RAP Fun Factory in Bargara, Queensland | Just for fun

RAP Fun Factory

Locality: Bargara, Queensland

Phone: +61 417 605 347

Address: 11 Rifle Range Rd 4670 Bargara, QLD, Australia

Website:

Likes: 1023

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Sport & recreation
• Just for fun

25.01.2022 The new Mustang Val-halla has had half a dozen flights now and really getting dialed in. We weren't totally convinced we loved the colour scheme at first but now we do. She looks great in the air and very realistic. However, we will still have a pair of yellow nose, invasion stripes and chrome, that's just us!

25.01.2022 We wanted some reference pics for the new P-38 project "Race 38" aka "Double Trouble". This plane is now on static display at War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. We contacted the museum and Mike invited us to come on down and have a look around. When we explained we were down under in Queensland, Australia Mike offered to take some photos for us. Wow! Not many people can take good scale reference pics, but Mike can! Things that builders are interested i...n. We can't thank him enough for going above and beyond and crawling around Race 38 getting the pics we were after. It's an exciting project, especially now that we have the reference we needed and access to more detail if we need it. We've laid up the tail plane and about to join it so Black 38 has begun. Flying by Christmas ha ha ha

25.01.2022 Progress continues on the Fokker DVIII with the moulds for the right outer wing now made and painted. All ready to lay up. The winglette between the wheels is half moulded, ran out of time to finish that but over the next week we should have the right wing made and on the plane and if time is on our side, the winglette made as well.

24.01.2022 Now that the new Mustang is in the trailer there's a bit more room in the fun factory which means decision time. The all black P-38 "Race 38" aka "Double Trouble" flown by Gary Levitz was the favourite but we've had some reservations about the black heating up in our Australian summers. We did a test today and temperature checked the black versus the polished aluminium look and there was about 16 degrees difference after just a few minutes! The Red Bull P-38 is the obvious... next in line that we should build. Our reservations were that it wouldn't be so easy to see being all silver without invasion stripes or blocks of colour. Mind you, we were warned that we wouldn't see White Lightnin' either but that has proved to be wrong So all things considered it looks like the new Lightning will be the Red Bull one with its updated nose art. We're thinking of doing the polished aluminium look differently to the way we've done the Mustangs. Since there are virtually no markings on it there'll be next to no masking. The plan is to paint it black in the mould and then apply the chrome paint on the outside. A few tests to do first but that's the current thinking.

24.01.2022 The new Lightning will have gear doors - all 5! They are complex shapes to make. There's the outer skin and then there's an inner skin, both covered in panel lines and rivets. The inner skin will have the scale lightening holes which have to be cut into the compound curved shape. 3D printing a plug to the compound curved shape is the first step and then textured panels are stuck to this with their rivet detail embossed into it.... Then they're waxed up and a mould made over them. The finished piece will be layed up in these moulds.

23.01.2022 We took the Corsair out for a fly yesterday, first time in a while. Damn, that's a nice plane! The left leg didn't lock out and the go around stopped due to a fuel pump return line plumbing issue. No damage though

22.01.2022 We know it's not scale flying but sh*t it's fun! We're flogging this as hard as we can to see where the weak links are before we make the next one. The only thing we've found so far is one of the leg struts broke on the bend. It made the landing a bit apprenhensive but it stayed together fine, you can see the wobble as it lands and taxied back. The 32oz tank runs the Torqpro70 so 20 minutes gives plenty of time pass the transmitter around. The legs will need some beefing up. The cowl isn't far away and then we'll start another one.

22.01.2022 Raid Hot Mama had a landing "incident" (no names, follow my eyes ha ha) However, the wings were totally unscathed but it's easier to build a new Hot Mama than to fix the old fuse. That's why we have moulds! To get 2 Mustangs back in the air as quickly as possible we rummaged around the shed and cobbled together a "Scrappy" made up from parts we had plus the wings and rudder from Raid Hot Mama the 1st. We've only had to make new elevators, a spinner and a canopy windscreen frame. It should be flying by next weekend. It will be artistically challenged but perfectly functionally while we make Raid Hot Mama II and incorporating some new innovations. Always exciting

22.01.2022 We layed up a couple of elevators for a new Mustang and we've played with the internals design and materials. We were amazed how much weight we reduced them by. By ditching the brass tube for the hinge and replacing it with nylon tube, putting even more lightening holes in the spar, minimizing the reinforcing cloth around the edges and the joining epoxy glue (epoxy with 413 powder) we have almost halved the weight!! If we do this with all the hinged control surfaces and combined with the CoG recalculations we could end up maybe 1kg lighter. Not that it affects much, it flies great the way it is, it'd just be interesting to see if there's any tangible difference.

