Buzzard Trike Restoration

[eastmeg2]

There was no progress on the Queens Birthday long weekend (6th-8th June) as we were too busy having friends over for a bonfire and being merry.

 

This weekend just gone (13th, 14th June) I've started on the electrics, installing the EGT and CHT probes.

 

Cabled and wired the probes as well as the other engine electrics (Tacho wire, Dual ignition kill wires and dual ground cables) to the front of the trike. But have not terminated them into the panel or switches yet as I'm still waiting on an hour meter and am still trying to decide whether to mount the ignition switches on the side of the seat frame like airborne do on their current model trikes, or mount them on the binacle dash panel.

 

I am leaning towards mounting the ignition switches on the dash panel. I just think it will be a tidier option for this trike.

 

The electrical cables still look rather messy along the side of the trike as I wont be cable tying them to the frame until I also have the throttle and choke cables installed and will tie them all together in one neat bundle, I hope.

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[eastmeg2]

I finally got around to doing a hang test yesterday afternoon (including pilot in seat). Boy was I shocked to see the rear wheels 100mm off the ground before the front wheel started lifting.

 

I seem to remember some "Old Salts" of pilots who'd flown Buzzards before mentioning that they tended to do "3-Point" landings, (as opposed to later, more evolved trike designs which land the rear wheels first) but this was rediculous !!! ;-(

 

I have no intention of flying a trike that wants to land nose wheel first every time.

 

I thought up some theories about force vectors and how the trike base interacts with the wing but in the end realised the only real definitive way to get through this problem is to do a comparitive hang test on a trike base known to have good manners.

 

So we did a hang test on our Edge-X 582 trike base.

 

The result was the front wheel was 100mm off the ground as the rear wheels start to lift.

 

HHHMMMMM !!!!! Back to the drawing board . . . DEEP in thought as I went for walks and installed a couple of trivial things like steering damper, exhaust safety wire, connected the brake cable.

 

To raise the nose in the hang test the hang point must move forwards.

 

I made up a frame That bolted to the hang point at the top of the mast and was held down at the front by rope to the front of the base tube. I inserted a bolt a various distances forward of the heart bolt hole as the "new" hang point for testing.

 

A "new" hang point 150mm forward of the heart bolt hole gave what I deemed to be an acceptable result of the nose wheel being 50mm off the ground before the rear wheels lifted. Although this is only half the height achieved by our Stock-Standard Edge-X 582, there is some more weight yet to be added to the rear of the Buzzard, namely propellor, battery, regulator, carbs, bucket of lead ;-)

 

Also of note is that the mast angle from vertical is only about 11 degrees, compared to about 18 degrees on the Edge-X 582.

 

I haven't made the changes yet as I want a week to think about it and seek guidance and feedback first from others who have owned, flown, modified Buzzards.

 

Contributing factors:

 

1. Tundra tyres and forks hold the front of the trike 105mm higher and the rear of the trike 30mm higher. In the hang test that puts the front tyre 75mm closer to the ground before the back wheels lift, compared to the original Buzzard tyres and forks.

 

2. The Rotax 503 engine is lighter than the original Rotax 532 + radiator + coolant (??? I think).

 

My solution:

 

Making the seat frame 40mm shorter and shortening the front brace tube to suit will bring the top of the mast forward by 155mm. That doesn't affect the seat space for the pilot, only for what was originally a passenger seat space and as a Buzzard can only be rego'ed as a single seater these days that slight loss of "rear seat" space is no longer an issue.

 

The new Edge-X mast and front brace tube (modified) are the same dimensions as the original Buzzard items so the result of the first hang test yesterday was a big suprise. However, with the different (Tundra) tyres and forks and lighter engine some change should have been expected.

 

Photo's of hang tests will be posted in the next few days, have to wait for them to be emailed to me.

 

Suggestions and comments are welcome . . .

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[skeptic36]

Hi Glen,

 

Wondering where your at with the fuel tank, is it installed yet? and if so is it possible to move it a little further to the rear. I'm thinking that it may not take a lot to correct the problem when you can shift items from the front to the rear you double the effect because you lighten the front while adding to the rear.

 

While shortening the seat frame has no effect on passenger space, will it make it uncomfortable for the pilot reaching the foot pegs?

