Not MC, but still looks like fun. My other passion.

[Flyinfool]

One down.

 

One of those projects on the bench is finished.

I am now a little closer to starting in on this one.

[cowpuc]

One down.

 

One of those projects on the bench is finished.

I am now a little closer to starting in on this one.

 

:dancefool::clap2::icon_lurker::178::superman::superman::superman::superman::superman::banana::banana::photographing::photographing:

 

 

 

 

oh yea,,,, :snow2::buttkick::snow::buttkick::buttkick::sun1::sun1:

[Flyinfool]

:dancefool::clap2::icon_lurker::178::superman::superman::superman::superman::superman::banana::banana::photographing::photographing:

 

 

 

 

oh yea,,,, :snow2::buttkick::snow::buttkick::buttkick::sun1::sun1:

 

Well due to medical i$$ues this got put on hold along with everything else in my life. I am hoping that all of that is now behind me and I am getting back to flying again this year. With all the medical crap I have not even flown in the last 3 years other than a park flier a couple of times.

 

I have started working on this project again, I think I now have everything I need to build this thing up. I am starting to acquire all the stuff needed for ground support.

I cut the hole in the top of the fuse for the canopy access, this was the first time I got to see inside the plane. The layup is white gel cote, light glass cloth, then a layer of foam, then a heavy layer of kevlar/carbon fiber. Seems very strong. The particular plane that I bought was a "blem" and I got a significant price reduction so it will need a lot of extra TLC to get ready for paint, There were air bubbles in the gel cote.

 

I have machined the engine mounts that will be needed.

Since I have never played with a pulse jet I will be building up a test bench for it to learn how to work it without burning down the plane.

 

This will still be a slow build. I have never been a fast builder unless I had a specific deadline to meet. I realized that it has been around 15 years since I built an airplane from a kit. Nowadays almost everything comes out of the box ready to fly.

 

 

This is the first whole airplane that I am going to paint, just because it is all glass. My preferred finishing methods do not work on glass.

The control surfaces are balsa so I plan to cover them with 3/4 oz glass cloth just so that everything will match for painting.

It has been a LONG tome since I have painted anything and I have never painted anything this big. I spent the whole weekend filling and sanding and filling and sanding and filling and sanding................................

And I am no where near done filling and sanding. And this is just filling the holes I can see. There has got to be an easier way....?

[cowpuc]

I am sooooo hearing that about this medical nonsense neighbor!!! Been flat out of it again recouping from the recent knife fight with the Docs BUT = things are slowly picking back up!! When they pulled those parts out of me recently they found, yet another, small issue - something called Pulminary Hypertension - tickers all swelled up on the side that feeds the lungs - these Doctors are driving me bonkers LOL.. Gotta go in Friday now for more heart testing - here we go again. Neat thing about this new finding is the Cancer doc told me last week that there is high probability that this recent heart finding could be monumental in regaining some of my alertness.. Then, unsolicited - my family doctor recently said the same thing!!

Allllll that said brother - I can TOTALLY relate to your chatter about getting back on top of things = ME TOO = CANT WAIT!!!

 

CANT WAIT TO FINALLY SEE THAT ROCKET SHIP BLASTING ACROSS THE POND - EVEN IF IT DOES LEAVE A SCANT OF WHITE POWDER FROM ITS JET WASH ON MY LAWN = LET ER BUCK PARTNER!!!!

 

:big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon:

[Dragonslayer]

This reminds me of the teather controlled model airplane I got for Christmas when I was a kid. I was about 8. My dad took me out to an empty parking lot to teach me how to operate it. First there was the fueling process, then battery operated glow plugs and engine start procedure. Then of course my dad had to fly it first to show me how. 1 & 1/2 rotations before nose dive into the ground. That was the end of that. I never did get to fly the stupid thing.

 

Not saying, just saying it sounds like a very quick end to a very brief and expensive hobbie as a super sonic model jet jockey. Good luck.

[Condor]

On the paint issue Jeff... We use a high quality automotive paint when painting a fiberglass boat hull. The color choices are endless... :-)

[camos]

I spent the whole weekend filling and sanding and filling and sanding and filling and sanding................................

And I am no where near done filling and sanding. And this is just filling the holes I can see. There has got to be an easier way....?

It might be too late to bother with this method but cellophane, gelcoat, and a squeegee fills surface holes very well. It is important to get any mold release wax off so the new gelcoat will chemically bond with the old. Finishing gelcoat usually has UV filters in it whereas Bondo type fillers don't usually.

[Condor]

It might be too late to bother with this method but cellophane, gelcoat, and a squeegee fills surface holes very well. It is important to get any mold release wax off so the new gelcoat will chemically bond with the old. Finishing gelcoat usually has UV filters in it whereas Bondo type fillers don't usually.

 

I remember that now... When detailers pop a hull out of the mold they sometimes incountered an air bubble that needed to be repaired. After filling the 'pock' with gelcoat they covered the repair with wrappers off cigarette packs. The reason is the gel will only cure when airless.

