Subject: Bellhousing
From: ACRE
Date: 8/31/2004, 11:35 PM


The new mold looks good George! Keep after it,
Bill Jepson

Thanks Bill ,
Like I said previously I used 5mm Core cell to get a  even thickness through
out (with surface layer of glass) - It came out pretty good. However it
warped badly as it cured over a couple of weeks - I managed to pull it back
though and temporarily reinforced it internally, until I can  get all the
support structure around it, like the flange ( done)the centre face ring
(done) and the face stiffeners (being done).

There's always draw - backs and dramas, especially with  such a light thin
pattern made from a composite, but hopefully I'm on top of it now!

As Paul said there is a lot of flexibility, thanks to Butch's problem
solving abilities and believe me when you get past the very basic
bellhousing design parameters, the design starts to get tricky.

Tolerances are extremely tight in some areas and Butch's design and CAD
ability have been invaluable - I couldn't have gotten to this stage without
his obvious skills in engineering and design.

The flexibility built into this design is it takes
1. Tracy's PSRU - I feel sure it would accommodate the Ross as well.

2. It takes the Aussie design PSRU, mind you the Aussie design has been
modified since Butch got hold of it. It would be fair to say it a result of
a joint effort now, as is the bellhousing.

3. It doubles as a engine mounting platform.

4. It has the facility for 3 starter positions - 3, 6 and 9 ( O;clock
roughly)  and can accommodate different starters, Manual ( Tracy's),
Turbo( Aussies), Auto, Subaru ( maybe)  and another one Butch has
identified.

5. It can accommodate both manual flywheel and auto flexplates.

6. Hopefully we can incorporate the facility for much narrower cowl
requirements ( still some problems there). A good die cast pattern would
solve this problem.

7. Mounting points for PSRU stiffeners in Aerobatic use.

Just tell me if we have missed any requirements ?

One of the big advanatges is,  Butch has the computer generated engineering
facility to test designs to predetermined limits with all the variables of
aircraft demands - this takes a lot of guess work out of the project and
it's fair to say that we have had our share of failures.

George (down under)


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