 

Regards Bill

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Hi Bill,

 

As you will see in the attached photo's there isn't any scope for moving the fuel tank. That's the original Buzzard tank in the photo's, I'm still waiting for the much newer tank from the local Quicksilver Ultralight dealer.

 

The rear of the seat frame is attached to the mast, so the length of the seat frame and where it attaches to the base tube determines the angle of the mast WRT the base tube. So to move the hang point forward I need to either shorten the seat frame to keep the pilots distance to the footpegs the same, or move the front of the seat forward.

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

 

 

 

[skydog]

I just read thru this thread and you have come a long way in a short time Glen, just wanted to say well done. Photos looking good.

 

I dont know anything much about this type of aircraft but I did enjoy two flights in a trike, yours looks looks like a fun machine.

 

This thread is a great example of how well this website works to help everyone out and grow the recreational flyer spirit.

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Hi SD,

 

Thanks for your words of encouragement.:thumb_up:

 

There seemed to be no shortage of threads of people building their own 3-axis ultralights, but no one building a trike and I'm happy to be the first on this site to put a trike building project into a thread.

 

Speaking with Airborne yesterday, they suggested I bring the Buzzard back to the factory before I cut any metal. I've emailed them the 3 photo's in my previous post. I have to take it there to get new rear suspension bungees fitted anyway.

 

Still don't have a wing for it yet but have been told by Airborne that the Arrow-II wing is actually is an Airborne wing (Moyes sail on an Airborne wing structure) and it is a trike wing, not an adapted HG wing. So I'll collect the Arrow-II wing that was offered with the Buzzard and see if Airborne think it can be salvaged with an overhaul.

 

(Yes I have a GRS on my XT, and will be putting it on the Buzzard)

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[eastmeg2]

I've picked up the Arrow-II wing on Saturday and set it up in the back yard.

 

First impressions looking at the wing were not very positive. There was quite visible corrosion on a lot of steel bolts and several places in joints where aluminium corrosion (white powder of death) was also visible.

 

The mylar leading edge of the right wing also has a large repair patch.

 

On the positive side, the structure appears to be sound and the sail, while a bit dirty, the material appears to be quite strong with no soft patches or weak points and the stitching is quite solid.

 

I'm in two minds as to whether to scrap the wing now, or take it to Airborne for a further assesment and asking where their nearest garbage tip is.

 

In the end I have to decide whether it's worth spending money on this wing versus a 2nd Hand Wizard wing and then whether I'd trust it with my life, GRS or no GRS.

 

Will post some wing photo's soon.

 

 

[eastmeg2]

On the other hand, if anyone is looking for an early trike wing for a museum display I may consider donating it.

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Pheonix, or just a lame Duck?

 

The basic structure and sail seem to be ok. Will see when I get it to the factory. If they decide it's worth a look and we get the sail off and things still look recoverable for this wing and if the overhaul costs won't be too high . . .

 

There's a lot of "and if's" in that previous paragraph.

 

Can anyone recommend how to get rust and mud stains out of a sail? The sail itself is otherwise in quite good contition apart from a large adhesive repair patch on one of the leading edges - which will be taken into the overall consideration.

 

i_dunno

 

The Jury seems to be out, haven't seen any or :no no: yet.

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[eastmeg2]

It looks like a Duck, walks like a Duck etc, it's :yuk:

 

 

[skeptic36]

Hi Glen,

 

Thats bad luck, with that much corrosion I wouldn't use it either.

 

Re the rust stains, I used to manufacture/repair canvas products in a former life and if rust stains were anymore than superficial it generaly weakened the fabric considerably to the point that if it was too bad you could push your thumb straight through.

 

Regards Bill

 

 

[eastmeg2]

On the Happy Side of things.

 

At least the instrument panel is coming along well.

 

The problems I had earlier with the Altimeter being out of adjustment were overcome by a train of thought started by Punkinhead Airsports and then being on the phone with a friendly trike CFI telling me how to make the adjustment myself.

 

It's essentially finished apart from the Hour meter I'm still waiting on.

 

My Father who's an electronics Guru has designed a circuit to Charge the battery and only run the hour meter when the engine is running, using a Powermate Regulator I bought at Natfly Fly-Market for $75 this year.

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

 

[eastmeg2]

I've got another visit to Airborne coming up this Friday 17th to fit new rear suspension bungees since I don't have the tools or technique to do that myself.

