Monster garage car/plane build

The first episode of Monster Garage in which Jesse James forms a team
to build an airplane out of a Panoze sports car occured last night.

Unlike just about all the previous episodes I've seen, this team had a
lot of people. Rather than save a bit of time by scavenging a set of
wings, they actually built their own. One of the engineers designed
an airfoil and they cut out templates, bolted metal between the
templates and slapped it and hammered it into flanged rib pieces.

They rushed some material over to a local machine shop to bend up the
spars, then riveted doublers onto the cap strips and riveted the nose
pieces, middle and tail pieces to the spars. Lots of people working
and a lot of work. In three or four days, they had a wing assembled.

It's impressive, but as usual I felt that the effort was wasted on a
joke vehical.

One of Jesse's concepts is that everything the teams build is supposed
to look basically stock, but do these ridiculous stunts. In this case
he insisted that the aircraft engine be concealed until needed then be
raised for action. This is creating friction between a number of
workers. The guy who is the "chief" aerodynamics engineers told Jesse
that if he wanted this thing to fly, the engine had to be fixed in
place, none of this raise or lower it stuff. Besides, there's a huge
tube extension that has to be built for the tail plane that isn't
going to be retracted, it's welded in place. Jesse, for his part, had
little to add to the chaos, as building an airplane is way out of his
league.

He did have a suggestion as to using a tool that made bending the rib
material over the formers, a slapper, but the one suggestion he made
to having a rib cut so that the material that required shrinking was
eliminated from the blank turned out to be a dud. The material cut
out of the rib was exactly the material needed for riveting, and the
engineers told him so. He just shrugged, as did everyone else, they
all went back to bending metal.

The engine turned out to be an 0-320 out of a hurricane damaged
airplane. 150 hp.

Corky Scott

Corky Scott wrote:
The first episode of Monster Garage in which Jesse James forms a team
to build an airplane out of a Panoze sports car occured last night.

Unlike just about all the previous episodes I've seen, this team had a
lot of people. Rather than save a bit of time by scavenging a set of
wings, they actually built their own. One of the engineers designed
an airfoil and they cut out templates, bolted metal between the
templates and slapped it and hammered it into flanged rib pieces.

They rushed some material over to a local machine shop to bend up the
spars, then riveted doublers onto the cap strips and riveted the nose
pieces, middle and tail pieces to the spars. Lots of people working
and a lot of work. In three or four days, they had a wing assembled.

It's impressive, but as usual I felt that the effort was wasted on a
joke vehical.

One of Jesse's concepts is that everything the teams build is supposed
to look basically stock, but do these ridiculous stunts. In this case
he insisted that the aircraft engine be concealed until needed then be
raised for action. This is creating friction between a number of
workers. The guy who is the "chief" aerodynamics engineers told Jesse
that if he wanted this thing to fly, the engine had to be fixed in
place, none of this raise or lower it stuff. Besides, there's a huge
tube extension that has to be built for the tail plane that isn't
going to be retracted, it's welded in place. Jesse, for his part, had
little to add to the chaos, as building an airplane is way out of his
league.

He did have a suggestion as to using a tool that made bending the rib
material over the formers, a slapper, but the one suggestion he made
to having a rib cut so that the material that required shrinking was
eliminated from the blank turned out to be a dud. The material cut
out of the rib was exactly the material needed for riveting, and the
engineers told him so. He just shrugged, as did everyone else, they
all went back to bending metal.

The engine turned out to be an 0-320 out of a hurricane damaged
airplane. 150 hp.

Corky Scott

You do know that the drama in these shows are often not real don't you?

On 7 Jun 2005 10:22:54 -0700, "Sport Pilot" wrote:

You do know that the drama in these shows are often not real don't you?

Of course. I watch it to see how things can be fabricated and am
always a bit put off by any grandstanding that occurs. That's bound
to happen when you get a group of individuals with largish ego's and
follow them around with a camera.

It's very likely that the producers do a pep talk with everyone so
that they understand that crazyness and merriment is part of the show
so let's see some.

Corky Scott

PS, if you ever wondered if it's possible to carry on normally with a
camera in your face, trust me, it's impossible to ignor. One of
Charles Kuralt's "On the Road" show's was shot in the Vermont town
where I live because we happen to have what is considered to be a very
picturesque town meeting hall. We gather for town meeting every year,
first Tuesday in March. The folks meet to vote the town and school
budgets etc etc. There were roving cameramen with BRIGHT floodlights
walking around filming the various people of the town. Word had
gotten out ahead of time of course, and the place was jammed as it's
never been before or since. My wife and I were as curious as anyone
and also relatively new to the town so we wanted to participate.

We tried to avoid the cameras, not encourage them by looking at them
so to speak, and in general watched as various people argued in front
of the camera's over such hugely mundane questions as "whether the
town should leave it's street lights on at night or turn them off to
save energy." There may be a total of 5 street lights in both
villages...

