Category: Technology

Science and technology revolutionise our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.

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the flying plank

Aside learning for the upcoming tests, I’m currently working on a new flying plank. After the successful tests with the first 9hrs prototype, I changed the design of the fuselage to be more rough and provide more space for trimming. As the rudder turned out to be too small, I increased the size quite a bit and added the option to quickly change the whole part.
fuselage and rudder rudder

This time I also chose a thinner airfoil (JWL065) adding the need for a spar. To get a smooth surface, I’ll cover the wing with adhesive foil.
wing core
Read more once I managed to test this guy. 😉

Cheers everyone,
Tim.

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non-destructive testing

Hey there …

To let you know what I’m doing at the uni, I posted a few pictures of the laboratories for non-destructive testing.

me in infrared
This is me, pictured by an infraredcamera; I guess those structures at the side of my forehead are veins.

my mobile in x-ray
These are the inner structures of my mobile-phone, x-rayed from behind.

nosepart of a wing - normal nosepart of a wing - ULT
The left picture shows a standard photo of the nosepart of some wing. The right shows the same part in ultrasound exited thermography, where the defect (a small crack between two rivets) shows up in white because it radiates heat.

Aside this we are preparing for the final presentation of our airliner-design and the last few days I started preparing for the tests coming up in the next months.

G’day everyone,
Tim.

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finally a new monitor

Hey everyone …

Lately I managed to decide on a new monitor. After reading quite a few tests, I chose to order a Hyundai L90D+
Hyundai L90D+
replacing my old blurry Eizo T662 tube, which I had bought used three or four years ago.
Eizo T662
It’s amazing how well logistics can work! It took less than 24 hours from clicking the “buy” button till the delivery guy rang at my door.

Aside that not much new to tell, my friends and I finished the work at the airliner design contest and handed in a report of 160 pages. After the final presentation I will put the paper online, for those interested in our work.

So far, have a good time!
Tim

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rc-planes again

After finally managing to get me some basic tools, I started to build rc-planes again. The first try was a small only-wing hang-glider (similar to “Little Plank”).
rc-tools rc-glider
After a test flight at the “Grüner Heiner” it turned out that the vertical stabiliser is quite a bit too small. But the trim calculations were pretty well and it flew right out of my hand, no further trim needed.
Now I’m planning the successor with a bigger vertical fin and a longer and stronger nose (after a few hard landings the nose broke off).

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new camera and new photos

After a long time, hardly taking photos, I decided to get me a good digital camera to replace my old SLRs.
After weeks of reading reviews, thinking about what I really need, I finally chose the Sony DSC-H1. (all manual controls, good low-light capabilities, anti-shake-system, 12X optical zoom)

After a few days of use I really love this camera, low-light works perfect, anti-shake makes it possible to take 5sec nightshots from hand without too much blur, the controls are nicely placed, especially the jog-dial at the front of the grip makes it really easy and fast to change apperture and speed in manual modes.
Below I added some smaples I took the recent days. More of this in the gallery.