flyvulcan Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Work is now starting in earnest on the Komet with my build partner Henry working on it full time while I am away. We have started on the flight control system design, fabrication and installation. The front seat rudder pedals went in last week and the rear seat ones are going in at the moment. Here's a couple of pics of the front seat pedals with floorboards. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Gee, time doesn't pass very quickly at all does it .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyvulcan Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Gee, time doesn't pass very quickly at all does it .... Ain't that the truth! It's been almost a year since any work was done on the jet... That's what happens when one lives in the Middle East and one's project is in Oz. Still, with Henry on to it full time now, it will happen way more quickly. I shall be back in Adelaide in September/October and am looking forward to pitching in and making a big dent in things then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 and making a big dent in things then. Henry, don't let Dave use the hammers or other big tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA. Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 The judge says to a double-homicide defendant. "You're charged with beating your wife to death with a hammer." A voice at the back of the courtroom yells out, "You mongrel!" The judge says, "You're also charged with beating your mother-in-law to death with a hammer." The voice in the back of the courtroom yells out, "You rotten mongrel!" The judge stops and says to Dave in the back of the courtroom. "Sir, I can understand your anger and frustration at these crimes, but no more outbursts from you, or I'll charge you with contempt. Is that understood?" Dave stands up and says, "I'm sorry, Your Honor, but for fifteen years I've lived next door to that mongrel and every time I asked to borrow a hammer, he said he didn't have one! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scre80 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Wow, great build project. Where are you going to fly this From? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Wow, great build project. Where are you going to fly this From? You didn't notice the built in "Pie Floater" holder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 You didn't notice the built in "Pie Floater" holder? Ah, the good old pie floater. Adelaide's equivalent to England's curry when p*ssed. I've had a couple, but a mate of mine took the prize - on a dare, he ate one with a Magnum ice cream on top. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyvulcan Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 Wow, great build project. Where are you going to fly this From? I'm tossing up between Goolwa and Gawler. I would prefer a sealed runway and Goolwas is (allegedly) better than Gawlers. I have been offered a share hangar at both airfields and at the end of the day, where I base it permanently will boil down to where I feel the most comfortable. Accessibility will also be a consideration, as will be the airspace and countryside that I will be flying around. As for pie floaters, I was a regular in the '70s and '80's at both the Victoria Square and the Parade vans. Those were the days.... Party until 2am when all the girls had to go home, then the drunken lads would head off to the Pie Cart for a floater. Bliss... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scre80 Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I fly at Gawler, airspace can be a bit restrictive during the week but the RAAF open it up more on weekends as they tend not to fly then. Runways are not too bad, they have sealed, non sealed and grass. I can not comment on Goolwa as I have never been to that airfield. How much runway length do you require? And for crosswind what can the jet handle? I think Goolwa only has 1 of the 3 runways as sealed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyvulcan Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 How much runway length do you require? And for crosswind what can the jet handle? I think Goolwa only has 1 of the 3 runways as sealed. At this point, I do not know the runway requirements or crosswind capabilities of the aircraft. Since it is derived from a Lightning Bug and will be a similar weight flown one up, it will likely have similar runway requirements. My Bug in the U.S. has recently been doing high speed taxi trials and has been getting to around 75 knots then stopping comfortably, all on a 3000' strip. I feel that I would prefer to fly out of a minimum 4000' strip initially, given that a prop probably gives better acceleration on the runway than a jet. I certainly plan for my first flight of the Komet to be undertaken with less than 5 knots of crosswind. Other considerations are the availability of suitable paddocks off the ends of the runway for a loss of power scenario. There's a lot to consider, certainly for the initial test flying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scre80 Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 At this point, I do not know the runway requirements or crosswind capabilities of the aircraft. Since it is derived from a Lightning Bug and will be a similar weight flown one up, it will likely have similar runway requirements. My Bug in the U.S. has recently been doing high speed taxi trials and has been getting to around 75 knots then stopping comfortably, all on a 3000' strip. I feel that I would prefer to fly out of a minimum 4000' strip initially, given that a prop probably gives better acceleration on the runway than a jet.I certainly plan for my first flight of the Komet to be undertaken with less than 5 knots of crosswind. Other considerations are the availability of suitable paddocks off the ends of the runway for a loss of power scenario. There's a lot to consider, certainly for the initial test flying. Well either Gawler or Goolwa should suffice then. Look forward to hearing more about the build and initial flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Goolwa has 3 runways, empty paddocks surrounding the airfield, minimal traffic so holding for other traffic is a rarity. The local flying is excellent with good scenery and minimal tiger country. It is certainly a good place for test flying as I am hoping to demonstrate in the coming months with the Onex, And the locals are pretty friendly. We have a spare room if you would like to visit and check out the area. Cheers Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyvulcan Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 Hi Peter, The airspace around Goolwa suits my test flying. I was considering heading out to the shores of the lake where CTA is 8500' which will allow me to get plenty high to explore the slow speed regime and with plenty of good paddocks around for forced landings between the lake and airfield. Also, if I need to jump out for any reason, the aircraft shouldn't land on anyone or anything. I'm looking forward to seeing your Onex fly! Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 The flying schools at Aldinga and Goolwa use the the area near Milang as a training area which attests to its suitability as you have identified. I look forward to seeing the jet fly!!!!! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyvulcan Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 With the flaps and ailerons now being fully mounted, we needed to locate the wing into its final position in order to determine the location of the fuselage mounted bellcrank that connects the aileron pushrods as well as the short pushrod from the control column. We also needed to adjust the aileron rod ends so all pushrods were the correct length. The wing will be located so that it's vertical and horizontal locations, as well as the angle of incidence are correct. So here's a couple of shots of the fuselage with the wing in place. We will be jigging the wing so that once it is removed to continue the build, we will be able to reinstall it in the exact same location such that its location, angle of incidence etc. are all correct. That wing is small! 40 square feet and 17'10" span. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyvulcan Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 Over the last 2 weeks, I spent 4 days with my build partner Henry, working mainly on the flight control system and to a lesser extent, preparing the tailplane fairings for finishing. We started by checking the rigging of the ailerons and flaps which have now been attached to the wing. We had to first check the alignment, followed by the range of movement of each of the four surfaces (2 x ailerons, 2 x flaps). We found that the stops had been set correctly on the ailerons allowing the full range of up/down movement. The flaps were also able to move between the fully retracted and 40 degree landing position. The issue that we did find was that with the flaps fully retracted, the movement of the ailerons was ok. However, with the flaps at 40 degrees, because they pivot slightly outwards due to the geometry of the flap hinges when extended, there was rubbing of the inboard edge of the ailerons against the outboard edge of the flaps. Consequently, we had to increase the clearance between the ailerons and flaps to not only give clearance under static conditions, but also to take into consideration deformation under air loads. This meant that we needed around a 5mm gap between the aileron and flap. This is noticeable right now, but we intend to add a fence to the outboard end of the flap and the gap will then not really be noticeable. We had previously made a cutout in the front seat to allow an aileron torque tube and elevator pushrod to pass through it from front seat control stick to rear seat control stick. The front seat will have a central control column with aileron pushrod and elevator torque tube running to the right hand side fuselage wall. At the right side fuselage wall, there is a long elevator pushrod and aileron torque tube that runs along the right side fuselage wall into the rear cockpit which has a right side control column that is connected directly to the aileron torque tube and elevator pushrod from the front cockpit. Here is a photo of the front cockpit which shows the temporary installation of the aileron torque tube which runs through into the rear cockpit. The photo also shows the cutout in the seat and seatback to allow the torque tube to pass through: The rear seat control column is attached on a pivot directly to the aileron torque tube from the front seat. The elevator pushrod from the front seat will be attached directly to the rear seat control column approximately 3" above the stick pivot point. Another elevator pushrod will also be attached at that point and this pushrod will run to the rear where it will be connected to an idler arm/other pushrod which will then run back to the elevator bellcrank. Approximately 2.5" forward of the rear stick pivot point is mounted an aileron bellcrank to which is attached a short (approximately 12" long) pushrod which runs down to the aileron actuator which is mounted to the central structural keel. The aileron pushrods are connected directly to this centrally mounted aileron actuator. Here is a photo of the rear stick setup: After temporarily mocking all this up, we used the rear stick to check for aileron movement and found that the stick actually moved the surfaces in the correct sense and with the correct range of movement. Phew, what a relief! The tailplane fairings came next. When the Vans RV8 tailplane was installed onto the aircraft, the rear turtledeck had to be cut to facilitate the mounting of the tailplane. The two parts of the turtledeck that fit between the vertical and horizontal stabs need to be both faired nicely to each of the stabs and also tidied up to fit nicely around the whole structure. We located exactly where we needed to mount these two fairings and then taped up the metal tailplane surfaces to allow glass to be laid up against the surface. There will be a radius fabricated onto the fairing to make the fairings fit snugly against the stabs. Here's a general shot of the aircraft. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Looking pretty sleek .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyvulcan Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Looking pretty sleek .... It certainly is! Sometimes, I find I stop work on it and just drool over its looks for a few minutes. The photos don't really do its looks justice. In the flesh, it is long and slim and it just looks fast. The canopies will be done soon and once the front one is on as well, the looks will be significantly enhanced. I've got my paint scheme already planned. I'm sure people will be impressed when they see it and I think it will help give the impression of speed. For that matter, with a projected top speed of over 200 knots, it will be fast (for the whole 20 minutes that I can fly it with a passenger, or 75 minutes with the ferry tank in place of the passenger...). Bex, I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to show it to you when we met up but I enjoyed our morning tea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Bex, I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to show it to you when we met up but I enjoyed our morning tea! Yup, was great, that's You, Flyerme and now got to get to Deskpilot before I head North again .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deskpilot Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Yup, was great, that's You, Flyerme and now got to get to Deskpilot before I head North again .... Yep, still waiting for your phone call. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Obviously your visit didn't extend southwards enough to take in the best part of Aus... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Obviously your visit didn't extend southwards enough to take in the best part of Aus... Yeah, I just couldn't get to Melbourne. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deskpilot Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Bex and I finally met yesterday. A short visit as he was due to fly out to Brisbane but we had a very informative chat. Was lovely to meet his beautiful wife, and his parents who live 'locally'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Communications Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Brisbane????? hey Bex are you going to pay me a visit? :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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