21.01.2022 A look at the detail on the P-51 showing the look you can achieve when you put real panels onto a plug. The lights don't look good in the video but really stand out in real life. We still love the stand we use to assemble the Mustangs and Corsair.

21.01.2022 Maiden flights can be exciting and this one was up there with the best! But, dam, the thing flies well - eventually. The big thick, undercamber wing with 2 degree incident created SO much lift it needed full down trim and then half down elevator stick to make it flyable. It also had way too much aileron travel which made for a very exciting first take off. Lots of elevator sub tirm and a rethink of the aileron rates made for a comparitevly sedate 2nd take off. We had issues... with the TorqPro70 which saw two dead sticks but it was a breeze to land. She floated in until it got down to tree level where the camo green made it disappear! The summary of the first flights will be to redo the wing struts so there is zero incidence on the main wing and investigate why the engine is stopping but apart from that, it is a brilliant flyer, can't wait to get it into the air again. Also, if you get into an ugly flying situation, don't give up. Keep fighting til you win! She weighs in at approx. 12kg, 2.4m wingspan and the TorqPro70 had loads of power. This whole experimental project was to see if we could make a composite copy of a fabric covered, wooden plane. The answer is a very resounding YES. So the discussion became what's the next one? - Tiger Moth or Albatros? lol

21.01.2022 We know we've been a bit Fokker-centric lately but it's turned out to be a surprisingly great project. It was originally just a challenge to see if we could make a composite replica of an old wood and fabric plane and thought at best it would be something we'd chugg around with occasionally. It's turned out to be a really fun thing to fly and we wouldn't go so far as say pretty but we love the colour scheme and it's not the ugly old box we originally thought it would be.... The lozenge colours underneath are different to the top and sides but we hardly ever see it. So we made a short video to show off her "pink bits" underneath - and the new cowl which looks great in the air https://www.youtube.com/watch

20.01.2022 Using Rhino to create paint masks by extracting shapes from the 3D model.

20.01.2022 The right wing came out of the mould and the live aileron hinge has been cut free. It's worked well and no nasty surprises! Probably the only surprise is how light it felt for the size. Now to make the moulds for the left wing and repeat all the processes. This is really a rough prototype. We've had some major paint issues as we changed brands looking for a cheaper alternative. The white just doesn't stick to epoxy and even when using the white to mix a light camo green we've had the same issues with bits not sticking However, once it's flown and proven to be worthwhile we'll turn around and make two pretty ones It'll be a lot quicker the 2nd and 3rd time round not waiting on moulds and designing before we can make each part.

20.01.2022 We got lots of little detailing jobs for Val-halla done today. Fun stuff but so many little jobs to finish her off. The 3D printed exhaust stacks were painted. The seat was drawn up in Rhino then cut out of 0.5mm aluminium sheet on the cnc router (although it's so thin you could do it with scissors). It folds into shape and then you rivet it together. There are slots for seat belts and mounting tabs - cheap and cheerful but looks the part. We used to 3D print the seat but... this is quicker! We also pulled a canopy and the canopy frame has been made but needs trimming and gluing on. The last of the 6 gear doors was joined - the inner shell to the outer shell.

18.01.2022 Can anyone help with the part no. for the panel here on the left with the rivets just beneath the canopy rail? It must be in Aircorps library somewhere but just can't find it

18.01.2022 Making the plug and mould for the DVIII

18.01.2022 This 2nd Lightning isn't going to take 2 years like the 1st one. Last time each part had to be designed, master plug made and then moulded before we layed it up. Then all the internal structure had to be drawn/designed and fitted. Some of the internals will be modified but it's been flying successfully for over a year so we won't fiddle with it too much, no major changes. We're waiting on one of the components for the polished aluminium paint process before we can get some bling happening. It has to be applied over black which is why we're turning out plain black parts.

18.01.2022 We don't think we want to go on making new moulds for different planes forever. We already have good moulds for a 1/5 scale Lightning, Mustang and Corsair plus the Fokker DVIII and a slightly smaller Thunderbolt. So we're having a play with making finer detail for the planes we've got starting with a cockpit for the Mustang. Just seeing if we can cope with the down scaling in thinking from 2.3m laminar flow wings to 2.5mm writing on a rudder pedal! So far the first play is promising and enjoyable. We'll see where it goes ......

