Springfield Flyer.

[tauruck]

Rex, thanks for the kind words. You guys all keep me going. It's lonely here. Guys come over and don't know the front from the back. . I'm a little tight on space. I  need a foot. What's the advice on me cutting the chassis and adding the extra space?. It won't be a butt weld. As for age from what I see this isn't a young guy's game. I've learnt from you all.

[floydjer]

Mike....Scroll down to the Willie's Builds thread and click on "Butt welds". The only way to do it right.

[Stainless1]

Yep, pretty much what we did when we stretched the Bockscar a foot so I could fit after Johnboy's spin in 1999.  It's been a while but I think we turned solid to fit instead of using tube.

[tauruck]

Thanks all but I'm not cutting.
I'll find a solution.

[kiwi belly tank]

Stretching a liner has happened a lot. Back in 91 we stretched the Herbert Steen monocoque liner 6ft to fit the two seven speed B&J's. It was built out of 1/2" 7075 T6 plate with a whole $hitpile of countersunk bolts & glue & ended up being 37ft long. My single engine pile of parts came out at 40ft but it's got a whole lot of tail! I had to find an extra 2 1/2" when the O/D units came out longer than planed, the front one worked out ok but the rear one took some head scratching & finagling.
  Sid.

[tauruck]

Sid, this game is all about imagination and building ten steps ahead.
I was warned not to go over 40'. If the advisor was wrong I'd be styling right now.
I need a foot or 2. Seems like the best place for a possible extension would be out back behind the gas tank.
That sits behind the rear axle. I think going in between the chute tubes and the tank is option I'll look at.

[tauruck]

Guys, I finally got the chassis braces sorted.

Glad I found my mistake when I did.
If I ever had doubts on the integrity on my welds they were put to bed.
It took about two hours to cut and grind the one old Clevis off of the back of the roll hoop.
The new locator is also in a better position. I have 8" in height I never had and space
for the bag of snakes coming from the turbos.

I fabbed up the four brackets that hold the Nitrogen bottles for the parachute release system and used some 5mm
Carbon plates I had made for wing end plates on another project that a "client" walked away from. Tom had some misgivings about me using
gas and solenoids for the chutes. I know the system will work but being the good student I am I have Haigh from Star Spring making me two coil springs
that will work with pins and a cable for backup. My problem is how will I know if the air system fails and how fast my hands will be?.

What's a reasonable percentage on testing the air system?. 88 out of 100?.
Pics when I download WinZip again for pic reduction. The evaluation deal only lasted a month.

I've decided to can the Kevlar tank I had for my water injection system and build a new unit that will fit in the nose area because there's space there.

Waiting for decisions to be made on the engineering. The kid I was training on composites scored an awesome position with a Dutch shipbuilder so his CAD skills went
with him. Theo has said he's all in on CAD, materials and machining but so far the courier hasn't pitched and I'm not going to bug him. South Africa goes into limp mode around about now. I'm thinking January on engineering. Two things I fear, one is not having the right stuff in December because everyone that keeps it is closed and second is leaving my samples/components in some guy's shop over the holidays, Things grow legs here and any metal thieves can get their hands on will go to scrap.


My new AC/DC welding machine is being held up at the harbour because of the railway workers strike. TIA (this is Africa).
Daily power cuts are still in full swing and now they're talking of "water shifting"!!!!!!!. The terms they come up with are mind blowing. 

Back to the grindstone. I'm on a roll. The roller coaster will run until the next blackout!!!!!.

[SPARKY]

Mike to your question  how will I know and how fast will my hand be?

I had very same thoughts---so

 I can deploy the 1st chute by the flick of my right thumb, not removing from steering position--my primary is on a solenoid, then I roll my hand off the steering wheel, and thrust forward with the heel of my hand to pushing a big knob, my backup activation which is a "push system".

I then rotate my hand and I grasp the second chute T handle which is a pull to deploy as needed.

If I had 3 chutes I would have it on a lever that would be a push   

The T handle is at the end of the travel distance for the knob,  the lever for the 3 chute would be located at the end of the pull for the 2nd chute,

 short push for backup deploy of 1st chute, do every time,  short pull on T handle if I want to deploy 2nd chute, short push on lever to deploy 3rd chute.

The best to you brother with Your version of OUR sick addiction!!

[tauruck]

Thanks Sparky.

My steering wheel has modern single seater layout similar to F1/Indy Car.
Top buttons left and right within easy reach of my thumbs are probably the most expensive score ever on my project.
My buddy Ian buys only the best units from RoHs in Switzerland. He ordered 10 and was sent 100!. I was given 14 indent switches. 

