Category Archives: Aircraft

Jon Staudacher’s Approach to Projects

By Don Gutzmer – GBI Technical Advisor

Cover photo: THE ANIMAL alongside one of Jon Staudacher’s other projects, an acrobatic airplane. Photo by Avram Golden.

My good friend and previous employer, Jon Staudacher, always surprises me with how he designs and builds his projects. Jon creates everything from hydroplanes to airplanes using materials and methods that are logical and practical. He would say he treats most of the things he builds like a science project, experimenting with new concepts in design and materials, and continually learning new things. I will explain some of Jon’s unique approaches to a few of his recent projects. Continue reading →

Pietenpol Air Camper

Pietenpol Air Camper – A Wood and Fabric Airplane

by Don Youngblood

I built this 1929-design Pietenpol Air Camper in my single-car garage, with the final assembly at Pickens County Airport, LQK, South Carolina. Construction over a 6-year period used about two gallons of WEST SYSTEM Epoxy. I “hammer tested” scrap wood joints after each mix had cured—wood always split, never the epoxy joint.

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The Glenn Curtiss Museum

By Mike Barker

Above: A 72′ wingspan reproduction of the 1914 Curtiss flying boat America was completed by the Curtiss Museum’s restoration shop crew in early September 2007.

Glenn Curtiss is recognized as the “Father of Naval Aviation.” He trained the first Navy pilots and built their first aircraft, the A-1 Triad Amphibian. It was “Curtiss Pushers” in 1910 and 1911, that demonstrated capability to take off and land on a ship, leading to the development of aircraft carriers. Continue reading →

rocket

Unveiling of UK’s Biggest Ever Rocket Ship

Starchaser’s unmanned capsule will be ejected mid-air and is designed to land safely by parachute.

Courtesy of Wessex Resins & Adhesives LTD

A Salford University academic with ambitious plans to send tourists into space by 2013 unveiled the UK’s largest-ever space rocket on Tuesday, July 1, 2008. The project, sponsored in part by WEST SYSTEM UK Distributor, Wessex Resins &Adhesives Ltd., used WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy in the rocket casing and for fairing the body. Steve Bennett, who heads the University’s Space Technology Laboratory, presented his 58′ Nova 2 rocket at the University and discussed how his company, Starchaser Industries Ltd. (Starchaser) plans to launch it next year with the help of school children from across the UK. Continue reading →

Dalotel Aircraft

Resurrection of the Dalotel DM 165

By Ray Ordorica

Above: The Dalotel DM 165 in flight.

I’ve had a strong interest in airplanes since I was a kid. I had always built model airplanes and went to air shows as often as possible. I loved the “warbirds,” and built many models of them, and of other more-common aircraft. Of course, I had always wanted to fly, to become a pilot, but for many reasons, I couldn’t make that happen. During my college years, my interest in aircraft waned, but after college, I moved to Alaska, and of course, aircraft are part of the Alaskan lifestyle. Continue reading →

The Flying Tigers rocket team with their finished 8' 4" rocket. From bottom left, clockwise: James Roesner, Richard Lester, Brad Parker, Kyle Smith and Brett Cockerill.

A Mile High in Huntsville

Building a competitive model rocket

By Brad Parker

The 2006 NASA Student Launch Initiative (SLI) began for the Flying Tigers, a competitive model rocket club at Caro High School, Michigan, when we accepted the 13th place award in the 2005 Team America Rocketry Challenge at The Plains, Virginia. At that point, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Approximately six months, and thousands of dollars and work hours later, we enjoyed the products of our labor with a perfect flight into the blue Tennessee sky. Continue reading →

epoxy rocket

Epoxy Rocket Science

Above: Palmer Hudson with his epoxy rocket, Glory. The rocket was 6″ in diameter and 9′ tall. The 3″ diameter motor was about 22″ long, with somewhere around 623 lb of thrust and a burn time of 2.6 seconds. 

Palmer Hudson’s epoxy rocket, Glory was built out of phenolic tubes covered with fiberglass cloth. All construction was done using the WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy and Fillers. Continue reading →

The 165' high hot air balloon J. Renee just before take off from an Illinois quarry in 1997.

Flight of the J. Renee

by Mike Barker

Just an hour after the hot air balloon took off from a quarry in Illinois, a helium cell in the balloon burst at 21,000 feet. Two hours later the 165′-tall balloon with its carbon fiber gondola landed in an Indiana cornfield. After bouncing and skidding across the snow-covered field, the capsule, with Kevin Uliassi safely tucked inside, snagged an irrigation rig, finally bringing it to a halt. Continue reading →