Russian Thunder gets a face lift.

[Futabaman]

	Quote: Originally Posted by AggieFlyer1
	Man, it would really be cool if there was a raffle for a chance to ride on Jim's Russian Thunder. I would pay a handsome sum for such an opportunity.

Funny you should say that!! You can have a chance for a ride, as there will be a raffle at the XFC to win a chance to win one of the rides in it.

[JoeAirPort]

Man those are some killer pic's !!! I def will save them to my PC for future reference. Thanks for posting those Sleepy.
I especially like those adjustable pitch louvers on the air inlet of the engine cowling. Wonder why they are needed. For very cold temp's in Russia?

[Lance J.]

the land gear leg seems to be made of two pieces,, does it flex here as a shock absorber?

[statbeast]

That is sweet!

[jbourke]

	Quote: Originally Posted by JoeAirPort
	I especially like those adjustable pitch louvers on the air inlet of the engine cowling. Wonder why they are needed. For very cold temp's in Russia?

The louvers are used to control cylinder temperatures. They are typically left open for an aerobatic flight, because the engine is running full bore and needs the cooling. But on a cold day or during a descent, when the engine could experience too much cooling too quickly, the louvers are shut.

Jim

[jbourke]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Lance J.
	the land gear leg seems to be made of two pieces,, does it flex here as a shock absorber?

What you see are actually the composite fairings that surround the titanium gear. The fairings are joined together with a rubber bushing, to allow them to flex along with the gear.

The titanium gear itself is a tube. For some reason, the tube has a bend in it that puts the wheels slightly forward of where they would be if the tube were straight. I personally like the look of that little kink, but I've heard some people who think it looks funny. I've wondered about the design, but haven't had a chance to look into it. It would be interesting to talk to the designer about that. I do have his email address somewhere. It could be a purely aesthestic decision, but it is also possible that they needed to adjust the design for a nose-over tendency. Dunno.

Jim

[JoeAirPort]

jbourke, thanks for the inside info. Very cool.

[SleepyC]

---THE RAFFLE HAS BEEN CANCELED---

Jim Bourke has been doing double duty to get Russian Thunder up and ready for XFC. The plane has been getting tweaked for the last few months. Jim has been with the plane all week in California and RT was good to go but then there were issues with cylinders 5 and 9. They are being replaced.

Jim B. expects RT to be ready to fly sometime next week, hopefully in time for the IAC competition in Ephrata, Washington next weekend.

Jim B. wants everyone to know how disappointed he is the plane will not be ready in time for the show.