Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Who’d a thunk it?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Who’d a thunk it?

    My nephew is building a plane (experimental aircraft) and needed some Tig welding done. He did a jam up job of cutting, fitting, notching, etc, before I even got there. So my job was easy. He had to build his own chromoly frame cuz he’s going with an engine that hasn’t been used yet. So no pre-made engine frames to order. Which the way this boy is, he’d rather have it that way. Kinda like his uncle (but WAY smarter ) in always inventing one off stuff cuz he wants to do it “his way”. I said all this to say, I never dreamed I’d be welding on a dadgum airplane, welded on tons of weird crap over the years, but this takes the cake! A little nerve-racking honestly. Thinking bout MY welds holding an engine on the front of an airplane however many 1,000 feet above the ground! But, it welded up good, and turned out nice. Been doing this a long time, and I guess there’s always an opportunity for something new! Here’s a few pics... Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty
    Attached Files

    #2
    #2
    Attached Files

    Comment


      #3
      Couple more...
      Attached Files

      Comment


        #4
        Last few after we finished, re-installed engine, and turbo. Just temporary at the moment, cuz he said he’ll have the engine assembly off no telling how many more times before it’s bolted in place the final time. LOTS of work yet to do. May be a good thing he’s up in the panhandle with the majority of my family, cuz I’d be over there way too much! We’d prob both be in the doghouse!! Just an interesting experience all together bout this experimental aircraft building niche. May be going back soon for some intercooler retro-fitting, cuz porting needs to be relocated and welded back in its new spot (aluminum). Thanks for tagging along. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty
        Attached Files

        Comment


          #5
          Pretty dang cool. Keep us updated how it turns out

          Comment


            #6
            Will do the best I can. Thank ya sir.

            Comment


              #7
              Great work!

              Comment


                #8
                Awesome project! Keep us updated with the build!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Thank y’all brothers. But my only contribution so far is the welding on the engine mount frame. He’s the main man, and ramrod of this whole project. Like I said, if he wasn’t 8 hrs away in the panhandle, I’d prob be over at his shop too much! Plus, I guess I got plenty of projects here at home. Although now, none of em seem too cool anymore! Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Cool stuff. What kind of motor is that?

                    I guess the welds that really matter the most, are the ones the hold the wings on. If the motor falls out at least you can still glide. If the wings fall off, the motor is only going to run as far as the scene of the crash.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      The motor is an 1100 CC Yamaha snowmobile engine, made to go in a racing arctic cat sled. Turbo charged, fuel injected, 3 cylinder. I think he said it puts out 160-180 hp (?), more if you wanted to juice it up, but it’ll have a gearbox on the output since the prop doesn’t need and won’t be rated for 10-15,000 RPM. Think it’s a 3.83-1 gearbox. Course the plane doesn’t weigh nothing, like less than a 1000 lbs w/full (50 gallons) fuel. I believe he said he can “cruise speed” at 150 mph. I may be off on some of my specs, so I’m not 100% on all I’m telling ya. But I’m texting him now to make sure I ain’t out in left field on anything. Cuz I am getting old as he’s pointed out a time or two. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Cool stuff Rusty. Not my cup of tea but I bet those welds hold brother.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          That's awesome, my dad built an experimental plane. It's a blast.

                          Sent from my motorola one 5G UW using Tapatalk

                          Comment


                            #14
                            And Hoggslayer, he did tell me that this thing is so balanced, that if the motor portion did break off, it would be tail heavy, and not glide at all. Comforting. Oh well, it does have a fuselage mounted parachute that can be deployed if things ever got that bad. But he said the plane might not be in too good of shape! Course I told him “at least you would be!!” In reality though, in the way he designed the frame, most every weld is in compression. Not to mention his motor he’s using is 100 lbs lighter than the typical Rotax engine used in this type plane. But his frame is engineered/built for an engine as heavy, or more, than the traditional Rotax that’s usually used. He just text me and said “empty” weight will be 800 lbs. And I’ll get more CORRECT info as I hear it. So don’t take everything I’m telling ya as gospel, cuz I ain’t the builder! But he calls/texts me a lot asking opinions on different ideas. Last problem conquered was a push/pull throttle linkage that needed to be a 3:1 ratio. Got that taken care of as well. Even though it’s all up to date, EFI, etc. He wanted a good Ol manual throttle for super finite control of what was going on. It also had to have an opposing spring setup to combat the throttle body spring cuz it would’ve been way too stiff to operate. More info as I think of it, and when he tells me of updates. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Thanks Joel! And Chase, I do know that this one is a Rans S-21.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X