I don't have to change my grip at all to release either chute. After what you just wrote I'll install a T handle I made when I was originally building the truck.
I'll have to figure something else for chute #2. From what I've heard and seen on video I might be too late but hey this all about the journey Right?.
I'll get it figured out.

Every post I make comes back with great advice. Thank you brother. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[floydjer]

My understanding is that all controls on a fuel drag car operate by pushing them....Except the fire bottles....Eliminates confusion when you upside down on fire traveling backwards. Carry on, JB

[kiwi belly tank]

My preference on everything for emergency is push or hit. When everything goes pear shaped especially when visibility is lost it's hard to find a pull handle with gloves on. My chute releases are all slap levers above my left & right hands, 3 each side. Two driver fire bottles are slap above my shoulders & two engine bottles are push above the wheel. If I can't steer this thing in normal conditions with one hand I have no business being there & if it's crashing the last thing I need to be doing is hunting for controls on a steering wheel that is not in the straight ahead position or going berzerk in front of me & holding onto the wheel during a crash is likely to injure your hands. I also have a separate bailout handle that releases the hatch, steering column & leg net all in one hit.
  Sid.

[tauruck]

Where I might run I don't need chutes except for a Yaw issue. 25 miles of nothing ahead. 
The fire system on the liner is fully automated. Even the sensors have sensors!!!!. Enough for a tour bus should be enough for me.

That's all fine and I can have a giggle about it but if she does run Atheists will convert because the truth is I have about $5,000 total in the liner.
Everything came from sponsors or barter deals. You guys want a miracle?, You can't handle a miracle. Got no work coming in.
My missus who is my only benefactor was retrenched in May and we're living off of her unemployment fund. We live a simple life. No frills.

In late September she fell in the garden and broke her Femur right at the hip joint. I heard the dogs going nuts and thought they were fighting with the neighbour's dogs through the fence.
It got crazy so I came out of the shop to check. She standing holding the pitch fork saying "I'm in big trouble". I thought it went through her foot. It was a crutch of sorts.

I asked her to move her foot while I had my hand on her hip. Grinding like a busted wheel bearing. Now we need an ambulance. You can't get through. I have this wheelchair my vet amputee buddy gave me so I load her in the car and all six dogs bail in.
No bueno because they're going to sit in a hot car for hours. Trying to get them out was impossible.

I call my Army buddy Gabriel to help.  He's sharp this dude. Hey Mikey, I'll get the Jewish Ambulance service!. 10 minutes bro. Now I'm thinking no medical insurance, no bucks.
This woman calls and wants details and eventually we tell her we don't have insurance and need to go to a public hospital. No charge. We'll have a crew there in 10.

Cool dudes. Took her vitals and offered pain relief. 79 year old chick who doesn't look or act her age has a BP of 129/80 and she's stressed!.
You panic because this thing can't be repaired at home and the hospitals ain't what they used to be.

Short story is they left her in a ward for 5 days feeding her over the counter pain killers before transporting her to a bigger facility because they had no water.
Surgery done. Full hip replacement done under Epidural. She's a trooper. From what I've seen once they get that "walker" they don't come back. Within three weeks she dumped the walker and is rolling around like nothing ever happened. Thank God.

I live on faith alone. We're surviving and I have enough materials and welding gas to get me by but this is just one of the obstacles I have to overcome.
This is the motorsports version of the movie "12 Strong". You need KILLER EYES!!!!.

The book will be called "How NOT to go motor racing".
How many women have a pull up bar over their beds tig welded at home???. I'm guessing one!. 

My life. I'm the guy that warned kids not to get involved and buy golf clubs instead. Chinese wheel bearings, diff stolen along with money, broken promises, lies, you name it and I'm still trying because you guys stuck with me from day one. Thank you. NOT ONE NEGATIVE COMMENT in thousands of posts.
You're special people.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[tauruck]

I fitted the new bars to the chassis.
Now I have space to add what needs to go in.
All add some removable braces after the turbo plumbing is done.

[floydjer]

Crikey mate....I see $5K in tubing. 😐

[Lemming Motors]

Chute release discussion is interesting - I have never run and defer to everyone who has but I thought you might be interested in my solution; I only need one chute but there are two buttons on the dash, one for each thumb with hands on the wheel in the straight ahead - either one activates a solenoid.
Backup, per the rules, is mechanical - in this case a 33C morse cable activated by a genuine Martin Baker ejector seat loop (the yellow and black stripy ones) that is situated between my legs - it is out of the way and the action is almost impossible to release accidentally getting in but it also seems very natural, as a guy, to reach down between your legs with cupped hands when things get scary.