foxworker

completeaerogeek, great stuff, when I did my theory back in '91, I was pretty skeptical of the Bernoulli principle back then, as it made pretty much no sense at all., if they're still teaching this silly theory to explain lift. it needs to be stopped

Can't imagine why you would want to, the tail draggers are much better.

Hi James Would be very difficult to find out what mods were made, I don't have the build order sheet, I've got the Gazelle orders only, plus a few 'draggers that went to Thailan. I must admit I don't recall many "modifications" being made, more options than anything else. Yours would be a CA 22 A I think; all that means is it has a 912 A engine and a different prop,.

Last I heard was that an Ra Tech person, (cannot recall exactly who), pretty much shot the rebirth idea down in flames., that was how it was explained to me.

Wish you were up here in Brissy, would love to work in your company.

I used to instruct in that one around the mid 90's from memory, up here in Qld. out of Caloundra aerodrome. It was one of the factory flying school's aircraft, used to be a favourite amongst students because it looked sharp and flew well.

James, is that 55-959 or ex 959?

Rob should be able to help out with 'Fox issues., if you google Coastal Aviation you'll find his number. Really nice bloke, passionate about 'fox aircraft.

Unfortunately none of the Skyfox aircraft can have their fuel quantities increased, they are all certified from the 21 through to the 25N. Also there isn't the space available in the wing bays as they've all got drag/anti drag braces running through them. The 'foxes (draggers), were really originally built for smallish trips or for people on the land for stock/fence inspection etc., and the Gazelles were primarily built for ab initio pilot training. They were never really intended for long cross country trips although absolutely capable of such albeit sloooowly. I'd love to be able to buy a CA22 one day and totally refurbish it, oh and I'm sure Rob from Coastal Aviation from Sunshine Coast airport could fab. you a carry through tube to specs. cheers all.

I had the very same idea years back, was roughly the same age, went along to Aviation Australia, cert IV aeroskills-structures, unfortunately no work. Came to the realization that sometimes just having passion to do something you love is not anywhere near enough, maybe many decades ago, but not these days. I also had to accept that even if I did find a job in the industry, I still had to work as a low paid apprentice for another 3 years which would of been financially disastrous for me. Reality is there are plenty of highly experienced AME's and LAME's out there looking for work in any case. Have a look through aviation employment agencies and you'll get a picture of what work is available AND the experience and skill level/licenses required of applicants. These days I build large Ally. boats, and that satisfies my desire to fabricate and build well engineered structures. As soon as I restore my 67 Valiant wagon I'll build myself a KR2-s, and get back into flying. My advice is to try and find something that comes close to satisfying your career change desire and get yourself a home based project that can satisfy your creative desires. I know so many people love to say "follow your dreams and it will happen", but seriously often it is just fanciful thinking.

Mate, that is beautiful. Absolutely top notch workmanship.

Find it difficult to understand why a L.A.M.E. would suggest using a heat gun, unbelievable. Stick to what the manual says.

For me the airfish was, pretty innovative, when it was first designed and built. Hybrids like the NZ bloke's one is pretty much another variation of the US one, definitely not terribly innovative, and hardly a true wig craft. Unfortunately the Airfish was ridiculously overpriced for what it was.

Once up in Cairns there was a company producing a wig for the commercial market, called the" F8 Flightship", I think she was an 8 seater.

There are two really good books, (amongst 1000's), out there that I absolutely recommend to anyone contemplating going into any business and they are "22 immutable laws of marketing" by Al Ries and Jack Trout, the other one is "The E-Myth"-Why most small businesses don't work and what to do about it by Michael E. Gerber. Both great to read, especially 22.

Skyfox Aviation was not kicked off with millions of dollars, the owner at the time confided in me quite a lot and I can assure you it was no where near that amount. A lot of the money went into certification. Money was not wasted on expensive promotion campaigns, nor was it wasted on over flashy premises, we did with what we needed and no more and we still managed to produce and sell approx. 170 aircraft, keeping a couple of dozen people employed for 5 years or so. Skyfox Aviation was sold off in the end to a couple of very wealthy businessmen from Abu Dharbi who sunk a large amount of money into the company, and it folded up within six months. No amount of money would of saved that company, it was so poorly run and organized it was inevitable that it would fail, the staff on the floor could see it coming but the new wealthy management could not and would not accept that change was needed. My point is that simply pouring mega money into a business is not always the answer, good planning and strict attention to every detail is.

I believe one of the "obstacles", to overcome is stability in craft pitching, which shouldn't be too hard to overcome if it is understood in the design phase.

