New to Highlander need your input

For general discussion of the Just Aircraft family of aircraft.
Includes: Highlander, Escapade, Summit and SuperSTOL.
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WISC
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New to Highlander need your input

Post by WISC »

I am new to this website but already soliciting inputs.
I am thinking of purchasing a Highlander kit. I am tyring to visit the factory next week.
-Does anyone have a list of required tools and a list of tools that would be really nice to have?
-Required room to build? I ask because I am in the Service and living apart from my family. I live in a small apartment. Could I keep the fuselage in storage and work on the wings in my apartment? Can you work on the kit in that order?
-Are the plans easy to read, enough detail provided?
I appreciate your help. Also open to the idea of purchasing a project that someone has lost interest in finishing if you know of any.
Thank you.
levyland
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Re: New to Highlander need your input

Post by levyland »

I reckon anything can be done. One year at Oshkosh I met a gentleman from Japan that had built a Varieze in his kitchen, with the photos to prove it. And anyone that has visited Japan will attest to the size of their kitchens.
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danerazz
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Re: New to Highlander need your input

Post by danerazz »

You can download the build manual from the Just website. That is what you get for documentation. This forum is invaluable for filling in any blanks.

The kit goes together easily enough, and you don't need a ton of special tools (or any, really). The manual has a bit of a list. Mostly basic hand tools and a bunch of reamers to clean out the powdercoat (if you get it powdercoated) from the hinge points, etc. You don't need any "big" tools. I have gotten a lot of use out of a benchtop drillpress and a disc/belt sander, but you could do any of that with files/sanding blocks and a cordless drill. Just more elbow grease. Most of the tools you need are available at the local hardware store, though you will want to shop around for the reamers (I got mine at drillsandcutters.com) because they add up fast. Not terrible, but when you pay $20 for a reamer you need for 4 holes, it kind of stings.

The wings can be built on plain saw-horses, just make sure you protect the floor from the hysol, that stuff gets EVERYWHERE. You can do a lot on the wings without the fuselage, and don't have to do much in any particular order. The wings are pretty big by themselves, so measure your apt. to make sure they will fit (sorry, don't have the actual dimensions of just the wings). I am building my whole plane until I need to install the engine in a space that is (if I remember my measurements right) about 14'x16'. There is just enough room to work on one wing at a time or the fuselage. All of the parts and tools are in the same room. It is snug, but doable.

There are no "plans," again just the build manual. Once you get into it, most of it becomes pretty self explanatory. You know what has to be put together, and you figure out the best way to do it. If you dig around in the forum archives here, you will see there are many ways to do just about anything on this kit. None of them are wrong (well, maybe a couple...;) ).

One last thing, instead of storing the fuselage, talk to Just about only getting the wings (or fuselage) and work on that until you run out of stuff to do. I splurged for the fastbuild wings and the wings set to the fuselage, and for the price I think I could have spent more just making the tables/jigs needed to do it myself. Really not much more money in the grand scheme of things.
Dane

Paralysis by analysis
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SheepdogRD
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Re: New to Highlander need your input

Post by SheepdogRD »

In addition to the list of tools in the manual, there's a thread on this forum that discusses the "nice-to-have" equipment: http://www.wingsforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=218&t=21574.

The basic Highlander wings are 13'-6" long, and 36" wide; control surfaces add another 10" of width. The SuperSTOL wings are wider.

The Highlander fuselage is over 15' long and about 44" tall; with the vertical stabilizer installed, it grows to 54". It's 42" wide at the back of the doors, so you'll need a pretty good-sized opening to move it in and out. Once it's up on its (standard) gear, it's about 7' wide, nearly 6' tall at the tail (as a taildragger) and 6-1/2' high at the front. It gets wider and higher with the extreme gear and fat tires, and I think it gets even wider and higher with the SuperSTOL gear.
Richard Holtz
Highlander N570L -- Ms. Tonka -- in gestation

If just enough is really good, then too much ought to be perfect.
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mac
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Location: Grass Valley, CA.

Re: New to Highlander need your input

Post by mac »

It appears the "build manual", at least the old one, is no longer on the website. If I'm wrong, please advise and possibly direct me to the right location. Thanks. BTW.....been following this forum for several months now. Very impressed. Most everyone seems to be on the same page and very supportive. I've seen the opposite. Looking forward to being more active once the kit arrives at the hangar......which I'm also very much looking forward to! :)
Mark M.
N49SS in Phase 2....for good!
WISC
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Re: New to Highlander need your input

Post by WISC »

Thanks everyone!!
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SheepdogRD
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Re: New to Highlander need your input

Post by SheepdogRD »

A couple of suggestions:

Once you place your deposit, ask Harry to ship you the manual on DVD. Study that, and read way back on this forum (I started at the earliest post and read everything). The more you read, the more you get an idea of what you'll need to know as a builder.

You might also get ready by building your toolset up, and figuring out how your workshop will be laid out. I'd thought about making a vertical pegboard "rotisserie" on a two-foot square platform with casters. I figured the base would hold a couple of tool chests (like this one from Northern Tool: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200388124). Above them, I planned for three or four 2' wide x 4' high pieces of pegboard with hooks to hold the AS parts baggies. (I didn't make that unit because we have plenty of wall space, so we just mounted the pegboard there.)

You'll get an approximate ship date. Ask Harry to have your Aircraft Spruce hardware kit drop-shipped to you directly from AS (the AS kit is a lot of parts; he might want an additional deposit to do that). Drop shipping direct means there’s little or no additional shipping cost. Also ask Lynn to email your Kit Pack Bill of Materials. When the AS kit arrives, it will have lots of small parts in labeled baggies. As you do your inventory, the Bill of Materials will show the application of the parts. Store the fuselage-only parts, and organize the rest in a way that works well for you. If I were starting over, I’d organize them just as on the Bill of Materials.

Having the manual on DVD will let you search to see how specific parts are used. Then, when the kit arrives, you'll have read the manual and the forum, and you'll be familiar with a lot of the parts and how they’re used.

You’re in for a lot of fun . . .
Richard Holtz
Highlander N570L -- Ms. Tonka -- in gestation

If just enough is really good, then too much ought to be perfect.
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Gil T
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Re: New to Highlander need your input

Post by Gil T »

And I thought I was cramped for space. My hanger/shop is 16X25 with a 4X8 bench which worked out okay. But at least in the desert I don't have to deal with too much rain. Just wind, dust, haboobs and heat, heat, heat. This is what it looks like. You will notice the Escapade tail. That came off and a Highlander tail went on to go with the longer wings. As for tools I kind of got them as I needed them. I think with most of us if someone said yeah, go down to the hardware store and buy what you need, we would end up with most of the store. It is very easy to get carried away unless your live in accountant keeps their eye on you. After you get the kit you'll probably sit in the fuselage and make airplane noises for the first couple of days but after that you have to dedicate yourself to your project if you want to get it done in a timely fashion.

The fun has just begun.

Gil T
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