Wing span 38" area 288 sq. in. Covering is Polyspan, Power is Cox .049
Event: 1/2 A Texaco Scale.
This is for the event Randall Krystosek is promoting for 100 year old airplanes at the 2012 SAM Champs.
The qualifing flight at Muncie Click here
The Spoked Wheels
How I Made The Spoked Wheels
I used 1/64" plywood cut 1/4" wide across the grain so it will wrap around something the size of the wheel you want. I used a role of electrical tape that was the size I wanted. I had a heck of a time getting it off when done. Same thing with 1/4" wide 1/16" balsa. Wrap it around the plywood and glue it. Soak it with ca to make the balsa hard and then file the inside of the balsa curved to hold the tire. You need two rims.
You need 4 brass washers. I couldn't find any the size I needed so I made mine out of brass sheet. You need brass fuel tubing. A small one that will go over your axle and next size bigger to go over the smaller one. Cut the larger one 1" long, or however wide your hub is, and the smaller 1/8" longer, 2 each. If you use sheet brass to make the hubs cut 4 pieces bigger than the hub is going to be. Drill holes the size of the small tube in the center and bolt them together then file or grind them round to the size you want to make the hub. Mine were 1/2". While they are still bolted together drill 9 holes equally around the edge. Sand or file off all the sharp edges on the washer holes. Now put the large tubing over the small tubing and put a washer on each end. Make sure the holes are offset with each other. I used thin CA to glue them in place. You could solder them if you wanted.
Now you need a template for the holes in the rim. Use really thin cardboard. Cut 1/4" wide and long enough to go all the way around the rim. Mark a line where it overlaps. Draw a line down the middle. Measure the distance between the lines and divide by 36. Make holes like in the picture. Offset from the center. Should be 37 holes because the ones on the lines should line up when you wrap it around the rim to drill the holes. Holes should be the size of the mono-filament line you will use for the spokes. I painted my rim silver after I drilled the holes. I had to punch the paint out of the holes after I painted it.
Now we need a jig to hold the hub and rim while we lace up the spokes. Take a compass and draw a circle on a board the same size as the inside of the rim. Drill a hole in the middle the same size as your axle. Drill holes around the inside the rim line for nails to hold the rim in place. Try to make the nails not line up where the holes are in the rim. You can use collars on the bottom and top of the hub to adjust it. I just blocked up the bottom with wood. Glue the axle sized wire in the board so it wouldn't ride up. Block up the rim where you want it. Some wheels had the rim in the center of the hub. Some the inside edge lined up with the inside hub. Do it however your airplane was. I centered mine.
You need a long piece of mono-filament. My spokes are 1 1/8" and there are 36 and then twice around the rim adds up to about 60". I used 14 lb test. Tie a knot in the end and thread the line through a bottom hole in the rim to a hole in the bottom washer on the hub till the knot is against the rim and then back up to and out of the next lower hole in the rim. Skipping the upper holes in the rim. Bottom holes in rim go to bottom washer. Top holes go to top washer. Keep the line tight but not real tight. Go all the way around the bottom until you get to the last hole then come out of the rim at the top hole and go to the top washer. Go all the way around the top. When you are done glue the mono down.
My tire is a black 1/4" rubber tube I found at Menards. If you could find an O ring the right size that might work too.