**Come see us at Sun'NFun - Booth N034 - outside of Hangar C**

2/19/2012 - The Test Wing Is Coming Together

 

The stiffeners for the test wing arrived, they are amazing!  

The panther spar is typical in design in many respects.  It uses a 6061 T-6 AL angle as caps that are riveted to the spar web.  The wing skins rivet into the angle as well.  The inner portions of the spar where loads are very high have several layers of strips which carry the cap loads.  As you progress out, and loads lessen, these strips taper and step down.  At the point where loads are light enough and the angle cap can carry the entire load, the further out these caps can be tapered.  Panther spars are somewhat different than other in that the flange strips and webs and vertical stiffeners have all been incorporated into CNC machined stiffener plates.  It has 3 .250 thick plates, a .063 inner web and a .032 outer web.  The rivet holes in these only require reaming the final .010.  The angle flange strips in the kit wings will be predrilled as well.  So to assemble you will remove the parts from the box, cleco together, ream holes to final size, debur and then rivet. The plates have the wing mount pin holes reamed to the proper size.  The jig welded forward fuselage also has the mount holes pre-drilled.  Combine these two and you have the typical critical step of rigging wing to fuselage and drilling accurate holes already finished for you!

Keep scrolling for more...

The spar should be riveted up mid-week!

We are also working on the rudder pedals, toe brakes and control stick.

Photos coming soon.

We really like the ease of constructing the flat panel rear fuselage of the Zenith and Sonex, but the sharp lower corner looks… well it looks a little un-finished.  We wanted a little improvement in appearance without a major increase in work. You can see a photo of how we achieved this. Construction of the rear fuselage has begun with longerons cut.  We took a minute to make a sample skin/longeron section to show how we are doing it. The ¼ radius on the longeron is very simple to do with a router and only took about 20 minutes, plus 10 to sweep the chips of the floor.   More soon!

2/5/2012 - Test Fitting for all sizes

 

Since the fuselage is now semi-permanently tack welded we decided it was time to try it on for size.  All sizes, that is!

Rachel was first.  She is 5'4" and has a small build.  She looks like the Panther ate her for breakfast, but she still has great visibility and can reach the controls and rudder pedals without issue.  Supplemental padding for height and the adjustable seat back would allow her to increase visibility and proper rudder pedal positioning.
Dan was next.  He has a 6', 220 lb frame and he was quite comfortable.  See the pics for yourself.
Dan is resting comforably in a slightly reclined position and has plenty of knee room.  The make-shift cushion is a decent representation of the average cushion thickness.
Here is a picture of Dan's leg position compensating for the rudder pedals.  (pic is a little bright, but you get the point - aye?)
Here you can see the distance from Dan's shoulder and the instrument panel is dead on.  The adjustable seat back allows the pilot to make the adjustments to fit his/her body structure perfectly!
Next we have Lyn Dingfelder - a fellow friend, Corvair enthusiast and hopefully a Panther Beta Builder!
Lyn's is quite a tall guy, measuring in at just under 6'3".  We are not sure of his weight, but venture to say it isn't much.  He is a very tall, and very lean pilot - perfect for testing out the fuselage!  Here you can see, again, the Panther is a perfect fit.  He perfers the reclined position, and still has leg room to stretch on a long flight.  With the bubble canopy Lynn, and all pilots, should be able to look back and see the tail.  In the picture below you can see just how much room and visibility there will be.

1/22/2012 - Rolling Forward

 

The roll cage has been fitted, and some more adjustments made.  Few more adjustments to come, then final welding.  Should be ready for powdercoating by the end of next week.  Forming of the test wing ribs continues. 

1/18/2012 - Coming Together

 

The fuselage is starting to come together.  Our master welder began the tack work last night and these are some pics.  Dan really wanted to climb in and get a feel for the width, but it isn't quite time for that yet.  The instrument panel is a prop only - but the wing ribs are genuine Panther parts.  Things should start moving quickly from here, so check back often.  You can also become a fan on FaceBook.  When there is an update to the website we will post on FB!  Click the link below.....
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1/12/2012 - PARTS AND PROPS!

 

THE WING RIBS AND FORM BLOCKS FOR THE TEST WING ARE FINALLY HERE!!!!!  The building has begun!  We have the fuselage side fixture completed and welding will begin next week. 

AND - The local county paper, The Clay Today, did a front page piece on the SOLO filming!  It is very interesting and we would love to share it with you.  Here are images of the paper story or you can see it in PDF format here: Clay Today SOLO

12/28/2011 - Update - Keep scrolling so you don't miss anything!

There have been so many different things going on over the last few weeks!  First - and most exciting - was the filming of SOLO.  Dan's sister, Lisa Weseman, and brother-in-law, Lex Sadasivan, spent a week shooting footage for their short film called SOLO.  You can read all about it here -  SOLO Film - or on FaceBook here - SOLO FaceBook. 

