In November we completed the bulk of our fuselage forward molds and focused our attention back on the cockpit and landing gear for the DarkAero 1.
November 2018 Recap
Top Row (left to right): Aft Spinner Mold, Aft Spinner Completed Part, Firewall Forward Completed Parts Bottom Row (left to right): Fuselage Forward Upper and Lower Section Mold, Nose Gear FEA (Finite Element Analysis), Canopy Frame Mold CAD Render
In November we completed the bulk of our fuselage forward molds and focused our attention back on the cockpit and landing gear for the DarkAero 1.
Production Molds/Production Machinery Completed: - Aft spinner mold - Fuselage forward upper and lower section mold
With the aft spinner and fuselage forward upper and lower section molds completed, we now have 26 of the 37 production molds finished. We also finalized the design and ordered material for the fuselage left and right side production molds. These are the second largest molds after our wing skins and likewise require specifically designed aluminum support structures.
A fixture plate for our mill was purchased and installed. It will help make work holding and part locating for machining the nose gear, main gear, and engine mount components.
Upgrades were made to the equipment used to manufacture our 4’x8’ carbon fiber and honeycomb panels. These upgrades refined the overall panel surface flatness to a tighter tolerance.
DarkAero 1 Prototype Parts Completed: - Aft Spinner
On our first attempt, we successfully made the aft spinner. Commonly, composite spinners are manufactured by splicing together pieces of cloth with seams running axially along the part. Our approach eliminates any axial seams in the carbon fiber cloth. This results in a lighter and stronger part with better dynamic balance and improved cosmetic appearance.
Landing Gear and Cockpit Progress:
Final analysis and design details were completed for the engine mount and nose gear. Materials for the engine mount and nose gear have also been ordered.
Forward baggage compartment, instrument panel, and avionics compartment mock ups were machined out and assembled for trial fitment with the actual components.
Our canopy mold design has also been completed. High temperature tooling board was ordered along with the cast acrylic that we will be forming in-house to make the canopy. These materials are expected to arrive later in the month of December so we're aiming to start the first test forms in early January.
Finally, the canopy frame mold CAD is complete and will be the next production mold we make.
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