Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gary Welch on June 23, 2016 at 11:04am

Hi Jim;

Can't help you with the tanks but I'm one month away from starting my flight testing on my 601 XL. I was wondering if you could share the cause of the loss of power that led to the bent metal? I've searched the forum and couldn't find a discussion on it.

Thx,

Gary Welch 

Permalink Reply by Jim B Belcher on June 27, 2016 at 2:47pm

I have avoided a discussion, because of my involvement with the crash report, and the FAA.

However, you should be able to find it from the NTSB under N274AJ, 6 June, 2015, Avoid sites like Kathryn's; the writeup there is incorrect.

Permalink Reply by Gary Welch on June 27, 2016 at 7:44pm

Thanks Jim. Hard to imagine what you've been thru. It is impressive that you are rebuilding. I've different a lot of time reading your posts and reviewing your build site. Thanks for all your contributions - they have helped me a lot.
Gary Welch

Permalink Reply by Jim B Belcher on June 30, 2016 at 4:51pm

As our daughter said, "God had His hands on the wings." I could have totalled out the aircraft, and it could have totalled me, but I chose to rebuild it out of sheer stubborness and a desire to recover all that paperwork I'd created to get the thing registered.

I got out with only one minor scrape. If you can imagine a 72 year old man squiirming out of a partially crushed cockpit, and running, you'd get the picture. Normally, I don't run too good, but in this case, I made an exception.

My sole advice, outside the accident report that I helped write, is to do what you've always been taught: fly the airplane. Picking what you hit is a lot better than randomly hitting something.

The first month after the crash was waiting for the NTSB investigation. After the report was written, there was another month while I assessed whether it was worth rebuilding. Now, 11 months into the rebuild, the fuselage is pretty much completely repaired, and I'm starting to build wing ribs.

Permalink Reply by Gary Welch on July 1, 2016 at 10:36am

Your story is kind of inspirational Jim.

Thanks for sharing. 

Permalink Reply by Pat Kelly on June 24, 2016 at 4:56am

look down about 6 ads

Permalink Reply by Jim B Belcher on June 30, 2016 at 4:41pm

For some reason that I don't really understand, some versions of Firefox don't pick up all the posts. When I went to a newer version, I began seeing a lot of posts I hadn't seen before. Wierd!

Permalink Reply by John Edwards on June 25, 2016 at 3:30pm

Don't know if they are the same,but I have 10gal 701 tanks that I am willing to part with for half price of the 12.5 gal tanks that I would upgrade too...

Permalink Reply by Don Guice on August 3, 2016 at 11:26am

Jim, I have a set of 4 tanks that are left over from parting out my 601B.  These tanks are part of the original long range option, 4- 12 gallon tanks.  Call me at 832 257 2717 if you are interested.  They are complete with fuel sensors, locking caps and quick drain plugs.  I also have the plans for installing the tanks.  I was flying with a Jabiru 3300 and these tanks gave me a 6 hour range.  Don Guice

Attachments:

• Tanks.JPG, 121 KB

Permalink Reply by Jim B Belcher on August 3, 2016 at 2:44pm

Thanks. I bought a set about a month ago.