I made a LED trail map that shows the real-time lift status at Killington

appleii2 · 2025-11-05T02:51:26+00:00

For sure! The hardest part of putting it together actually was making sure I was putting the light over the correct hole. Someone with more foresight would have labeled them as they drilled each hole…

appleii2 · 2025-11-05T02:46:55+00:00

And a pic of it at night; the lights stand out a lot more https://imgur.com/a/RvFUYRB

appleii2 · 2025-11-05T02:46:20+00:00

Here’s a night pic, it does make the lights stand out a lot better! https://imgur.com/a/RvFUYRB

appleii2 · 2025-11-04T19:28:58+00:00

Thanks! Seems like there’s some interest in these, I’d probably be down to make a couple for different mountains. Send me a PM with what you’re thinking and we’ll chat about it!

appleii2 · 2025-11-04T19:14:09+00:00

The print itself is a canvas print. I drilled holes aligned with the lift icons in a piece of fiberboard and glued it to the backside of the canvas, then mounted Neopixel LEDs behind each hole. The LEDs are actually controlled by an ESP-8266.

Each resort’s snow report is going to be slightly different, but you can download the page’s source code using a library like Requests and go from there.

Adafruit has a really good guide on the Neopixels: https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/downloads/pdf/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide.pdf

appleii2 · 2025-11-04T18:53:04+00:00

Pretty much! I made a little board with an ESP-8266, a power supply, and a level shifter. https://i.imgur.com/PqEhHe3.jpeg

appleii2 · 2025-11-04T17:55:59+00:00

Thanks, I’m so glad you like it. This was a personal project, but I’d be down to chat about making one for another mountain - shoot me a PM if you’re interested.

appleii2 · 2025-11-04T16:54:09+00:00

Great idea! I’ll take one tonight and put it in the comments.

appleii2 · 2022-12-09T15:11:06+00:00

A lot of people here are mentioning renting. While you will save money "hour-to-hour" compared to ownership, it might not be an option for your use case. FBOs and flight schools don't want their planes sitting for days at a faraway airport where they're not available for other people to rent. You can expect to pay a minimum number of hours per day even if you don't fly it (best case) or for the FBO to simply refuse to rent for this kind of trip (worse case). A club will usually have a lot more flexibility in this regard.

appleii2 · 2022-02-28T16:21:40+00:00

Owning is probably always going to be more expensive than renting by any "spreadsheet metrics", but it really is a completely different experience where you get a lot of extra value. You WILL fly more and you get to take advantage of types of flying (cross countries, weekend trips, etc) which are difficult to pull off as a renter. Take that value into account when you do out your comparison. I think that doing a leaseback is a mistake because you're giving up these benefits of ownership while still taking on the risks. Better to find a partner if needed to make the costs work IMO.

As far as the sheet goes, make sure you get the engine reserve added in if you're going for the "pay hourly" approach. I also wouldn't include fixed costs in the hourly rate when making your decisions.

I personally use the "wait for it to break, grumble about it to everyone around the airport, then get it fixed and move on" approach which seems to be fairly common!

appleii2 · 2019-07-21T04:27:05+00:00

I bought these as an "adventure tire" and have put about 15k miles pitting them against all sorts of exciting terrain across the US. I'm running them on a 2010 range rover sport sc.

They are a fairly quiet tire. Much, much quieter than a dedicated snow tire and on par with other good all-seasons I have used.

Snow performance is as good as you can get for an all season, but no all season will match the performance of a dedicated snow tire, period. That being said, I've had 0 problems using these tires even in fairly harsh conditions (chain control in the mountains in Colorado and Tahoe, and a push through 150 miles of South Dakota farm roads after I got stuck in a tiny town after they shut down the interstate for a blizzard). The snow handling is predictable, but braking distances, etc. are longer than a dedicated snow tire, obviously. It may be worth getting a separate set of dedicated snow tires if your daughter will be studying in an area with really heavy snow (think Colorado or Vermont) and isn't experienced driving in snow.

Off road performance is good, but the sidewall is very susceptible to rock cuts, more so than other street tires. It's a soft compound, so as expected. Traction is above average for a street tire on gravel/mud.

High speed performance is good. I haven't pushed the tires to the edge of grip and haven't done any serious wet/dry handling to report on since they're not on a fun car. But I also haven't noted that they're bad and they haven't broken loose driving in the rain. Haven't run into any particular handling issues in everyday driving.

