[Brad] So here we have Ross Clements, right? And you are how old?
[Ross] Fifteen. [Brad] Fifteen! And you had to think about that...
[Ross] Yeah [Brad] Well, you're growin' fast. You know the time goes by.
So, you have here an airplane I was kind of interested in and it has a special type
of engine so how is this engine powered? Ross: Um, it's powered by compressed co2 from a
standard 12 gram Crossman pellet gun co2 cartridge.
[Brad] Compressed CO2 so that's like... you know...
[Ross] It's about a thousand psi. [Brad] It's like a gas-powered kind of thing ...
[Ross] At the high pressures it's liquid which roughly is a thousand PSI. Just depends on
how much there's left and ambient air temperature... all that good stuff. [Brad] Okay, yeah we saw it flying
earlier today and it was actually pretty slick; it's pretty smooth so
there's no wobble at all. That thing is just smooth as can be.
[Ross] It has a very slight vibration; not really noticeable. [Brad] So basically you charge it up by using that compressed CO2 and
you fill in the little chamber here. [Ross] Yeah, so you've got the tank and the tubing
that runs into the engine it's 2.6 cubic millimeters displacement so it's like
the second smallest CO2 motor ever commercially produced.
[Brad] Ok, and you charge it up by pushing it on there.
[Ross] Yep. So, depending on if I fill it up like this, that'll fill the tank with air
so the motor is not gonna run for very long but
if we took it upside down gas or the liquid comes to the bottom so you can
really fill it up and it basically fills almost instantly... Just holding it
for a little bit longer makes me feel better. [Brad] Okay, that's cool you want to show us how
you fire that up? I mean you don't have to fly it but if you want to, I just want to see this run.
[Ross] So, you just take it and get
to the end... If I can hit it... stop it and...
[Brad] That's cool 'cause you can't even see the prop spin. [Ross] It spins ridiculously fast.
[Brad] Now that prop is made out of wood? [Ross] Yeah laminated it's Czechoslovakian I think...
so uh it's master craftsmanship that's pretty usual... Yeah, it's fun...
Has the motor been changed? Okay, she's got like a lot of thrust.
[Brad] Ok, let's fly it!
Now, once it's up in the air how long does that CO2 last? [Ross] Um, that last flight was... [Brad] Well, it depends on based
on whether you put liquid in versus gas in? [Ross] Yeah, so this will be a liquid flight.
[Ross] Uh, oh... there we go...
Sometimes we can get junk when it seals back up, so...
Give it a flick...
[Brad] That is is awesome. [Ross] I think it's turned up.
[Brad] Turned up as in speed-wise? [Ross] Yep. [Brad] Okay, you can adjust the actual speed of the
prop based on... how do you do that? [Ross] You twist the cylinder in and out
It's threaded to the crankcase. It changes its timing when the valve opens and for how long...
[Brad] Okay so that regulates basically how
much flow goes through... [Ross] Yeah, each time the engine fires I guess not fires but whatever you want ot call it...
[Brad] Yeah there's no "firing," yeah what is the right term for that?
That thing is just smooth.
[Ross] Yeah, it definitely got turned up from last flight.
[Brad] So normally would just fly a little bit slower? [Ross] Well, normally just wouldn't climb
as high since it runs hard it had a lot of throttle. It loses it's energy faster.
normally I'd turn it down and just let it cruise around like 20 feet or so and
it'll fly longer. It's starting to come down slowly but it is coming down.
[Brad] So when did you build this? How long have you had it? [Ross] Um, it's been a pennyplane
that was really built too lightly... It's been sitting in a box for the past
couple years and about 30 minutes before I was going indoor flying I realized I
don't really have that much just flying so I made the little power pod with the
engine on and I've got a couple other models that it'll go on; I can fly with.
[Brad] So this is a mod pennyplane, basically? [Ross] Yeah, flying surfaces of a pennyplane... and a smaller fuselage.
[Brad] That is pretty cool
Now that'll stay up there for a couple how many minutes?
[Ross] Yeah, the prop just stopped. You can see so now it's gliding down. It's out of CO2. That means too much throttle.
[Brad] That's alright, we'll let you grab it.
[Ross] That's about it... [Brad] Well, that's way cool... I love it! [Ross] Surprisingly well... the amount of
effort put in the making the whole model. Fun project! [Brad] Well, Ross... Thank you very much! We'll catch you next time!