 

On the weekend I managed to install the fuel pump, fuel tap and plumb them up to the carburettors. Quicksilver is hopeful the fuel tank will be available next week.

 

Will also get them to fit the instrument panel (see photo in the previous post) into the binnacle since they have the technique of doing that quickly and making it look tidy. I'm just very busy each night after work this week completing the wiring from the engine, to the battery charging circuit, to the Tacho, Hour Meter and accessories power circuit in the instrument panel.

 

I've not got a Battery yet but that's fairly irrelevant for what I want to do this week, which includes correctly pitching the prop and getting the motor started during my factory visit on Friday. I'll use a special fuel tank for that test run.

 

Another angle I've decided to explore before I go changing the angle of the dangle is the likelihood that I'll be adding another 15kg to the rear of the trike in the form of a battery (5kg 12Ah - might be that bucket of lead I mentioned ???) and a GRS parachute (10kg). I'll just have to repeat the hang test after I've added those items.

 

I'll try to get some more photo's in before the Friday factory visit.

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[eastmeg2]

I'm off to Newcastle tonight to stay near the factory to get a fresh and early start in the morning.

 

Have tidied up the fule plumbing with some protective spiral wrap where there's potential for chafing and have the basic wiring needed to run and monitor the engine up to plug-in stage. It's just the battery and accessories (radio, GPS, landing light) power circuit that still needs a bit of work.

 

Some photo's taken this morning before work are attached here, the wiring's still a bit messy at the moment, which will be tidied up once I'm satisfied there's nothing more to add.

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tracktop]

I assume it was the buzzard "flew" past me on the F3 at about 8:30pm

 

Speed looks good - No wing and all:hittinghead:

 

You didn't wave.

 

trailer 4040?

 

I was in a laden truck going up a hill

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Hi Tracktop,

 

Yes that was me. Just had to check my trailer rego then.

 

Here's your wave . . . Just Kidding . . .

 

Got the rear suspension bungees and an hour meter fitted (yet to be connected), replaced a bunch of other bolts that had been temporarily used to hold on fuel pump brackets etc, connected all the wires to the instrument panel, bolted on the prop etc . . . wheeled the Buzzard out the back of the factory, started the motor and ran it for a few minutes. I was tempted to see what the maximum static revs are but thought the better of it, that I should only do that after the break in procedure and during taxi tests rather than trying to hold it still.

 

It feels like I've reached such a big milestone to get the new motor started for the first time.

 

The Tacho, ignition switches and EGT's all worked straight away. With the CHT's I was a bit more patient but after a couple of minutes when they still didn't move I reversed the polarity of the wires and then the CHT's worked too.

 

I feel like I'm so close to finishing it now, though there's another couple of dozen hours work remaining to fit a battery, wire the accessories power circuit and landing light, tidy up the wiring and then fix that hang angle problem.

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[Tracktop]

That " " would look good on the back of your trailer

 

 

[eastmeg2]

This weekend I've wired up the hour meter, accessories power circuit and landing light switch and circuit in the panel and this afternoon properly fitted the panel into the Binnacle.

 

Hope I got it all right. i_dunno

 

almost looks ready for action.:hump:

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[skeptic36]

Hi Glen

 

I am wondering if Airborne had anything to say regarding the hang angle problem.

 

 

Regards Bill

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Hi Bill,

 

Airborne repeated what they earlier said, that I should shorten the seat frame to tilt the mast forward.

 

I want to try a wing on first to make sure the control bar will still be in a good position.

 

Next weekend I'll try on the Streak wing from the other red trike before I make that decision final. That's assuming the A-frame on the Streak wing is the same as that on the Wizard and provided the weather is calm enough to open the hangar doors and pull the trikes out.

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Saturday morning I went through the Rotax break-in procedure though with a bit of care as it became evident that the 64 inch 3 bladed Ivo prop is not matched to the Rotax503 with a 3.47 reduction ratio gearbox. Increasing the pitch and trying again didn't solve the problem of reaching redline on less than full power and the EGT gauges showed up the problem too, with the EGT's reading between the upper nominal and maximum values. This makes sense since the Ivo prop previously lived on the back of a 2.58 ratio B-Type gearbox. In hindsight I should have ordered a 2.62 ratio on the new C-Type instead of a 3.47.:black_eye:

 

What's done is done, the good news is that when I borrowed a 68 inch 4 bladed Brolga prop pitched at 17 degrees from another trike Max static revs were 6500rpm (Versus 6800rpm redline) and acceleration up the take off speed was unexpectedly brisk, actually rather strong, like 3 or 4 seconds to 45kts, though admittedly without the 50kg (17% of MTOW) wing attached.

