EAA Chapter 1379

Where Better Pilots & Better Planes are made

Crosswinds Volume 4, Issue 6

July 2017

Editor: Jim Weiss Contact: jp.weiss@comcast.net

NEXT MEETING: Aug 12th, 2017

Flight Lines:

Effective 1-August-2017: Williston Airport (KX60) will have a new UNICOM: 122.975

Carpe Diem: “You may still be here tomorrow, But your dreams may not.” Cat Stevens

June Minutes (summary): From Paul Jaffray

Attendance: 25+ Members and 3 guests present Amount in Checking: $ 2,615.43

Savings: $ 280.14 Nat’l Flt Academy Pay-Out: $ 1,250.00

The Williston Airport (X60) has applied for a new UNICOM Frequency, Effective 1 Aug: 122.975 Briefing Topics: If Young Eagles is your interest, contact President Dave, the Coordinator job is open.

It was reported that 1379 does not have a Tax Exempt status (501.C3), but it is being addressed. Scales can ONLY be borrowed for 3 days. 1379 was founded in 2003 with just 7 members

Sam shared an Accident Report: a guy who had no business leaving the ground:

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2017/04/cessna-310h-n1099q-fatal-accident.html

A VERY rare cat By Jim Weiss

Member Buddy Henson displayed his very unique Sport Performance Panther at the July meeting. This is the 13th kit to fly, but it is the 1st & only tricycle gear version of the sporty feline. Designer Dan Weseman put-on quite a show in this plane, right before the Call to Order (July 8th meeting). Buddy & Bob Woolley have invested about 900 hrs to get the kit to this point. The plane has about 16 flight hours, 9.5 of which have been flown by Bob. This edition of the Panther has an 0-320 that Buddy rebuilt ($7,500 invested) and it is pumping out about 160 HP. That is a Sensenich, ground adjustable prop, and in current configuration it is producing impressive results. Bob reports that is a good flyer, accelerates well (Dan said it pushes you back in the seat). Bob: handles well, lands well, and it is speedy: 208 mph (presumed in level flight).

Drive on Mr. Henson, Drive on. Buddy Henson’s Panther: N137PP

This article is a repeat. But I’m allowed to do that since, Well, I’m the editor. Also, good information is worth sharing more than oncest. (from April 2015) Jim Weiss

Clean Holes make for

Better Airplanes

I was poking around the Panther website (flypanther.net) which belongs to the Sport Performance Aviation folks, when I found what I think is useful/good-to-know data. Special thanks to Rachel Weseman and Paul

Salter for allowing me to plagiarize their work.

80 years ago, aluminum airplanes were constructed with all bucked aluminum rivets. That was when (relatively speaking) labor was cheap and parts were expensive. Today that equation has flipped completely around. Labor is the most expensive component of aircraft assembly. Most new commercial and military aircraft designed in the last 10-20 years, are using versions of pulled rivets, some of which are about the same strength of AN bolts of the same size and much stronger than any solid aluminium rivet. There is one thing that solids rivets are better at than pulled fasteners, and that is the hole quality tolerance. A solid rivet can expand a little more and fill a slightly larger or misshapen hole better than a pulled fastener. What chu mean I don’t have a “round” hole???

I used a round bit, what do you mean I don’t have a round hole to put the rivet in? Refer to the photograph (above). LOTS of airplane work [and re-work] is caused by poorly drilled holes. Dull drill bits cause poor holes, pushing too hard causes poor holes, poor lubrication causes poor holes. To over-illustrate the point, you should expect to take as much care in drilling holes, as the dentist takes in drilling your teeth.

And you should expect to take the same care for EACH hole that you drill. So we finally come to the heart of our little discussion. There appears to be a slight “short-cut” (if you will) to obtaining a clean, round hole, which is key to building a solid airplane. Paul Salter & SPA have validated and verified a new device being sold by CLEVELAND TOOL. Actually is it a 2-piece set, per hole size. Cleveland calls them DIENQ, and they retail for $50 per set. The tool will create a dimple in the metal and at least somewhat clean-up the hole. The DIENQ is intended for use with either manual or pneumatic rivet squeezers. (below, left)

This first hole was created with a #40 (0.098”) bit in 6061-T6 aluminium, 0.032 inches thick. The magnified image (1st picture above) shows that the hole is rough and out-of-round. This hole (immediately above) has been cleaned-up with the

<<<<< Cogsdill Burr-Away tool (3/32”) Even Stevie Wonder can see that the second image shows a cleaner, rounder hole. Clearly better, but still not quite ready for Prime Time.

