Anyone know a good way to make a belly baggage pod?

My Jurca Sirocco has so little baggage space, that it really needs
some extra room. I'd like to make a bomb-shaped belly pod, and have
seen some made on other homebuilts. I've heard of some of the Pitt's
S-1 guys welding two spinners together, back to back, but that doesn't
have the look I want. I've got 4 quarter inch bolts that are on the
bottom of the belly that hold the pitot's seat down, and would be
perfec hard points to attach a pod to. I plan to fly to Oshkosh and it
would be great to have some extra room for stuff. I can't figure out
how to mold a shape like that. Any suggestions? I'm talanted in
fiberglass work, as I've been building a Glasair 3 for 14 years, --
still working on it. It would be great if someone made a pod I could
purchase.

On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 07:51:38 -0700, Richard Riley
wrote:

On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 10:45:41 -0400, Tedstriker
wrote:

:My Jurca Sirocco has so little baggage space, that it really needs
:some extra room. I'd like to make a bomb-shaped belly pod, and have
:seen some made on other homebuilts. I've heard of some of the Pitt's
:S-1 guys welding two spinners together, back to back, but that doesn't
:have the look I want. I've got 4 quarter inch bolts that are on the
:bottom of the belly that hold the pitot's seat down, and would be
erfec hard points to attach a pod to. I plan to fly to Oshkosh and it
:would be great to have some extra room for stuff. I can't figure out
:how to mold a shape like that. Any suggestions? I'm talanted in
:fiberglass work, as I've been building a Glasair 3 for 14 years, --
:still working on it. It would be great if someone made a pod I could
urchase.

Gary Hunter has been making them for EZ's for
years, 6.5' long and 12" diameter at the largest point. I understand
he's got new molds for slightly bigger pods - 13.5" diameter.

Featherlight also makes them


Thanks for the info Richard, I've sent them emails and hope to find a
design. For something like this, it makes more sense to buy an
off-the- shelf item, than to keep re-inventing the wheel and having to
make a mold for just one unit.

If you made a belly pod that provided some lift could you not increase the
MGW of the aircraft?

I think of this because at lease some of the pontoons on the market "carry
thier own weight" so to speak and don't subtract from the aircrafts useful
load.


"Richard Riley" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 10:45:41 -0400, Tedstriker
wrote:

:My Jurca Sirocco has so little baggage space, that it really needs
:some extra room. I'd like to make a bomb-shaped belly pod, and have
:seen some made on other homebuilts. I've heard of some of the Pitt's
:S-1 guys welding two spinners together, back to back, but that doesn't
:have the look I want. I've got 4 quarter inch bolts that are on the
:bottom of the belly that hold the pitot's seat down, and would be
erfec hard points to attach a pod to. I plan to fly to Oshkosh and it
:would be great to have some extra room for stuff. I can't figure out
:how to mold a shape like that. Any suggestions? I'm talanted in
:fiberglass work, as I've been building a Glasair 3 for 14 years, --
:still working on it. It would be great if someone made a pod I could
urchase.

Gary Hunter has been making them for EZ's for
years, 6.5' long and 12" diameter at the largest point. I understand
he's got new molds for slightly bigger pods - 13.5" diameter.

Featherlight also makes them

On Fri, 3 Jun 2005 11:17:21 -0500, "Gig 601XL Builder"
wr.giacona@coxDOTnet wrote:

If you made a belly pod that provided some lift could you not increase the
MGW of the aircraft?

I think of this because at lease some of the pontoons on the market "carry
thier own weight" so to speak and don't subtract from the aircrafts useful
load.

I've always wondered about that. Seems to me that works fine in the
air (although any additional flat plate area will of course affect
overall drag), but what about landing?

Also, in order for the pod to not contribute to the gross weight of
the airplane, wouldn't it have to be able to produce it's lift at the
time of takeoff? And if it's doing that, will it add a lot of drag at
cruise?

Corky Scott

"Corky Scott" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Jun 2005 11:17:21 -0500, "Gig 601XL Builder"
wr.giacona@coxDOTnet wrote:

If you made a belly pod that provided some lift could you not increase the
MGW of the aircraft?

I think of this because at lease some of the pontoons on the market "carry
thier own weight" so to speak and don't subtract from the aircrafts useful
load.

I've always wondered about that. Seems to me that works fine in the
air (although any additional flat plate area will of course affect
overall drag), but what about landing?