 

We tried the Streak-1 wing (From same donor trike as the prop) on the Buzzard and took a lot of measurements. There's still more weight to be added to the back of the trike under the engine. That's a 9kg GRS parachute and a battery for power to the accessories circuit so there will be somewhere in the region of 12-15kg more weight in the back so more hang tests will follow. Main tings to be measured in the next round of hang tests and compared to the standard trike are the range of angle of movement of the control bar between the pilots backrest and the front tube at the length of the control frame from the hang point - to determine proper range of pitch control in the air.

 

Secondly with the trike on the ground we'll measure the angle of the keel tube from horizontal with the control bar against the front tube, compared to the standard trike to make sure the wing has an appropriate angle of attack during the take off roll.

 

So here we are in the really technical part of the build analysing the design where my engineering background helps and having another engineer trike pilot in the family helps too.

 

As they say, "measure twice, cut once".

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Here she is in all her glory with a borrowed Streak wing and Brolga prop and awaiting a fuel tank.

 

Probably physically able to fly at that point with a Jarry can strapped in the back, but the landing would have been interesting coming down nosewheel first. We'll see how far the extra 12-15kg to be hung on the back goes towards overcoming that problem . . .

 

 

 

[eastmeg2]

I just realised it's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything in this thread so I suppose an update is due.

 

The first Wizard wing I had in my sights didn't materialise, but as they say when one door closes another one opens.

 

Another 2nd hand Wizard wing has come on the market with an added bonus and registration.

 

Can't say much more until next week.:stirring pot:

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Well now that the deed is done I can let on about what I've been up to for the past few weeks as I couldn't be completely sure it would work out.

 

An add appeared in the August HGFA mag' for an Airborne Buzzard that is still HGFA registered and flying with a Wizard-II wing, Vertex radio and headset, somewhere in QLD. A phone call revealed it was in FNQ near Cairns. So distance was a problem, but the idea of spending a few days in a warmer climate in august appealed too, and at least it was near a major transport hub (Cairns), which might just make it possible within the bounds of reasonable expense and physical possibility.

 

It's always a good idea to set some boundary conditions and limits before embarking on a project like this. After a few days of contemplating and a friend in the freight business helping me obtain a much better deal, I realised that once I book travel and start sending crates north I'm pretty much committed, so any haggling on price had to be done beforehand, sight unseen. Not an ideal situation, but so long as the trike appeared straight in photo's and the seller was still willing (brave enough???) to fly it then it couldn't be too bad for the negotiated price of several $k's to get a registered wing and a known working trike base with correct geometry to analyse and pull apart for extra and upgraded bits for my Buzzard rebuild project, maybe even some cost recovery since it has a working Rotax 532 I may not need as I have a new 503 so I might try to sell the 532.

 

The story in a nut-shell:

 

I organised freight and Ute rental, caught a Virgin to Cairns, test flew the Buzzard after watching the seller fly it first, packed Buzzard into the crates, delivered it to a Cairns freight depot with the Ute on Tuesday. Had 24hours to relax and unwind in Cairns before catching a Qantas flight back to Sydney.

 

Sometime this week I'll collect the crates (containing Buzzard) from a Sydney freight depot and fingers crossed there's no damage in transit.

 

Staff at the freight depot in Cairns were very helpfull getting the crates off the Ute and supplying 2nd hand (about to be trashed) cardboard to line the trike base crate with.:thumb_up:

 

For those who are still wondering about airworthiness, the trike base still has a L2 inspection to undergo and the wing will get a going over by Airborne, before the Buzzard gets flown again. It's a self-preservation thing . . .

 

Cheers,

 

Glen

 

 

 

 

[eastmeg2]

Collected the Buzzard in its crates from the Sydney freight depot at 6am this morning and still got to work early.

 

No apparent damage in transit :-))

 

Now to get the wing up to Airborne tomorrow morning for a good checking over and reassembly from short-packed.