Progress on the DarkAero 1 prototype continued in November with our efforts focused on manufacturing components for the main landing gear, overhauling our shop, and improving the build instructions and resources for the kit.

DarkAero 1 Rendered
First off, we are excited to share the first rendered image of the DarkAero 1! All of our previous images of the airplane were either direct screen captures from our Onshape CAD models or progress photos from the shop. We hope this in-flight shot of the airplane conveys the sense of action, excitement, and future flying adventures we are envisioning for the DarkAero 1. The artistic rendering was created by Carlos Z of Carlos Z-Render who offers 3D modeling and 3D renderings for the aerospace industry and we are pleased with how he brought the airplane to life. We will be releasing a few more renderings in the coming weeks and we are excited to share them with you!

Main Gear Manufacturing 
Manufacturing of the main landing gear components commenced in November, starting with the trailing links. The trailing links are an assembly formed by inner and outer halves that are bolted together. These were CNC machined from 7075-T6 aluminum stock which was chosen for its high strength-to-weight ratio and machinability. There were several tight tolerance dimensions that needed to be maintained for the link halves to fit together and function properly. We kept a close eye on these areas throughout the machining process and achieved a successful result on the first set of links. The trailing link manufacturing was documented in a YouTube video which can be viewed here:

Machining Aircraft Landing Gear on a Tormach CNC!

The shock bottom brackets that unite the air shocks to the trailing links were machined next. The left and right brackets are identical rather than being mirror images, which meant we were able to just machine two of the same part. The brackets required some careful thought towards fixturing and tool path strategy to maintain tight tolerances and clean surface finish, but they were still machinable on our CNC mill. All of the aluminum landing gear components will be anodized for corrosion protection.

The top ends of the main gear air shocks are fastened to the gear struts with carbon fiber brackets made from an assembly of angle and flat stock sections. We fabricated the stock for upper shock brackets which will be cut out in parallel with the gear struts. The struts will be molded in halves on a male mold and then assembled after the halves are cured and trimmed. The gear strut molds are in progress and should be complete in the next week.

Workshop Overhaul
If you follow DarkAero closely, you are probably aware of our minimalistic shop space made up of two T-hangars. Much like the design of the aircraft, we have found ways to be efficient with this space in order to get the most out of it. This past month we spent time reconfiguring the shop in preparation for painting and final assembly related tasks. In addition to the rearrangement, we also designed and constructed a simple set of stands that support the fuselage of the DarkAero 1 prototype. The stands hold the fuselage high enough to prevent the landing gear from touching the ground, allowing us to complete landing gear retract testing. Additionally, the stands were built on castering wheels making it easy to move the aircraft around the shop as needed. The stands were built from readily available materials and their CAD design will be available on our Knowledge Base for DarkAero 1 builders who want to make their own set of stands. 

UL Power UL520iS Engine CAD
We are continually adding to the DarkAero 1 build instructions and this past month we added the 3D CAD model for the UL Power UL520iS engine to the DarkAero Knowledge Base. You can now look at the model of the engine to get a better understanding of the powerplant and view it from any angle you like. Onshape also supports document hosting so in addition to the 3D model, you will also find the technical data sheet for the engine and the installation manual all in the same place. You can easily go back and forth between the 3D model and the engine installation manual all at once. The best part is you do not need a CAD program to view the engine and no file download is necessary. You can find the UL520iS CAD on the Builder Resources section of our Knowledge Base here: 

DarkAero 1 Builder Resources

Purchased Separately List
The Knowledge Base has also been updated with a ‘Purchased Separately’ document. This document provides a more detailed breakdown of the components that are not manufactured by DarkAero but are required to complete the DarkAero 1. This list will help provide builders with guidance on each component’s purchase quantity, location, and pricing as well as a more complete total cost roll-up of the DarkAero 1. Ultimately, we are working towards creating a fully integrated experience that allows for a ‘one-stop shop’ on our website. The Purchased Separately document can be found in the Builder Resources section of our Knowledge Base here: 

DarkAero 1 Builder Resources

Build Instructions Work
Our goal of raising the standard for build instructions requires that we are capable of quickly and efficiently incorporating feedback. We are forming a collection of feedback, and updates are ongoing. To appropriately manage these updates, our intern Michael has been hard at work creating a robust database architecture to manage the build instructions. The database will serve as the master copy of the build instruction information and allow for the DarkAero team to quickly track and update information. This will ultimately allow for a seamless and accurate customer experience when new improvements are made to images, text, formatting, or anything in-between. 

In addition to Michael’s work on the build instructions backend, we released a video to our YouTube channel giving an overview of the build chapters we released last month that you can check out here: 

How to Build the DarkAero 1 | Build Instructions Preview

Flight Test Planning
With the tightened COVID restrictions, our intern Nathan has been working remotely on the inspection checklist for the aircraft that will become part of the flight test plan. A version of the checklist will also be made available to builders to use for their phase 1 flight test planning and annual inspections. Nathan has also been working through some of the planning for the air data boom and data acquisition system for flight test. 

Composites Fabric and Manufacturing Overview
One of the latest additions to the Knowledge Base has been the Composites Guide, which provides an overview of various composites and the different approaches to manufacturing them. The guide is meant to help anyone who has ever been curious about building their own composite parts but has not known what cloth type to use or what manufacturing process to employ. Composites is something we get asked about frequently so we are looking forward to helping those seeking more information on this topic. The composites guide can be found on the Composites section of the Knowledge Base here: 

DarkAero Composites Knowledge

Website Updates
A small update we made to the website was to add a sidebar for containing additional sections of the website. This sidebar can be accessed at all times by clicking the three horizontal bars on the top right corner of the site. We are in the process of adding several new sections to the site starting with our Press section, which was published this past month. The Press section chronicles all the web articles covering DarkAero that we are aware of. If there is an article you have come across that is not currently on this page or if you are interested in conducting a story on DarkAero, feel free to email us at info@darkaero.com. 

DarkAero YouTube Community Updates
We recently launched the DarkAero YouTube Community. The community is a way for people to directly support us and in return gain access to behind the scenes photos, videos, and livestreams. In November we added four new videos, 15 photos, and conducted our second livestream Q&A for our community members.  As a self-funded endeavor, the community plays a huge role in helping us continue on our mission. Thank you again to all of those who have joined! We are excited to see where it goes as we continue to add more content in the future. 

Click here to join the DarkAero Community

Looking Ahead
In December we will be continuing with the main landing gear manufacturing as well as propeller installation.