18.01.2022 Fokker cowl mould made and being trimmed. It’s obviously longer than scale but allows us to trim it to fit any size motor - one size fits all. We’ll be able to paint and lay it up I. The next day or so

17.01.2022 After the dramas of the maiden flight changes were made. The main wing incidence was more than halved (3.5 became 1.5 degrees), the TorqPro was sorted so it kept running and the tail wheel was made steerable. We still ran out of down trim and flying with down stick was still needed but we had a chance to see how nicely it flies. We love the sound of the big 4 stroke and the need for the down stick will be sorted. Looking forward to it's next outing. A relaxing, fun plane to fly

17.01.2022 The new Mustang Raid Hot Mama II maidened today. Just a few clicks of trim - you'd think it was out of a mould! This one is 1kg lighter than previous ones though due to a number of refinements to the lay up and build. It flies just as sweet and now lands even slower and she looks gorgeous!

16.01.2022 The Fokker is up on it's wheels and making a 70cc TorqPro look small The winglette between the wheels (if anyone knows its proper name, let us know!) is moulded and ready for some lozenge paint and the elevator has been attached (trial fitted). It's getting near the pointy end of the project. Failure is always an option but we're hopeful it'll be a fun plane to fly and the wing doesn't fall off like the full size prototype did, or the undercarriage collapse ....... It's a constant battle between weight and strength and we have no previous experience with replicating WW1 fabric covering in composite construction!

16.01.2022 When we painted the fuse in the mould we masked off where the decals go and painted a white window. We laser printed a decal on clear decal paper, trimmed it ever so slightly over size and slid it over the white window. You can't see an edge but the white background brings the colours out. When it's dry we'll seal it with a clear coat and hopefully she'll be ready to go into the trailer sometime next week.

14.01.2022 A rare event having a whole day in the fun factory with a shitty, cold, rainy day outside. Last night we layed up the Fokker DVIII right wing halves and this morning opened up the vac bags and pulled all the consumable stuff off then trimmed them. We made the wing tubes then spent hours drawing, refining and cutting the internals, which as simple as this Fokker is, there are lots of angles going on with the live aileron hinge. Once it's all cut and it fits and works, you... forget how challenging it was at the time! As usual, the devil is in the detail with skin offsets, castellations and tolerances. The internals were assembled and put into the wing then the two halves joined and clamped down. The lower wing pieces between the wheels were painted yesterday so we layed those up too and again, the internals were designed. Instead of a normal wing structure, this winglette is under compression which makes for different design challenges - and don't forget to keep it as light as possible while you do all that! ha ha All good fun, let's hope the damn thing flies well after all this

14.01.2022 Some bling for Val-halla. The gun ports were cnc milled from scrap 6mm aluminium and polished up. We build these planes for fun and to fly lots and not for any sort of competition. Our philosophy on scale - if we like it we do it, it we don't it gets left off We will touch up the leading edge paint and weather the rivets on the wings though - because we want to

14.01.2022 Inspired by Mike Paty's "Scrappy" build, we've made our own 1/5 scale version of an internal support for the spinner

14.01.2022 Now that we've started on the 2nd Lightning we're looking back at photos of the build of the 1st one to remind us how we did things. Scary to see how much work went into it! This is a rough collage of the build pics we took from making the plug, panelling the plug, making the moulds, laying it up then fitting it out and flying over the last three years. The new one will be flying 2021

13.01.2022 The day job is taking up lots of time but there is still some progress in the fun factory and we have the 2nd DVIII up on its wheels and only one more wing panel to make. The first one we took the wing incidence down from 4 degrees to 2 degrees and still needed a fistful of down elevator to fly level. So, we've set this big, old, fat, under cambered wing at zero degrees and we'll see what that does! This experimentation is what makes designing and building our own planes way more fun than ARF's.

13.01.2022 Thanks to Ian at Desert Aircraft the Lucky Gallon Corsair was back in the air again on Monday. There were some successful flights that day! Every time we take this plane out the sound of the Moki never fails to put a smile on the face that is hard to wipe off! Unfortunately, the cost of the motor means it's not something we want to flog to death and fly twice a week which makes it even more special when we do take it out. ... When it was sitting next to the Mustang it dawned on us that it's wingspan is only a few inches bigger and length is the same yet it weighs almost half as much again. Because the Moki itself weighs about 6kg we put all the the tail end servos down the back (5 in total) and didn't spare the 200g cloth reinforcement in the lay up but it balances at that. If we took the 6kg off the front of a new one and replaced it with a 1.4kg DLE 55, same as a Mustang it would need a major redistribution of weight to balance. All the servos would come forward with pull-pulls for everything, a much lighter lay up down the back end and a whopping big custom exhaust to modify the sound of the 2 stroke. The goal would be to get it closer to 15kg than 20kg. It would be an interesting project.