[uncledj]

Pretty cool.....wish I had the time...

[camos]

I remember that now... When detailers pop a hull out of the mold they sometimes incountered an air bubble that needed to be repaired. After filling the 'pock' with gelcoat they covered the repair with wrappers off cigarette packs. The reason is the gel will only cure when airless.

The curing of polyester resin is due to a chemical reaction and does not require air or evaporation. Temperature will advance or retard the process. The purpose of the cellophane is essentially that it acts like a portable outside mold that will not stick to the resin and creates a very smooth finished surface. It can also be stretched to some degree and fit areas that are not flat although flat surfaces are much easier to cover. Doing small areas like bubbles will require a little finesse in applying the right amount of resin. Just right will fill the area without an excess that spills over the surrounding area. Getting it right will allow finishing just with a buffer while too much will require sanding to remove the excess.

 

Had an after-thought. You could be right about the air Condor, there are two types of gelcoat, one comes with wax in the mix and one comes without it. The one without the wax will cure but will still be somewhat sticky. It is meant to be used to coat a mold and then covered with GRP while the former is used to finish GRP that has already cured.

Edited April 1, 2017 by camos

[Flyinfool]

I am getting pretty close to finishing the filling and sanding where I can shoot the first coat of primer on. Then I will see all the holes I missed..... I am getting close to that magical point of diminishing returns. You have to remember that this is an aircraft, weight matters and must be kept to a minimum. This means that the paint will have to be put on thin and correct the first time using a paint with good coverage so it only needs one coat of color. for the designs I will mask the areas for each color so that there is only one coat of color everywhere. and then just one coat of clear over the whole thing. I am being a lot more fussy on the top side that you can see. the bottom will only be visible going by at 400kts so not many people have good enough eyes to spot a blemish.

 

I have started to design and cut out some more interior structural parts.

 

This is one of those projects that you work like crazy, and then step back to admire your work and it looks the same as when you started.

 

Building the internal structure is kind of like building a ship in a bottle but the bottle is opaque so that you are building by feel. At the end of the day all that work is internal so none of it is visible.

[Flyinfool]

Well here are a few pics to wet your appetite.

 

It sure does not look a lot different from when I started, but there is a lot of time wrapped up in it already, most was filling and sanding and the early parts of paint prep.

 

The pulse jet is just temporarily mounted to get a rough idea on where the CG is headed. It looks like everything needs to be as far forward as it can go and I will still need a lot of lead in the nose. This also means that there is no reason to skimp on any structure up front.

@cowpuc

Edited April 25, 2017 by Flyinfool

[cowpuc]

Well here are a few pics to wet your appetite.

 

It sure does not look a lot different from when I started, but there is a lot of time wrapped up in it already, most was filling and sanding and the early parts of paint prep.

 

The pulse jet is just temporarily mounted to get a rough idea on where the CG is headed. It looks like everything needs to be as far forward as it can go and I will still need a lot of lead in the nose. This also means that there is no reason to skimp on any structure up front.

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109038

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109039

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109040

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109037

@cowpuc

 

:scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

 

WOWZY WOW WOW WOW and HOKEY SPAMMMOKEY!!!!! LOOKING AWESOME THERE BROTHER!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

Sorry I missed this thread and THANK YOU for the link Jeff!! Sooo,,, any idea when launch date may be? Possibly this summer? I would LOVE to ride over and watch that puppy BOOGY:mugshot:!! WOWZY!!!

[Condor]

Well here are a few pics to wet your appetite.

 

It sure does not look a lot different from when I started, but there is a lot of time wrapped up in it already, most was filling and sanding and the early parts of paint prep.

 

The pulse jet is just temporarily mounted to get a rough idea on where the CG is headed. It looks like everything needs to be as far forward as it can go and I will still need a lot of lead in the nose. This also means that there is no reason to skimp on any structure up front.

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109038

c

 

When I looked at that first pic all I could think of was Flash Gordon with a lit 4th of July fountain stuck into the engine to make it look like it was flying thru space trying to catch the Evil Emperor Zurg.... I bet this one's going to one-up old Flash... :-)

[Flyinfool]

@cowpuc

I am hoping to have this done by mid to late summer. I may even decide to do the first flights with the plane (Not me...) nearly nekid with it wearing just a coat of primer. That way I can play sooner and then I can take my time over the winter to try to do a nice paint job instead of rushing it now to get it done. I still am planning to do all of the color work myself and then take it to an auto body shop to have someone with good equipment and knows what they are doing shoot the clear on. My clear coating is functional but never comes out looking good.

 

I got the 2 vertical fins built today, they are in their jigs with the epoxy setting up as I type. Tomorrow I will find out if I did it correctly. I also got all of the hinges installed for one of the 2 control surfaces and the linkage to the servo built and setup. One more control surface yet to build.

[Flyinfool]

Well the silly Docs interrupted me again. BUT I am now back on track once again. I have not done much to the plane its self, this time. For now I am working on designing and building all of the ground support equipment that I will need to make it run and to get it in the air.