Facthunter, "Selling something that is less than it appears won't work for a closed system like us", couldn't agree with you more. I have seen some businesses try it with terrible results. Suffice to say, they no longer exist. Cheers

All great reading. Would like to see how it could possibly cost "millions", to bring such products to the market; love to see some sort of break down; we're not talking production like that of a small car 15-25 grand for instance, or mass production like other recreational products. I have a prototype, design registered, camper trailer 1/10 scale I built a number of years ago that I have shown a few manufacturers, small and large, to gauge their reaction. Each one has commented on the marketability of the product in a positive way but each one has also said that it would take some ridiculous amount of money to bring to the market, which is just absolute crap. Where some of these figures come from is anybody's guess. Designing products cleverly so that they can be produced in numbers seems to be so overlooked in Oz., I have seen so many commercial products made in factories in such archaic ways that Henry Ford would of shook his head. The workers/technicians know it, but unfortunately the powers that be don't, they keep throwing money in to try to solve the issues, but fail to listen to those who really do know what they're talking about, and hence, loads of money wasted. I love the saying, "fail to plan and you're planning to fail". Doing so can save the investor so much money. Also, when it comes to successfully marketing a new product these days one doesn't need to hand hundreds of thousands of dollars over to some wiz bang marketing guru, to get good results; these days the internet has made it a truck load easier to bring a product to the market without it costing an arm and a leg. Sure there will be investment needed to bring any product to the market, but pulling figures out of thin air without being able to fully substantiate is sooo out of date. Cheers all

I agree with 99.9 % of what Head in the clouds has written, pretty much spot on in my opinion., the only part I do not believe is correct, and I'm not sure which industry it applies to specifically is the very last sentence. I've never been with a manufacturing business that has used those type of figures and I've worked in some pretty profitable workshops. But, I think Head in the clouds is quite right when it comes to realizing and understanding that to survive and to be profitable when marketing and selling such a product. I remember when I was a flight instructor for the flight school that operated out of Skyfox Aviations facilities, we used to wheel a Skyfox T'dragger into the Maroochydore shopping centre main foyer, set up a great display with videos, and great posters etc., and sell TIF's. It worked so well because we got people excited and after sitting in the 'craft and putting on headsets and moving the controls, it was easy to sell them the first step, the TIF. Once we got them in we had them, and a lot of them went all the way through. We never advertised mainstream, it was a waste of money. Thanks Head in the clouds, obviously you understand that "marketing is a battle of perceptions".

Wow, nice. I agree with you that you can forget the rag and tube type, waste of time and money. There may well be an undiscovered market out there if the product being offered was- 1: Truly affordable., say around the 20 g mark complete, basic model not with options. This amount would make it relatively easy to gain finance if you're an average wage earner.therefore making it more appealing to younger people 2: Modern sleek appearance, with plenty of options allowing one to customize. Harley Davidson do this brilliantly. 3: Very easy to maintain with clip on, clip off panels for easy access., similar to jet skis and the like. 4: Detachable light weight flying surfaces, which is easy to incorporate in the design, therefore easy to take home on the "optional trailer". What young adult wouldn't like to be washing one of these in the front yard watched by his/her envious neighbours. 5: Clever marketing campaign. You tube etc. offering deals and packages., including pilot certificates. Yes David I share your dream, and I actually have such a design partially completed, and have just the right people and equipment needed for such a business, but I have never had the funds to do such a thing, and until someone shares the dream with me and backs the whole thing it will never be realized. Money talks. cheers.

David, Simple, it is very doubtful that there is enough demand out there to warrant the production of a single seat aircraft, there has not been in the past, nothing of any great significance anyway, and it will more than likely stay that way. I would absolutely love to produce the 95-10 frame and composite 'craft I partially designed in the late 90's, but the truth of the matter is, it's simply not a viable as a sustainable, profitable business. I agree, regulations in this category are no where as complex as in other categories, but you can bet your bottom dollar David, the powers that be would make it difficult for anyone trying to build and sell something that involves having wings and a propeller! P.S. please feel free to finance and satisfy the regulators for me so I can bring a slick 95-10er to the large market out there. You'll only need about 100 grand! cheers.

Market is just too small in Oz, regulations are prohibitive, would want to have a lot of cash to burn.

Nomadpete, Yeah it's a "hybrid" and the kit is ridiculously expensive and a lot of work to build it. There have been hundreds of different wig craft been built since the 50's when Russia lead the way with enormous craft with massive turbines providing thrust. Russians called wigs Ekranoplans, check out the Caspian Sea Monster for example. Australia built one called the F8 back in the 90's which showed great promise as a commercial venture, but like a lot of ambitious projects it failed and was sold of to overseas interests as far as I can tell. There have been other attempts to produce them for the recreational market. cheers Deskpilot, If you can operate a boat on most waterways I can't see the problem with wig craft if the noise doesn't exceed certain limits, since I believe they are operated under marine regulations as they are operated in ground effect only, that's what I found out when I was looking into that side of it back in the 80's. I believe you would require a boat license. As for insurance I'm sure if one really wanted insurance one could obtain it somewhere. As for the width I'm not sure if you realize that they are very stubby wings, only to provide the cushion effect you get I ground effect, check out some of the designs, many have a greater length than their width. It is very easy to design folding or detachable 'stubby"wings exactly what my design had, and therefore much the same as a smallish ski boat to trailer. cheers