There is a renewed excitement in the Team 51 camp with the addition of a couple of new members that are turning into key people for the continuing forward motion of the project. I have added Del and Ed's bios in the Team page so you can meet the "new" guys. Murdo is making progress in the buildup of components for the racer, and most importantly, has finally been able to procure some new rolls of material. The biggest issue at the moment seems to be the ability to obtain rolls of carbon-fiber material. The aircraft building industry has scooped up most of the available materials due to the growing trend toward carbon and graphite construction of large portions of the new aircraft.
The display motor that Murdo has assembled with a lot of help from Ed and a few others is ready to be deployed as a way to generate interest in the project and possibly recruit more members. The engine page has been updated with the latest pictures. With many of the pieces either powder coated by Spectrum Powder Coatings of Coeur d'Alene and General Plating of Los Angeles, it shows that we are doing our best to show that we are a quality organization and sincere in our desire to field a serious racer in the future. I met with Murdo and Del this past Sunday, and though there is much work still to be done, it was obvious that progress is being made. Murdo and Team51 member Holly were working on repairing and cleaning the fuselage molds to prepare them for the lay-up of the fuselage halves. Additionally Murdo has found some of the adhesives he needs for construction and has proceeded to begin the buildup of two horizontal stabs, having begun the gluing process of the spar into the first. Murdo has also found a local supplier where we can obtain the material for rib-stock, which will be an important part of the structural integrity of the flying surfaces.
One other piece of news is that Murdo is considering the possibility of using turbos to augment the power on the engine. He has a couple of turbos that he is going to use for a mock-up with the display engine. The reason for exploring this is the lack of G model engines with the two stage blower, which was the ultimate power package for the Allison V-1710. The turbo was used with excellent results in the P-38, (and highly successful in the ranks of the Unlimited Hydroplane racers, but the configuration of the aircraft or boats, and their engines was obviously much better suited to those applications. It is in the idea stage at this point, and not without merit. It will be interesting to see how this concept develops.
Stay tuned as we progress. The dream is becoming a reality, slowly but surely.