 

This aircraft has no landing gear, that would add extra weight and drag so they are not used. That means it will have to get "launched". Launch will be accomplished with 5 strands of bungee cord that each strand will be 1/2" dia and 30' long. This when stretched out will give a pull of around 150 - 170 lbs! this will be connected to a hook on the bottom of the airplane via around a 30 foot heavy fishing line. This means that since the airplane will weigh about 14-15 lbs, there will be about 10 Gs of acceleration to get it up to flying speed.

 

To hold the airplane in position I have designed and am building a release mechanism with a trigger to let it go.

This part has had a lot of welding and machining already, it is made of all steel.

 

Another part that I am working on is the ignition system, I need to be able to fire a spark plug with a continuous spark. To accomplish this I have a small 12V battery, an old fashion ignition coil with built in ballast resistor, a condenser, and a DPDT relay to act as the points. I will wire the coil of the relay in series with the NC contacts of the relay. This way when the coil energizes it will break the connection, and when the connection breaks the coil will let go and the contacts contacts will close again, energizing the coil, and the cycle will continue at around 250 times a second. The other set of contacts will be powering the ignition coil primary side, and there will be a ground wire and a high tension wire going to the spark plug on the engine. This spark is only needed to get the engine started, once running the plug wires are disconnected and the internal heat of the engine will keep it running. Of course there will be proper switches and fuses in there also.

 

The next part is that to initiate the start I need to blow a fuel air mix into the front of the engine. Air will be supplied by a small portable pancake compressor running off of an inverter. The fuel will be propane from a small 1lb cylinder. I will need to have an adjustable regulator on the propane so that I can dial in the correct fuel air mix for combustion. on the blow gun for the air will be a second trigger valve to also turn on and off the propane. For the propane valve I am using a thermocouple switch from a Mr Heater portable heater and just leaving the thermocouple off. These valves have the button to keep the gas flowing while you are waiting for the thermocouple to heat up so it will make a convenient push button propane valve.

 

I guess I will be busy all winter, But at some point once I get enough ground support stuff built, I will mount the engine on a test stand and start learning how to make it run. If handled wrong there is a good chance of blowing fire out the tailpipe. I do not want to burn down the airplane before it even gets a chance to fly.

[etcswjoe]

What,,, your not happy with sending snow flakes over the pond? Now I gotta try and dodge missles?

 

THAT is BAD TO THE BONE FOOL!!!! I wish we had a bridge across the lake cause I would LOVE to come over and watch, help, VIDEO that baby in action!!!!!!:dancefool:

 

Don't let him fool you, it's just a new delivery method

[Flyinfool]

Don't let him fool you, it's just a new delivery method

 

SSSHHHHHhhhhhhh............

Don't tell @cowpuc all of my secrets...........

I had him believing that this was just a really cool toy.

 

This will allow deliveries at 250 MPH.......

[cowpuc]

Don't let him fool you, it's just a new delivery method

 

Count on it brother,,, I aint turnin my back on that lop eared ice covered varmint for love nur money.. Matter of fact, I got the auger on my snow blower all sharpened up just waiting for that nasty white stuff he will soon be flingn'..

 

SSSHHHHHhhhhhhh............

Don't tell cowpuc all of my secrets...........

I had him believing that this was just a really cool toy.

 

This will allow deliveries at 250 MPH.......

 

Yea yea yea,, all and no ... Your gonna have to run up some muscle behind that thing if your even thinking of catching me n Maggie! Of course,, on the other hand,,, should you decide to use during the winter months when Mags is sleepin in the basement,,, well ...

Thanks for the update here brother,, I would still LOVE to make the trip over on launch day!!:happy65: Now that I got this little Ioniq camper to play in,, maybe I will be able actually do that,, maybe even somehow hook up with Ready for some of those Tamales he's been tempting me with,,, Tamales and Turbor Jets = could be quite a weekend!!

[uhfradarwill]

SSSHHHHHhhhhhhh............

Don't tell cowpuc all of my secrets...........

I had him believing that this was just a really cool toy.

 

This will allow deliveries at 250 MPH.......

 

 

Is that a Solidworks output Mr. Fool??

[Flyinfool]

That was drawn using Inventor.

I now have it all built, just painted it this morning. Tomorrow I will final assemble it and post a pic. I did come to the realization that it did not need the lightening holes. This is an anchor, weight is not a bad thing. The big holes would look cool but are a lot of extra work to make.

[CaseyJ955]

The first time I saw one of these take flight I was in Machias, until then I had no idea any such thing existed, just awesome. I'm pretty sure I would turn that into a multi-thousand dollar lawn dart haha.

[uhfradarwill]

[Flyinfool]

Even though I have been flying these fool things for more than a half a century, It is a real possibility that I will also make a big smoking hole in the ground.

This is so new, I have yet to find anyone in the USA that is flying something like this. I have no one to ask questions to. I am inventing everything as I go.

[Flyinfool]

As promised here is a pic of the Release mechanism. Of course it took longer and was more work than I expected.