13.01.2022 Progress is not always linear We were about to make the moulds for the outer wing panels for the Fokker D8 and put the left wing in the CNC cut parting board only to find it was short by about 30mm! The Bunnings foam board which makes up the sandwich, the last batch we bought turns out NOT to be 50mm. Here's a video of what bits make up the start of the plug - since we had to start again.

13.01.2022 We're playing with cockpit ideas. We've never done a cockpit, just an instrument panel so now that we have the SLA printer, just seeing what's possible. The SLA printed parts make a good plug to vac pull the styrene shapes that form the contoured panels. This is a long term project chugging away in the background. It'll be interesting to see it come to life with paint and decals for all the placards.

13.01.2022 The D8 is propped up on her wheels with a new tail plane, elevator and fin. We've got two different size wheels and scale is in between. The 1/3 scale Dubro's look better so we'll probably go with that. We haven't had a lot of time but will make the moulds for the outer wings, the wing/fairing between the wheels, cowl and the rudder. Doesn't hurt if you say it quickly Once we've made the moulds we can lay up the flying pieces and assemble it all then fit it out.

13.01.2022 Today we had Val-halla up on her wheels and she had her first engine start. The engine is Lil Mil's engine that has been rebuilt after the crash and it just started first go. Gotta love the reliability of DLE engines! There's still a lot of little finishing off jobs to do but hopefully she'll be maidened this week - weather and work dependent

13.01.2022 Test flights on the D8 are over and it has proven to be enormously successful - it's a keeper! It's a delight to fly and we can really chuck it around - multiple loops, big wing overs ... as long as you use the rudder it will do anything. So, on with the cowl. The cowl plug is cut out of Bunnings foam and panels cut from PETG plastic. The front ring panel will be pulled over a plaster plug and then we'll make a mould of it. As soon as we get time we'll start making a sec...ond DVIII. The Torqpro is the perfect motor for this plane, it sounds so authentic and has the power to keep doing continuous loops. Really looking forward to having one each and flying them together.

12.01.2022 As you might guess, there's a story here! After many flights on the lozenge painted Fokker D8, we had a dead stick due to a stuck pushrod on the TorqPro. It happened at a bad spot and landed in long grass and flipped over. Minor damage and back in the air the next flying day. However, the next flight was uncontrollable. It was like someone was leaning over your shoulder and randomly wiggling the elevator There were half a dozen people who witnessed the demise of the D8... and everyone was at a loss to explain what we saw. CoG, radio, thrust lines, wing angles etc, etc all failed to offer an explanation. The elevator still worked fine. So the whole project was moth balled until it could be explained. We thought that maybe the pilots legs had somehow tangled in the elevator pull pulls, but not convincing. Fast forward a few months and another member of our club flying his Hangar 9 Fokker D7 had a very similar experience. He thought it was a problem with the gyro not working properly so he brought it round to the fun factory for some help. It quickly became apparent that the two elevator halves weren't playing together! It turned out that one of the two elevator servo arms had stripped it's spline. They were replaced with a better quality pair of servos and all is good again. Because the symptoms were so much the same, as a joke we said let's check our DVIII elevator pull-pull arm. You guessed it! The elevator arm could be spun on the splines. Further investigation revealed why. It was a Hitec 5645 servo and they come with black arms, red arms and an aluminium arm and normally we use the red arms. For no particular reason, this time we used a black arm. The trouble is, the black arm chosen was from a Hitec D645 which is a 25 pin spline and the 5645 is a 24 pin spline! Didn't notice it at the time, it went on normally and flew many happy flights. It wasn't until the nose over and some whip lash from the large elevator as it tipped over that the splines loosened and then slipped under load during the next flight. Dumb arse operator error but so good to have an explanation for what happened and needless to say it won't happen again! Always something new to learn. The good news is that the whole tail end of the lozenge one is perfectly fine, it just broke the fuse in half when it spiraled into the ground, it's a robust beast. So basically, a bit of a Christmas/New Year project to get the new Fokker flying and rebuild another lozenge one again. Happy ending

12.01.2022 The new Red Bull Lightning is progressing on multiple fronts. The hardest bit to lay up is the central gondola and we've just finished the top and bottom halves. Now it's refining the internal structure - different flap mechanism, nose wheel geometry, hatch attachment and radio installation etc, etc. It's the hardest single piece with so much going on.

