“Blue Thunder II Crew Report”

January 31, 2010

Welcome Thunder Mustang and Blue Thunder II fans and supporters to the first “Blue II” report of the New Year.  We hope you all had an appropriate celebration, and we would like to remind everyone not to forget Valentine’s Day coming up on the 14^th.

Last month I told you we were planning the team’s activities for 2010 and that I would tell you about the trouble we had with the oil cooler door.  So, I start with our planning for 2010, and get to the cooler door later in this report.

We will attend four major air shows, set an international speed record over the recognized distance of 100 Kilometers and go for the Gold at the Reno Championship Air Races.  The schedule of events are:

EAA Golden West Show       Marysville, CA            June 11, 12 & 13^th.

Reno Pylon School                 Reno, NV                    June 17, 18 & 19^th.

EAA AirVenture                    Oshkosh, WI               July 26 – 31^st.

Reno National Championship Air Races                    September 13 – 19^th.

We will attend other shows at our sponsor’s request.

We start flight testing in March in preparation for setting the international speed record over the 100 Km recognized distance in conjunction with the EAA Golden West Air Show.

Our record attempt will be sanctioned by the NAA and FAI operating under an FAA waiver for speed and altitude. We will make a record attempt each day and claim the fastest of the three speed runs for the record.  Our new record will add international attention for, and another dimension to the Golden West Air Show.

“Blue Thunder II” will be flying a minimum of once a day during the Pylon School event in mid-June in Reno as well as the FAST school during the preceding week.  Details for the Air Venture show have not been firmed up yet, but we will keep you informed.

Participation in the Reno Air Races is one of the most exciting shows in the nation, draws over 200,000 spectators, is the fastest motor sport in the world, and receives international attention.

OK…those are our plans for 2010! Now for what happened in 2009….

The oil cooler door started giving us trouble as soon as we started flight testing above 250 KTS.  We had to nearly rebuild the door assembly every day during the races. 

We were having trouble getting the door to fully close due to the air pressure in the exit chamber.  First we found the push rod bent so we replaced the push rod with a ¼” OD steel rod. 

Then when the door would not close, we replaced the servo with one of Ray Allen’s new Bristol servos with 80 pounds of thrust.

With the increased power of the servo, the actuating horn broke so we made another from a piece of hefty aluminum T extrusion and increased its length to give it more leverage.  This would be a better picture if I could keep my finger out from in front of the camera lens.

After all this, when the door closed, the door tore out most of the rivets holding it to the hinge and very nearly came off.  The fix now was to cut off a small amount of the trailing edge of the door so that it will not fully seal and allow some of the air in the exit chamber to escape.  The crew reattached the door to the hinge with screws, large area washers and nuts.  It is not as pretty, but a lot more secure.

Next month, we should be starting some engine ground runs and tuning in preparation for flight testing in March.

As always, Jan and I, along with the rest of the Blue Crew, are eternally grateful for the continued support of our fans and sponsors.

John Parker

Blue Thunder Air Racing