Howdy from Northern California

[Sacpilot]

Very true on all. Good thinking on expenses! but I doubt my wife would ever look at a build log. As for hours. I don't know. I guess if everything comes out as I expect its some measure of the success for me. Allows me to quantify the effort for some reason. Everyone's personality is different.

[Tony Spicer]

Anyone know a good, free build log site? I have been using Expercraft, but sick of getting dinged $5 a month. Is Picassa or another service available through Google easy to use?

Picasa is very easy to use. And it's free. You can break the build down into as many albums as you would like. If you upload a hi res photo, it will be 1200 x 1600 in the album. Another plus that many might not know about is the ability to zoom in on a photo. Click the magnifying glass at the top center of a photo to see it in action.

Married builders don't normally put expenditures in a format easily seen and understood by wives. That's top secret info.

As to tracking hours, why? When you wake up at 2 am thinking about how you'll solve an issue in the shop, does that hour get logged? When you're in the recliner watching football and reading the BM, do you log the time?

Tony

[PlaneDan]

Your enthusiasm is well founded. You will love this build and I believe that we will both love flying our birds when they are finished. Rock On, my friend.

Dan Heath - SN020
http://pantherbuilder.org/
Lexington, SC

[Sacpilot]

Hi guys,

Put the 50% down to get this bad boy going. Tail going out on Tues. Sold my Zenith 750 kit with o-200 for $45k which was kind of sad after 25 months of build and 725 hours. Great kit to start with, but just too slow. Not enough places to use stol ought here anyway. So, even though I don't need LSA, I will build LSA wing for better climb and efficiency with smaller engines like high compression o-200 or a Corvair and the right prop to bring rpms up. seems like the sport wing needs the o-320 and doesn't offer much more than cruise speed. Maybe I'm misinterpreting, but I can't seem to find a convincing argument to go up to a heavier engine. Less climb, more takeoff run, for a mild increase in cruise speed. I want a longer range plane too if needed, so lower fuel burn is good. Dan seems to think 155mph is realistic at sea level on corvair or o-200 if tuned with right prop (LSA speeds aren't necessary for me (hope I'm not misquoting...If so, correct me). Plus you could go tri-gear with LSA. Kind of amazing all of the options.

Anyone know a good, free build log site? I have been using Expercraft, but sick of getting dinged $5 a month. Is Picassa or another service available through Google easy to use? I kind of wanted an automatic way to document hours I enter with each entry of photos, and the ability to break up sections.

What's the best build log that can auto track hours and expenses like expercraft?

Let's rock this thing!