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SkyTrax Gearbox Clutch upgrade for the Yamaha APEX on a Kitfox 7
SkyTrax Gearbox Clutch upgrade for the Yamaha APEX on a Kitfox 7.
Contact Teal Jenkins
Skytraxusa.com
SkyTrax Gearbox Clutch upgrade for the Yamaha APEX on a Kitfox 7.
Contact Teal Jenkins
Skytraxusa.com
Пікірлер: 28
It's fun to watch two iconic Kit Foxes flying together! I could watch you guys all day!
This plane has been a very interesting watch from the beginning of the decision to go to the Yamaha engine. And the air to air footage was pretty sweet too. Almost looked like something from a High end computer video game.
This is a great addition /upgrade on the clutch. Trent did a top quality video for you. Thanks for sharing with us.
Beautiful time of year in the north valley...awesome aerial footage indeed! Brian I have really, really enjoyed the effort you put in to the tech and mechanical aspects of the airplane build. It has been a blast watching you bring it to life and then fine tuning for best performance.
Next level videography !
@notoriousmsb
Жыл бұрын
tbh i thought it was microsoft flight simulator with those angles and clicked on the vid because i wanted to see why the graphics were so good lol.. and then realized it was just super good videography.
Like your new intro.
Just found your channel. Thanks do enjoy your know how and honest evaluations of you new things you try to
Nice plane. The freedom fox killer 😂
Nice remix
Super cool video!
Looks like a nice upgrade. Keep us informed, LOL
A fun watch, thanks buddy
THANKS I Appreciate you taking the time to produce this video. What parts do you have to send to Teal to get this mod done ?
Hey Bryan, love your videos. Thanks for sharing your journey. I've noticed for a while on your in-flight audio that you seem to have a ground loop causing noise. Ground loops can be tough to track down and fix, but you might consider trying an inline noise filter on your recording device's DC power supply line and/or a ground loop isolator on the audio line. Both can be made, or purchased quite cheaply from Amazon. I've used both together in my Xterra to squash a ground loop in my ham radio install. Total cost was about $20.
I hate to say this Bryan, but according to the sectional diagram at 2:47 you seem to have put the very thin shim washer on the clutch side of the Belville washers, rather than between the washers and the spacer underneath the nut.
@BowenAero
Жыл бұрын
We put it on that side to start and measure the amount of torque required to turn the hub. As the friction plate wears in, the shim can be moved to the other side applying more pressure to the friction plate. There is a diagram for each option. I just happened to put that one in the video. But good catch.
@theflyingfool
Жыл бұрын
@@BowenAero Glad it wasn't anything critical :D
Did I spy a freedom fox in the background
I was interested in the skytrax box but the more I dug into the more I was unsure of it. It seems these things are getting constantly modified or updated. When I talked to company about the box, what it's mtbf, and other technical question I got a whole lot of nothing. The use of a sprag clutch is questionable as a means of dealing with the engines oscillating output. I am still interested in the solution and think it's great people are experimenting. It feels like most of the testing for reliability is being done by the customers.
@sneakybow1
Жыл бұрын
That's why it's called experimental. You have to start somewhere, you think Rotax just one day designed a motor and started selling them with a TBO rating? Everything is a process and a learning curve.
@tamiamibusch
Жыл бұрын
@@sneakybow1 Just because its experimental does not mean you do not need to do your homework. I have done professional work on certified aircraft and the design phase of a product is the shortest phase of the development in certified aviation. Most of your time is spent putting plans together, writing documentation, doing configuration management plans, certifying process and procedures, etc. Experimental aviation just lets you bypass the paperwork its not a excuse or waiver to not do proper engineering. You can build an experimental mode S transponder bypass all the validation work but you better make sure it actually works properly in the system or else the FAA is not going to have kind words for you. I have done gearbox design and analysis for certified aviation and its a big task to get the design right and reliable. The problem with using sprag clutches in psru are well documented, which is why you do not find them in certified aviation. This skytrax gear box has been kicking around now for over 10 years originally started on the rotoary wing forum when people started to experiment with the yamaha engine,3 cylinder, and a rotax gear box for auto gyros. After the success of the 3 cylinder Yamaha people looked at the 4 cylinder but you could not just bolt on a rotax gear box and the skytrax box or its first version started to appear. I first saw this gear box fly on a autogyro. Fast forward several years later and I see the gearbox is being sold by a company. I figure by this time the design should be mature, sorted, and have had a proper bench test for wear and accelerated life testing. When I email the company they responded with well we have not done that but some user have many hours on the gear box. I still think its a great idea but lots of "autoconversion" have been popular in aviation only to be undone by the gearbox some time later down the road when the fleet gets up in hours the fatigue damage starts to show up. Also rotax sold their first engine with a 300 TBO in 1975.
@tamiamibusch
Жыл бұрын
@@tealjenkins4716 while you may have designed your gearbox from the ground up its very similar to the ideas and experimentation on the autogyro forum. The layout would have to be very identical anyways based on the mount location of the yamaha apex. I am sure you drew inspiration from prior work and their is nothing wrong with that. Also the development budget should match the the technical complexity of producing a safe design regardless of the quantities sold. Mr. Jenkins I emailed you in July 2021 at which point you indicated you only had 200 hrs on a test bench and had no other reliability or testing information to share. Second you said the torsional vibration was handled by yamaha which is not a correct statement since that type of analysis requires looking at the whole system including the propeller and gearbox, maybe your lucky and the damper is good enough . The system maybe overly or under damped in which cases problems may appear longer down the road. If you are using a sprag clutch to disconnect the motor and psru at stratup and landing its still problematic. The loss of the PSRU is a catastrophic failure condition since it can lead to the loss of life and aircraft (AC 25.1309-1). The probability of failure for any aircraft component in the catastrophic hazard category is expected to be 1^-9 failures per flight hour, one in a billion. Every component in a PSRU should have this probability failure assuming its not a redundant load path. Given the history of sprag clutches failing in Aviation I would be hard pressed to believe that the sprag clutch can meet 1^-9 . If I was going to supply some means of disconnect at startup and shut down. It would be a normally on, engaged, mechanical or electromechanical clutch operated by the pilot. Failure of the manual clutch to hold after startup can be identified by the pilot during run up, the system is always engaged so no possibility of disconnect in flight as may happen with a sprag. If the clutch does not disengage after landing that is not catastrophic to life so the requirement for that type of failure is much lower. Even better is not have a clutch at all which is possible but very tricky to do. You claim that the sprag clutch is not seeing torsional vibration but I doubt that's the case and maybe you are just responding quickly on the internet. Regardless I do wish you success with your gear box its great concept for aviation to have cheaper power plants. Also I applaud you for even trying, its a lot of work and effort to build anything commercially.
@tamiamibusch
Жыл бұрын
@@tealjenkins4716 I do understand the difference between the 4 and 3 cylinder motor. Both were experimented with in autogyro Forum. In typical internet comment section fashion this is descending into an unprofessional discussion. Best of luck with your business.
@foesfly3047
Жыл бұрын
Brother Teal Sir, you rock. And the service you have introduced and provided the EAB community is exceedingly valuable. Your dedication to continuous improvement is admirable, to say the least. The Yamaha conversion engines are one of the very most exciting developments in our part of aviation and your work has been the single most important system that has made all the rest possible. Seriously- thank you 😎🎩♠️💙
Any update on the clutch ? All the best !
what kind of longevity are you guessing with the apex engines with the higher RPMs?