 

"Filmed on location at Haller Airpark in Green Cove Springs, Florida, SOLO is a short film that authentically explores life -- and death -- in a small-town aviation community. 

A mother and son mourn the loss of an experimental aircraft pilot and uncover a startling discovery about the true nature of his work -- and life itself." 
 
Dan's sister Lisa is the writer/producer, and her husband Lex is the director/producer.  The film will make it's debut at Sun'nFun this spring, so look for it!

 

Dan was the stunt pilot for most of the air shots and Rachel was the makeup artist.  It was an amazing experience!  The cast and crew were great to work with, and we learned so much about things we had never been involved in before.  From the audio, green screen, lighting, silent on the set, multi-angle shots, wardrobe, production design and video equipment - we were enthralled in all of the different aspects of the filmmaking process!  It was exciting, exhausting and unforgettable. 


Dan has been building a new workshop in his hangar that will be temperature controlled.  This is all in preparation for building the wing of the Panther.  Lots of work going into this right now.  It is all walled in, insulated and painting is finished.  Doors and windows go in tonight.
So after all of this excitement we don't have any positive progress on the Panther, other than the new workshop to build her in.  We are still waiting on the CNC parts to be delivered.  We don't have an ETA, but were expecting them over 2 weeks ago.  So.....we are in hurry up and wait mode right now.

12/15/2011 - Update

    The Panther made it into the Experimenter!!!!!   Wow, what a surprise!  Click here and scroll down to the EXPERIMENTER MULTIMEDIA section. 

    The wing ribs and spars for the test wing from the CNC shop should be here by the end of the week, and goal is to have the test wing built and proven by the New Year's Eve!  We know that is a very agressive goal, but we really want to do it!  What a way to ring in the new year!  We will post pics along the way and video of the wing load testing.  Here are some pics of our nephew Garrett Weseman (future Panther builder ;) banging out some ribs from the proto types the CNC shop sent us.

11/27/2011 - Weekly Update


    We have been busy at the Corvair College, setting up websites and working on spar details. In the past weeks we have formed the test ribs and added flute locations to the form blocks. We also "tweaked" the nose of the rib blanks so they form better.  I'm now happy with them and will get the test wing ribs on they way.  Below are some photos. You can see how the relief cuts have been changed and how I spaced the flutes.  Also notice the flutes in the lightening hole flanges.  This helps them lay flat in the vertical area between the holes.

    We will try and do a weekly update - even if its just a screen shot of a CAD file or a concept we are working on. Thanks for all the positve feedback - Dan

10/29/2011 - Form Block and Rib Blanks Sheet Metal R & D parts back from machine shop

 On Friday, October 29, 2011 we received the first parts for the Panther project.  We've been working with a CNC machine shop to create the sheet metal parts for the Panther.  To start we had them make a set of form blocks and rib blanks for the main, nose and fuel tank ribs.  We are really impressed with the quality and are excited to move forward with parts from this vendor.  We will be forming the ribs, adding locations for the flutes, and verifying dimensions this week.  We will have the ribs and parts for the main spars in a few weeks and then begin assembling the test wing.  We hope to complete the static load testing by mid-December.

 The fuselage design is coming along well and the prints for the welded forward fuselage section are basically ready.  We had a short delay because I've been waffling on the fuselage width.  Our fuselage mockup was 30 inches wide.  Thirty inches was way too wide for me, and I'm a big guy. I had settled on, and designed for, 26 inches wide after sitting in both the mockup and my RV –4. The RV is 28 inches wide but has 3 inches of canopy rail.  Twenty six inches with a thin canopy rail is about the same and felt perfect to me.  After input from several fellow aircraft builders and pilots I decided to go with a 28 inch wide fuselage. This required changing the wing spars and all the fuselage drawings, yuck!   But the wonders of CAD amaze me and it was relatively simple once I accepted it and got to work.  The jig for the fuselage sides are in the works and we should have the fuselage “cage”, as we call it, welded up in a few weeks.

The landing gear design is finished and will be machined soon.  We worked hard to design the landing gear mounts so that it was a simple process to install the landing gear, three bolts per side and no critical alignment to do.  The leg itself is 7075 – T6, and will be airfoil shaped with routed brake lines. These could also be made out of simple bar stock.  When we have the gear legs and fuselage cage welded we will do the drop tests to verify gear deflections, and make any changes at that time. The gear mounts can easily accommodate legs of different thickness, so if changes are needed they will be very simple.

We will try to have an update every couple weeks or as new info is available.  Please feel free to e-mail me with any comments and feedback.

Thanks for looking.

Dan and Rachel Weseman

10/9/2011 - First In-depth Glance at the SPA Panther

Yes, the rumors are true. Dan Weseman has been designing a single seat sport plane. This design is named the Panther.

 

The Concept

   The Panther is designed to be a versatile, mid-sized, single seat low wing Sport or LSA aerobatic airplane with quick fold wings.

Why?

