Hello Group:
I'm new to most of this rotary/airplane stuff. One thing I would like to see
is more sharing of idea's, facts, etc. in a database, so
we all aren't dupicating our time/money/R&D doing the same thing over and
over. I'd like to see a data base of info on the rotary engines and the people
who are into it. I have seen many people send JPEG, GIF pictures of their
idea's or someone elses. A lot of them don't include all the info
a person would need to make the part, etc. Now, I don't even know how many
people are on this list, let alone, know what their qualifications,
experiance, plane they fly, or what there building. Me, I'm a Railroad
Engineer by trade, 25 years, live in Ames, IA, (515-233-4166), Hobby
Machinist(Large bench mill, 12 x 37 Lathe, drill press), Hotrodder(Chevys),
Boater(24' Crownline, 454 CHEVY), into computers MAC & IBM(into Hobby
CAD/CAM), gun nut( mostly military/target rifles), reloading, hunting,
fishing, target shooting, etc. Kind of a jack of all trades, built my own
house 18 years ago. Some of the things I would like to see in this data base
are, CAD dxf files of parts, rotor housings, motor mounts, alternator
brackets, headers, fuel Injection, manifolds, water pumps, etc., PCB files
for the electronics that people have designed. It would save everyone a lot
of time trying to duplicate it all. With a CAD dxf file, or PCB file you get
all the info. With all the FREE CAD/PCB programs out there on the net,
everyone here should have one. A couple that come to mind are Turbocad, and
Intellicad. There is even some FREE CAD/CAM programs out there(DanCad/Cam,
Kellycam, TurboCam, EMC-Linux based), so we could have CNC files of the parts
also, so if someone needs a motor mount plate for say, Tracys redrive, he/she
could just download the CNC file to floppy disk, and take it to a local shop
and have it made if they can't make it them selfs. Or if it's something new,
that a bunch of people want, we could have a group purchase and save everyone
some money. One of a kind knock off, is more, than if you order 10-100+. Now,
I know some of the people here do sell their idea's, parts, etc. That's fine
to, we need a data base of them to, and what they sell. I would like to see a
database of the weak points of the rotary, 12A, 13B, 20B, and there fixes. A
database of parts needed for a rebuild and their part numbers, brand name,
supplier. Also, a database of rotary/airplane/car Links. Many people have a
bad habit of not including the url when they talk about a web site, not all
of us know what or who your talking about. A database of machine shops, mold
shops, electronic shops you all use, name, address, phone number for those
who don't have one locally. If you have any dxf, PCB, files you wish to share
relating to planes/rotarys please send them to me. Does anyone know of anyone
who mills new aftermarket rotor housings besides Mazda? Does any one have any
porting templates for the 12A, 13B, 20B rotary in either dxf, paper drawing,
steel, Alum, etc. I hear people talking about trying to find replacement
silicon O-rings that are better than what Mazda uses. Has anyone here
contacted Mazda directly and tried to get the spec's on the O-rings, instead
of guessing, trial and error. Maybe explain that your trying to use their
motor in a kit airplane. Maybe even share the short comings with Mazda R&D,
so they may make design changes in future rotarys engines. What about having
the housings machined for the American O-rings, maybe even relocating them a
little if possible. I haven't taken mine apart yet to see what I would change
in the design if possible. Just throwing out some idea's.
Rich Gillen
PS So far, I have bought Tracy's book, and Bruce's video, Madza Manuel, a
1979 12A carb motor, and a 86 13B Fuel Injected motor. Still debating which
kit plane to build, I like the DragonFly(12A), and the Velocity XL RG(13B).
Probably go with the Velocity XL RG.
PS For those of us who can't afford the high priced Cad/Cam software, you can
get just about anything Free off the net if you know where to look. Check out
Hotline software.
http://www.geocities.com/tedlampert/
http://ac2i.tzo.com/cgi-bin/search
http://www.hotlinehq.com/megasearch.cgi