the mural and sign are up

Yesterday i worked on the sign and mural.  The sign contains photos of the planes in flight back in 1910.  The mural shows silouettes of people, some early balloons , and older cars.

the plane is landed

Last the plane was installed tomorrow the information board goes in.

bringing the plane to Rose City

Today I loaded the plane onto my truck and drove it to the 16th hole of Rose City Golf course.  Tonight when the sun goes behind the tree we will put it in place on the bank.

building the stand

tonight my friend Carlos and dug holes for 4 posts to support the bi plane,  We used 10 bags of 80lbs concrete and 4  8 ft 4x4 's Tomorrow the plane comes in.

painting the fans and objects

Today I started to transfer the silouettes of cars , planes and people on to a concrete wall above the site for the airplane.  Origianlly I was planning on erecting boards with these people and things painted on them ,but then the wall seemed like a better canvas.  the wall is 4 ft tall and extends 40 ft above the bank.  the pictures were taken fron the golf course with my phone.  From the eye the paintings look larger.  What you see is a 1910 touring car with a man and woman, a 1909 racing  buick,  and the 1909 Rhiems racer aircraft.

Tonight my friend Carlos is installing 4x4 posts to hold the plane on the bank.

plywood pilots and fans

Today I cut out and painted my pilot and the fans.  The fans are depicted along side a fence and in silhouette ..

making the pilot and finishing the plane

Yesterday I finished sewing all the screen fabric on to the plane.  My hands are sore from pulling the wire. 

At the end I created a pilot out of cardboard.  today I will make it out of plywood and stain and paint it.  There will also be a series of silhouettes  of people and cars from 1910 watching the plane after its installed on the bank.

covering both wings

I am getting down to the wire and  that is exactly what I am using to attch the screening fabric to the wings .  I just finsihed covering both wings and attaching the ailerons. I used a soft steel wire and sewed the screening to the wings.  In the back ground is my 1925 Buick which I moved to roll the plane out.

correcting the sewing of the wings

Today was another hot day 95 degrees I went to the garage and redid the the wire to secure the wing fabric.

  I also attached the ailerons  and they are are supported by wires.

sewing in the wings

Well you never know how things will go with a project like this.  I have the original plans so my my size scale is correct but who cares.  today I cut the covering for the wings out of 1/4 inch screening material.  This will allow wind and rain to pass through since this plane will be out in the elements.  So I thought i would use aluminum wire for the supports and to sew the screening to the wings.   Well  it almost worked.  I drilled holes and threaded the wire for the support.  Then I started sewing the screen to the frame.  But i noticed how the support wires were getting loose.  Then the aluminum wire started breaking so I decided to started over with maleable steel wire .   I think it will last longer.

creating the seat and steering wheel

The curtis bi plane had no seat belt.  In fact when Glen Curtis won the Bennet cup in rhiems France in August of 1909 he did so by climbing to an out standing altitude opf 500ft and then proceed into a dive to increase speed .  He achieved 47mph but was qouted as saying that he did nt know how3 hw stayed put in the seat of the plane. 
Steering controls were achieved by a yoke and steering wheel which operated the rudder and elevator.  The ailerons (little wings) were control by wires attached to the seat which the piolot moved by leaning left or right.  It is amazing that these people survived.  Many did not.

finishing the engine

Today I put the finishing touches on the engine.  geln /curtis who built and designed this plane was a genius in light weight motors.  He first started with motor cycle engines then quickly evolved into aircraft engines.  This motor is a 4 cylinder type that is water cooled. 

the block is made out of folded aluminum.  The cylinders are made out of small tin cans.  The valves are pieced together from spare erector set parts.  The prop is sanded down from a 1"x2" board.  The radiator is made out of an old cookie tin.  The engine is wired into a magneto for the spark.  Hope you enjoy!