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F.8L Falco Construction Manual
1–4
Revision 4, March 1, 2002
you understand, but you will not. After the instrument panel and the electrical system are
installed, you will have a very good idea. You will not completely understand the degree of
systems integration until you have the Falco ready to fly. Only after you have all of the mess that
goes with the engine installation completed will you finally understand how integrated everything
is. If you don’t care to believe us, ask a builder who has completed a Falco or one who is nearly
finished.
The tendency to dream about “little” changes is only human nature. Everyone goes through this
stage.
Please
, keep yourself under control, take a cold shower, and concentrate on building the
Falco to the plans. Over the years, a lot of builders have written us about potential changes to the
Falco. Our experience has been that the more modifications proposed the less likely it is that the
builder will proceed with the aircraft to completion. In all cases, the individual is quite sincere
about the perceived need for such a change, but
every single builder who has proposed a number of
modifications has eventually given up on the project
. Those builders who continue to work on their
aircraft have been exceptionally devoid of such proposals. Thus, when we receive a letter
proposing a number of changes to the Falco, we interpret the letter to mean “I am not going to
build a Falco... just engaging in a pleasant daydream”. Please excuse the language, but our
description for this is “mental masturbation”, and we answer such inquiries in the briefest possible
manner.
The amount of time spent designing the Falco is difficult to comprehend if you have not been in
the design business. The design of the electrical system took about 3,000 hours, more time than
most of you will spend building the Falco. You will install parts and assemblies in your Falco in a
matter of a few hours. The design of these same things frequently runs into months. Please try to
keep this in mind before demanding that we tell you why you cannot install your new idea.
Part of the design process is the critiquing of your own work. You need to spend a lot of time
studying the design, playing the devil’s advocate, trying to simplify the thing, comparing the part
to other designs, etc. You need to be able to look at the design with a cold, rational attitude. You
ask yourself if the most brilliant designer in the world could not do better. You pin the drawing
on the wall and spend weeks of studying the design at odd moments. This process of objectively
critiquing your own design is one that we have noticed is usually lacking from the many proposals
that we have received. Remember,
it doesn’t make it a good idea just because you thought of it!
If you
find yourself holding on to an idea for this reason, it is irrational, emotional thinking, and it has
no place in good design. As an example, take our cabin heat valve. Compare our design to those
of production aircraft, and you will find that none is as compact, as simple or gives full flow. It’s a
brilliant piece of design. For us, it involved months of work studying every possible way of doing
this, looking at every production aircraft we could find. We are proud of this little feature of the
Falco design—proud that we have the best little cabin heat valve in aviation, and proud that we
copied
this design from a 1971 Messerschmitt BO-209 Monsun. Lord knows who Messerschmitt
copied it from! So... don’t hang on to an idea just because it came out of
your
head.
There is also the subject of the danger involved in modifications. Few builders are qualified to do
the engineering required to make changes, and fewer still are aware if the dangers involved. It has
been a constant source of amazement to us to see the many ways that builders can get into trouble
without realizing it. As a result of our experience, and after witnessing the safety record (dismal)
of other modified homebuilt aircraft, we have become inflexibly opposed to modifications. The
subject, frankly, is anathema to us. There is no question that any number of modifications can
safely be installed on the Falco. Indeed, we have spent years and huge sums on engineering the
many improvements we have made on the Falco. These improvements
are
modifications to the
original design, but we have done the engineering and spent the time to check out interference
Summary of Contents for F.8L Falco
Page 1: ...F 8L Falco Construction Manual...
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