Gregg's Kolb Firefly
Ultralight Page
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Gregg's Kolb Firefly Ultralight Page |
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In
an effort to keep from going to various corners of my computer to find
things and also to provide a place where friends, future Kolbers, or
just the curious can find information on my flying and electronic
exploits, this webpage is hereby dedicated. Here you will find information on the construction and flying of my Firefly as well as some of my Diy Electronic projects for lighting as well a some instrumentation. This page is intended as a resource to help prospective Kolb builders and electronics hobbyists in their future endeavers but is not intended to be the final word in anything. There is always a better way. The electronic projects have been functioning for a couple of years now but I must stress that they are DIY and not FAA legal in certified aircraft so you must use your own judgement in their use. That being said, my projects do not affect primary flight instruments but augment my aircraft instrumentation. Experimental is certainly the rule here. I have a private pilot license and used to fly a T41B which is the military version of a Cessna 172 (See it Here) but unfortunately the cost of ownership was becoming too much. The plane was in need of an overhaul and that was pretty much the straw that broke the camels back. So what were my options? The idea of flying low and slow combined with the cost of ownership steered me in the ultralight direction. Not to mention the rules and regs of part 103 are a lot easier to manage. So with a retirement in the future, I decided I wanted to build a kit to help keep me busy. After looking at what was available, the Firefly made the head of the list fairly quickly. With 3 axis controls and good factory support it seemed like a good fit. Most of the aircraft uses pulled rivets which a newbie can master fairly quickly. All welded parts including the cage are supplied by Kolb. Another plus since I've never welded anything in my life. The kit comes with a set of prints plus a construction manual. I did have experience reading prints in my Career with Honeywell and that helped me out a lot. I would recommend a thorough study of the prints before building your first part. The manual does not hold your hand on every part. An understanding of the prints and how the parts fit together require some brain power at times. The factory says that this can be built in the neighborhood of 350 to 450 hours. That is relative to individual skill sets. I have in the neighborhood of 650 in mine. I made the decision that I wasn't running a race here and that proved itself in the pudding at the end. I was very happy with the result. Some of those hours were spent on my electronic mods and their developement so without mods the factory estimate is quite doable. I should also mention that I had no experience in covering or paint. The Stitts covering manual was very comprehensive and Kolb has videos which show how to cover and paint. They were very informative and proved to be enough to get me through the job. I also had some help from other builders or Kolb if I ran into a snag. I also cruised the internet for every video I could find on covering and paint as well. A picture is worth a thousand words. Bottom line? Get yourself a Kolb Firefly. Low and slow? Yes...if you want, but this plane is also very nimble. I generally cruise at 60 which is quick enough to go cross country. I regularly attend pancake breakfasts when weather allows. Check out the You Tube videos for some sight seeing! |
 
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