Most people can’t appreciate just how much work goes into all of this. From concept, to modeling, to a steady hand making the final cut. It’s Insane. You guys have inadvertently taught me so much about the engineering process and the nuance of manufacturing involved. Not sure wether to thank you or ask for a bill. Keep it going!!! Can’t wait to see this thing fly!!

Next level kit plane right here. You guys are setting the bar really high!

Merry Christmas to you three. You've killed it in 2021 while sharing the knowledge to attained along the way. So amazing to see the opensource knowledge base expanding especially in such an industry. Be blessed. Can't wait to see your wins in 2022 when it finally goes wheels up!

Congratulations, great progress. Big milestone when it’s on her wheels. Really like the level of detail.

Thanks for sharing how you quoted with Xometry on Fusion 360

Wow, a big finish for the year! As always, thank you for sharing your work.

Awesome. I love your videos, as well as Mike Patey's .You all have some things in common (besides an obvious love for aviation) attention to detail, the ability to foresee problems before they happen, and the unwillingness to accept any work which is not perfect (or at least as good as you can possibly get it). Even if someone is not all that into aviation, anyone can appreciate and learn a lot from the conscientious way that you guys go about your projects.

You guys are airplane Mozarts, unbelievable! 👌🏻 What a huge leap in progress! Please don't wait too long with the follow up video. I'd love to see her sitting on her wheels! 😀

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

The video of the airplane up on the gear will be coming out shortly! We are really excited to show the next chapter!

@ForFunFlyer

2 жыл бұрын

@@DarkAeroInc We're all excited to watch! 😀

What a huge milestone for you all! Congratulations!!!

As always, love watching you guys create and build this cool little aircraft. It’s a fascinating project! Keep it up and wishing you a great and successful new year

Riley, River and Keegan - It has been a great year for the three of you. You have made incredible progress, and all of us here on the Web are eagerly awaiting each new installment of your saga. Of course, the one we want to see the most is that of First Flight!... at least it continues to get closer. Keep up the great work, but make sure to take some time off for yourselves. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, guys. Thanks for the Xometry add-in to Fusion - nice to have. It has been an incredible year, in so many ways (good and bad), and following your venture and learning along the way has been a great experience. Here is to a great and prosperous New Year for you and your family. I can't wait to see her fly ......

Awesome work guys, love watching your videos and this plane come together.

I’m just obsessed with this plane! Can’t wait to see the day it stands all completed and in it’s full glory. I find myself getting distracted during the day just thinking about this plane and imagining what it’d look like finally. I pray you succeed guys, and I hope to be able to walk into your hangar and shake your hand and order one someday… a sleek 4-seater, fully decked out version of this one though! 😉😉

Outstanding guys! This is a mini Christmas gift! So eager to see it on its gear, and running outside the hangar!

The quality of the work here is fantastic. Looking forward to what's to come with this project.

Amazing work. My 2 brothers and I rarely see or speak to each other, warming to see the three of you being able to work so closely together. Happy Holidays!

@Cube-3710

2 жыл бұрын

Fighting or what was the cause?

It is like a model kit with the way it is going together. Amazing!

Superb guys, no other word can describe your work !

Good progress! I love that the video has some length and detail! Looking forward to buying your kit when it's done!

Happy Holidays!!! Nice to see things moving forward.

Ive been watching your videos for a long time, I do see the dedication in your team effort, be proud gentleman , can't wait for the finished product :)

Awesome bit of progress guys - looks good, keep up the good work!

Congratulations Fellas! Truly amazing progress. Merry Christmas!!!

Great work guys, I'm a pilot by profession and this plane looks really promising and fun! :) Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!

This is so great! Looking at this makes you feel the progress! :)

Merry Christmas! This was the perfect Christmas present (and a bit of a tease too!) was hoping to see the D.A1 on all threes, even if not completed. Can’t also wait to to see how the interior will finally look like and if possible what kind of flight instrument panels you’re going to use. Can’t wait! Wishing you guys greater strides in the coming year!

Love the fireplace in the hanger. Can’t wait to fly this thing

Merry X-mas DarkAero team, thank you for a lovely series of building the aircraft.

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for following the project! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas - Steller performance year creating DarkAero. Private Skunk Works kit aircraft progressing magnificently. Best wishes guys...

What a cliffhanger! Awesome job and looking GREAT. Merry Christmas and I can't wait to see what you do in 2022.

It is looking great guys! So exciting!!!

Nice video for Great work. We have been waiting for your videos for sometime. Wishing you all success.

Great job guys. Keep it going!

i have been watching your videos from the start, really nice to see the progress.

I like it. It is a very good start. When you come up with same quality and performance for 4 and 6 place single engine, then I be investing in your kit.

You guys do beautiful work! This will be a terrific flying airplane. Merry Christmas!

The steps shown here must have been very satisfying accomplishments. So glad you guys are doing this.

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

Much of the progress this year has felt slow because on any given day there was limited visual progress. All of the work in this video felt like a lot was happening quickly so it was satisfying and exciting to accomplish!

