Kansas City is still making headway

June 25th, 2010

Sometimes you go backward to move forward.

Last fall we took the plane to Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton. On the way back we were in lots of rain and lost some paint in spots on the gear and engine. Repainting has been one of the many items being worked between then and now. We have also started fabricating the fittings for the wing attachment. Lots of effort with little “visual progress”.  More on this in our next posting.

Congratulations and Thank You to the volunteers that have recently graduated. We appreciate your dedication and wish you success in your career. We also welcome the new students that just joined our campus and are offering to help us contine to move forward.

We didn’t display at Gardner KS this year but did see some interesting aircraft.

 

 

On hold for now.

August 26th, 2010

Dan Brown is explaining what needs do be done next on the Nieuport. We can not do much, were we was working classrooms are now being built. So the project is on hold for now.

IT’s HOT… The Weather & The Plane!!!

August 10th, 2010

Tim and Travis receiving 25 hour shirts from Marvin Story

note the rod ends in the struts needing welding to complete
Visual progress

fittings & rod ends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

Josh getting 25 hour shirt from Marvin Story

 

 

 

 

Josh & Marvin working the wires

finished, but unrigged, left wing strut wires (cables)

 

 

 

 

 

 

As mentioned in our last posting, lots of effort has been focused on wing attach fittings and the wing support struts. There have been many hours spent by a dedicated core of students measuring, making patterns, laying out, cutting, bending, clamping, unclamping and bending again, clamping, having rod ends machined at a local shop, fitting rod ends into the tubes that are going to be the actual wing struts etc…..etc….etc. You kind of get the idea….we hope.

These guys ARE dedicated!! Tim, Travis, Josh, each shown with project manager Marvin Story and their project tee shirts they earned for completing 25+ hours work, have been faithfully volunteering to do the tasks mentioned above in our shop which has been a balmy 88 to 99 degrees F since the middle of July.

We’re hoping to have the wing totally off of the wooden supports soon.

 

 

Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter

August 3rd, 2010

Horizontal Spar

[caption id="attachment_5446" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Horizontal stabilizer spar "][/caption]

With the dedicated help of Henry McAdory and Eric Rivers the horizontal stabilizer spar is completed. Eric and Henry had to build multiple jigs to get the routing as accurate as called out for in the plans. The end product is a beautiful piece of wood working. Two more ribs have to be completed before assembly begins. Mr. Patterson has built a jig for the hydraulic press to bend the metal pieces for the stabilizer. This Friday should be assembly day for the stabilizer. The summer heat is slowing down progress on other areas of the build as the temps in the hangar are well over 100 most days, we can’t wait for our new building (airconditioning) and it will also give us a lot more room to work as we progress into the wing build.

Whats New

July 26th, 2010

There are several new students working on the Nieuport Project. Dan Brown, John Engle, Nik Batten, Joe Warner and Jim Cravens call themselves the Fab 5. Bret Johnson is trying to work on the wounded cowlin (thankyou U.P.S.). On the rudder, horizontal stabilizer, and elevator, Andrew and Aaron started applying the dope. Rib lacing is completed. Surface tape is also completed. I will have pictures at a later date (sorry). If you would like to work on the Nieuport or if you are just interested please contact Dan Brown.

Still working hard!!

June 7th, 2010


Sorry for the delay ladies and gentlemen. Here at Team Indy we are trying to prepare for the air show at Mount Comfort, July 11-13. So I have been helping my team with the hands on projects. As you can see the R2800 engine has been assembled, by yours truly, but awaiting installation of the oil and fuel tanks to begin fabricating fluid lines. The risers have been installed and the throttle contol has been fabricated and welded to frame. We will need to make adjustments to pilot’s chair to allow for more leg room. And we have decided to angle the instrument panel to give better visibility in level flight.
Once again, I do appologize for the gap in information. Please stay tuned as pictures from the air show will be available the following weekend.

Pics to come, hopefully sooner than later

May 17th, 2010

Still trying to get a few loose ends together to publish some new pics. Until next time….

Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter

May 11th, 2010

Henry McAdory and Eric Rivers holding completed vertical stabilizer


The stabilizer was completed this week and work continues on the rudder. The rudder and elevator control horns were tacked together and after welding they will be installed and welded into their final postions. The horizontal stabilizer is still a work in progress, we are working on the drawings for the attach fittings. after we get those we can manufacture them and atttach the stabilizer to the fuselage. Progress continues every day due to a dedicated group of student team members and staff advisors.

CONGRADULATIONS!!!!

May 7th, 2010

Steve Baucum accepting his diploma/ certificate


We here at Team Indy would like to give a heart felt thank you to Mr. Steve Baucum for all the time and hard work he has contributed to the Nieuport Project. We are pleased to mention that upon completion, Steve Baucum has been invited to join the prestigious team down at Gulfstream, located in Savannah,GA
Way to go Steve, and good luck

Close but, no cigar

May 7th, 2010


The indy team is still hard at work! So far, we have started the fabric covering on our elevator, stabilator and rudder. The firewall is mounted but, we still have some adjusting to complete for the engine mount attach points. As you see above, our brake system is just about complete. As for the brake system, the only work left to do is install the manifold and fabricate the brake lines. The pilot’s chair and the contol stick have both been assembled to the frame.
This ends the update for this week but, please stay tuned as more updates are sure to follow.