Brodak Buster

Goin out to test fly my Brodak Buster in an hour, thought I'd get the preliminaries out, picture, weight, etc.

Really weird, I normally get up at 2 in the morning to go to work, today I woke up at 9. Seven hours more sleep? Youch, lazy bones. Missed that 8 k run this morning.

Weight, 23 ounces. Covered in Ultracote and Rustoleum and a wee bit of fiberglass around the shakeables. Powered by my Foxberg 35 motor and although it has the old Foxberg tank, I have it drilled for a newer tank to be made yet for the local rules, 140 laps, 4 pits. Really only needs just a touch more fuel than the 1 ounce tank to make up for a less than perfect engine.

As usual, the Brodak kit was an easy build, albeit there was some wood that was too light for the job and maybe a piece of pithy stuff here or there. Easily replaced.

Here's the picture.

I'm afraid that my Buster is just too,too,toooo, FAST!!!

Yup, gonna blow the doors off them old Wichita guys this August. 30 laps on the Foxberg tank, pits purty easy, starts when warm, no problem. Yup, gonna be some crying old boys down there.

Actually, my gear is a little floppy so I'm gonna have to fix that, but the rest is pretty good. I think I missed the hardwood that I put in the fuse to bolt the gear into. I'll fix it with some brass, just like I fixed my Shoestring about 5 or 6 times.

William,
In the old original CG instructions there were drawings for a sheet aluminum gear set-up with a nice looking wheelpant shape too. I built a Cosmic Wind for a freing with sheet aluminum gear, without the wheelpant shapes though, and we had a very solid gear that stood up to some very hard landings. Have you seen these drawings, and do you see this set-up at the races often. Just curious.
BTW, nice looking racer.
Chris...

LAST EDITED ON Jun-26-04 AT 06:30 PM (CDT)
 
I've only seen the 1/8" gear, the aluminum was extra and the only aluminum I can ever find is the non-tempered stuff that is flatter faster than the wire gear. Oh, it's my fault. I got in a hurry building this one to race in Topeka and forgot to put the hardwood center in the right place which makes up for this problem. I also used the gear from the kit that has the gear wire going halfway through and using the same hole, not like the CG kit where it was one piece in the wing cutout. The real answer for the wire gear is to drill two holes, one over the other, then bush them both with brass and have one gear going through the top hole and one through the bottom, preferably these bushes would be in hardwood. I'd like to have the aluminum or titanium gear though with the wheelpants, that would be the ultimate. It ALL takes a beating on the up-turned brush broom that we call our flying field.

Gear aside, the plane flew pretty good. And I only have the smallest of stress cracks on the doubler, understandable as it was missing a half inch of prop thanks evidently to a ni-starter hitting it on takeoff. It was a vibraty flight. I think if I'd had used a flexible paint like dope instead of the harder and more prone to crack Rustoleum, it may not have cracked. I don't think it's gone through the fiberglass.

Those darn Goldberg racers have always been too much fun not to have a bunch of um hangin around. My first Buster though.

You might have no problem with the Wichita bunch. I broke a crank shaft in Dallas. got to find a good one out of the junk box.
Bigiron

Nice looking Buster WC!!!

Paul