Didja finish it?

Built 3 "Experimental Amateur Built" planes, and also jumped with the Army (In Texas and in Germany.) In Texas, jumped with Army troops out of Ft. Sam Houston, and in Germany, jumped at Manheim, Gelnhousen, and Rhein Main Air Base, in Frankfurt, Germany. (RM was a demo jump on Armed Forces Day). We also had an Air Force Combat Control Team on that jump run. Yes, the jumping is fun - those Army Paratroopers were also "free fallers." When we exited at 7,500 or 11,000 feet, they always said it was more fun than a static line from 1500! :) ALL jumps are fun - regardless of static line or a self deployed main. No T-10's or T-11's were used. Only commercial built parachutes. My 3 Experimental Amateur Built planes: A Super Cat, an 1100MM, and an EROS 1650 MM. . . I was in USAF, and my jumping friends were Army. They all had their Jump Badges, while I had my United States Parachuting Jump Badge. Was stationed at Wiesbaden AB where the Army had a "Jump School." They called it the European Ft. Benning. :) Tried to get a slot in that school, but couldn't make that happen. I was working in the Avionics Instrument System shop, at that time. I hope you build a Mini Max. Save your money and go for an EROS 1650 MM. As I indicated, in another post here, I put 750hrs on mine and it was NEVER in a hangar. I used the hangar rent for fuel in the tanks. :) Just made a nice little weather tight cover and tied down on the tarmac. Retired the EROS - looking now for another MM or a CGS Hawk. That's a great airplane also. Good luck. N-6395T USPA B-6370 Retired, USAF

Joseph Westra It is just characteristics of the plane. The wing is high-drag and it is not very fast in the first place. you are already going so slow, so the going slower option is very tiny. You can get a ton of information about minimax on the team minimax/Himax owners Facebook page. If you have more questions, I will happily answer them on there.

@@Flyingwithdarrell I have two questions the instrment with the black knob on the left hand side of the control panel. Is that the throttle? Second question is it possable to modify the engine to have it started from inside the cockpit rather than having to start it like a WW1 bi plane?

Joseph Westra I like to keep my power up when I fly as low as I am in this video. When the power drops, so douse my minimax. (Like a rock) it is pretty normal for me to come in quick too. I prefer wheel landings over 3 point and want the the thrust over the rudder. I feel like I am in more control that way.

Roger Smith it's a fantastic little machine! I have nothing but good things to say about it.

How hard was it to build?

I did not build it. It was built in the early 90's.

Tango4N My minimax has been down for a few months now. I'm slowly getting it back to flying. I'm working on a new camera mount for it at the moment as well. I will be trying it out on my challenger soon and will upload the results here afterwards. Thanks for your interest and input. "Less head movement!"

Tango4N Also. I totally agree about the ignition. It is being addressed Thanks again !!

Michael Donavon this little 1100R was built in the early 90's. I am not sure how the builder pulled it off. I do know that it in not uncommon however. More and more are built and being built everyday. The engines keep getting lighter and more powerful too. I am apart of the minimax/Himax owners group on Facebook. If you are not a member yet I highly recommend you look us up and send in a membership request. Dave, the owner of team Minimax is very active there and will answer any questions you may have.

Emmett, go to teamminimax.com … everything's there.

denny thomas That is an app called DirectTO. I have since switched to ForeFlight. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for the reply Darrell. I have Foreflight on my I-PAD

Gross weight is something around 550lbs. So depending on the build, you would fit, but at the upper range

Corey Mcgee just regular auto fuel. I have heard that you could use 100LL (aviation fuel). But I don't myself. It burns 1.8 gallons per hour. So I just keep 10 gallons in my hanger and put them in the back of my pick up and just fill them up the next time I head to the airport. I myself have never done a multi state cross-country.

Darrell Massengale very interesting a VW engine can burn 100LL, that would make cross-country easier. Thank you...

Glenn Runnalls yes sir. 100% Part 103 legal.

Darrell Massengale wow, well looks like I’ll be looking into these. I’ve always wanted to fly, but it cost so much to get a license here in Alaska.

Oh and what’s the average range of these?

Glenn Runnalls Go to Facebook and look up the Minimax/Himax owners group. Lots of great people and insight there. I have never checked the range. But if I climb to 3500 feet and go to about 70% throttle I have an endurance well over 2 hours. I have a small half Volkswagen engine that only burns 1.8 gallons per hour. Its helps to have such a low fuel consumption considering that I only have 5 gallons total.

Good engine, I have a Rotax 447 and it avg. about 2.4 gal p/h turnung 40hp so a VW would be well worth the advantage in fuel consumption.

ggsmith48906 I don’t even remember buddy. I use foreflight now though.

Nicholas Burgess with that motor it was kinda underpowered. I would say 800 feet minimum with no obstacles.

Geoff Phillips no. Just the Volkswagon powered ones. The 2 stroke Rotax powered Max’s climb like a bat out of hell.

Good observation! Yes it is better if the kill switch is mounted on the right side of the pannel.

@@Mike-ff7ib Would it be possible tonmodify this or.the upgraded versions of the mini max to start the eingen from inside the cockpit?

@@makingmajic1938 yes you can add a starter, battery, and starter switch, but that adds more weight and far103 won't allow this.

@@Mike-ff7ib OH because the added weight un loaded would put it into the sport aircraft classification

Buildable RC I don't even remember. I use ForeFlight now.

apfelsnutz I have never seen a reduction drive in a 1/2 Volkswagen before. Not sure where to find one. All in all, it's getting getting rebuilt now and I am going from the low 30s range in horsepower to 40. I expect to see a noticeable difference. I will put up a video once it is done.

It might be interesting to call Valley Engineering [aka culver props.] and ask about the feasibility... It's all about thrust created by bigger slower turning propellers. It should work wonders on a drag-laden aircraft like the Mini-Max. Are you using the full case 1/2 VW ? If so, their unit bolts to the top of the crankcase and is a simple affair. PSRU ratios vary from 1.6:1 to 2.6:1. A definite solution to climb improvement. Less stress on the crankshaft and engine. Just my 2-sense worth...

apfelsnutz I appreciate your input. As of now I am just going to fly as is though. Just tired of it being grounded and am ready to be back up in the air. Even if it means super slow rate of climb. Haha

Hey Darrell, I called Culver and spoke to Larry the owner today. He said they tried the reduction unit and it worked like a champ, giving a tremendous boost to climb and speed both. They were running the 2.58 reduction unit and he said the vibration of the two lungger engine became more pronounced with the 2.58 reduction. He thinks if they do it again he would use the 1:1.6 or a little higher, and balance the engine more finely, it was of his own design... since it was only an experiment that it proved his point, and they stopped there. Since, there have been no requests for a two cyl. reduction unit. However he said the performance was dramatically improved. Good luck with whatever you decide... Ron I'm located on L00 should you come my way... Cheers !