79ft.net

What It Is

79FT.net is an English-language personal website titled “Building Things.” It is mainly written in the form of a Builder's Log, documenting the author’s hands-on work on experimental aircraft, biplanes, hangars, and personal fabrication projects. The collected content indicates that the site was originally created to satisfy FAA requirements for experimental aircraft build records while also making the build log publicly available. It later expanded to cover electrical rebuilds, engines, airframes, CAD, tools, and house/workshop-related projects.

Core Features

The site centers on long-form logs organized by project and tag. Sections include Chickenhouse Charger, Electrical Rebuild, Annual, SolidWorks Models, and Reference Links. Posts document practical work in detail, such as oil cooler hoses, cowling baffle seals, weight and balance, electrical systems, control systems, and engine-adjacent components. It also provides archives, a tag cloud, and RSS subscription, along with curated external links related to aircraft building, including Steen Aerolab, Skybolt resources, and EAA organization pages.

Pricing

There is no visible paywall, membership subscription, advertising package, or commercial product. The site appears to be freely accessible to the public, and its RSS feed can be subscribed to directly. It is not a commercial service aimed at users at scale, but rather a personal knowledge archive and experience-sharing site.

Pros and Cons

Its biggest strength is its highly focused niche. The records on experimental aircraft construction and maintenance are very detailed, showing real troubleshooting, rework, material choices, and safety concerns, which can be valuable for readers in the same community. The tagging system is also fairly clear, making it easier to browse topics such as engine, electrical, CAD, and baffles. The downsides are that the content depends entirely on the progress of the author’s personal projects, so updates are irregular. The site also feels more like a traditional blog, without advanced search, a drawing/database system, forum interaction, or structured courses. More importantly, aircraft maintenance is high-risk work, and the author’s personal methods should not be treated as equivalent to airworthiness standards or professional maintenance manuals.

Who It’s For

It is suitable for experimental aircraft builders, EAA/general aviation enthusiasts, biplane hobbyists, aviation mechanics, and readers who want to understand the real complexity of DIY aircraft projects. It is not suitable for people looking for commercial aviation training, standardized maintenance certification, parts procurement platforms, or beginner-friendly Chinese tutorials.

Access from China

Based on the site’s structure, it appears to be a standard static/blog-style website with no obvious reliance on restricted services, so it is likely directly accessible from mainland China. However, images, external links, or some third-party resources may be affected by network conditions. Overall, it is niche, authentic, and professional but has a high barrier to entry, making it worth bookmarking as supplementary material for aircraft building research.