Hunting for microknots

[CubersWrist]

Back from Reno and nothing is broken. Time to tear it all apart and get to work!

[GRNDP51]

Re: Hunting for microknots

Back from Reno and nothing is broken. Time to tear it all apart and get to work!
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Can't wait to see what happens! I just noticed that it probably isn't a common modification to do but it might help a lot, Tom McNerney did some work to eliminate the hinges hanging down from the wing on his Legacy. Maybe that could be in the future for you guys??

[CubersWrist]

Re: Hunting for microknots

Can't wait to see what happens! I just noticed that it probably isn't a common modification to do but it might help a lot, Tom McNerney did some work to eliminate the hinges hanging down from the wing on his Legacy. Maybe that could be in the future for you guys??

Yes it is. If you look at old pictures showing the belly you’ll notice we’ve been removing the flap brackets. It’s a 4+ hour pain in the butt, especially on Sunday night after the banquet. Should make our lives during race week a lot better.

[Dudewanarace]

Re: Hunting for microknots

Packing up my tools and headed that way this weekend to assist with the mods. After I do my post Reno maintenance on Unleashed that is. Check for anything odd, change the oil, inspect filter, yadda yadda.

[GRNDP51]

Re: Hunting for microknots

Packing up my tools and headed that way this weekend to assist with the mods. After I do my post Reno maintenance on Unleashed that is. Check for anything odd, change the oil, inspect filter, yadda yadda.

Awesome to hear! Can't wait to see how it turns out. Keep us posted

Any recent progress on your Legacy? 2018?

And to Thomas, is 30 going to get a new wrap for next year? Looks a little out of shape

[Desertdawg]

Re: Hunting for microknots

Thanks for the post and sharing your progress.

Looks like your recliner has a special purpose

[CubersWrist]

Re: Hunting for microknots

Awesome to hear! Can't wait to see how it turns out. Keep us posted

And to Thomas, is 30 going to get a new wrap for next year? Looks a little out of shape

No new wrap, but plans are to get some fresh paint.

Glad to share what we're working on. The team has so many cool people that pool their individual expertise to make this happen. Honestly there is never a dull month.

[CubersWrist]

Re: Hunting for microknots

Race #30 is back upright with a freshly sanded and primed belly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n72Jw8SHeuM

[CubersWrist]

Re: Hunting for microknots

The evolution of the intake:



This was last year's mod. We realized since the plane doesn't have intercoolers, there was no reason for the intakes to run all the way back and around the engine. Rerouted the pipe and cut the pipe length and number of bends in half to reduce pressure drop and weight.



And this year, cut the pipe length and number of bends in half again. Andy had the idea while the engine was off the plane. Amazing how your perspective changes when a few pieces are missing. Realized we had been boxing ourselves in with the split intake. Once you cut the $3000 intake on a band saw, everything worked great.

[Bob]

Re: Hunting for microknots

time for a chemical intercooler and all of its benefits.

[CubersWrist]

Re: Hunting for microknots

time for a chemical intercooler and all of its benefits.

Already there. We pull out the passenger seat in Reno and in goes the ADI tank.

[CubersWrist]

Re: Hunting for microknots

No pictures yet, but Race 30 is away getting completely resurfaced (think what we did to the belly....but everywhere). This will be the smoothest its been since the belly mod. Which then begs the question of what will the finished product look like. The answer is...different, but I can tell you that at least one part of the plane will be STIHL orange.

Main thing I care about is it will be painted rather than a vinyl wrap. This is great because the wrap would get beat up and leave big holes that like to create lots of drag. An example of this was demonstrated in 2017. On Saturday (or maybe it was Friday...either way) we ran less manifold pressure while maintaining the same speed on the course. The only thing we changed was we filled in all those gouges with Bondo and sanded them smooth. Additional perk is all the sponsor decals will be painted under the clearcoat so lots of drag savings there too.

This also opens up new opportunities to experiment with different waxes and application methods. Because the wrap doesn't like wax, we've been limited to cleaning with water or very weak cleaning solutions, so we're looking to get some more speed there as well.

Like the last 3 years we will be getting a new propeller from McCauley. During the design and analysis of the propeller they discovered one week's worth of racing will put the propeller into its fatigue life. Think of taking a wire and bending it back and forth. Repeat this enough times and the wire will eventually snap with no warning. Obviously this would be bad on an airplane going 410mph so we're getting a new one.

I think that's all for now.

Gotta beat Jeff!

[Desertdawg]

Re: Hunting for microknots

Orange is good

Your vinyl wrap vs paint comparison makes sense.

Then clear coating the paint and experimenting with waxes will let you chase more micro knots. :-)

Can't wait to see her.

Thanks for the update.

[CubersWrist]

Re: Hunting for microknots

Paint teaser!

[Reever]

Re: Hunting for microknots

This thread is one of the most informative and educational. Thank you for the updates.