Over the past month, progress continued on the DarkAero 1 prototype with efforts in the shop focused on the remaining canopy installation tasks as well as installation of the canopy fairing. The search for a larger shop space, which had been pursued quietly for several months, reached an exciting milestone in February as the lease was signed on an initial production facility.

Canopy Hinge Installation
The installation of the new canopy hinge mechanism was completed this past month. A key task in the installation process centered around bonding two mounting brackets to the canopy frame. These mounting brackets structurally tie the canopy assembly to the instrument panel and locate the canopy relative to the fuselage. Proper alignment between the instrument panel, canopy, and fuselage was confirmed before the brackets were bonded in place. This was accomplished by dry fitting everything together and checking for any interference or excessive gaps. After the final fit check, the canopy assembly was removed from the fuselage with the mounting brackets left attached to the instrument panel using locating pins. Adhesive was applied strategically to the mounting brackets, and the canopy was lowered back onto the fuselage. The instrument panel and mounting brackets were then brought into contact with the canopy frame, allowing the mounting brackets to be match bonded in the correct position. Once the adhesive cured, the locating pins were removed and the canopy assembly was freed from the fuselage to reveal the bonded in brackets. The brackets were reinforced with pre-molded carbon fiber tapes, and the canopy assembly was installed once again back onto the fuselage to verify proper fit and smooth hinging of the canopy through its full range of motion. 

Canopy Jettison Mechanism
The design, fabrication, installation, and preliminary testing of the canopy jettison mechanism was another milestone completed in February. The jettison mechanism allows the canopy of the prototype DarkAero 1 to separate from the airframe, whether for service or in an emergency scenario during testing. This portion of the canopy design had remained as a bit of a question mark for some time due to design constraints. Mechanisms with motion can get complicated quickly. When parts must move relative to each other, it is a tricky balance trying to meet functional requirements while managing manufacturability, serviceability, weight, cost, complexity, and so on. Such was the challenge with the canopy jettison mechanism, which splits a single linear pull motion from a T-handle on the instrument panel into separate linear motions in four pins that secure the canopy to the instrument panel. At least a dozen different concepts were explored before arriving at a final solution. Designs involving combinations of linkages, bellcranks, springs, and cables were evaluated, but these all looked overly complicated. Eventually, the assembly shown above was agreed upon, and after initial testing, it has proven to meet the design objectives. 

Canopy Assembly Finishing Details
A number of miscellaneous tasks with the canopy and canopy fairing were recently completed. Carbon fiber and fiberglass tapes were installed around the perimeter of the canopy acrylic on the inside of the canopy frame to mechanically capture the canopy acrylic. Layers of carbon fiber were installed along the canopy frame longerons to create a lip that provides improved sealing, additional rigidity, and better constraint of the canopy frame while it is in the closed position. One of the last remaining tasks for the canopy assembly was to create a blended transition to smooth out the step at the interface of the carbon fiber canopy frame and the canopy acrylic. This was accomplished by applying a bead of thickened epoxy around the interface seam and then sanding it into a smooth transition after the epoxy cured. We are considering several design and manufacturing updates for production to make these canopy assembly tasks less tedious for DarkAero 1 builders. 

Aft Baggage Compartment Paint
The aft baggage compartment was painted before the canopy fairing was installed while the area was still accessible from all angles. Paint on the aft baggage compartment surfaces serves as protection against UV light and minor abrasion. Several different paint colors and types were tested on scrap segments of carbon fiber, which led to the selection of a flat gray acrylic primer. The paint process included masking off and thoroughly cleaning the work area and then applying several light coats of paint to achieve adequate coverage. It is worth noting that because all the composite structures were resin infused on precision molds, no significant filling and sanding work was required before painting. Even though this paint now covers up the aesthetically pleasing look of the carbon fiber, sections of clear coat are still planned for select areas of the aircraft interior and exterior to show off the carbon fiber weave. 

Canopy Fairing Installation
After the aft baggage compartment was painted, assembly continued with bonding the canopy fairing to the fuselage. This task was straightforward and was accomplished by using clecos to hold everything in position as the assembly adhesive cured. This bonding operation marked the last large assembly step to close out the fuselage on the DarkAero 1 prototype. Other work on the canopy fairing included the addition of several plies of fiberglass to the drip lip to close it out and the evaluation of several different styles of sealing gaskets in the drip lip.

Production Facility
We have officially signed the lease on a larger shop that will be used for initial kit production! Searching for a production shop has been an ongoing endeavor for several weeks, so it is exciting to finally secure a building that will meet our needs. The new space is only five minutes up the road from our current shop, which will make things easy when we begin moving the molds and other production equipment there this spring. At around 6,000 square feet, the new space will be used as a pilot production facility to further prove out manufacturing processes and begin producing the first DarkAero 1 kits. Initial operations in the building will focus on manufacturing honeycomb sandwich panels and billet carbon fiber stock. Flat panel structures make up over half of the composite components in the DarkAero 1 airframe, so having an inventory of bulk panels in stock will allow flat panel components to be rapidly cut as we move into production. The sandwich panel material will also be available for sale on our webpage, either as bulk stock or cut to specific shapes and sizes. We are also looking forward to hiring our first full-time employees to help with setting up equipment and begin manufacturing composite components. 

Aerospace Composites Course 
Another session of the DarkAero Aerospace Composites Course was held last month. Those who attended went through two days of instruction ranging from technical theory on composite materials to hands-on manufacturing demonstrations focused on building a small wing section. The material covered in the course shares aspects with the training and instruction that will be used to develop a team of technicians to manufacture DarkAero 1 kits in production. The next two sessions of the course are already fully booked, and the next open session has one seat remaining for April 29th-30th!  If you are interested in joining the April or May sessions, register at darkaero.com/courses.

Aerospace Mold Making Course
After hosting the first four sessions of the Aerospace Composites Course, a common interest among students has been to learn about building molds and tooling. Given the recurring requests, we have decided to create an Aerospace Mold Making Course! The first session of this course will be offered this June with additional sessions scheduled based on demand. The course will provide instruction on building tooling that ranges from simple, single-use molds all the way up to complex, multi-section, production grade molds. If you are interested in learning more or signing up for a future session, contact us at: courses@darkaero.com 

DarkAero YouTube and YouTube Community 
A YouTube video was recently released that highlighted progress on the construction and installation of the canopy. Check out the video linked below: 

We held a live Q&A session with our Mach 2 YouTube Community Members where we shared some more details on the latest progress on the DarkAero 1 prototype as well as plans for the new production facility. 

Looking Ahead
In March, work will continue to finish the canopy latch mechanism. In parallel, we will be working on completing remaining tasks that set us up for drop testing and the first engine start.