Also, in order for the pod to not contribute to the gross weight of
the airplane, wouldn't it have to be able to produce it's lift at the
time of takeoff? And if it's doing that, will it add a lot of drag at
cruise?

Corky Scott

I building a Zenith 601XL and it has a fairly thick wing. I was thinking use
the same front and main ribs and build one that was about 3 feet long. sure
there would be additional drag but there would also be additional lift. The
question is how much lift would a three foot piece of wing mounted under the
fuselage produce?

If it is enough to overcome the weight of the wing and say 80 lbs of cargo
there would be times that I could live with the lower airspeed, higher Vr
and higher stall.

Gig G

P.S. Corky, your great to talk to when your not talking politics.

On Fri, 3 Jun 2005 13:48:30 -0500, "Gig 601XL Builder"
wr.giacona@coxDOTnet wrote:

P.S. Corky, your great to talk to when your not talking politics.

Heh heh, I'm great then too, you just don't like the answers. :-D

By the way, my engine is down again. When I assembled it (Ford V-6),
I noticed that the timing chain cover had a minor crack around one of
the tabs that bolts to the engine block. I didn't have another timing
chain cover as I'd discarded the spare engine I'd bought for parts
long before I noticed this problem. So I fixed it using a space age
epoxy I got from MSC. It duly hardened up like metal and could be
filed, machined or tapped, but it didn't seal the crack very well.
I'd flipped the timing chain upside down and poured the epoxy in so
that it hardened directly on top of the crack. I didn't do anything
with the crack on the outside of the cover.

Well that just didn't work. After running the engine for a while I
noticed oil on top of the timing chain cover right next to the crack.

So I pulled the cover, again (third time) and tested the epoxy. I
tapped on it with a screw driver and it sounded hollow. Not a good
sign. I got a small chisel and popped it a couple of times where it
was thick, where it mated with the block, and the entire piece popped
off.

Obviously, it hadn't bonded properly.

So the cover is at a local shop where a guy who knows how to weld
aluminum and who has a good TIG machines has agreed to run a bead on
the inside and outside to seal the crack. By the way, this crack is
in a non structural area, around a little tab that has a bolt hole in
it. It may have cracked due to some past ham handed mechanic trying
to remove the timing chain cover without first removing this bolt.
That's what the crack looks like, it kind of travels half way around
the tab.

Then it's back together with a fresh coat of paint and some long term
testing. I'll have to stand right next to the engine while it's
running to keep an eye on the guages so this will be interesting. I
guess I won't have to worry much about Mosquitos or Black Flies...

Corky Scott

"Tedstriker" wrote

My Jurca Sirocco has so little baggage space, that it really needs
some extra room. I'd like to make a bomb-shaped belly pod, and have
seen some made on other homebuilts.

You could also go with a flat belly pod, like on some Caravans. Basically,
just a taper on front, and back, with flat between. Curved corners, a
door(s) on the side. Easily done with fiberglass with some 1/2" foam for
the core, with some blocks in the corners to give some room to radius the
outside corners. Easy shape to make, lots more storage space than a bomb,
and less wind resistance, I would think.
--
Jim in NC

"Gig 601XL Builder" wr.giacona@coxDOTnet wrote

I building a Zenith 601XL and it has a fairly thick wing. I was thinking
use
the same front and main ribs and build one that was about 3 feet long.
sure
there would be additional drag but there would also be additional lift.
The
question is how much lift would a three foot piece of wing mounted under
the
fuselage produce?

Damn little lift, I would think, because of the poor aspect ratio. Long
wings produce more lift, with less drag, and part of that is there is less
loss at the tips. All of a belly pod would be tips, practically speaking.
--
Jim in NC

"Corky Scott" wrote

By the way, my engine is down again.

I got a small chisel and popped it a couple of times where it
was thick, where it mated with the block, and the entire piece popped
off.

Obviously, it hadn't bonded properly.

I would think the real culprit is the different expansion rates of epoxy and
aluminum.
--
Jim in NC

"Tedstriker" wrote in message
...
My Jurca Sirocco has so little baggage space, that it really needs
some extra room. I'd like to make a bomb-shaped belly pod, and have


On one of Mike Arnold's AR-5 tapes he makes one, and you can watch and learn
to make one for yourself. Matter of fact, Arnold's meticulous techniques
are the best I have ever seen. He is a master at it, having trained with
another master, Burt Rutan.

IIRC, Arnold made a mold for baggage pod production for the RV series of
aircraft.