There is nothing like a blueprint coming through! Nice work guys!!! And Merry Christmas!

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

It is kinda trippy finally seeing things come into reality after visualizing them in our minds and in the computer for so long. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hey just want to compliment you guys on your PPE usage, it's hard to maintain and it's thankless, and you'll probably still get weirdos that think you're not doing enough, but having worked in aerospace you're executing that compliment better than some of the pros. Great job!

Merry Christmas guys. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and your passion.

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas Stuart! Thank you for watching!

Amazingly cool. Find these videos extremely interesting.

Beautiful work!

Wow thats awesome! I was writing a comment about how you might want a radius on the slitting saw so the edge isnt so sharp and prone to cracking but that program beat me to the punch. Amazing how far and how fast technology is adapting. Wasnt long ago they used actual ribbons with holes on the old Fanuc machines. I bet some are still running.

That is looking amazing!

Keep up the good work guys.

Merry Christmas. Hope all is well. Amazing job

Just found your channel and subscribed!!! Happy New Year

Spectacular! Merry Christmas :-)

wow a ton of progress in that video. and I also realized Ryley, you and the brothers are NEAT freaks. Meant in a good way. wish I was that neat. Merry Christmas.

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas David! A clean shop and neat work area helps to produce a better airplane! 😁

Well done! In the sky in 2022. Fantastic.

Your CAD work and CNC is exquisite! I was wondering about the CG change when the gear is retracted. How much rear CG does it cause? or is the airplane Nose Heavy when gear is extended?

From Blériot XI to Webb space telescope then Darkaero 1, I admire intelligent peaceful inquiries solving flight engineering challenges. Make good on your homegrown sucess.

Love your work! I’m an A&P and you got me really interested in the manufacturing/ engineering sector

Amazing, outstanding!

Bonne et heureuse année, je suis fasciné par ce que vous faites, merci

best content on youtube, great job guys!!

Sitting an airplane on the gear for the first time is traditionally a major celebrated event in aerospace... I hope you have something fin planned. It's been fun watching the journey.

Great work guys, Merry Xmas

just popped on your website, that place is just out of this world. I love your Content.

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for checking out our website! Glad you are enjoying the videos!

Good work, I’ve been an aerospace engineer for 25 years, and I have never worked on carbon fiber, I’m sure it must be difficult. I have thoughts on geometric locks on UCs…. but the internet is full of people and their opinions!

Can’t wait to see that light weight aircraft fly

Really good job!

keep up the great work x

Congrats DarkAero Team!!!!... Awesome milestone in the build!!!!! Estimate of date for first flight?

Really cool stuff!

Can't believe someone hasn't commented on the tv fireplace in the background! Haha hilarious. Can't imagine how cold it gets in that hangar this time of year. Great progress guys, and as always I love your methodology! Merry Christmas 🎄

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

Haha glad you caught it! We keep the temp stable but the heater definitely works hard to keep it warm during the winter. Merry Christmas! 😁

it's incredible how the carbon/honeycomb sandwich looks so flimsy, attached by only the edge, yet that thing probably can take me and 3 other friends standing on it, man composites are crazy

This channel is great!

It's looking like this bird might be completed in 2022! Looking forwards to seeing this beauty take to the skies.

Great progress guys. Can you share your vacuum/ filter setups for carbon fiber. Thanks one again

Also you could find the center of mass by using car weight scales when the airplane is complete, one scale on the nose gear and two for the main gear. You would then figure out the center of mass of the landing gear, so you could calculate how the center of mass of the entire airplane moves back when the gear is up.

Comment for the algorithm, i hope you hit it big so you guys are still around when i can afford one of these kits :)

Very lovely work as usual. Looks like a complex build though and I can't help wonder if a single piece hull without bulkheads wouldn't be better on a couple of significant points. Compound curves and the stiffness of CF should enable rigidity with near zero bulkheads. Added layers or core material can reinforce. A single shell has to be dramatically more durable than perpendicular bonds and must be vastly faster to manufacture. A similar simplification for gear should be possible. Maybe a consideration after first flight.

When will you be post-curing? When it's all done or as go with heat lamps? Great work so far

Brilliant Work! Do you feel your cost projections are still in line with what is posted on the website? Or will this be one of those projects where you discover you just can’t keep it on budget? Ya’ll are definitely on my short list for choosing my kit plane! (Assuming cost stay true ;-)

Can't wait for this...

Beautiful work. Will there be gear door covers?

I know I should care about how good an aeroplane it is. But I don't, really - not yet. At the moment it is a beautiful piece of art! It is stunning, and I can't wait to see it complete. Watching it dance about the sky will be such a wonderful sight. Great work - 2022 is already looking bright.

Merry Christmas guys! Awesome work and can’t wait to see the next video! Question - Are you considering a design update for kit production that creates datum features in the parts so that they self align? Integral flanges that the bulk heads bank against perhaps? CNC router drilled Cleco holes in mating parts perhaps? Not just in the fuselage, but wing too. You have an amazing design for high performance and manufacturability, but after building the prototype I bet you learn some things that you wish were even easier to build. Finding solutions to make it snap together rapidly will surely provide you with VANS level success! Something like the composite construction equivalent to VANS CNC drilled rivet holes in skins…

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas David! We do use a number of alignment features, such as tab and slots in the bulkheads, but you are correct that we want to add many more alignment features for production. You do come up with improvement ideas while building the airplane. The construction process adds another layer of refinement onto the design that you just cannot achieve in the CAD world.

