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Yet anther windvane

B

beihan62

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
windvane 076.jpgwindvane 090.jpgwindvane 105.jpgwindvane 107.jpgwindvane 110.jpgspitfire video 014.jpgYet another windvane,slightly larger than the last one,fuselage main structure cut from tanalised fence boards(rot proof)fuslage is covered in .5mm alluminium sheet (printers plate)held on by tiny screws robbed from old recording tape cassettes,wings covered in 1mm birch ply,cockpit canopy,,,cut from windolene squirt bottle,prop again from febreeze can,solar powered nav lights are a set of garden lights(string of 50) reduced to four(cut and soldered),in first pic my companion keeping an eye on things,
Cheers,
Don,
 
Don, thats a superb bit of craftmanship, beautiful. I love the added touch of the solar wing lights.
I can see a lot of time and effort went into making that, thanks for sharing
regards Kev
 
Cracking wind vane mate, a pity couldn't put a video up, so we can see it in action...:cheers:
 
Hi Kev and Skull181,Thanks for the kind comments,I will post vid (next time my son comes over,he does all technical stuff on pc)problem is on the vid the prop appears to revolve first one way then the other but in fact it is whizzing round at a fair old rate,remember the stage coach wheels in the old films when they seemed to be going backwards well that is what appears when it is shown on vid,something to do with frame rate sync,span on this one is 32 ins,I have a larger one planned plus I have been asked to build a Jet Ranger helicopter on the same principle,which should be interesting,they are scratch built using anything that is suitable,for instance the spinner on this plane is a childs egg cup from Tescos or Asda,the down side of these wind vanes is they are exposed to some strong gusts and to withstand these I have to put them on a strong bearing hence the rather large industrial bearing it is mounted on,
Again,many thanks for the kind comments,
Cheers,
Don,
 
Hi Don. that's great.. please post a vid when you get time. love to see it in operation,, Biggles out :)
 
Pretty amazing! What I would like to know, is how you got the last photo looking at the plane from its right side above the roof line. It looks like you are standing there and a real plane flew by!
 
Hi Hazzord,Thanks for the appreciation,the Photo was taken by(I hope there are no health and safety people reading this)by someone (not me)standing on a cage pallet on the forks of a tractor fore end loader which was at full stretch,holding a tablet/pc above his head and having to wait until the wind swung the plane round until it was in a suitable direction to get a good pic,(brave man),I will post a vid as soon as I can,
Many thanks,
Don,
 
Well I'm thinking from the description, that photo was probably one of the hardest ones to take, that is on BOCN! Thanks for the explanation.
 
A Video of latest windvane in action.
[video=youtube;VtRo1tuzoqQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtRo1tuzoqQ[/video]
 
By the prop rotation, it looks like the wind can't make up its mind if it blows back or forth.
 
Hi Hazord,The prop is only spinning in one direction,what appears to be reverse rotation is caused by the prop speeding up and slowing down with the wind and the speed of the blades going in and out of sync with the camera,the same effect can be seen on many videos of piston aircraft engine starts on youtube,I took the vid with the camera in a tablet,(held above my head standing on a pallet on the front end loader of a tractor,,,,,),
Cheers,
Don,
 
Don,

simply amazing my friend!!!! Now if I can only figure out how to do one using an F-105 without a prop?
 
Hi Mark,Thanks for the reply,much appreciated,it would be fairly simply to construct a "THUD",F105,keep the CofG,and pivot bearing well forward just about in line with the intakes and it should weathercock fine in even the lightest wind,if you put solar nav lights you would be able to put the solar panel inside the cockpit and it would be out of sight,make the inner frame of weatherproof timber and it would last for years,if you need any help/hints etc,pm me and I will certainly help,
Cheers,
Don,
 
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