12.01.2022 Such an interesting day today. Val-halla maidened successfully, just a few tweeks to get her totally sorted. The spinner bolts were too neat so we'll have to have something more robust than the ultra cutesy screws we used - function comes first! The motor needs more running in and more elevator rates are needed. However, seeing Val-halla sitting out in the sun next to Raid Hot Mama who has the chrome paint with invasion stripes, yellow nose and red tail (gaudy Windows "hot... dog stand" colour scheme), Val-halla just looks too dignified and conservative for our taste! We like ém bright and we're missing the Milf (as "Lil Mil" was affectionately known). So you can guess where this is going ha ha. We have the moulds and the knowledge so we'll be starting a new Mustang asap. The other really interesting thing is that every time we fly the Lightning the more we fall in love with it. Damn!, it's a lovely plane to fly. Once you get used to the size and speed of it, it's the sweetest thing to fly and the sound of synced twins is really nice. "Black 38" is also a priority project.

12.01.2022 We're really enjoying this project as it's something different. We've never seen a fully composite WW1 plane before so it'll be really interesting. The TorqPro 70 is now bolted on the front of it and actually looks insignificantly small but should have adequate power and sound just right. The radio install is almost done, we could be looking at an engine run before the end of the month. Just need to get the wings, rudder and cowl made. The ailerons are live hinged in the wing with scale-ish push rods.

12.01.2022 We thought we'd get the only bit of masked colour on the new black P-38 done. We're starting with the right hand fin and rudder. It's a bloody awkward bit of masking and there wasn't a font we could use so it had to be drawn in CAD then masks cut on the vinyl cutter. The numbers span the fin and rudder hinge line and mass balancer so there might be a little bit of touching up to do on the outside! We'll get these parts layed up and joined in the next few days and then go back and do it all again for the left side - damn twins!

11.01.2022 Our new P-51 Val-halla is ready for her maiden tomorrow and we had hoped to have a Bill Anders pilot to "fly the maiden". He was an Apollo 8 astronaut and the owner of Val-halla who flew it at Reno in 1996. However, as usual we ran out of time so Kermit Weeks will have to do the honours tomorrow! The process of making these pilots is quite involved, it requires 4 different types of software to play together. We just added Blender to the software mix which has been another ...steep learning curve. We're going to do a video of the pilot making process so that we can remember how to do it when we come to do it again!

11.01.2022 We've been running some numbers on weights, costs and wing loadings of the D8 to see how composite construction compares to traditionally built fabric covered D8's and if there's any advantage. A traditional balsa 82" version has a wing loading of 29 oz/sq', a traditional balsa 112" version has a wing loading of 34 oz /sq' and our composite 96" prototype looks like it will have a wing loading of 36 oz/sq'. We're happy with this. It's a small price to pay to be able to build... a whole plane in a week with fabric texture and lozenge pattern painted on with a raw material cost somewhere in the vicinity of $300, structure and covering. We know the purists would be horrified but for us it's not intended as a scale masterpiece and we'll take the penalty of a few ounces per square foot wing loading to have the robustness, repeatability and speed of building. Personal opinion

11.01.2022 With the entire wing and the rudder made we were able to do a balance test for the first time. High five! She came out absolutely perfect at 25% MAC with the batteries sensibly tucked inside. That's one more hurdle out of the way. We'll do an engine start this week and then a maiden not long after that hopefully. That will be interesting!

10.01.2022 When we design, build and fly these planes, we need different projects at different stages of maturity to keep the interest engaged. The Mustang is the mature one with all the design, jigs, drawings etc done and we can now pretty much just choose a colour scheme and turn one out with no surprises. Work on a really scale cockpit continues which is great fun on a different level - non flight critical. Purely art! The Lightning is the adolescent. White Lightnin' has been flyi...ng for over a year, she flies probably the best of all of them but there's still lots of room to refine, simplicate and add lightness! The moulds, jigs and drawings are all there but they need further development and refinement. Then you need something new to keep the thinking fresh. The Fokker DVIII filled that role for many months of this year and it's been an interesting adventure but it's a simple beast. We've looked at lots of potential projects to be the brand new one. F-86, redo a P-47, CAC Boomerang, composite Tigermoth (this one will happen but in the future) but all came up short for various reasons. Our 1/5 scale Corsair moulds (Lucky Gallon) were made before we had access to Aircorps Library but they're not that wrong that it needs redoing. After a bit of internet browsing Bob Odegaard's F2G racing Corsairs jumped out. They really tick the boxes. Amazing colour shcemes, one person assembly, multiple engine options, rare without being weird and happy to fly (race) as a gaggle which is more fun than flying on your own. This option is really gelling, to make new 1/5 scale F2G Corsair plugs and moulds, bringing all the lessons learnt and experience into a new major, project.

