Big Dumb Guy Builds Big Dumb Plane

[Slick Goodlin]

I’ve wanted to build an airplane for a long time now but could never settle on what exactly to build. I’ve been lucky to have access to all sorts of neat stuff to fly so anything I did wasn’t going to be more special than that and it kind of left me in a corner.

It finally hit me: practicality be damned, I want a Bleriot XI. I’ve been chipping away at all the pre-build stuff for a while now because unlike a more modern build the newest set of drawings are still 110 years old so it pays to make some good contacts and to think your way through it before you commit to cutting wood. The goal is to try and do something each day I’m not working and so far that’s been mostly translating drawings and making material order lists.

Now I just have to knock out some overtime and get ordering wood and steel...

[Scudrunner]

That's awesome! Keep us posted on your progress.



Not much to it eh so I expect you to be complete by fall?

[digits]

Will it have ADSB out?

[Slick Goodlin]

That's awesome! Keep us posted on your progress.

Will do! I plan to start a YouTube or a Patreon or an OnlyFans or some combination thereof to chronicle this thing.

Not much to it eh so I expect you to be complete by fall?

That would be great, and possibly even doable if I could keep throwing money towards it. There are some other guys who spent literal decades building theirs and I figure that can’t be entirely necessary. Fair warning: I do already plan to cut a couple corners.

Will it have ADSB out?

Aviator Dependent Search Balls? Those would be my eyes and I sure hope they stay in.

[trey kule]

Ok. I am envious of your ability to build that, and even more so of you getting to fly it.

What a great project.

Though I think a more recent and reliable engine might be a good idea.

[David MacRay]

I met a fairly hilarious French guy that built one of the Aerodrome kits and flew it across the English Channel. He made me look small.

https://airdromeaeroplanes.com/bleriot.html

[Slick Goodlin]

Though I think a more recent and reliable engine might be a good idea.

Definitely. It’s a ways off yet but I’m thinking a 1930s or later two or three cylinder between 45-60hp and lots of torque ought to do it. There was one flying for decades in Holland on a three cylinder Lenape and I’d like to learn more about the big Franklin horizontal twins.

[Slick Goodlin]

I met a fairly hilarious French guy that built one of the Aerodrome kits and flew it across the English Channel. He made me look small.

https://airdromeaeroplanes.com/bleriot.html

Those Airdrome kits are neat but their Bleriot especially seems to have everything awful about the original with none of the soul. I think if it’s going to be a terrible chore to fly it may as well be wood like the originals, with all the weird little idiosyncrasies of construction apparent in a plane designed before reliable glue.

[David MacRay]

I was just throwing them into the discussion. They are pretty practical and inexpensive by airplane standards, but certainly less authentic than you probably prefer.

I don't know about the Bleroit but most of his replicas have wings designed to be much easier to fly than a closer to original replica. I think they look great unless you know what you're looking at.

Funny thing is most people that would really appreciate the planes from that era probably recognize the differences much faster than I would. They have looked at tons of pictures, seen them in museums and/or built very detailed models.

It should be more satisfying to build one from wood but probably more difficult as well.

I'm kind of excited to read about your progress and hope to see pictures.

I found a video of the guy I mentioned.

[John Swallow]

SG: good luck on your build. It is both satisfying and an education.

You may already be aware of this, but good (and required) info here:

https://www.md-ra.com/en/

John