Australian Belly Tank

[Dr Goggles]

Ok , boy did I get some action over the 'chute doors , much concerned comment ( no, not just you Jack )from either side of the Pacific as to
1./ How were the doors to be opened?
2./ What would secure them and prevent them from "flapping around" once they were open?
3./ would they clear the chute if the car was pointing in any direction other than the intended one?
4./where was the 'chute to be anchored?
5./ WTF were we thinking?...if we indeed were.......

here's a shot of the chute bay from side on with one door closed as you can see the door when open is fully below the hinge line ( the doors are opened by the spring drogue), the difficulty in securing or restraining is that it travels through 180 degrees , you can see the anchor at the left which is attached to the rear frame of the car .....for the mean time I have decided to use a short piece of hinge as the catch from which a pin will be pulled by cable .At this stage we need to stick with the KISS principle on several items here and just get everything in place , a concealed release will come later.....We have been through many ideas for the door "staying open" device ...it will come , but right now I say Nothing!!....and no, springs aren't the solution.....



Next up we have the jaw-line bars in the cage , not yet a critical item in the rules here but I haven't liked the feeling when sitting in the cage when the top of the helmet hits the upper horizontals , now the helmet has an inch or so either side and strikes the padding on upper and lower bars simultaneously , they look short but if they are as long as they can be without hindering egress and we'd be looking at a lot of belt ( and neck) stretch to even get close to the end of them......

[

Below is the home made vacupan arrangement which you can see wrapped up behind the headers and water pipe.....yes , we will be putting a heat shield under that rubber there



..............goin' late , and startin' early!

[Sumner]

   

This is very similar to yours ( I think you saw it before) and has worked very well for these guys.



Look at the large roller that the chute lines are hooked to in the pictures.  I would suggest you do away with the clevis pin you have in the picture and use something with a larger diameter.  The small diameter of the clevis pin won't fly with SCTA anymore and for good reason as the lines are stressed too much going around a small diameter.  I'm not saying what you have won't work as it has been used for years, but it doesn't take much effort to make it safer than that.

Are the pads around the helmet sfi. or something similar (soft/spongy or harder)?? 

Are you guys starting to feel rushed or do you have things under control??  I realize you are getting close to run time.  Any reports on the salt??  I wish I was able to come this year, but in '08 I'd better be there  .

As you have found out posting your build like you, I and others have done leaves yourself open to review to a bunch of people who can have varying opinions and ideas.  I've found it good, not that I've always followed what has been suggested to me, but it does make me look at something from a different angle and at times has gotten me past a difficult part of the build.

The best of luck to you guys,

Sum

[Glen]

Dr. Goggles
Get rid of the chain shackle as they are weak and we have had several break at Bonneville over the years and the chute come off. The picture that Sum posted is a better way to attach the tow line to.

[Dr Goggles]

I would suggest you do away with the clevis pin you have in the picture and use something with a larger diameter.  The small diameter of the clevis pin won't fly with SCTA anymore and for good reason as the lines are stressed too much going around a small diameter.  I'm not saying what you have won't work as it has been used for years, but it doesn't take much effort to make it safer than that.

Are the pads around the helmet sfi. or something similar (soft/spongy or harder)?? 

Are you guys starting to feel rushed or do you have things under control??  I realize you are getting close to run time.  Any reports on the salt??  I wish I was able to come this year, but in '08 I'd better be there  .

As you have found out posting your build like you, I and others have done leaves yourself open to review to a bunch of people who can have varying opinions and ideas.  I've found it good, not that I've always followed what has been suggested to me, but it does make me look at something from a different angle and at times has gotten me past a difficult part of the build.

The best of luck to you guys,

Sum

Ta Sum
 Yes the padding is SFI rated , in the space we had the options with what to do there were limited . As the cage was it met the rules however there were aspects that had me worried .I know that unless the helmet is isolated from the padding we might have vibration/visibility issues , hopefully the clearance we have will do ....as part of our team we are flying in an expert from Borneo who is a member of one of the head-shrinking tribes.

Fair comment on the shackle , I have wondered about the instantaneous load , the sustained loading wouldn't be a problem but at deployment...you may have something . At the moment prioritizing what we want to do AND what we have to do in the tiny amount of space that remains in the car is becoming increasingly difficult , it's like the fire alarm has gone off at the Jenny Craig clinic......


I am wide open for comment here and willing to take all comers....the most appreciated is from those with the most experience who have devoted serious thought to what they have done , however , there is also some worth in the "dumb" questions that some people ask....even the strangest queries can make you think about something in fresh light or force you to justify or rationalize a decision .

It doesn't matter who asks the question or what it is the only guaranteed wrong answer is "I dunno" .

The salt is by all reports good to excellent , there has been enough water to dissolve the mud that wrecked it last year and although there have been heavy storms as long as there are no prevailing northerly winds in the week before the even it should be AOK.

The Rev. says to me sometimes ...." I get the feeling you're in "rush" mode?"...........Sum , I'm always in "rush" mode......

[Reverend Hedgash]

Thanks Sum, thanks Glen. All comments are appreciated.

And yes, again it feels like we are under the pump. The list on the blackboard has stuff crossed off each weekend, but it also seems like a few more items keep getting added balancing it out.

The good news is the car just keeps getting better, and safer. Faster? Well we'll burn that bridge when we get to it.

Doesn't help when I have a fifty hour week job and just bought a farm that needs some input too!

Six weeks to go, which is five weekends of work time available to go...

Nearly there. Four years of work.

rH+

[Sumner]

.......................and just bought a farm that needs some input too.................

You should of consulted with me first  .  I could of told you all about milking cows twice a day getting the hogs back in the pen, wringing chickens necks, and taking care of horses that had less brains than the cows............