10.01.2022 The Red Bull Lightning has begun! We layed the right boom halves up yesterday, painted in black and the chrome will be applied on the outside after cleaning up the join lines. For those that are playing along at home (there are some and they've been asking questions which is awesome) these pictures should help explain about the vacuum bagging lyaers - peel ply, perforated release film, breather mat, paper towels and then the bag that the moulds go into to be vacuumed.

10.01.2022 The left wing of the current Mustang build came out of the mould yesterday and got a coat of Key Clear on the chrome look paint. Some weathering on the invasion stripes to bring out the details was also done before the Key Clear was applied. The nomenclature water slide decals are then applied and then a final clear coat will go over the whole thing. We make our own nomenclature by using the text in Rhino as the outline then taking a screen capture into Paintshop , filling t...he letters with black, saving as a .jpg then back into Rhino for scaling before printing out onto the clear decal paper! There's quite a bit of computer processing to get a clear, sharp decal but once you understand the process you can make anything and just print out as many as you like! For the white writing on black paint, we use white decal paper with a black surround which blends into the painted surface. See more

10.01.2022 One night to lay up the fuse, last night to lay up the tail plane, elevator and fin and one more session to make the cowl and rudder and we'll have the next Fokker DVIII fuse done! That just leaves the 3 part wing and the fairing between the wheels. These things are really quick because of the low part count. A motor and firewall to install, drop the radio board in and attach the undercarriage. Soooo much quicker this time round with the moulds already made and we know it's a... proven flyer. Looking forward to having two of them to fly together

10.01.2022 More pics of the DVIII, it's getting exciting as we make more progress and can see a launch date! The rudder plug is made with the fabric and stitch detail on it and that's ready to have a mould made of it. The axle fairing and the fin have both been lozenged and attached which starts to unify the collection of bits into something that should fly. The second wing is ready to mould with the parting board made. We just need to find a spare half day to get that done.... Although it's big, it feels light for its size. The over sized wheels make it roll effortlessly.

10.01.2022 Latest flight last week on White Lightning and we still can't wipe the smile off our face! Work on "Race 38" is still happening but very slowly due to work committments.

09.01.2022 The D8 is nearly alive, we have movement! Installed the radio and the pull pull cables for the elevator and rudder today. We made the mould for the other wing and painted and layed it up. Also got the rudder mould made and painted. Once we get the 2nd wing finished we'll be able to do a balance test and see where the batteries have to go and then we'll do an engine start.... This prototype is pretty rough but once we've seen it fly we'll decide if we want to make a couple of nice ones.

09.01.2022 The last of the 37 moulded pieces for the new Mustang "Raid Hot Mama II" have now been layed up! These are the inner 3D shaped gear door panels which give it the strength even though they're very light.

09.01.2022 There's an end in sight to the current projects - the Fokker D8 and the new Mustang, Val-Halla. Choosing the next project has required some serious thinking. Patsy was keen to revisit the CAC Boomerang. Ten years ago we did a lot of work and made 1/4 scale moulds and spent a lot of time getting the shapes right. We made a great connection with a former WW2 Boomerang pilot, Tom King and his wife Beryl. Over many dinners Tom filled us with many stories of Boomerang flying a...nd the background behind some of the nose art at the time etc. However, even Tom questioned why we were building a Boomerang when there were more exciting planes to make! Now that the P-38 Lightning is dialed in and Patsy had a "proper" fly of it, she has to agree with Tom, there are more exciting planes It's big and fast but no longer scary and intimidating! So the next project will be another P-38 so that we can fly two of them together, that would be special! It will have a whole list of refinements as White Lightnin' was a prototype. Since we have a white one, the next one will be Gary Levitz's black Race 38. And because Richard has to keep drawing new stuff, the P-47 Dottie Mae will continue to hum along in the background, in the spare time. That's the latest plan anyway