 

We all know there are 10 different single seat airplanes in this class, so why do we need another one? It comes down to compromises. Every designer picks their own set of compromises, whether it be engine choice, construction, technique or building modes (like plans versus kits), just to name a few. It has always been and always will be a give and take. The designs in the current market never seemed to fit my set of desired compromises. They were either too small, very complex to build, designed around a specific engine or could only be kit built. When thinking in terms of a single seat airplane I always thought there should be an aircraft with a much broader set of compromises.

                                                     

The Panther offers un-paralleled versatility. The Panther is the Burger King of airplanes, “Have it Your Way”. You choose the engine, landing gear configuration, wing length, safety features, open or enclosed cockpit and kit or plan/kit combo….you make it how you want it.

Common features

 

  • Quick (2 min or less) easy single person wing fold, no controls to disconnect. 
  • fit in 18ftx7x7 space (trailer ) when folded
  • large cockpit with adjustable rudder pedals and seat back, room for big guys and a parachute!
  • forward (2cu ft)and rear baggage area
  • pilot rollover protection
  • ballistic chute capable
  • bubble canopy replaceable by small windshield and skirt for open cockpit flying
  • excellent visibility

 

 Flying design goals

  

  • easy to fly with low stall/landing speed
  • long stick and travel for light control feel without being "twitchy"
  • positively stable in all axis
  • excellent off runway and climb performance
  • fun and sporty to fly with great performance and wide speed range!

There will be 3 wing lengths/airframe configurations

    

Sport

wingspan 21.5 ft

not LSA

6Gs at 1150 lbs

engines from Corvair to Lycoming 0-320

up to 30 gal fuel in wings

empty weights from 620-750

tail dragger only.

 

LSA                

Wingspan 23.5 ft

LSA legal 

6Gs at 1020 lbs

engines form 80-120 hp

20 gal fuel in wing

empty weights from 580-650lbs 

tail dragger or tri-gear

 

Long LSA     

Same as LSA but with extended wings     

Extended tapered tips on LSA wing and horizontal stab for small engines

high ALT

electric power or sport flight with high efficiency, etc

Construction

  

  • 6061 aluminum / flush blind rivets (solid optional)
  • 4130 steel tube construction from seat back to firewall. All critical attachment points like landing gear, wing pin, engine mount, 5 point harness, ballistic chute, rollover bar, control hard points etc. will be welded in the jig . This allows quick accurate construction of all critical points.  Offers safety in a crash. Skinned in AL
  • quick easy to build tail cone rivets/bolts on to the forward fuselage
  • simple control surface design
  • simple strong wing spar with only seven components per spar (plus bolts/rivets)
  • simple flat AL bar gear leg (2024 or lightweight 7075 airfoil shape)

 

Think RV-3 slammed into Sonex and you'll get an idea of size and looks.

 

Status

    The wing spar and wing designs are finished and I'm working on CAD drawings for spar parts . Rib and form block templates are made, forward fuse is designed to a point we can start welding. The landing gear math is complete and the tail layout is finished. I am working on completing spar calculations for horizontal and vertical stab. 

    This is a personal project at this point. I have been documenting in anticipation of offering plans/kits in the future if everything works out.  Local interest is high. I have a large back order of 5Th bearings to get out in the next few weeks. After I have my back order caught up, I will build a wing panel and horizontal/vertical tail to test to destruction (I’ve always wanted to do this, will post video of it breaking!). If it passes testing, my plan is to group build 5 airframes, 1 LSA tri-gear, 2 LSA tail draggers and 2 sport 0-320 powered aircraft. My goal is to have an airframe to show at Sun n’ Fun 2012. Then LSA and a Sport flying At Oshkosh this year...we will see

What Then??

     If all went well I am planning to offer plans/kits. To build from plans it would be a plans plus deal. The forward welded fuselage and welded parts will not have detailed plans. I would offer them finished and powder coated ready to use. I know this may turn some off, but I learned from the Sonex group a tiny % of plans builder welded their parts anyway. I would offer them at as low cost as possible. The inboard spar caps/stiffener plate would also be CNC machined and ready to use. Again, these would be very affordable. The builder could build all the sheet metal parts including hardware for about 2K then buy the forward fuselage and finish the airframe in short order. Can you imagine going form a tail cone with empennage attached and wings laying against the wall - to sitting in the airplane with the wings on, tail cone attached and on its gear in 1 day! And you'd have no critical aliment to do or holes to drill!

 

  As you can tell I'm excited about this project for many reasons. I have a lot of ideas about how to make flying less expensive (both time and money) and FUN. I will guarantee you there will not be a more fun, friendly Experimental Aircraft program than this! Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments. I will post the new website in a week or two.  Thanks, Dan and Rachel Weseman, Sport Performance Aviation – Value, Versatility, Integrity.

Oshkosh 2011 - First Glance at the Panther - Displayed In William Wynne's FlyCorvair.com Booth