four wires. I’ll finish the gear and hopefully mate it to the fuselage next week.
I was away from the hangar nearly a week. The two full days finally available to me were mixed. I got the gear on and liked the results. The kit came with a cheap hand swage tool to crimp the eyelets onto cables I had cut to size once the landing gear bows were pre-tensioned to the proper length. I cinched so hard on the tool that I sheared the 5/16 bolt that shares the tension. I had doubts. They were confirmed when I released the ratchet : “THWONG!” The cables popped right out of their shanks. A proper tool is inbound. The gear cradles are riveted to the fuselage. But since the fuselage is fiberglass, the rivets require a washer to make a proper secure fastening. They made two holes for the purpose of allowing just enough of your had to get through to secure the 14 washers. I’ve heard of builders using children for the job as those holes are way too small for most adult men. I happen be an adult man blessed with the hands of a teenage girl. But it wasn’t with out pain:
BS! You could do it. The question is one of WANTING to do it. I question myself about it every day. Why throw away so much money? Why drag myself away from the Pitts? I think the answer is fear of failure (aka fallacy of sunk costs). Things got so dodgy when I was in Florida for the Fly-In that I almost drove home empty. I was willing to blow the deposit just to wash my hands of such a dubious machine. Turns out they were willing to return the deposit EVEN though I already had them prep and paint the body. A sim buddy in Belgium talked me off the cliff; whether by leaping from the face or safely stepping away from it remains to be seen. What cinched it in our talk was my desire to build. If I could emulate @Victork2 I would. He’s throwing everything he knows at a old machine and is making it great again—with his family at his side. THAT is how you do it! If only I liked autos.
