Oh and I'll post some pics of the laser jig later. I took them last week when I framed Jon's plane, just haven't gotten around to redoing my system for the new camera.

-Mike

Will somebody please tell me were the murevers are for AMA The call sheet and the discriptions of same for the bigenner?

Heya Mike!

The BM flies F-07 fine. The "T-Thingy"helps out with the rollers though. I wouldn't call it a necessary addition. JAS, Ryan and I just noticed it made F easier.

Joe W.

2007 schedules are here: http://www.nsrca.org/competition/jud...tterns2007.htm

John Pavlick

Hey All,

here are some pics of Mike's plane on the practice days before the D3 champs. and a couple of close ups of mine.

enjoy!

Dean

Well, since this seems to be " Post Black Magic Pics Day " I might as well throw in a couple. Emory's and Mike's.

Is there a page that shows the maneuvers?

Yeah I know, I'm just being picky, critical, and brutally honest. Easier is better! This way if thier plane doesn't perform like this, they'll know it's a trimming issue, not the design. And vise versa. I don't think many planes have been tested this extensively by so many uber pilots in such a short period of time.

But I'm glad to hear you like it, I was worried about you for a while

It's definitely different than anything out there right now. And it's only going to get better.

-Mike

Unfortunately no, not yet. One of the things I'd love to do is get Jim Ivey or Emory Scroeter to fly the new sequences and film it. This way you could click a link and KNOW what the manuevers should look like.

-Mike

Nice pics by the way!

Now as promised (better late than never) here are a couple of pics of the laser jig. I'm messing with a new camera so I don't have the settings quite right yet.

Basically, this is Pete Cosky's jig rails and stations with a few modifications.

First I mounted it to a piece of MDF board, about 8 feet x 20 inches. I also installed some angles to brace the rails and make sure it stays flat and level.

After marking a good center line, I installed 2 posts on each end, and this is where the lasers are monuted. The model of this laser is an X3 available at lowes for about $35 or so. From there, they get more expensive...but this one works great and is fully adjustable.

They are mounted at downward angles. This lets the light shine on more of the formers, top and bottom so you can keep it from being skewed or twisted. The uprights on this jig are large and extremely powerful.

After using it a couple of times, I'd have to say for function, it blows a gator jig away. This is only my opinion, but with it's size and adjustability, and the way it locks and holds a position, I think this one wins hands down. It doesn't have positive 90 degree locking on the uprights, but after having to shim a gator jig because the wood wasn't cooperating, I REALLY like being able to just snug these up and lock them down.....done, no slipping.

Also because of the way it's made, I can see easily how to install adjustable leveling cradles for wing and tail alignment. That's my next project!

I also made a really cool edge sander, and it makes trueing the edges of lots of sheeting a breeze. I'll take some pics of that when I get a few.....

-Mike

Geez Mike.....that thing looks massive in your pictures.....oh wait...it is.

I'm glad you like it.

Pete

Hey Pete,

What thickness of plywood did you use for the laminated cross pieces that bolt to the Unistrut rail?


Thanks,
Mark

The whole thing is 19/32" ply. I didn't want an issue with warping. The strut is made locally and is 12 gauge cold rolled steel.

I wanted adjustability so if someone was building a "V" structure it could accomodate it. It's also big enough to take a fuse up to 16" wide. Maybe the IMAC and boat guys could use them too.

Thanks for the info, Pete. I am making my own version and thought it looked heavier than 1/2". Not much, as it turns out, though.


Mark

What is the right way of connecting 2- 12volt batterys together to make a 24 volt system, is it neg to pos, an can it be charged with a 12 volt charger while still being connected as a 24 volt system because it will be a sealed system

Yes.
Probably not---the "12" volt charger puts a slight over-voltage across the battery(Around 15 Volts), so it won't charge what is effectively a 24 volt battery.

Why not use a 4 or 6 mm gold plated male/female connector between the two 12 volt batteries, like the electric flight people use on their power packs?
They're tough and simple but reliable to connect/disconnect, and you should be able to charge each 12v. battery in turn.

Your circuit diagram is correct. To charge the batteries with a 12v charger you will have to disconnect them from one another and chare individually.

What are you trying to turn over that you would need a 24v starter for?

A 140 RX O.S.,compressiong out of this world. I have an old 18Volt cordless drill with a 24V charger an it works fine.Like I said this is a sealed unit with plug in for discharging an charging.

Here's what it looks like, not pertty but the power it has!

Mike,

I'm actually going to try to fly all of the 07 sequences in the next week or so and have them video'd. I'll send you the video's when finished and you can post them anywhere you want. Paul had thought that would be a good idea, so we were planning on doing it in the next few days.

Archie Stafford

A few sneak peeks at the new kits.....

Looks like it won't be too much more expensive than the older kits, but with more parts, and better accuracy. Many parts are still "sand to fit", but at least you don't have to actually make them and stand there with a dremel forever. I haven't priced it all out yet, but it doesn't look too bad.

The parts are SWEET. After much debate, we elected to go with laser cutting for the balsa parts. There is no burn out to speak of, just a little tan dusting on the edges. This allowed us to make center line marks on the parts.

The plywood and composite laminated parts are CNC cut. Very, very nice indeed. I'm also including some super light hand cut stringers. This can save a ton of weight alone.

Anyway, I should have pricing tomorrow and the web site updated by the weekend (hopefully).

-Mike

Hey Mike,

Man that kit looks great, I bet you could do the basic building in less than 3 days with the look of the kit parts. Wow! It really looks super easy now - all the parts gotta save at least 2 full days of cutting and sanding. Man those root ribs look great and wow - your even supplying the carbon laminated parts - dang it's more like saving 4 full days of work.

I think the hardest part of the build now is the wing spars and tubes, which is actually super easy, just scary the first time.

I bet guys are really going to be jumping on these kits!!!!

I found this dragon yesterday in New York City, and had a little fun with it in Photoshop.....

It's Black Magic Baby!

very cool Dean. Looks kinda birdish though, I prefer reptilian medieval dragons myself

Ok as promised, here's the pricing on the CNC kits:

Level 3 CNC kit, carbon options, shipped in the US: $439

Level 3 CNC kit, standard fiberglass shipped in the US: $400

Level 3 CNC kit, carbon options E-version, shipped in the US: $459 (special order only)

Lead times vary.

Get em while they're hot! LOL


I am really pleased with the work Mike and Debbie Doud did on these kits. They busted thier tails and gave me a good enough pricing structure that made this happen.

I'll have the web site completely revamped over the weekend, so stay tuned. This is technically my one announcement for the month.....

-Mike

Web site has been updated with new pricing, gallery pics, news etc. Much more to follow. Enjoy!

[link=http://www.customairframes.com]Custom Airframes[/link]

-Mike