Prospective New Builder

[acropilot]

Hi All,

I am new to the forum and have been talking to Steve at Wild West on a potential Kit Purchase. I have built an airplane in the past and am deciding between the Just Highlander and the Carbon Cub. Price is a factor for me with the Carbon Cub.
I am particularly intrigued by the Yamaha option from Edge Performance and their North American distributor (Bad Ass Power Sports).
I am in the final phases of finishing up my shop and don't look to start this project until Q1-2021.
Any thoughts or advise would be much appreciated.

A few questions:

1. What does the quick Build Wing include?
2. Are the fuel tanks done or need to be welded shut?

Thank you.

[danerazz]

If you are talking about a Highlander and NOT a superstol, the QB wings will include the ribs bonded to the spars, and aileron/flap ribs bonded to their spars. I am not sure about the strut fittings, they may be included with the “set to fuselage” option. Overall, I feel the QB options (both the QB wing and wing set to fuselage) are a good value. You would otherwise need to build a jig, and be really good with a hysol gun to not make a huge mess. I had a particularly small shop so the wings set to fuse option saved a lot of extra effort to try to hang the wings and get things set up.

I also had the aluminum leading edge wrap, and I don’t know if is worth the weight/cost. I think Steve Henry could advise you well on that.

Somebody should jump in here on the fuel tanks, I have the older composite tanks. I would have much preferred the aluminum tanks, but they weren’t a thing until I was way too far into it to bother. I will say that I would be highly surprised if ANYTHING needs to be welded on one of these kits unless you mess something up or modify something.

I know where you are coming from on the cost issue. I would have loved a carbon cub, but the price of entry is far higher than I would EVER spend on that type of toy. The Highlander cost me more than enough to sate that appetite.

[Tralika]

There is no welding required by the Just kits. Very little fabricating. Lots of cutting pre-made parts to fit, drilling and attaching. I have a copy of the build manual in pdf format. It is in 4 chapters that total about 12MB, the largest is 4MB. I can try sending it to you if you want like but I'm not sure if a file that large will go through as an attachment even one chapter at a time..
This was my first build and overall the process was not too difficult. That is not to say it was not without some frustrating, cursing-tool throwing events. The build manual could use improvement but factory support is good. Every time I called Just AC I received an answer to any question I had. Every phone call ended with them saying, "Call any time." If I were buying a kit now I would buy it from Steve Henry so he could be a resource as well.

Here is a link to my online build log,
mykitlog.com/jnealon

[BDA]

Welcome
Steve is great! Has helped me alot on my plane.

Consider SS xl with Titan 180 hp
Less that half the price of CC, 110 mp +
Slower landing speed
More bagage volume and weight

My fast build wings came w aluminum tanks complete.

[acropilot]

If you are talking about a Highlander and NOT a superstol, the QB wings will include the ribs bonded to the spars, and aileron/flap ribs bonded to their spars. I am not sure about the strut fittings, they may be included with the “set to fuselage” option. Overall, I feel the QB options (both the QB wing and wing set to fuselage) are a good value. You would otherwise need to build a jig, and be really good with a hysol gun to not make a huge mess. I had a particularly small shop so the wings set to fuse option saved a lot of extra effort to try to hang the wings and get things set up.

I also had the aluminum leading edge wrap, and I don’t know if is worth the weight/cost. I think Steve Henry could advise you well on that.

Somebody should jump in here on the fuel tanks, I have the older composite tanks. I would have much preferred the aluminum tanks, but they weren’t a thing until I was way too far into it to bother. I will say that I would be highly surprised if ANYTHING needs to be welded on one of these kits unless you mess something up or modify something.

I know where you are coming from on the cost issue. I would have loved a carbon cub, but the price of entry is far higher than I would EVER spend on that type of toy. The Highlander cost me more than enough to sate that appetite.

Thank you for your reply. I am at the moment studying the Highlander. Sounds like the QB option is definitely worthwhile and saving some build time.
Does anyone have any pics or video of the wing fold opertion? And what the pink looks like?

[acropilot]

Welcome
Steve is great! Has helped me alot on my plane.

Consider SS xl with Titan 180 hp
Less that half the price of CC, 110 mp +
Slower landing speed
More bagage volume and weight

My fast build wings came w aluminum tanks complete.

When I go visit Steve at wild West, I'll definitely look at the Highlander (Yamaha motor) vs. the SS xl and the titan. It definitely sounds like a lot of fun.
Have you flown the SS xl and the highlander? Any comments on handling characteristics one vs the other?

Thank you BDA.

[acropilot]

There is no welding required by the Just kits. Very little fabricating. Lots of cutting pre-made parts to fit, drilling and attaching. I have a copy of the build manual in pdf format. It is in 4 chapters that total about 12MB, the largest is 4MB. I can try sending it to you if you want like but I'm not sure if a file that large will go through as an attachment even one chapter at a time..
This was my first build and overall the process was not too difficult. That is not to say it was not without some frustrating, cursing-tool throwing events. The build manual could use improvement but factory support is good. Every time I called Just AC I received an answer to any question I had. Every phone call ended with them saying, "Call any time." If I were buying a kit now I would buy it from Steve Henry so he could be a resource as well.

Here is a link to my online build log,
mykitlog.com/jnealon

Thank you Tralika,

Factory sent me some copies of their manual in PDF. It didn't look too bad. The support seems good and that is good news. Is your flying? Any issues so far?
I'll check out your blog.
Happy building and flying.

[Tralika]

Do a search on Youtube for Just Highlander Wing Folding and you will find several videos. It's pretty simple, remove the turtle deck, pull a pin from the front wing spar and the wing rotates on the bolt through the rear wing spar. Since the tail is down on a taildragger, you have to hold onto the wing when you pull the pin or gravity will rotate the wing back quickly and the aileron will hit the elevator which would surely cause damage. You also have to make sure there is not much fuel in the tanks or it will come out of the vents on the fuel caps. How much fuel depends on how much the front of the plane is raised by long landing gear and big tires. In my case it's no more than about 3 gallons. If your going to transport the plane on a trailer it's a good idea to remove all the fuel from the wing tanks. When folded, the wing is only supported by the rear wing spar. The extra weight of the fuel can't do it any good when bouncing on a trailer.

I have about 150 hours on my plane with lots of fun and no issues.

[acropilot]

Do a search on Youtube for Just Highlander Wing Folding and you will find several videos. It's pretty simple, remove the turtle deck, pull a pin from the front wing spar and the wing rotates on the bolt through the rear wing spar. Since the tail is down on a taildragger, you have to hold onto the wing when you pull the pin or gravity will rotate the wing back quickly and the aileron will hit the elevator which would surely cause damage. You also have to make sure there is not much fuel in the tanks or it will come out of the vents on the fuel caps. How much fuel depends on how much the front of the plane is raised by long landing gear and big tires. In my case it's no more than about 3 gallons. If your going to transport the plane on a trailer it's a good idea to remove all the fuel from the wing tanks. When folded, the wing is only supported by the rear wing spar. The extra weight of the fuel can't do it any good when bouncing on a trailer.

I have about 150 hours on my plane with lots of fun and no issues.

Hey John,
That is a beautiful airplane. What kind of Fabric did you use? How many hours did you spend on your build?
I was just in Anchorage two weeks ago.
I'll check out the YouTube videos. It sounds pretty straight forward. Thank you for the notes on the wing fold operation.

[BDA]

I have not flown the highlander yet

I would like to do a head to head comparison

When I picked the XL it was the only option for super slow flight AND high payload.

The Apex changes that