Xpedition 2, 4 and 5 project

[stefan]

Templates

[Jayson v Schalkwyk]

why do 2 ribs have a separate trailing edge? nearly like a flap or something? What have they been cut out of? Nearly looks like MDF?

Very neat though

[stefan]

It is a slotted flapperon system. Somewhere in this thread we posted a picture of the assembled wing which should give you the idea

[MarkB]

Another picture or two of progress

[stefan]

I did not get time to work further on the project but got hold of some spars today. Going away for a couple of days but will give more attention to the building of the wings when I get back.

[Arjan]

Any news?

[stefan]

At the moment I am not working actively on the project. Too many other more important things but I am working on it in the background. Got hold of a Subaru motor so we will start the engine mounts soon. I am still hopeful to have it ready for test flying by the end of 2014.

[Donovan]

hi Stefan

is the Soob motor for the Safari or the Xpedition?

[stefan]

Both. EJ25 non turbo for Safari and Turbo for the Xpedition.

Had the frame cleaned up and oiled today. Serious work to start early next year. Lots of buyers lined up so I will start moving on this one as soon as I can.

[Walid]

How about an update ?

[MarkB]

Any further progress?

[stefan]

We are working on it but other certification projects are put first at the moment. We are also swamped with work and I do not have enough space. Waiting for Hugo to complete the new hangar. We will complete the project before the end of the year. Keep the faith There are 13 people on the waiting list so far so I am pressed to complete this soon.

[Avgas]

You will have to work harder my friend
Ons wag met groot afwagting

[stefan]

Ok, so we designed a new wing. We changed the profile from the GA30U-612 to a USA35 foil. My engineer (David) is working on the new wing. This is a thicker foil with much better CL, it has other drawbacks but I think it is what we need. There will be 3 variants. We will build one with slotted flaperons, one with the flaps suspended below the wings and we will also give the first wing foil that we did a go. I am very happy with the results we are getting in the 3D analysis. The Max CL is between 2,4 and 2,8 which is very good. We will use the lower values for calculations just to be on the conservative side. It looks like the calculated stall at 1300kg will be about 38-40kt which is excellent and exactly what we were aiming for. Cruise speeds will not be super fast but with 200hp plus @ MAUW we should see the 125kt mark and with 250 hp it should go up to the 140+ region. We are designing for up to 360hp engines so time will tell what the real numbers will be. We are aiming more to keep the empty weights as low as possible. I am also have another look at the fuselage construction.

[Donovan]

Hi Stefan

Nice to see the update. Man it's coming on! What engine do you've in mind? I know you said in the beginning the Lexus V8 but i know later you looked a the soob powerplant? Will they V8 still be an option? Is the empty weight still between 500kg - 600kg?

Don