@jimru5574

2 жыл бұрын

And to add to David’s great ideas: my build included permanent installation of bubble levels in key locations (both wheel wells; cockpit floor/console; each wing under an inspection panel). It’s so easy to Jack & level the aircraft during construction, AND especially once complete for maintenance/inspection, servicing, weight & balance, fuel flow & distribution. Maybe you guys just add true/flat surfaces, where the owner can place/tape bubble levels in real quick & easy. Absolutely love what you guys are doing and am so happy to see such a great design taking shape: keep going toward greatness!

Beautiful

When cutting holes through structural members, it's helpful to slightly overdrill the diameter and glue a solid collar in the hole. The collar helps distribute stress, thereby avoiding point stress common to many modes of failure. For your honeycomb sandwiched between carbon-fiber layers, it may be helpful to user two collars, each with a narrow flange. This creates a U-channel covering the exposed edges of the honeycomb matrix.

@spudpud-T67

2 жыл бұрын

How strong is the joint when they use adhesive to the honey comb (the thin edge of cf is negligible). Assuming the adhesive is unbreakable, would not the honey comb just disintegrate when stressed, Would it not be a good idea to over lap a layer carbon fiber over the join area (after gluing together) to take the load off the honey comb and back onto the carbon fiber surfaces.

Yay! DarkAero posted! I could maybe assemble a RTF Carbon Cub RC plane….

Can’t tell but did you guys use a layer of glass where the gear mounts to the fuse? If you didn’t you run the risk of galvanic corrosion with the aluminum parts if they get wet. Carbon bike frames usually have glass around the areas that have bolts or water bottle bosses bonded to stop the corrosion. Otherwise it’s a work of art!

have you thought about adding a strip of carbon cloth along each edge of those glue joints? that bond doesn't look like it has a lot of contact area

You guys are the best. Great shop, great engineering, great workmanship. I have a question about testing. Was the wing used in the sandbag testing the same wing as this prototype wing? If so does Darkaero intend to take a wing to ultimate prior to kit production?

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you vaughnbay! The wing shown in this video is the same wing that was proof loaded. We might take a wing to ultimate load at some point, but we achieved sufficient confidence from the proof load test to produce production wings.

Love to see the progress, how difficult do u think the kit is gonna be to build. Do u think a beginner would be able to build it?

Hi Team, I recently come across the Airbus A350 paint issue and realised that there will be copper mesh for a lightning strike, Since you guys are using carbon composites what is your plan on lighting strike can you plz explain how external texture will be, How it will affect the aerodynamics and how the paint will stick to the uneven surface and sustain thermodynamic effect of the metal, Please reply or address this in your next video, Lot of respect for your team from India.

Looking really good! Can’t wait to see it (her?) sitting right side up, tall and proud! Question - did all three wheels end up level exactly where you had them modeled in CAD, or is there some shimming or adjusting needed? Once it’s under it’s own weight, I imagine the flex in the fuselage will hide any discrepancy between the heights, but will introduce a long term internal stress. Am I totally off about this?

@DarkAeroInc

2 жыл бұрын

Everything lined up as expected. There is some flex in the airframe since it’s not infinitely ridged, but the bigger source of position change on the wheels is compression of the shocks and squish of the tires depending on how the airplane is loaded up.

Curious about the glue bonding. What is the life expectancy on the glue welds?

Carbon fiber beautiful lovely jubly work

Congrats on your progress! One question I have is will the seats be on rails so the passengers can stagger for shoulder width like most instructors do in a C-172?

just a food for thought, leave some room in the designs for access panels for inspections, maintenance in critical areas if you haven't already, might help in the future.

Been catching up watching your videos, I'm still a little behind, viewed this one today. I enjoy them since I've always liked designing and building. I am curious if the cg moves back significantly when retracting the gear. Will gross weight and takeoff balance calculations need to be compensated for the shift? An example would be with best angle of climb being the closest takeoff configuration to a stall, any weight shift rearward will bring it closer to one.

Amazing! You guys must have deep pockets.

After you get the belly skin on after the landing gear is installed, have you given any thought to getting access if any mechanical repairs are needed? A fracture from a hard landing as an example, or inspecting the landing gear & structure during the annual?

Merry Christmas gentlemen! Do you plan to edge fill the exposed edges inside the grist wells ?

It's basically the worlds coolest 3D puzzle. On a serious note, given the gear swing back, do you calculate there's going to be any/much change to the CoG with gear up V's gear down?

Been watching so cool

Are your carbon fiber -honeycomb aluminum core components a Hexcel product? Hexcel was has made a wide variety of this carbon comb composite for a huge number of varied applications. Including skis. Very interesting build. Can't wait to see the first flights