08.01.2022 The replacement for the Mil is already underway with the fuse being waxed up. Thanks to everyone for their input, thoughts and contributions. We wanted to start a discussion. Obviously hard mounted MPX plugs, however rarely, can be problematic. We haven't done this for the last 3 Mustangs, the Mil's installation was a historic legacy but it hadn't been a problem until we installed this particular engine. We are in no way blaming the DLE engine. It was just a quirk of phys...ics. We will continue to use the DLE-55 RA's and are about to order a new one to replace the one that went in on Monday. For the way we use them - fuel and go week in, week out, they are fantastic motors. We do like to experiment and question traditional ways of doing things though. For example true laminar flow wing section on our 1/5 scale Mustang and using cork as a core for composite construction 10 years ago. We think about all aspects of the build and try to somehow improve or streamline each process. Then, most importantly, observe the results. If they work, we keep it, if it doesn't we ditch it - simple. The latest Mustang build, Val-halla will continue to have metal firewall and stand offs because it works. A solid 12mm sub firewall means the engine is not on 200mm long stand offs. We used to do wooden firewalls and boxes and there is no difference to the amount of vibration or noise transferred through the fuse. We've never had a failure of any electrical component due to vibration. We're fortunate that we can CNC cut metal parts. It just makes a more open structure allowing better air flow, better access and means the whole front end is removable for maintenance. Because we have moulds and are continually trying new ideas, a 2 or 3 year lifespan is about the maximum "best before" date of our planes. They fly upward of 100 flights/year because we want to see where the weak link is. If the Mil hadn't crashed she was due to be retired in the next month or so once the new Val-halla was up and flying. We always have a new one on the make with new improved ideas. Current new ideas we're working on are scale exhaust, cockpit/canopy detail, paint process, tail wheel doors, Per Andreson's idea for moulded-in reveals for the doors. There's the whole moulded Fokker DVIII project which will be powered by TorqPro 70's. We also want to take our 94" (true 1/5 scale) Corsair moulds and make a pair of racing DLE 55 powered ones. It will require rejigging the fit out to be much lighter than the Moki powered version. There is also another Lightning to be done reflecting on the lessons learnt in the prototype. Then there's a F-86 Sabre!

08.01.2022 Even though this is a brand new plane, the DLE-55 RA in it is actually 4 years old. For some reason it blew a bearing when it was only about 6 months old, with a very noticeable puff of smoke. It was Christmas/New Year and we couldn't get spares from DLE Australia as we normally do due to the holidays so we went into the local bearing shop and they recommended C3 bearings for the rpm that this motor does. Not ones to die wondering we gave them a go and this engine hammers! ... It's still going strong 3 1/2 years later with solid use and it's noticeably slicker than any of the others. Has anyone else played with C3 bearings? Good or bad experience? This motor used to be in Patsy's "Lil Mil" and now we draw straws to see whose plane it goes in now

08.01.2022 P-51 1/5 scale, maiden flight day. Some up close detail and door operation

07.01.2022 A short video on the installation of the fire wall, motor, fuel tank/batteries in the P-51 Val-halla

06.01.2022 All we need now is a pilot with a long silk scarf The cowl was painted and layed up today and will be popped out tomorrow. In the spirit of all the hardware coming from Bunnings ie cheap and cheerful, we went and got 20mm x 3mm steel for the undercarriage, replacing the aluminium that broke. It's a bit heavier but won't be an issue and it won't break.

06.01.2022 The cowl for the Fokker DVIII starts with the shape cut from Bunnings foam and then plastic panels stuck on to it. The curved nose ring was cut reverse into foam, filled with plaster and then the pastic panel vac pulled over the plaster before being stuck onto the plug. A mould will then be made

05.01.2022 Tonight we joined P-51 "Raid Hot Mama's" right wing. The composite skin in the mould is not much use without these internals. They contain the wing tube, retract mount, main spar, rear spar to hang the flaps and ailerons off and the wing bolt structures. They're cut on the cnc router and go together like a big jigsaw. This is actually version 13 on the filing system. There have been lots of refinements over the last 3 years! ... This latest one has got 3mm aluminium around the retract mounts. Since the first Mustang we've done something like 500 landings and have had this inner retract rib only break twice. We don't want it to break at all so are trying this as a fix. The spigot at the top of the leg that goes into the top of the Electron retract is a designed weak point. In a rough landing we don't want the wing to break open but just bend the top of the leg which is a consumable part that we can easily manufacture. However, on the odd occasion the mount takes the load instead of the leg and that's what we're trying to fix.

04.01.2022 How we get a really nce close fit of the rudder. Also a look at the tail wheel doors made from polished aluminium

04.01.2022 The new P-38 has begun Garry Levitz's "Black 38" We've stuffed up already and this is the second tailplane. We know when it's below 15 deg C - we shouldn't join parts as the epoxy doesn't set properly. It can crystallize and go brittle. It doesn't get cold here very often so we forget! Until it bites us again. The almost all black scheme is something very different for us and it seems to bring out all the rivet and panel detail nicely. ... Making a second P-38 from moulds is so much quicker as all the moulds, drawings for internals and templates are sitting on the shelf ready to go. So much fun. There are changes being made to improve on the prototype but it's way easier to adjust than start from a blank page.

04.01.2022 The internals for the winglette have been designed and cut. No idea if this is an overkill or not. No experience to reference it. The axle is M8 threaded rod with nuts on each end which will compress and capture the legs. Time will tell but we don't expect it will spend a lot of time on the ground As Mike Patey would say "back to work"! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvdee86uThqIrloZjWwNVg

03.01.2022 It doesn't look exciting when parts are layed up and under vac but tomorrow we'll have a P-38 right fin and rudder ready for internals and joining and then it can be attached to the tail plane. Just need the front bit then We also layed up the rudder for the Fokker D8 in the new moulds. Bit of an effort after a day's work on the farm but we keep pushing on.... The Lightning fin is one of the most difficult pieces of the whole plane to lay up. It's a complicated shape and joins the boom to the tail plane to the fin. It's structural, the skin is the strength and there are no internals. At least this time we know it will work, it's a proven flyer and structurally sound.

03.01.2022 A small milestone for the composite Fokker DVIII. Fuselage lozenge all painted and the wing centre section has been moulded and we just popped it out this morning. This is the first part we've made that is smooth (to represent painted ply), no panels or rivets and man! she just slid out of the mould It's starting to look like a DVIII with a wing sitting above the fuse. The wing struts aren't scale, made from Bunnings aluminium but bloody solid! All in k...eeping with the design brief. The struts are cut and bent to a CNC jig then slide into 8 pockets built into the fuse. The tops fit into a rebate cut into the root ribs of the centre section where they'll be bolted. Outer wing panels and rudder to go.

02.01.2022 After nearly a year of not being pilot in command solo on the Mustangs through a series of incidences, lock downs etc (2020 syndrome) which didn't boost the confidence, Patsy is now current again. The process was going back to basics like a beginner and getting comfortable flying fast and heavy again. Lots and lots of circuits on "Scrappy" (not the best looking plane) over the last few weeks to get comfortable and then yesterday takeoffs and lots of landing circuits in a sta...blized landing configuration (slow with flaps and gear down). Then when you're so comfortable with that you just don't throttle up, break the glide and you've landed. The Mustang isn't the easiest plane to land but that makes it so much more rewarding when you get it right. Might have to make a new pretty one now! (while still flying Scrappy) Thanks to Jorgo for the video and sound effects

02.01.2022 Six degrees of separation! We needed a high res, square-on photo of the current Red Bull P-38 nose art. How would we get that? Ask Michael Jorgenson of course! His reply "I'll ask Seff and Raimund if they can take a photo for you". A day later ......... ... Steff and Raimund are Red Bull pilots that fly the Lightning and the Corsair so have up close access to the hangar.

02.01.2022 P-51 Val-halla is inching toward her maiden. The sequencing of the gear and all the doors took longer than it should have and was complicated by only using a 9 channel receiver which is what we had. There wasn't a spare channel to run the tail wheel doors which run on a different sequence to the mains - they stay open while the mains shut. It seemed simple just to throw an Arduino on the tail wheel doors but in hindsight it would have been easier and quicker to buy a 12 channel receiver (except they were out of stock and still are!) or find a Spektrum X-plus expander. Wonderful thing hindsight! Still, it's been an interesting exercise programming an Arduino Nano to sequence the tail wheel doors from just the gear channel.

02.01.2022 It's ALWAYS exciting to open up the Mustang moulds and another beauty like this comes out! Thrilled This is Raid Hot Mama II and she's actually better than the first one. Each time we do the chrome it gets a little better, must be slow learners! Before the chrome is sealed to stop it tarnishing, we weather the painted areas to bring out the panel and rivet detail. The nomenclature and nose art decals also go on at this stage before a final clear coat is applied.... Happy campers

02.01.2022 Burning the midnight oil. Well not quite midnight! She’s ready for a taxi run tomorrow. Don’t know if it’ll fly, still a lot to sort out yet but the TorqPro 70 is in and running. Sweeet

01.01.2022 Having spent the last 6 months or so Fokkering about we have a need for speed again. We're aiming to make 2 new Mustangs by Christmas. Having made a number of Mustangs it's no longer R&D, it's just finding the time to do the work. It's more an assembly process with minor refinements. We're printing the exhaust stacks with the SLA printer which will give a finer finish and we're finally getting more reliable results with the chrome look paint as we understand the process m...ore and how it works. The modular tail wheel assembly has proven almost bullet proof but we're just adding 6mm to the height to lift the tail a little bit higher. We're also continuing on with the black Lightning "Race 38". There'll be lots of refinements on that being only the 2nd one. It'll have gear doors and we'll be able to make it lighter. That's an exciting project too. See more