Have started assembling the craft, and hope to bring it to it’s first race towards the end of June.
Underneath the seat has been filled with bouyancy foam and the final floor added meaning the hull is ready for skirt fitting, although fuel tanks and the lift gearbox mounting still need to be done.
On the top [...]
Racing Diary
Here's my racing diary, to keep you up to date on all my races and events!
Assembly
Friday, April 23rd, 2010Rush rush rush!
Sunday, April 4th, 2010Doesnt seem to be enough time to get everything done but we will see!
We have been assembling the duct with its stiffening ring and flow straighteners, which are now on their way to being a complete unit. The honeycomb has come out very stiff and the stators have connected in nicely.
Next all of the attachment [...]
Moving along with the new craft
Monday, February 22nd, 2010First post on the new website, thanks to Chris for doing another amazing job- just upto me to fill it in!
We have been busy, too busy to post anything on here and its only going to get worse as we try to get it ready for the World champs in August!
Here is a pic [...]
Orange Peril Build Update
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010Various moulds have been built and foam cores sanded to shape for parts of the thrust duct assembly.
We have managed to find some high quality epoxy resin thanks to MCMC in Bristol and also aerospace grade CF thanks to the University. Over the next few months we will be building and assembling all of [...]
Orange Build update
Monday, November 2nd, 2009The skirts for the new craft will be made at Cameron Balloons in Bristol, the largest hot air balloon manufacturer in the world. Thanks to Nick and the guys there for all their help and letting us use their excellent facilities. Seeing the different materials and techniques used by these guys has also given us [...]
Round 7- Last of the season at Towcester race course
Saturday, September 26th, 2009Before Towcester I had time to give the craft a full once over and managed to change the chipped thrust blades for a set of cleaned, balanced blades.
I wanted to get there ready for practice straight away as this was a new course. The extra time put in was worth it as i managed to [...]
Round 6- Jake’s Place near Leicester
Saturday, September 12th, 2009This was my first time racing this course with a faster craft and in practice i was pretty scared by the jumps going in and out of the water. After a few laps i got into it and the craft felt really stable when it was jumping.
The first race was jump started by me then [...]
New Beginnings
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009The new hull is being moved to Bristol where it will be assembled. Many parts are yet to be designed and the team will be helped by Bristol University engineering department and the Motorsport club. Depending on the outcome of the rules and venue of the world champs event next summer we will be finalising [...]
Round 5- Southampton
Saturday, August 29th, 2009In Southampton there was some great racing and i took my first meeting win. Every race was incredibly close with Rick and I taking 3 wins each and there was no decider until the last race. The craft performed faultlessly throughout the weekend apart from the endless repairs on the worn out skirt.
I had fun [...]
Laying up the hull
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009The new hull is being put together in a much different way compared to the 2008 craft. The hull itself may not be drastically lighter but it should be a lot stronger! After failing to find any other crazy bright gelcoats i decided to go with the bright orange they use for lifeboats. The next [...]