Rudder pedals .. cables and guides

Rudder pedals, cables and cable pulleys. 

Pedals in, cables attached .. 

Pedals in ... 

So the finished part .. see what I mean about not perfect? It looks good .. but could be better :)

Finished part .. strong, light, and able to get the cables in and out. 

I made a plate to fit the diagonals, and heated and bent a lip on the forward side for rigidity. Once in place, I gas welded it in and then drilled the holes from below using the original pulley holes for a perfect fit. You can see that the clevis wont pass through ... and after I was done, the professional way to do it would have been to form the part before I welded the plate in. My plan worked fine, and will work great. Its much easier to make a part "perfect" on the bench than in the structure. 

You can easily see why the "U" shape wasnt used .. clevis wont pass through

Top plate in place

I needed to complete the rear pulley set-up. The plans call for a "U" shaped mount, for each pulley, welded to a diagonal on each side. Issue was, the sweet rudder cables clevis end wont pass through the thin "U". So a plate was used, and thats not enough. I decided to expand on the plate, and get it strong and light. 

4130 chromo sheet that will be used.

Rear pulley set-up .. ready for some work. 

Today I got some work done. Spent a few hours finishing up the rudder pedals, hooked up the cables and then finished up the rear pulley mounts. 

Finished the cable mounts .. 

My "jig" to hold the parts for gas welding up ..

On the Sonerai 1, the plans call for mechanical toe brakes. You notice the rearward angle of the cable mounts I made up .. this goes along with the cables used to actuate the mechanical brakes. Needless to say, I will be using hydro brakes, and not on the pedals. The plan is to use a lightweight, two lever set-up, just under the seat.

Sonerai 1 project ... fabrication

I am going to show a few pics of the fuse construction of my S2 for reference. It shows some of the work that has gone into the S1 up to the point before I got it. Its not just cut, place, and weld. There are strict measurements that must be followed. The plans for these aircraft are very specific, and very  challenging to decipher at times. Part of the fun is trying to figure out what you looking at or reading, and turning that information into a finished product. It really does form before your eyes, and the process is a really cool journey into the construction and inner workings of an airplane. 

First day, tables joined and leveled. 

Typical "cluster" joint. 

Laying out tubing, side one.

Measuring out each diagonal

Typical tube notch

Another joint .. fit them snug!

First side tacked .. 

Two sides tacked, up and joining togethor. 

Sonerai 1 project

Sonerai 1 Formula Vee

Click on pics for fullsize

Monday, 5-30-2011 and I am starting my blog on this Sonerai 1 I just found in CA. I am currently building a Sonerai 2, which is a stretched out 2 seat version of the original Sonerai 1 formula vee racer. I drove down from Salem, Oregon to pick up the S1 I purchased, primarily for parts. It was a great deal, and who doesnt want more than one toy! 

Dont know what a Sonerai is?? Sonerai 1 pics ...  

Well, once there, looking over the little S1, a smaller version of the S2 I have in the garage at home, and looking through the boxes of parts, pieces, AN bolts, wing ribs, etc that the owner was sending with me, I knew I had a decision to make. Originally, I found the single seat design very attractive, and chose the two seat model because of it. I thought the two seater would have the "looks" of the original, and be able to take the family up. It was a compromise of sorts, a way of including the family in my passion for aviation and aircraft. 

Now home, and both aircraft side by side ... my 2 seater looks like a tank, or better yet, a bottle-nosed dolphin. Its much longer, its wider, and has wings that are 2 feet wider ... all with the same powerplant. I know the front cockpit in the 2 seater is intensely claustrophobic, and with a wife terrified of flying, but promising to go ONCE, the Sonerai 2 two seater was starting to fade from the limelight. And, the single seater if built clean and light may hit 200 mph flat out ... awesome numbers for a 80 hp aircraft. The 2 seater ... 140 on a good day, and a 500 fpm (foot per minute) climb out with 2 passengers. 500 fpm is nerve racking for this guy ... I like to climb when I need to.

Decision made! I will mothball the Sonerai II 2 seater project I have started, and contiue moving forward on the S1 project. The previous owner and his brother have done great work to the point it is at in the vid below, and the project stopped as they both moved forward in life, career, and family. My goal is to build a really cool Sonerai 1, built to plans, and maybe even colored in the original Mopar green as the original. Then, I will call up the two brothers and invite them to fly the plane they started as a team. Cool stuff. 

A quick video of the Sonerai 1 on its gear, next to my Sonerai 2 fuse I brought out for comparison.

In Rosamond, at the owners place, I was looking over the S1 and we were chatting aircraft. He seemed to stop every now and then, and pull another box of parts out to send with me. The wing ribs were a big one ... a complete set, with the form block and a few laser cut blanks. Wow! Then came rudder pedals with toe brakes and cylinders ... just gets better. Then, the complete AN nut and bolt kit for the aircraft and custom made rudder cables. Once home, I found some laser cut parts that I had planned on making from scratch .. Nice! They were serious about building this airplane, and had the knowledge and persistence to do it right. I have no doubt if they stuck it out, this would have been a safe, fast, fantastic airplane.  

Till next time,