Finally the DIENQ was used. The result (right) was a dimpled surface, with a pretty clean edge, and a final dimension of 0.133”. Note: this is 0.005” over a standard #30 hole for a 1/8 inch rivet. Three tools were used, the #40 bit, the Burr-Away and then the DIENQ. The proper application of these implements will form the foundation of a solid (& safe) aeronautical structure. BTW: I’m told that beeswax is an excellent lubricant for drill bits. This last image shows a good clean hole that is ready for a pulled rivet, which should end with a nice, tight bonding of the two parts and a pretty smooth top surface. Does this information make you an expert, or even craftsman? Not hardly. However you now know that there some pretty cool materials, tools & techniques which make it MUCH easier for even a novice to build a reliable airplane. Knowledge breeds confidence. Happy Landings.

Links related to the above information:

a) http://www.cleavelandtool.com/Dimple-Die-Set-for-1_8-Avdel-N-or-Q-40-Pilot/productinfo/DIENQ/#.VGlHVfKBGUk

b) https://flywithspa.com/dimpling-for-flush-rivets-the-dimple-die-debate-solved/

c) https://flywithspa.com/panthercave/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104&start=10#p515

d) http://www.cogsdill.com/products/deburring/burraway/

Fun Fact: Rose Bonavita set the rivet record in 1944: She smacked 3,300 driven rivets during ONE (uno/single) six-hour shift; working on a (GM-built) Grumman TBM

Three Coins in the Fountain By Jim Weiss (info from Sara Zheng / scmp.com)

People have been flipping coins in fountains for, basically as long as there have been coins & fountains. It was always with intent of appeasing the gods, so that life giving rain (water) would fall. Well, it would seem that in China appeasing the gods is still big on the list of daily things To Do. Throw a few coins at something, say a bus, and pray for a safe journey. No harm, no foul, right? Well what if the “bus” is now an airplane? A jet-powered airplane? Recently an 80-year-old woman was boarding China Southern Airlines flight 380 leaving Shanghai for Guangzhou. As she passed in front of the port-side engine, she was observed to have thrown something. The crew was alerted, and Maintenance began looking: 9 coins were located in the engine. The plane departed after a 5-hour delay.

I am NOT going to visit China. EVER.

I’ve come to accept that I’ll never get to my original weight. 7 lbs. 6 oz;

just isn’t realistic.

I am NOT lost. I just don’t know where nuttin is…

Humor in Uniform

This is NOW: By Jim Weiss

“Power systems nominal sir”, “Shields UP!”, “Ready Phasers”

“Target acquired & locked sir”, “FIRE!!!” That dialog is from Star Trek (NG), but it being said, TODAY,

aboard the USS Ponce. (well almost, no shields, YET)

The Ponce has the 30-Kilowatt Laser Weapon System or LaWS. It is employed, today, aboard the Afloat, Forward Staging Base (Interim); or AFSB(I). The ship was formerly an Amphibious Transport Dock or LPD, but has been converted to a mobile base for Anti-Mine warfare, coastal patrol boats, and helicopter operations, including Army Apache gun-ships. The LaWS is used to protect the Ponce from hostile UAVs (aka drones) and small surface craft.

So what does 30-Kw do? Well, a Taser produces about 30mA (30 millionths of 1 amp) We KNOW how those work. A 10-amp shock from a wall socket will knock you down, and/or fry you. 30-Kw is equal to a 125 amps. In the real world, a 125 amp short-circuit causes metal structure to explode. So we’re talkin pretty significant Point & Shoot power. The next version of LaWS will be 150Kw. I guess the Photon Torpedoes will come the following year…