Welcome to the Midget Mustang
"Horse Power" web site.
Horse Power is a scratch built, from plans,
Midget Mustang. The project began in 1984
with a completion goal of 1994. Seems I missed that target by a small percentage.
It is was finally finished in June of
2005
Thanks for stopping by.
Below is a Link to a 1999 picture of the then completed airframe sporting a green primer paint job.
The fiberglass sections are colored in their blue gel coating, applied in the molding process.
This was the first time in the build process all the parts were
in the same place at the same time. This was the end of the major fabrication.
Finishing and the aircraft systems were to follow.
8/26/05 Update
Hello
friends, the party August 20th to unveil Horse Power to all my
friends and family was a real interesting affair.
My
home airport in
lets
see, My tents were destroyed, the hangar flooded with at least 6 inches of
water, lost power for several hours,
and we
ended up with tornado warnings, BUT we partied on in spite of the weather with
over 100 attending.
Everyone
took off their shoes, and turned it into a beach party in the hangar. The power
came back on, and the Plane
Had
its formal unveiling at 8pm, the caterer got everyone fed, and the band played
some great classic rock.
Horse
Power was covered with a shroud and no one saw the plane till it was lifted,
only to see it still in its red plane pajamas.
The
shroud was removed to the tune of “The Stripper” and it was revealed a section
at a time till it was uncovered.
Thanks to all my friends
and family for attending this somewhat wacky night.
Photos from the party
linked below.
To the tune of “the stripper”, the covers were removed to reveal the plane to the crowd who had never seen it.
Side View of Horse Power
10/02/2005 Update
In the past few weeks the final wheel alignment was completed, and the brakes completed and tested.
Today was the big day, 5 gallons of fuel were placed in the Midget Tank, and it was made ready for the
First in a series of taxi tests. Today’s test lasted 30 minutes, and everything performed flawlessly.
On this initial test run, the brakes and steering were the primary goals, and tracking seems straight as an arrow,
and the brakes worked as expected. The engine ran well, and all temps and pressures in the normal range.
I will add a few pictures to the gallery below of today’s test.
10/16/05 Update
Hello All, I completed the
required ground operation yesterday, logging about 1.5 hours total of engine,
system tests and taxi testing.
In conjunction I’ve spent
about 3 hours so far with an instructor, doing the training for the tail wheel
endorsement. Hope to finish it up
Before the snow fly’s
around here, but the weather has not cooperated lately. Everything has performed as expected, with no
issues cropping up.
Below are a few more
pictures from yesterday, Enjoy.!
Link to
Flying the Aeronca Champ
1/03/06
Hello Friends. Horse Power got its initial air worthiness inspection 12/30/05. I’m currently making the required
Changes, and modifications and Hope to have final approval once all the items are addressed.
Stay tuned for the final approval. Thanks for visiting the site.
1/11/2006
Major News Flash
Horse Power
passed the Air Worthiness inspection today !
Link to
Certificate in Hand Photo
One very happy Guy with a certificate
to fly in hand…!
The 20-year quest achieved another
milestone today with the final approval for flight.
The flight test program is set to
begin this summer. I’ll update again in the spring with any
3/11/2006
Hello Friends,
In late January I submitted photographs and a story about the project to the EAA. I was pleasantly surprised to
Find out the article would appear in the Sport Aviation Magazine in the June issue. In addition a mention was made
In this months Formula One News Letter.
Link to March 2006
EAA Article
7/9/2006
Hello Friends,
A lot has occurred in the past weeks. The tail wheel training continues forward.
I received my tail wheel
endorsement on June 25th.
This past week I traveled to the
Wings Field, in Blue
A hand full. We did 35 take off and landings, and began an introduction to basic aerobatic maneuvers.
My instructor was top notch, and the 1998 East Coast Unlimited Aerobatics winner. I plan to continue the
Training locally for now building my proficiency in this type aircraft. Once I’m comfortable the flight test program
Will begin in the midget. Thanks for your interest, and stopping by. If interested the Instructors email is
baeverett@comcast.net. He is a terrific guy and excellent instructor.
8-1-2006
Welcome Friends,
The Tail Wheel Training has
continued in the Champ as well as the newest addition this weekend a RV-7.
Its getting closer all the time to first flight. Today’s time spent in the RV-7 was well
spent. Its slightly larger then the midget.
The wing span is roughly 5
feet larger, but very close in size to the midget. I plan on spending time in
this plane for several
Weekends, and I’m hoping to
get time in a Mustang II prior to first flight in the midget.
Here is a shot of me with
the RV this weekend, Its so new it has not gotten a
paint job jet.
Have a look at those long legs on this plane , sure does bounce unless you are really smooth.
A photo
of the RV-7 and myself
11/04/2006
Hello, I got approval by
the insurance company to fly the MII a friend owns.
The weather has finally
cooperated, and I got my first installment of flying the Mustang II today.
. The photo below shows the
MII. My friend purchased this plane last
winter and
worked all summer training to fly it himself. He received his signoff last
month for solo.
I had a cockpit checkout
today and flew 30 minutes today doing two takeoffs and landing.
The plan now is to fly
tomorrow and continue over the next few weekends until I feel comfortable.
Then I will schedule the
midget first flight. Stay tuned, and thanks for stopping by.
Another
Photo of The Mustang II
12/22/2006
Hello friends,
Thank you for all your
support and interest in 2006. The weather turned cold, rain and snow
Forecast now. The first
flight may not happen until spring now. I’m hoping next week might still have
a possible day to give it a try, but after 20 years,
I’m not going to hurry now. I feel another hour
or two in the mustang 2 would have been ideal, and that
still may happen this year yet. The training this
Year to achieve competency
to fly the midget has been a lot of work. A load of fun as
well.
The time invested consisted
of 20 hours in the Aeronca Champ and my Tail wheel endorsement,
6 hours in a Pitts S2, 4 hours in the RV-7 and
2 hours so far in the Mustang II.
Over the winter I plan to
visit a warm place for a week to do additional Pitts training.
Stay tuned for updates.
My plane was featured in
the Mustang Aeronautics newsletter in December,
Front page, WOW, Thanks to
Chris at Mustang Aeronautics.
2/23/2007
Hello Friends,
It is still winter, and a few months away from flying
season here on the north coast of
In January an annual inspection was done, since 3 hours of taxi testing happened in 2006.
Everything was inspected and found in perfect working condition. I added a locking tail wheel
mechanism to my tail wheel to help in taxi stability. I plan a few other minor tweaks prior to spring.
I have scheduled more Pitts training in April and I plan
to attend the Race Pilot Seminar in
A few days ago I received an email from a young man in
of my Midget, and I’d like to thank Young Francesco for the pictures of his tribute to “Horse Power”.
Below are some photos of his plane. Thanks for stopping by.
Nice
Job Francesco!
4/22/2007
Hello Friends,
I just returned from
Fly In Convention “Sun N
Fun”. I chose traveling to
I actually got 12 inches of
snow on Easter if you can believe that one.
I’ll include a picture. The Training goal was to continue
to prepare for first flight, as well as begin to focus
on the skills needed to fly in the races. I traveled to
40 miles
north of
His Aircraft is a Pitts
S2-A. It is one terrific airplane to fly. This uncontrolled airport has 3
runways.
Keoki can be contacted at the following link.
After providing Keoki the
details of what I needed to accomplish, he put together a lesson plan to
accomplish my goals.
The plan included extensive
lectures in a classroom, as well as the flying. Exercises were done to target
specific areas of flying. This was
Done to
improve precision when flying in the changing environment as found in an air
race. These exercises included
Stalls both
And a rudder exercise
preformed during the stall to prevent wing drop. Cross wind take off, and
landings in the Pitts
Added to
a really full day. All of these exercises done in the two flight sessions on day one Led up
to the practical application in
Day two’s
first flight. One distinct
advantage to coming here to train are the aerobatic
boxes that allow low level practice.
Day two’s first session
included low-level practice simulating what would be encountered in a race.
The second session focused
on G loading, as well as the maneuvers required for formula one. These included
Rolls left and right, and
rolls to inverted, stopping inverted, and reversing direction back to upright,
stopping inverted,
And reversing
direction back to upright. He had
me do a few other roll types to improve my skill. Finally we did
Some work with G loading
and how to deal with its effects. Both sustained G levels, as well as
Instantaneous
Hi G’s. Keoki is a very skilled instructor and
I highly recommend his training to anyone looking for
this type of
specialized instruction, or anything the Pitts has to offer. I plan to fly the Mustang II
In the next few weeks as a
warm up to my flight test program, most likely to start sometime in may.
Thanks for stopping by.
Amelia
Island Aerobatics Session Pictures
5/25/2007
Hello Friends,
I’m still on track for
first flight in the near future. In the past
few weeks I have done some additional warm up flights
In an Aeronca Champ to keep
tail wheel current. After all the aerobatic flying in the Pitts I decided to
upgrade the
Seat belt
/ shoulder harness with a 5 point system, and quick release mechanism. I figured getting out fast in the event
Of a problem was a good
thing, so the new 5 point system and a secondary seat belt was
installed. All the aerobatic
Planes I have flown
recently had the second seat belt for redundancy for flying upside down. I decided
this was a good
Idea. Last weekend I re-installed the stronger steering
springs on the tail wheel. With that complete it was time to retest steering.
I did a dress rehearsal,
and began increasing the speed of taxi tests. I did 30 minutes of testing last
week working the speeds
Up to 20
mph during these tests. The
formula one guys said being fully dressed in the Nomex flight suit, and
parachute during
Testing will get you used
to the additional clothing and safety equipment so it is not a distraction while
operating the aircraft.
The weather has again posed
a problem and the plans to continue increasing speeds in testing will be
delayed again.
Rain and thunderstorms are
the forecast for the entire memorial day weekend. One
more flight in the Mustang II
Will be
made soon as well as the final warm up to first flight. Below are some snapshots of the recent activity.
I purchased two nice
digital scales to do the final pre flight weight and balance on the plane as
well.
Thanks for stopping by
Hello Friends,
Thanks for stopping by.
June has been a very busy month. Unfortunately the weather has been terrible on
the few weekends I have been home. I Flew the Mustang II today as a warm up to
first flight. I Took the midget out and taxied it for
30 minutes, and prior to going in I did a full power test. The left magneto
failed, causing the engine to run very rough. I removed the cowling and on
inspection it was most defiantly defective. First flight will be delayed until
the magneto is replaced. Our EAA chapter Young Eagles day was June 9th
and we flew roughly 40 kids that day. I
left the event in the afternoon to catch a commercial flight to
A Happy Guy with Student
Race Pilot Credential for Formula One
PRS Photo Links
Pylon Racing
School Flight around race course
07/18/07
On Monday July 16th first flight occurred.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is I had an engine failure on takeoff, and ended up doing an emergency landing.
NOT scheduled as a “TO DO” in the
flight test plan for sure.
I managed to land in a grass area
parallel to the runway; the gear collapsed from the hard landing,
and broke a few things. The total damage has not been determined but it appears minimal.
What about me you ask?
I'm fine, no damage to me at all,
the emergency procedures learned at the recent
Paid off and I managed to land
the plane and cause no damage to me, and minimal damage to the plane.
A good days work when things go badly.
A lot of planning went in to this
test and it paid off as well. Since first flights are a BIG unknown as I have
found out First hand,
being prepared is of major importance. The test day plan was very detailed, and I
included a ground crew with fire extinguishers,
An ambulance service was on hand,
and plane to fly chase. As a former boy scout “be prepared” is my motto.
In the end, all the precautions did prove to be a good investment.
There will not be time to fly off the required time
in spring/summer 2008 to participate in
The current plan will be to try to attend as a static display to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first midget to race.
Thanks again for all the interest, your emails are appreciated.
Photo of
Unplanned Parking on 7/16/07
08-06-07
Hi All,
The repairs are coming along quickly. The damage really
turns out to be minimal. The Bottom Cowling is reassembled for use as a
mold. I'll foam in the empty spots, but
its 95% there. Once the areas are filled in and smoothed over by sanding its
ready to make a new part. That makes glassing a new lower cowling a much
quicker and easier proposition. The engine parts damaged are replaced and it is
ready To take to the overhaul facility. A new prop is
on order, and should be delivered in a few months .I purchased a solid state
fuel pump to add when reassembled for
additional safety margin .I'm optimistic the air frame should be ready to go by
years end. That is much better then originally projected.
Prior to the first flight on the left, first flight snapshot
on the right.
9-28-2007
Hello Friends,
Participate in their adventure. It was sure a lot of work. After each heat race the oil was changed,
Spark plugs cleaned and gapped, everything inspected, and reassembled to race again the next day
Below are photographs of the plane on the runway prior to a heat race, as well as parked on the ramp.
Larry Qualified the
Cassutt at 198.6 mph, We Placed second
in the first bronze race, and got bumped to the
Silver class, with a speed of 190.1 The next race, a Silver heat race our speed was 199.6 MPH
In the final silver class race our speed was 195.1 MPH and a 6th place finish
In an 8 plane race field. Not bad for a
rookie year, and first time
The orange armbands identify CREW members allowed on the active runway
On my return from
Being
prepped for painting. All the
engine parts are off for overhaul, and some should be returned in a few weeks.
The new prop arrived as
well as lightweight starter, and alternator. The cosmetic repair of the right
wing faring is done.
The engine parts remaining
have been cleaned and painted with continental gold. The NACA scoop reinstalled
on
The new
gear leg cover. It is the fresh
air supply to the cockpit. The rudder pedal assembly is reinstalled, as well
As the
new gascolator and plumbing to the fuel tank.
11-03-2007
Hello Friends,
I'm very happy to report Horse Power
is back on the gear, and it is all assembled
Ready to reinstall the engine. Air Frame Repairs are complete.
The engine will be reassembled the
week of thanksgiving. All of the new and overhauled parts have been received.
Hopefully installation of the engine
on the airframe will commence shortly after. With that complete the lower
Cowling can be fiber glassed
with a New air scoop. Over the winter I will
continue to take care of the many
Details to get it flying in the
spring.
11-25-2007
Hello Friends,
The Lime Lite #78 Cassutt Race team got a boost in
November when Larry was interviewed,
And featured in an EAA Sport Aviation magazine
article. The article is available
at the link below for viewing.
The reassembly of my continental 0-200 engine began
thanksgiving week. The parts were sorted,
Suitable engine stands borrowed, and under the
watchful eye of my local AP-IA the process began.
The parts returned from the component over haulers
were literally like new when received.
The basic process is assemble the sub components, like
install connecting arms on the crankshaft,
Prep the cylinders and case halves, and systematically
build up the engine. I will include pictures below.
The many parts cover my workbench Cylinder kits laid out for prep and installation
The crankshaft with connecting arms installed The case with cam and crankshaft installed
The case halves are joined The cylinders and induction section installed
A view of the top of the engine Spark plugs and rocker arm covers installed
The accessory case is installed, and the magnetos, and new lightweight starter and alternator are installed.
The exhaust pipes were installed next.
My setup had carburetor heat, and I fabricated heat muffs to provide the hot air.
The cooling baffle is reinstalled on the case bottom (black shroud seen) .
I have a new oil pickup tube as well as carburetor on
order, and should arrive any day now to complete the assembly.
Once the oil tank is installed I can proceed with
reinstalling the engine on the airframe. Once connected I secured a club
Propeller to begin the break in procedure on the
plane, since running a newly overhauled engine on a new untested plane with
About one minute of airtime is a bad idea, so ground
break in will be done using the approved method from continental.
The engine will have a lot of full power run time this
time around, and with a new flow tested carburetor the results should
Be a bit more predictable.
11/30/07
Hi All,
Great News, the engine is all reassembled, and it’s
back on the airframe. Over the next several weeks I will continue
Connecting the various controls, and installation of the fuel tank,
instruments, and all the engine wiring. With that I can
Reinstall the various fuselage covers, and prepare for
testing, and break in.
1/2/2008
Hello Friends, Happy New Year to all. I fabricated a new air scoop, and its glassed, and ready for final
Finishing. I will remove the cowling to be finished. The club prop will be installed and engine prepped for testing.
A cardboard and foam form covered in masking tape and Mylar packing tape. The glassed part removed from the form.
I drill holes in the part before removal, to assure proper alignment later when being glued.
The part is trimmed, the inside, and cowling are sanded creating a rough mating surface, and epoxy glued in place.
I use pop rivets to align and secure the scoop and cowling while being glued. The rivets are removed later and filled.
2/25/2008
Hello Friends,
Things are going well. The painting of all the
repaired parts is complete and all set for reinstallation.
The test propeller is installed and all final checks
have been made of the engine installation.
It is ready to run as soon as the weather improves. Its snowing and 12 inches are expected today here in the
I did some enhancement to the tail wheel bracket, its welded up, and I added another bolt to secure tail
spring in the
Mounting bracket. It’s being reinstalled, and should be completed today. I’m scheduled
to fly the Pitts S2 in
April again as a warm-up to second flight. I hope the engine test program and break in can begin
possibly next week.
With that done only the realignment of the wheels, and
another weight and balance calculation are left to complete on the to do list.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Dan
Test propeller installed and ready to begin break in
of engine
3/28/2008
Hello Friends.
The past month has been cold and filled with snow,
hard to believe its march. With temps between 20-38F its
tough to get outside. I decided to get a few more things done so I worked on
the landing gear. The wheels are all aligned and straight. That in itself Is a pretty intense and time-consuming job. The right wing
faring, as well as the gear legs were painted after modifications to all. I
added more pictures to the web site below, friends 6, and Road back photos
under project pictures.
I have included new links to Ed Sterba Propellers, and
Rattray Aero Products who made the fiberglass components I used.
After two previous attempts without starting, the
engine ignition issues were resolved, and, the third was the charm on March 26th.
My newly overhauled engine came to life, and ran great, no leaks, no hiccups
whatsoever. I will continue the break in process In
stages as prescribed by my AP-IA. His first job was rebuilding radial engines
for the airlines. He really knows engines. I included a short video below of
the first start of the newly overhauled beast.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Dan
The snow finally cleared here at the North Pole, and a sunny day finally appeared to test the engine.
4/20/08
Hello Friends,
Had a great trip to
Instructor, In the picture below there are several pictures of the plane, instructor and myself at the school. He is in
After visiting the Mustang Aeronautics booth I saw a change that needed made to my new torque tubes, so
Off came my wings, and the changes to my new tubes were made, and reassembled this weekend. I’ll have to realign the
Wheels again, then put it all back together for some taxi testing. I connected with a formula one friend, pilot,
Jay Jones of Cassutt Quad Nickel #45
Thanks for stopping by
6/22/2008
Hello Friends, Thanks for
stopping by.
It’s been a busy few
months; the plane is all ready to go if the weather would cooperate. The assembly is completed,
The initial slow taxi
testing is completed as well as the engine break in, and systems checks are all
working perfectly.
I returned From PRS today to what the past few
months have been since we went from 38 degrees and snow flurries
In April
to almost 90 degrees and day after day of high winds and thunderstorms. It’s been raining all afternoon
Today. PRS was a terrific experience again,
and well worth the time to participate. The racecourses are set up,
There are several days of
ground school covering all the particulars of formula one air racing, and
student racers
have specific times
to use the course and practice. I really wish it could have worked out to have
my plane there.
My hope is to be there
early enough in September prior to race week to fly a bit in the area prior to
the aircraft
class technical inspection, practice on the course, taking
a check ride, and qualifying if I can jump thru all those Hoops first.
We did have one terrific
Saturday that started out rainy, and turned into beautiful blue sky. That was
the 14th of June.
We held our annual young
eagles outing, and I flew many kids that day. I’ll provide some pictures.
I hope to get the midget
flying very soon so stay tuned.
Slow taxi and systems checks 6/14/08
8/08/2008
Hello Friends,
It seems delays in this
project have been numerous. During the hi speed taxi tests run in July I had
issues with the left gear
Leg
causing steering problems. I ended
up replacing the gear legs with a new set. Then it was the tedious task of
realignment
of the wheels. I’m happy to report that is completed,
and it again runs straight and the recent Hi Speed taxi testing was a success.
I decided to brush up on my tail wheel experience prior to this next flight,
and traveled to
10/30/08
Hello Friends,
A 24-year quest to get the
plane built, and get it to
Bit disappointed when I
could not take it, and at least display it, but that was not to be, they would
not allow it.
Second flight did not
happen during the time off in October for numerous reasons, so I decided it’s
time to take a
Short
break. I took the opportunity in
September and October to do some of the stuff I have been putting off.
I spent many weekends
mountain biking, as well as putting the camper to good use. The weather is now
back
To
Thanks so much for visiting
my site,
Me on one of the bike Trails
12/05/2008
With winter setting in here I have decided to begin a minor Face Lift of the Midget.
After the rebuilding of the cowling
I had the red paint mixed six times, and could not get an exact match to my
liking.
The two gallons of paint I used originally were mixed in 1996, and the current paint available cannot get an exact match.
I have a pretty close match now but
it’s not exact so I decided to re paint the fuselage entirely with the new mix.
The wings and tail assemblies are fine. Over the next few weeks I will re assemble my paint boot in my garage, and
remove the wings to bring the plane
home to touch up the paint. I received an email recently from a model designer
in
He liked my plane so much He has
designed a set of plans for a control line model complete with my paint scheme.
The plans will be eventually
submitted to one of the British model magazines for publication.
Below are pictures of the prototype model.
4/14/2009
Hello Friends,
The repaint is all done. I took the plane back to the airport today. I’m so glad to have the fuselage all one
Color again. I hope to begin reassembly later this week. Thanks for stopping by.
All loaded up on the truck for the trip to the airport, fuselage on its travel / assembly cart.
6/5/2009
Hello Friends,
Good News, the reassembly
of the plane is done, the repaint looks terrific, I
have done 30 minutes of ground tests of all on board
Systems, and the engine. Everything is working perfectly, and
Horse Power appears to be ready for flight once again.
I hope to do that later in
the month after getting current with a bi-annual flight review. Also, I plan on
doing some
Additional
high performance tail wheel flight hours to brush up prior to “Second Flight”. So Stay Tuned for that event.
Another bit of news, I will
be at
Interested
in this type of plane to make the trip to
September 16-20 and the
Blue Angels will be featured during the air show portion.
Horse Power and a Matching
paint job once again.
9 / 10 / 2009
Hello Friends,
I have been unable to
access my web site since May. I’m happy that I can finally update the site.
My business travel has been
pretty much non-stop, and the weather has been lousy on the weekends
This
summer. The good news though, is I
have all my “To Do” things completed like the bi-annual flight review
And some
other items that expired. I was
able to do some tail wheel training again in the Citabria to brush up my tail
wheel
skills prior to resuming the midget testing. I flew many
hours in the Citabria, doing 52 take off ‘s and landings.
I also recently completed extended engine Testing in a high angle of attack mode, level, and normal
take off / landing modes.
I will be traveling to
On my return I will
complete the final alignment of the main Wheels, and hope to get this bird
flying shortly after that.
The extended engine tests
proved to be perfect with no issues.
Thanks for stopping by.
Dan
The extended engine testing at various attitudes last week.
10 / 02 / 2009
Hello Friends,
Team “Lime Lite” Race 78 won SECOND PLACE in the Reno Air Races Formula One Bronze.
In Wednesday’s heat race Larry the pilot owner took an early lead, held off the faster planes clear thru the
finish line where a photo finish literally took place between Lime Lite and Knotty Girl.
Larry Crossed first but lost the
race due to a pylon cut.
In the Thursday Heat Race Larry got moved to the last row but could not advance past the 4th place finish.
In the BIG race Saturday Larry "Quick as a bunny" jumped out front on the initial lap with a faster acceleration
then the other planes. He held the faster plane off again for 4 laps and finally got passed by the faster plane
a Cassutt named "What’s Up Doc". Larry’s speed was 201mph, and the other at 205 mph.
Larry crossed the finish behind the
other plane taking second place in the Class Race.
I was Crew Chief again this year as
I had been in 2007. The long hours, days
beginning at 5am and ending
Well in to the evening were all
worth it when we came so close to being the number one plane in the race class.
Lime Lite
Rounding the Pylons
It’s Me, a pretty happy Guy
12 / 13 / 2009
Hello Friends and Happy Holidays to
you all a bit early.
The Year has zoomed by and it looks
like second flight will have to wait for spring. My work schedule has kept me
away from home
Every week since September, and only
having the weekends sure narrows down quality time with the Midget.
On return from the National Air
Races This year I did manage to get out to the hangar a few times to complete
the wheel alignment,
and the plane seems Ready to go.
Unfortunately the weather is back to being its nasty old self. On nice days we
had very high winds,
And as November turned to December
the cold, rain and snow is back with a vengeance. I look forward to the SKI
season
And plan to enjoy all this cold and
snow to the Max.
Leaping off a mountain top and
skiing down at warp speed is almost as much fun as flying.
I have been asked a few times about
wheel alignment, so I thought I’d say a few words about how I do it.
Basically The Midget needs its
wheels straight, you do not want them pointed off to the right or left.
Step one is to create a straight
line on the floor of the hangar long enough to center the plane with a few feet
extra.
The second step is to drop plum bobs
from the tail and forward parts of the fuselage aligning the fuselage on the
straight line.
Line drawn on the floor the length
of the plane
Using a square, another line is
created where the wheels cross the fuselage line.
Near each wheel I then create one
more line at each wheel perpendicular to the line crossing the fuselage line.
I clamp a straight edge to each
brake disk and draw a pencil line to indicate the wheels alignment. You want
the wheels
Straight as related to the long axis
of the fuselage. You have to tweak the axel mounting bolts with washers or use commercially
Available shims to do the job. In
the right photo below is the final alignment line after many, many hours of
tweaking.
I used a variety of washers with
varying thickness to get the desired result.
You may notice I use greased plates
to set the wheels on to allow free movement of the tires.
A perpendicular line at each wheel
of the cross fuselage line A pencil
line drawn from a straight edge clamped to the brake disk
9 / 21 / 2010
Hello Friends,
It was a strange but nice
experience at
It turned out Lime Lite
Race 78 experienced mechanical issues prior to leaving for
That took care of the weekend, but still no plane on Monday.
One of the other teams decided I looked sufficiently depressed, they felt I should be adopted into their team for the week.
So Jim gave me a hat and shirts and became a member of Race 54 Team Miss Min. I became Media Mogul for the week.
I took pictures, and videotaped the races, as well lending a hand wherever I could. I’m caught in the act of filming. My Adoption.
My friend James the pilot of Miss Min, a Cassutt III did a terrific job of negotiating the racecourse ending up
Winning the silver formula one class race. I will post a few photos. Congratulations to the entire Miss Min team.
The plane is prepped for a race, and The Victory Ride in the Antique Fire Truck After winning The Silver.
This years
not sure if it’s the air races or camel Races ?
Thanks for stopping by,
Dan
4/7/2011
Hello Friends,
It appears spring is near, but just not in
I went to
I traveled to
Tuesday and Wednesday proved to be nice flying days.
I did manage to log 4 hours with a lot of precision practice. The super D is a sweet plane.
The instructor really knocked the rust off my skills in a hurry.
“Sun N Fun” turned into “Storm N Mess”. At noon Thursday, the field was hit
With a severe thunder storm, almost 80 mph winds, 7 inches of rain, and a tornado to top it off.
I was soaked to the bone, having been in the outside PUB when it hit, Did manage to save
My beer!! Power was out, trees and tents down, and roughly 40 planes either damaged ot totaled.
What can I say, mother nature rules.!
I tried to attend Friday, but after sitting in line 4 hours, and the parking lot was still closed I decided
To spend the day at Fantasy of Flight, and was rewarded with a terrific afternoon. The “Splash In” Base
Was set up at the
I feel pretty good, and
hope to get the midget flying soon. The practice was just what I needed to get
a move on.
I need the weather to
cooperate now, on a day I’m actually home.
5/26/2011
Hello Friends,
Will the storms ever stop? Its been rainy, windy, and colder then normal since I
returned from
Needless to say, no flying at all.
Last weekend we actually had a nice day for the EAA International Learn
To fly
Day. We had joined another EAA
chapter to participate at the local Airport for an event.
EAA 127 displayed our
planes, and all the homebuilding techniques for steel tube / fabric, composite,
and aluminum
Construction. I even ended up on the local TV station. I’ll post
the link below as well as some pictures.
The link to the Cleveland Channel 5 TV segment:
It turned out to be a terrific day,
Thanks for stopping by.
Dan
7 / 10 / 2011
Hello Friends,
I hope you are all having a great summer.
June began with our Yearly Young Eagles Rally, We flew a bunch of kids, had a cookout and an all around good time.
I took off the week of June 27th with the intention of getting the midget flying. I scheduled some additional
Training in
with high winds thru Thursday that week. I discovered my Bi Annual expired at the end of June.
That put the skids on Friday the 1st. I got the Bi Annual completed today flying my Viking a few hours.
Its back to work tomorrow, with me again only home weekends into the3 first week of august.
I agreed to Crew for Jim again, on the Miss Min Race 54
team in
I hope to see you there. Please look for us in the Formula One Pitts. I am still in the mode to get the midget flying.
Will Just have to see what the weekends hold weather wise. Stay Tuned.
Thanks for stopping By
Dan
10 / 20 / 2011
Hello Friends,
Summer is over, not much flying this year.
I was part of the Race 54 Miss Min Team this year. Jim the owner / pilot set the third fastest
Qualifying time in the Gold Formula One Class. At 231 mph. He ended up 4th in the standings
After racing all week. We completed the race Friday morning, and were really looking forward
To the Sunday Gold Race. The Unlimited accident Friday afternoon prompted the association to
Cancel the remainder of the races, for very good reason. As you all know it was a very bad accident.
My job was pulling video from the Camera systems on board this Year. Miss Min had 5 cameras on
Board. I pulled the video each day, authored a DVD of the cockpit race video, and we displayed it on a
Large screen TV in our PIT. It certainly was a crowd pleaser placing them in the cockpit via the videos.
The Plane had a 4 camera system and a single camera HD video recorder. I uploaded the videos of the
Friday Race to You Tube. The Links are listed below. Our team won the Formula one award for Team
Of the year. What a nice surprise.
This is the Multi View
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP1z6qSmYLA
This is the single view HD video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LccIJacqR0s
Miss Min around the Pylon. Its 8am, and were getting the plane ready for a flight
Team Race 54 Miss Min 2011 Formula One Crew of the Year
Thanks for stopping by
Dan
05 / 21 /2012
Hello Friends,
It’s been a busy year so far. The Midget is all set to go, and I upgraded the Comm. with
A new VAL 2000. I am making plans to get Horse Power flying in early June. Last Weekend
Our EAA chapter co hosted the 2012 EAA Learn To Fly Day. We had a nice turnout. The Chapter planes
Were on display. One of my Formula One friends attended as well. He flew a Cassutt Racer
From
8 hours of flying ! That added another F1 plane to the display. I will post some pictures of this years event below.
Thanks for stopping by.
Dan
A Nice CUB on the flight line, and a B25 heading out for a flight.
I am with my Friend Jay, He flew the Cassutt. A snapshot of Jay shortly after arriving.
The Goodyear Blimp did several fly by’s, another view of the flight line.
The Midget Mustang and Cassutt Racer Dick from our Chapter and his RV 4
Chapter members Kitfox on departure, United Express Display Aircraft Departs
A Chapter members RV 12, a Titan P51
Project
Pictures Beginning to End
Horizontal
Stabilizer Fabrication
More
Horizontal Stabilizer Pics
Vertical
Stabilizer Fabrication
System
Installation begining in 2000
Encoder,
Tank Support, Brakes, Static Port
Tail
Wheel controls, rudder cables, carb heat box
Wheel
Pants, Tip Lights, Alternator
Primer
Applied Components Ready for Color
Moving
Day, from hangar to paint booth
The
road Back- Engine FirstStartVideo
For Questions or comments please
email me at cty81775@centurytel.net
LINKS
Dan’s
Formula One Newsletter Article
Society of Air Racing Historians Web Site
Cleveland Ohio EAA 127 Web Page
Pictures
of visitors, fan club, and friends that have Visited
the project, You know who you are!
Where do you go after the races you ask?
How about the airport tavern near Stead airport?
Check out the next picture.
Beer was involved !!
I
made the front page of the local newspaper in 2004 for my part in the Young
Eagles Program.
I
have been the local EAA chapter 127 Chairman since the program began, and have
flown over 300 children.
Here
is the link to the article.
Here are some additional pictures just for fun.
Warbird
Training Flight Aileron Roll
A day
trip to Put In Bay Island
Thanks
for visiting the project and this site
Dan
Taxiing out in my Bellanca Super Viking
This page has been accessed times since
9/13/04
Mesothelioma
Page Updated 05 /21 /2012