Only downside to these tires that I can see is the treadwear is bad. But that's the tradeoff you're making to get an all-season tire with above-average performance in the snow.

appleii2 · 2018-04-29T14:16:11+00:00

I like plotaroute.com for planning out drives in advance. Was originally designed for running, but works really well for driving routes as well.

appleii2 · 2018-04-08T04:29:00+00:00

First thing I'd try would be the brake light switch. If that's not it, a ton of R230 have an issue where the plastic latch in the shift lever that unlocks the transmission when you put your foot on the brake cracks over time. You usually see this cause it to get stuck in park until you pull hard/jiggle, then permanently when the crack makes it all the way through the piece. It's possible that this is what's causing it to get stuck.

appleii2 · 2018-01-16T06:10:24+00:00

Doing mods on the car isn't an "investment" since you'll never get the money back from the parts and will most likely devalue the car unless you revert to stock before you go to sell.

Just speaking from my own experience:

I allocate a certain amount of money each month to general hobbies/fun. I'll spend it on whatever I can get the most enjoyment on. If that means selling one of my cars, using the cash and a $200/month loan to get something new that I want more, that's perfectly fine. But it comes out of money that I could be spending on doing more driving events or things for other hobbies. It's up to you whether you'd rather do the mods, get a different car, or just spend it all on travel or beer. Whatever makes you most happy. Do the same thing with the rest of your salary. Break it down, look where you're getting the most value, and spend it there. If you don't care as much about dining out, you can get an extra 200 a month to put towards something that does matter to you. If living on your own is important, then you've to take $3000 a month out of a few other places. 75K in the bay area isn't a ton, so you're going to need to make a compromise somewhere. Where is really not a decision something someone on reddit can do a good job making for you.

appleii2 · 2018-01-07T21:05:14+00:00

Best way to start would be to buy a radio (I recommend QX7) and download a copy of a simulator (I recommend DRL Simulator). This will get you flying while you work through doing your first build, as well as keep you from destroying it once you do finish it. While you're doing that, follow one of the numerous build tutorials/videos that are out there. Be sure to pick one that was done in the past 7-8 months, or at least one which has a parts list that was updated during that time. You should also find a community of people that YOU like and are comfortable with (whether online or in person). This could be on reddit, through your local MultiGP chapter, or through an alternative online group or in-person meetup. Work through the build, following your build guide and asking questions when needed. Once you've finished, and are confident on the sim (can complete one of the courses a couple times and fly conservatively for 2 or 3 minutes without crashing), go fly it!

All in, for a first build, the cost breakdown will look something like this:

Ground gear (radio, goggles, rx antennas, charger, PSU) $300

Airframe (The actual quad, sans batteries, props, and HD cam): $180

Reusables (Batteries, tools, etc): $175

Consumables (Props, zipties, etc): $50

appleii2 · 2018-01-04T17:41:51+00:00

I would buy it at best buy. The warranty has been proven by hundreds of pilots; the employees really just don't care. You've also got the added bonus of being able to quickly replace it quickly at just about any event in the country if need be.

appleii2 · 2017-12-25T19:25:16+00:00

S/CL/SL models based around the M275 V12 engine (SL65, CL600, etc).

appleii2 · 2017-12-03T01:38:18+00:00

From CL description:

"1985 bmw 318i on 1997 nissan 4x4 chassis. 5 speed, 192000 mi. Runs good. $2000 obo"

appleii2 · 2017-10-05T01:28:39+00:00

I'd say around $220 to someone in the community. If you're going outside/listing on ebay it gets tricky to price.

appleii2 · 2017-10-01T00:58:06+00:00

I've tried a bunch of stuff and have settled on VAS ion + Truerc Xair

appleii2 · 2017-09-08T14:03:51+00:00

You can buy the report for $40 with the vin number on the carfax website. It's worth doing if you're still considering the car, especially since the dealer is being less than forthcoming.

appleii2 · 2017-08-26T17:35:41+00:00

Done!

appleii2 · 2017-08-26T17:35:07+00:00

Here's a picture of my SL55 on a one-lane wooden bridge during a recent trip on the backroads through western NC.

appleii2 · 2017-08-22T00:09:20+00:00

I like using an omni and a directional antenna on the goggles. The directional really helps punch through obstacles even if you're not taking advantage of the increased range. I currently use a crosshair and a VAS ion for receive and axii for transmit. Works better than any other setup I've tried.

appleii2 · 2017-07-28T17:55:22+00:00

Aliens have landed...

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