.............oh well I guess you will figure it all out............just make sure the Doc doesn't buy a farm also, then you would really be doomed  ,

Can't wait to see the farm a year from now,

Sum

[Dr Goggles]

wringing chickens necks,
Sum

 ...he's always "wringing the chicken's neck".......

[Reverend Hedgash]

Sum,
I wasn't aware of your hogs and chickens...

We want to have rare breed pigs to fight off that satan Monsanto. Don't get me started on GM food!!!

Anyway the Lady Hedgash bought 4 ducks and two chickens over Christmas and so I had to build a foxproof, snake proof hutch in 43 degree celcius heat (over 100 in ancient units) over the break.

What's the best way to kill a duck? I'm not too keen on the neck snapping method. Especially when the white one has been named after The Stig from BBC's Top Gear!

I reckon they'll be the most expensive dinner I've ever had.

Rev H+

Does anyone think this is too off topic?

[Dr Goggles]

Does anyone think this is too off topic?

Hey Reverend MacDonald ,
can you send some of your mates over , we need to get quacking on the paint job......

BTW I see people carrying on about GM food , don't see anyone complaining about Ford food ,

what gives?

[Sumner]

..............What's the best way to kill a duck? I'm not too keen on the neck snapping method.....

.........with a shotgun..............


I only wrung a couple chickens necks.  Pretty gross.  I used a hatchet on all the rest.  The chickens were the easiest to keep, but you do have to keep them penned at night, at least where I was or something was going to eat them.  They are at the bottom of the list as far as smart.  I went in the chicken house once and a skunk was eating one and the others just came in and jumped up next to the chicken eating skunk and went into a box to lay an egg.  The only one dumber than a chicken is someone who would shoot said skunk with a shotgun in the chicken house.  I won't name names, but you might know who I'm talking about,

Sum

[wolcottjl]

..............What's the best way to kill a duck? I'm not too keen on the neck snapping method.....

.........with a shotgun..............
Sum

And if the shotgun doesn't work you still end up wringing the neck.  Kind of sick when the head stays in your hand and the body goes flying, not under its own power. 

We used to duck hunt a lot when I was a kid.  One of the best places was on top of an old rock and earthen dam.  When dad shot a duck it was my job to go down the rocks and get it.  The dogs had a hard time getting down.  Not all of them were dead.  Found the quickest way to wring the neck was to swing the duck in a circle and jerk your arm up at the bottom of the arc.   This was when I was about 7, if I was to give my kids a half dead duck they would go into convulsions.   Times have changed. 


BTW - This is one of the threads I check every day.  Wish you the best of luck!  No matter how much time you have left it is never enough. 

[Dr Goggles]

....so much for the saying "you lucky duck".......with chooks the tricks is to hang 'em upside down for ten minutes or so , they pass out , then you can separate the egg laying bit from the pecking bit without too much trouble.....I've only got one hen at the moment , Jackie , she's brown , Jack who was black turned up dead a while back and no, she was buried whole 'cause ya can't eat a six year old chook.

whichever way you choose to do it and whether it be dooks or chucks ( you know what I mean)   you're gonna have to get the feathers off, some duck shooters use a thing like a propellor...now , I know someone who's got just the thing and it 's mobile , well , kind of......try

propsterguy@aol.com 

Meanwhile the car is sitting out there in the shed , and the clock is ticking......

Yesterday I took our parachute to a " parachute guy" who checked it over , yes he said it is just what we want and it will provide 2g at 200mph , he's tidying up a few lines , putting on a kevlar shroud on the anchor line and making a new drogue.........

[PJQ]

Conditions at Lake Gairdner.
What, a deviation on the build tabloid.

Forum post and pics from guys that went to the lake at Christmas...
http://www.dlra.org.au/forum/viewtopic.php?t=735

And this sat map of the track is really cool (to anyone that's been there).
Thanks to Greg, the DLRA web site guy.


.. back to the farm.

[hitz]

  Dr G and the Rev,
   
    You may have the most known Belly Tank Lakester in the world and it hasn't even been on the lake yet! I love that it's home built and on a low budget.

    At 200 MPH with your scoop and louvers it may have a special sound also. Maybe whistle or hum. 

    Thanks to Jon for his work on this web site and for both of you for keeping us all informed.

    If you haven't come up with a chute door controller yet, let me know an I'll send you a sketch to throw on the pile of ideas that you probably already have.     I have a sketch that only I can read but I could redraw it, scan and send it e-mail to you.

[Dr Goggles]

      At 200 MPH with your scoop and louvers it may have a special sound also. Maybe whistle or hum. 

     I have a sketch that only I can read but I could redraw it, scan and send it e-mail to you.

done Harv' I PM'd you......as for the scoop , I think I mentioned earlier that the scoop isn't onto an airbox .........we're well aware of the issues associated with calculating the correct size scoop . As it was the boundary layer would have been beginning to separate as it came over the top of the car right about where the throttle bodies were poking through the cowl , we needed some type of intake . Without the time necessary to remap the fuel injection or, more specifically to do the calculations and then build something accurate we figured the simple solution for the mean time was to make something that at least stopped the air from flowing over the throttle bodies at 90 degrees , yes it's crude but we can partially block it up if need be whereas if we noticed the car suddenly losing power at a certain speed once we got to the lake ( remembering it's only done 100mph so far) then we'd be in trouble.

thanks to everyone for their contributions most of course to Mr Amo for maintaining the forum , and thanks for the interest.

Dr Goggles
DLRA #374

BTW here's a link to a "competing" forum where there were some beautiful unpublished photo's of Bob Roddicks including some rippers of the Brown/Hooper tank and a group shot of some of the seminal Bonneville cars.....
feast your eyes.....

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=1606