During the break for lunch, a camera person wandered down the aisle
and stopped by my wife and I while we were eating our lunch. The
lunches were something the town pulls together, it's a showcase of
local cooking talent so it's eagerly awaited each year and probably
the prime reason people go to the meetings.

There we sat transfixed by the brighter than bright floodlights from
this camera guy while he filmed us scooping up baked beans on our
plastic forks and tried to get them into our mouth's without shaking
them off.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" the guy asked as he shut off the lights
and turned away for other likely subjects. Actually, we kinda thought
it was.

In article , Corky Scott says...

On 7 Jun 2005 10:22:54 -0700, "Sport Pilot" wrote:

You do know that the drama in these shows are often not real don't you?

Of course. I watch it to see how things can be fabricated and am
always a bit put off by any grandstanding that occurs. That's bound
to happen when you get a group of individuals with largish ego's and
follow them around with a camera.


After my 2 experiences with Junk Yard Wars I realize that there is a certain
amount of Hollywood magic in all these shows. When I heard about this build it
sure piqued my interest. As I watched I was pleased to see a familiar face on
the build crew a guy named Ed Sweeney. He's an early ultralight manufacturer who
is now involved with various flying car projects.

Then lo and behold he's the one who gets into it with the one guy over the swing
engine concept and seems to walk out of the show.Guess we'll find out in the
next thrilling episode of Monster Garage if he does or not :-) Next time I see
Ed I'll ask him if it was for real or staged for effect.

Frankly I hope someone with piloting skills tests it for the first time even if
off camera and not for the show. Sometimes testicular fortitude is no substitute
for skill and ability .

Chuck(same time same station) S

ChuckSlusarczyk wrote:
In article , Corky Scott says...

On 7 Jun 2005 10:22:54 -0700, "Sport Pilot" wrote:


You do know that the drama in these shows are often not real don't you?

Of course. I watch it to see how things can be fabricated and am
always a bit put off by any grandstanding that occurs. That's bound
to happen when you get a group of individuals with largish ego's and
follow them around with a camera.



After my 2 experiences with Junk Yard Wars I realize that there is a certain
amount of Hollywood magic in all these shows. When I heard about this build it
sure piqued my interest. As I watched I was pleased to see a familiar face on
the build crew a guy named Ed Sweeney. He's an early ultralight manufacturer who
is now involved with various flying car projects.

Then lo and behold he's the one who gets into it with the one guy over the swing
engine concept and seems to walk out of the show.Guess we'll find out in the
next thrilling episode of Monster Garage if he does or not :-) Next time I see
Ed I'll ask him if it was for real or staged for effect.

Frankly I hope someone with piloting skills tests it for the first time even if
off camera and not for the show. Sometimes testicular fortitude is no substitute
for skill and ability .

Chuck(same time same station) S


Autoweek had an article on this. James few it himself but it wasn't
more than a taxi test if you ask me... I'd be real surprised if it
could reach the next airport over.

Tony

"ChuckSlusarczyk" wrote in message
...
Frankly I hope someone with piloting skills tests it for the first time
even if
off camera and not for the show. Sometimes testicular fortitude is no
substitute
for skill and ability .

Chuckles...........

This issue of Popular Mechanics has a cover story on it - tells all.

Rich S.

I have watched a few early episodes of Junkyard Wars, and Monster
garage, and Orange County Choppers, and that custom car guy in
California - Ward something or other -but I have quit... The fake
deadlines and manufactured crises annoy me to the point that I cannot
enjoy watching... Actually what they do with the machinery is
interesting and I dearly love watching rough metal being shaped and
smoothed and painted and coming out looking like a piece of sculpture,
but the crap that the vapid producers use to hype the show ratings is
intolerable...

Denny

In article , Rich S. says...
Chuckles...........

This issue of Popular Mechanics has a cover story on it - tells all.

Rich S.


I'll check it out for sure "inquiring minds want to know" :-0

See ya

Chuck S

In article .com, Denny
says...

I have watched a few early episodes of Junkyard Wars, and Monster
garage, and Orange County Choppers, and that custom car guy in
California - Ward something or other -but I have quit... The fake
deadlines and manufactured crises annoy me to the point that I cannot
enjoy watching... Actually what they do with the machinery is
interesting and I dearly love watching rough metal being shaped and
smoothed and painted and coming out looking like a piece of sculpture,
but the crap that the vapid producers use to hype the show ratings is
intolerable...

It's true enough that sometimes things get hyped or overblown. There were enough
real life crises in the first episode I was on to help balance the hype.
There are deadlines but you have the next day called "safety day" to fix up any
potentially dangerous items.All in all it was a lot of fun for me especially if
you take it tongue in cheek. I like you enjoy seeing guys using things like an
english wheel or making ribs by beating metal around wooden forms.
Unfortunately it seems that everyone in Hollywood is following the same format
and think a show can't be interesting unless there is a crises real or
imagined.

See ya

Chuck S

Somehow I doubt that it can ever come even close to what the British
build (in just 20 hours) and flew in JYW. That thing looked like it
was just about ready to go into production, it appeared to handled so
well.

And then there was that great judge... what was his name??? G