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Continue reading →: A Lightweight Maintenance & Compliance Dashboard for Experimental BuildersOwning and building an experimental aircraft quietly turns you into several people at once. You’re the builder, the operator, the maintenance manager, the compliance officer, and—whether you intended it or not—the historian of the airplane. Regulations don’t care that these roles live in one human brain. They still expect clarity,…
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Continue reading →: Could a Sling TSi Ever Have Autoland? A Thought ExperimentTL;DR: Emergency Autoland has moved from impressive demos to real-world use, forcing a new question for general aviation: not whether an airplane can land itself perfectly, but how much automation is needed to avoid the worst possible outcome. This post breaks Emergency Autoland down into its fundamental requirements — deciding…
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Continue reading →: Builder Log: Ready for Paint — A Look Inside the Factory-Assist Build ProcessThis week’s visit to Torrance looked a little different from the recent ones. I wasn’t on the shop floor turning wrenches or checking off build tasks. Instead, this was a review milestone—looking at the work completed by the Airplane Factory team over the past several weeks and confirming that the…
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Continue reading →: The Hybrid Logbook: A Practical Record-Keeping Model for GA Pilots and OwnersTL;DR: Aviation records must survive for decades, but digital tools rarely do. The most resilient approach for a GA pilot with a single airplane is a hybrid model: keep paper as the master, scan everything important as a backup, and use a lightweight online dashboard for reminders, planning, and analysis.…
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Continue reading →: Garmin Pilot IFR Checklist for Real-World Flying: Quick Reference to the Rules You Need MostTL;DR: A controller’s reminder about “procedure turn confusion” led me to build a Garmin Pilot IFR Checklist — a compact, quick-reference list of acronyms and rules we all tend to forget once the checkride is behind us. It’s designed for in-flight reference inside Garmin Pilot, covering items like IM SAFE,…
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Continue reading →: From Builder to Owner: Understanding Aircraft Maintenance LogsTL;DR: Your airplane’s logbooks are more than paper—they’re proof. They certify your airworthiness, protect your wallet, and tell the story of your machine. Whether you fly a certified Cessna or a homebuilt Sling TSi, the same truth applies: if it’s not written, it didn’t happen. This post breaks down what…
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Continue reading →: My Sling TSi Configuration Omnibus — Every Decision in One PlaceAfter nearly a year of research, conversations, spreadsheets, and the occasional late-night rabbit hole, it’s finally time to lock everything in. As the airplane transitions into the paint phase, every configuration choice—from engine to avionics, from parachute to visors—has been (hopefully!) finalized. This post serves as a consolidated reference of…
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Continue reading →: Rotax 915iS vs 916iS: Why I Chose the New Generation for My Sling TSiTL;DR: This post compares the Rotax 915iS vs 916iS, the first and most defining decision of my Sling TSi build. The newer 916iS—nicknamed “The Impossible Engine”—delivers 19 more horsepower, a 2000-hour TBO (vs 1200 on the 915iS), and better fuel efficiency while adding only about eight pounds. Inside, it’s almost…
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Continue reading →: A Pilot-Owner’s Guide: MOGAS vs 100LL in Rotax iS Series EnginesTL;DR: Rotax’s iS-series engines were built for unleaded fuel, not 100LL. MOGAS keeps them cleaner and cheaper to maintain, but avgas is still what most U.S. airports pump. The smart move is to use MOGAS whenever possible and 100LL when you must—add Decalin, use semi-synthetic oil, and stick to 50-hour…
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Continue reading →: Three Days at Oshkosh: Lessons from the EAA Leadership AcademyWhen I first decided to build an airplane, I knew I was signing up for a technical challenge—but what I didn’t expect was finding a community that feels like aviation’s beating heart. That community is the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), a nonprofit that exists to promote and support recreational aviation.…
Eating an elephant one bite at a time.
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Slingology - Building and Flying a Sling TSi 