Weekend chores, a bonfire and iRobot pool cleaner fixes

| June 8, 2021

It was a “work around the yard” weekend for me and besides power washing the patios on Saturday, I cut down honeysuckles in preparation for the new concrete driveway project later this summer (if it is still scheduled and affordable )? Along with sawing trees and hauling limbs, I started the old dried out honeysuckle […]

Archive: Found a short Sonex airplane project video for #TBT

| December 26, 2019

While sifting through a few old .MP4 files, I found one of my first iPhone 5 test video clips from 2012 and it had a bit of footage of my Sonex airplane project (posted a few photos back then) that I was working on a year before selling it. It was shortly before I sold […]

A day early … but Happy Birthday to my son Taylor #TBT

| June 9, 2016

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Simple carburetor for Volkswagen aircraft conversions

| April 25, 2013

This is really just an archive of a message to the guy who purchase my project. He indicated that the parts have successfully been permitted into China and inquired on what carburetor he should put on the engine. The Aerovee kit was tested with an Ellison but it was my intent to use an AeroInjector […]

Selling my airplane project leaves me melancholy

| January 20, 2013

Selling a long term project like building an airplane leaves me with mixed feelings. In part, I’m glad to be lessening my hobby load of “things to do,” but sad to part with a project that has consumed so much of my time and been a focus this past decade. As family we took trips […]

Smartphone photography with the new Apple iPhone 5

| September 22, 2012

The Apple iPhone 5 camera makes for a substantial improvement over my previous smartphone’s camera and so I was anxious to experiment with image quality and play with a few of the hyped features. Since I’m upgrading from the nearly “extinct” Palm Pre, running a rooted webOS install, any modern smartphone camera would have been an […]

Archive: Adding a few updated Sonex photos

| July 31, 2012

  With the slow economy and the associated weak income/high expenses related issues … combined with my lack of aviation motivation in recent  years, it only makes sense to show my Sonex project to interested builders. After cleaning up the shop a little bit, I picked up a potential buyer, Dennis, and his friend Tom […]

Maiden Flight for SubSonex from EAA News

| August 11, 2011

Great news for aviation experimenters — the personal jet experimental protype known as the SubSonex made its first flight. Way to go! August 11, 2011 – A little yellow jet was spotted over Oshkosh Wednesday morning (August 10) and soon it was confirmed that John Monnett’s SubSonex had made its first flight. Jet sailplane pilot […]

S/V Encore – we own a sailboat once again

| December 18, 2010

Christmas has come early for me as we finalized the closing on the “new to us” sailboat – 1986 36’ Westerly Corsair called Encore. Although Brenda and I have been looking at boats for years, we realistically planned on putting off owning our next boat until both kids were out of college and comfortably on […]

EAA News – SubSonex Heat Wave

| December 26, 2009

See Sonex Aircraft Hornets’ Nest Research link or EAA.org article below. Sonex jet runs engine for the first time December 23, 2009 — The SubSonex, a jet-powered homebuilt aircraft being developed by Sonex Aircraft, LLC, completed its first engine run last week at the company’s Oshkosh, Wisconsin, headquarters causing warm smiles and melted snow. Sonex […]

Record Flight for SkySpark Electric Powered Aircraft

| June 15, 2009

Here’s an excellent video from the World Air Games in Turin, Italy showing a test flight flown by Space Shuttle astronaut (STS-75) Maurizo Cheli in the electrically powered SkySpark Single “Motor” Land aircraft (a lame attempt at aviation humor on py part). What makes this flight unique is that it has achieved an airspeed record […]

Sonex airplane project update for 2007

| December 14, 2007

I’ve spend the last several years on and ‘more’ off building parts for my ‘scratch’ built Sonex experimental airplane. (note masthead) Recently a retired friend is lending a hand and is encouraging me to move a bit more aggressively on my project. (thanks John) His experience has been really appreciated, as has the influx of […]

Diesel power for Aviation – and my Sonex experimental airplane project

| May 20, 2005

I’ve been thinking about getting back to work on my Sonex project and have been ‘re-intrigued’ with the thought of diesel power. I came across a company, Advanced Propulsion Technologies, that is building extremely lightweight, high powered diesels, especially the 325HP engine. This one clutched to a second is being proposed and tested on light […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog