Winter Update – New Tech, New Stuff

Winter = Wow.  I have been slammed with orders this winter, more than past winters.  This is good (for business) and not-so-good (for my retired life/building/spare time/etc).  Toss into that mix mandatory family time/issues, a visit to the Prop Factory in Ohio (my parents’ house), and helping our sons open their brick and mortar coffee shop.  To give you a clue, I haven’t worked on any building for over a month, like five or six weeks.  And no airplane plans work for almost that long.  It’s all stalled!

But, I’ve been working.  I finally took the dive into 3D Printing.  I got myself an Ender 3 Pro.  It is not the biggest or most complicated printer, but it was a great price and I could start working on it right away (given some advice from Brian Bartnick – thanks Brian!)  The learning curve is what I expected – steep.  I am pretty proficient at CAD in 2D (see my plans), but 3D is a different world.  Fortunately, my CAD Program (TurboCAD 19 Deluxe) has 3D built in.  However, it is limited.  And self-teaching myself stuff is limiting, for sure, but I am getting there.

Given all that – guess what?  I have some result (New Products) to share with you.  These will be online very soon (hopefully today).

Here is the first thing I designed.  Brian actually printed the first one for me.  This is the end for a small stuffer stick for small models (think Peanut and Dime).  I have been making mine out of ply for years (starting with kits sold by Greg Thomas) but this will work better.  You slip this on to the end of a 1/4″ hardwood dowel of your desired length.  You might need to sand or taper your dowel, but maybe not.  And you can choose whether you want to glue it on or not.  $2 each.

The next product is really an update.  My Rees Counter was made from 1/32″ ply and I struggled with EVERY ONE of these that I have built and sold.  It took me quite awhile to get this built in 3D CAD, but from now on, you will receive a plastic one, should you order.

And lastly, here is another update – to a brand new product:  the Boehm Freewheeler Clutch.  Chris Boehm designed this and my dad has been machining them from aluminum bar stock.  I will be relieving him of this task as I can now make these – and I am offering two sizes:  the original 0.047″ shaft size and now 0.032″ shaft size.  The BEST PART about these?  They are HALF THE WEIGHT of the aluminum version!  These are the lightest add-on clutches available – they are 0.25 grams each – and that includes the metal wire bail and the 2-56 set screw.  But there is a VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:  you MUST grind a notch on your prop shaft for the set screw.  These delicate threads are now cut into plastic and you will certainly strip the threads if you really torque down on the set screw.  $4 includes 1 clutch assembly and 1 Allen wrench.  If it is not clear, these mount on the prop shaft between the nose block and the prop.  They drive the prop from behind and are positively engaging – they will automatically re-engage should the rubber encounter a hiccup (like a momentary bunch of rubber).  Orange is 0.047″ and Blue is 0.032″

Now, looking at the calendar, spring is just around the corner and I have to prepare for two things:  the end-of-indoor-season contests (the Cloudbusters Indoor Fling and – maybe? – the AMA Indoor Nats) and the start of Outdoor season.  I GOTTA get back to BUILDING!  And first up will be a new Falcon Special II to replace my 19 year old Goodyear Racer that suffered a fatal crash in the fall.