I think I settled on building an Ultra-Piet, I built a rib jig and have sticks on the way.

But after studying both the MiniMax plans and the Ragwings i see they have a lot in common on building so If others are interested I'd like to keep this thread updated on my progress and maybe bounce questions off you all if and when they arise.

the MiniMax sounds like a great airplane but I have a thing for antique aircraft and love the 20s, 30s, and 40s period of history so the piet has more of a draw for me.

Good luck with their 400 hour estimated build time.

I believe Roger Mann built a Minimax or Himax and then designed his planes using "comparative engineering" following in the footsteps of Pietenpol himself. The monoplanes are all essentially the same airplane.

aeronut, If i get done in 400 hours i will be amazed since i think that is for the kit that no longer exists and i am learning as I go. Besides how many of you have built the Max in the published time?

I think another zero at the end may be closer to the actual time. anyway building is most of the fun.

I just thought i might be neat to put my build here since there isn't a forum for the ultra-piet and they are similar so that we can see the similarities and differences and I thought i may tap into all or your knowledge if and when i get stuck.

If the ragwing isn't welcome here just let me know

Quoted from cdlwingnut

aeronut, If i get done in 400 hours i will be amazed since i think that is for the kit that no longer exists and i am learning as I go. Besides how many of you have built the Max in the published time?

I think another zero at the end may be closer to the actual time. anyway building is most of the fun.

I just thought i might be neat to put my build here since there isn't a forum for the ultra-piet and they are similar so that we can see the similarities and differences and I thought i may tap into all or your knowledge if and when i get stuck.

If the ragwing isn't welcome here just let me know

I agree about build time. I can recall when the Secretary of our EAA chapter reported under builder reports in the minutes that "Lynn reported being 600 hours into the 250 hour build time on his MiniMAX". It got a lot of laughs. And, by the time it was done I'm sure it went over 1000 hours.

I can't see why the Ultra-Piet build wouldn't be welcome. The Roger Mann designs are definitely first cousins or something to the MiniMAX. I recently started a RW-2 Special biplane build. So far I've finished all 34 of the wing ribs and the 8 spars. That's the worst part of a build, in my opinion, with all of the repetition.

Happy building!

Lynn

Bring on, with lots of pictures.

the rib jig is built, well almost, the middle blocks will be put on when i get the stock.
now just waiting for the 1/4 x 1/4 to show up

I also found a supply of Douglas Fir flooring that has nice strait grain that will work for the longerons. I could work for the spars too, but i may go with spruce from wicks or Aircraft spruce, have a while before making that choice.

here's the jig

Apparently, the ailerons are simple top-hinged affairs, rather than what I'll call a "center pivot" aileron that's nestled into a "cove" like the MiniMAX's ailerons. I would think the simple top-hinged version would be more simple to build. A fiend in our EAA chapter did that on a RagWing plane too, rather than the "rounded-leading-edge" ailerons that his plans showed.

Lynn

The real Pietenpol has top hinged ailerons, but they are not full span. Don't know if they are on this or not.  I can't tell by the picture, but does the ragwing have a slight concave on the bottom of the rib?
I'd like to see pictures of your build as well. Best of luck to you.
  Larry

Larry the ailerons are not full span and yes there is a slight under camber in the wing, which is achieved by placing a small block on the jig under the bottom of the rib. The plans say it is
optional, but i looks like revisions in the build manual say it isn't, anyway i have it on mine.

spend some time on the project this morning i used some wall paneling to make the table top smooth and not wavy. then rolled out some paper bought at a craft store and started drawing out
fuselage sides.

I have about as much time scrounging materials as building at this point but hope to get going.

here is the table with the paper, the lines don't show up well so can't see the fuselage drawing.

doing some more work on the fuselage jig today and bent one of the bottom longerons into shape, not long until I will be cutting wood that is part of the plane and not jig blocks.

one more

Little more progress the vertical and horizontal members are cut and fitted in not glued yet

Well you are off and running with your build and that is a good thing. It is very easy to be enthusiastic at the beginning but things will slow down a bit as you progress. Try to work on it on a regular schedule even if all you do is clean up the shop.If you have a family try not to take any time away from them for the airplane. This can be problematic. I wish you a fantastic build with the goal of making like a bird and flying to your harts content.     

I mixed up some T-88 today and glued some pieces together. crossing my fingers that the glue joints look good when i see them tomorrow.

I figured out a way to make the angles easier for the cross members I took two pieces of scrap stock on the size of the most common member in my case 3/4 by 3/4 and then nailed (or you could glue) another piece on top to make an L shaped jig then lay it along the member you are butting the cross member over and use it as a strait edge to draw you line. take it to the protractor and then set your saw at the proper angle. so far it works well, wish i had thought of it earlier.

My package from wicks arrived today. Lots of little sticks, plywood, and some glue, first rib is pieced out but not glued as i forgot to bring my handheld jig saw for cutting the gussets from the plywood. (oh and before ruin expensive plywood, will this work, or is there a better way?)

I also finished laying out the side of the fuselage, was running out of time so didn't mix any t-88,

You don't cut it with a jig saw .
to make gussets you first cut strips of ply by scoring it on both sides with a utility knife and break it, then make a stack of strips and cut a bunch at a time on a band saw , if you don't have one and have to cut one at a time use sheet-metal snips

^^^^^ I'll second that! I didn't score on both sides of the ply though, I just made multiple passes and a good utility blade will cut through nicely. I used George's second method to cut the gussets from the long strips of ply then, and used a sheet metal snip.
Lynn

I used a bandsaw. Just a small hobby one, but it is sooo useful. That and a bench sander. And of course a pillar drill. I would never use a jigsaw.

was out of town for a couple of days but got a little done on the plane today, I finished gluing all the parts on the fuselage side and now its clamped and waiting to cure out.

I did find an idea for making gussets with a 2 inch hole saw i am thinking about trying. has anyone tried this idea?

one side ready to come out of the jig, this should be interesting as the curve on the bottom is under a lot of tension, I figure a bar clamp should hold it. and rib number one glued in the jig.
I hope to get more time tomorrow to build one or two more. got a little distracted helping with another project in the shop. pictured bellow

Building a HiMax on floats or something?  

ya think those floats would fit on a minimax, i see a new project in the works

A little update, finished rib #7 I'm going to need more rib stock i underestimated the amount i will need. I rather enjoy piecing them together but i learned pulling staples is no fun, not bad if
put a toothpick under the staple. I picked up some more douglas fir so work will begin on the other side of the fuselage.

Quoted from cdlwingnut

ya think those floats would fit on a minimax, i see a new project in the works

I have some that will. I used them on a Robertson B1RD, but if your Max is an ultralight, then these should carry the weight.
No wheels though.

after not doing much on the Ultra-piet last week do to travels and work, i spent some time with it today, i pulled side 1 out of the jig, and got most of side 2 laid up in the jig almost ready to
Glue.

one side out of the jig the other coming together

I finished gluing the second side of the fuselage up. now i have both sides ready for plywood cover