Wheels for the Inflation Fan

I attached 10 inch wheels to the inflation fan. I am still waiting on my shroud to be rolled for me. Here are a few pictures of the wheel installation.

The fan rolls around great with the new wheels. I am hoping to have the shroud made and installed this week.

As for the frame for my basket...I have it built! Well...kinda. I have the main part of the frame bent and welded together. I still need to attach the seats, gussets and miscellaneous brackets to it. Check back tomorrow evening for a LONG post with a LOT of pictures. My spirits are pretty high now that I have something to actually look at and admire.

New frame for the Inflation Fan

A few months back I had started to tear down an inflation fan that had a brand new 8hp motor but was on a damaged frame that had been fixed way too many times. Below is just one example of how patched up the old frame is.

I found a little time today to work on the new frame and actually made quite a bit of progress. The old frame used 1" round tubing. It looks like .095" wall. I decided to build mine out of 3/4" X .095" wall round tubing to save a little weight. I hope my crew appreciates that decision when they have to move it. The other reason I used 3/4" round tubing is because I have a 3/4" conduit bender and could do the bends myself.

I decided not to modify the frames design because the fan worked just fine before and I didn't see a point in making a new (untested) design for something as important as an inflation fan. So, I made my measurements and got to bending the front part of the frame.

Since it is a thin wall mild steel frame, I am using my gas-less flux-core MIG welder. The machine can lay down a decent bead but I am still getting used to it.

After I finished bending and welding the front frame I measured, cut and welded the front engine mount into position.

At this point I was making such great progress I forgot to continue to take pictures! Between the last photo and the next I measured cut and welded the back brace/legs onto the front frame and welded their braces into place.

Here is a comparison photo of the old and new frame at this stage of completion. I really like the look of the new frame so far.

The next and second most crucial step of building the frame is cutting and welding the back engine mount. The reason it is a little more difficult than everything else so far is because it has to be perpendicular to the front of the frame or the propeller will make contact with the tubing. I could have used a carpenters square but I decided to use my angle finders instead. I leveled out the front edge of my frame (left gauge) and adjust the back engine mount until it was level as well (right gauge).

 After I got the engine mounts welded, I took a 3/16 plate of steel I had and drilled out holes to bolt the engine to the plate. I centered the shaft of the engine between the left and right of the front frame, made sure the propeller was parallel to each face of the front frame.

Once I was sure it was lined up, I welded it into place. Here are a few comparison photos of the new vs. old.

I managed to shed a few pounds off the new frame so far. I haven't installed the new wheels yet but I will try to get on it tomorrow. All I have left is to fabricate and install a metal shroud, install new wheels and come up with a creative paint design. I think I can have it completed by the weekend as long as nothing important pops up. I'll end this post with the new frame as it sits right now.

Saturday February 18th

I'm scheduled in at the metal shop for this Saturday (February 18th) to have the prototype frame bent into shape. Expect a lot of pictures! I am definitely excited to see this part come together.

The main part of the frame will be bent and welded by family friends Gary and Hans Paulson. They are very talented fabricators and I'm excited to watch them work all this tubing into shape.

After they get done bending and welding the main part of the frame I will take it home and begin installing all the necessary gussets, brackets, plates, hooks and other items that will need to be welded on. There isn't a whole lot to add, but getting everything straight is key.

I will do a few drop tests and load tests once it is built. If everything checks out, I'll order the tubing and send it to the Paulson's shop to build for me.

As long as there aren't any snags, I should have the final frame built by the end of March and possibly have the whole system inspected by then.

247DV

Some of you might remember from one of my earliest posts that my registration number is my dads birthday and his initials. 247DV. Well...today is that day.

"The wealth of information you have given me has shaped who I am today. Woodwork, welding and fixing anything with an engine are just a few of the skills you have taught me. You have made me a more self-sufficient person. That self-sufficiency has helped give me the confidence to become a pilot, repairman, college graduate and soon a husband. You have passed on your ability to be an open, honest and loving individual. Your advice is always well thought out and truthful, to the point my friends have gone to you in their time of need. You accept others as your own kin and are not afraid of expressing your appreciation for them in your life. I’m thankful and honored to call you my father. Happy 65^th dad."

Tubing and a harness!

I picked up the tubing today. I'm hoping to have the bends done this weekend or the next. I also got a very gracious donation of a 5 point harness from Gary at Gary Paulson Racing!

Ordering Steel Tomorrow

After toying around with many designs (some realistic, some not so realistic), I have finally decided how to approach building the frame. I don't have any pictures worth sharing right now, but the design is going to be very similar to one of the sketches I shared in my last post.

The basic layout is going to be the same with a few minor changes and additions. I will be ordering the mild steel for the prototype tomorrow. Then on to building. Then on to testing.

One final note is that I will not be recording video of the frame being built. There are too many difficulties in trying to get a video of the entire process since a lot will be inside, and a lot will be outside. I don't want to inconvenience the people who are helping me out. BUT, I will be taking a ton of pictures that will go in the time lapse video when I'm done with the balloon.

Another update in a couple weeks. Thanks!

New Year and New News

Hello all! Sorry for making all of you wait for another update for so long. My last real progress was back in October when I stated my intentions for building the fan a new frame and getting it a new prop. Well, I haven't done that yet. You might have noticed the pace of the build was starting to slow back around September-October and there is a good reason for that (which I wasn't able to share at the time)....

I'm engaged!

I was putting most of my extra money away to buy a ring for Ms. Kelli Cherry (remember the cherry on my parachute??) soon to be Mrs. Kelli Veliz.

So, now that the proposal is out of the way....back to the hard stuff!

Although I haven't fully decided on the design for the lower end of this build, I haven't been short of ideas. Here are a few drawings I sketched up. They are not meant to be realistic, so they are not exact measurements. I was just trying to get an idea of where I might start to approach this part of project and used the grid to help me sketch a little more accurate than freehand drawing.

As you can see, I am using a horizontal 20 gallon Aerostar tank. The seats are actually polyurethane racing seats and are very comfortable to sit in.

Here is another sketch I made up.

So after doing a million sketches I decided to start building a prototype out of 1.25" Galvanized pipe. The reason? It is cheap, light and I have 100+ feet of it. Here are a few pictures while moving around the components, welding and cutting up pipe and trying to figure out what will work and what wont.
*Please keep in mind this will NOT be my final design. The frame will be much more carefully constructed, there will be more bracing and my welds will be clean and strong.*

What I learned from building these prototypes is that i should have built a larger envelope. Limiting myself to a specific weight for the gondola has posed more than a few complications for me. However, I have decided to continue with a design like the one below. If it ends up being too heavy, I will build a one man cloud hopper lower end and use this lower end for my next experimental envelope.

Like I stated earlier, the frame will not be EXACTLY like this. I will not be using a single upright tube in the front because it will not provide enough structural support. Sometimes you just have to use your imagination.

That is it for this update. Expect another in a week or two. I will be building a demo frame out of mild steel which I will then destroy in load and drop tests. As long as everything turns out fine, Ill be ordering the stainless steel and have this project finished by the end of March!