Big Dumb Guy Builds Big Dumb Plane

[Scudrunner]

Friend of mine is building a Ran S20. He got the kit 2 years ago and has gone at it hard. Everyday he posts a few pics of his progress on a group shared album. It’s amazing to witness his progress.

The detail of work he’s doing is astonishing, not much you can pull off the shelf and plunk in place.

He’s got all the toys including amphibs. I think I’m about 116th in line for a ride after it’s done. But I can’t wait.

[Slick Goodlin]

You may already be aware of this, but good (and required) info here:

https://www.md-ra.com/en/

Thanks John, I had forgotten about that site. Looks like I better brush up on it. The Bleriot should fall well within Basic Ultralight rules so that may not be necessary but I need to check up on that too.

[Slick Goodlin]

Update: things are kind of on hold right now pending the end of this currant zombie apocalypse. Most of the Bleriot’s structure is from ash which means I have to pick out all of the planks myself before milling them down to size. Not a big deal in general but since I can’t go inside the wood shops to select their best from all the stock they have, I’ll have to wait.

Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, I’ve been picking away instead at coming up with cut lists for when I do have wood as well as making shopping lists of other supplies. I’m also sketching out some assemblies at full scale to get a better feel for how it all goes together. I find it easier to plan to make something when I can accurately picture all aspects of it so this is a big help to me.

I’ve also sourced a second set of period drawings for the Bleriot XI. The first ones I had were more text and sketches than drawings and left a good bit up to the builder, the new set are six sheets of highly detailed drawings but what little description is there is in German. There are definitely differences between the two but I should be able to largely split the difference and answer a good 95% of the questions I have.

All in all things are going well, just not visibly so.

[David MacRay]

Have you been able to mask up and look for wood yet?

[Slick Goodlin]

Have you been able to mask up and look for wood yet?

Not yet, and to be honest I’ve had a bit of project ADD this past year. Among other things I rebuilt my sand blaster cabinet into something much more functional and easy to service, I made my own RC flying field in my side yard, and more recently I slammed together a nice framed map of where all our puppies went for my wife’s birthday. Lots of other puttering around too, like finally reassembling the front end of the T so I can do a proper alignment job on it. That one’s close. Oh, and I taught myself to weld by making an engine stand entirely out of trash I had around the garage.

I picked up a 20 gallon parts washer the other week and while I recognize how easily I fall in love with new tools, this thing completes me. I can get so much more done in the shop now and my VW engine rebuild will hopefully be a snap… when I get to it.

[David MacRay]

What’s the V-dub engine going in?

[Slick Goodlin]

What’s the V-dub engine going in?

A really rad dune buggy.

[Scudrunner]

Any progress on this?

[Slick Goodlin]

Any progress on this?

Big dumb guy had some priorities shift. Namely a layoff (finally over - yay!) and my Model T’s engine exploded.

[Colonel]

Glad to hear you're back flying! Here is some inspiration (from my RoadKill heroes) for you:



(cough cough - Aluminum LS - cough cough)