ptwizz

More pictures added to the album. The oil tank assembly was tack welded together and brazed. Both front an rear faces were machined and grooves cut for the large O rings which will seal the tank to the back face of the crankcase and the front face of the primary drive case. Bosses are fitted at the top for the oil return from the cooler and for the oil filler cap. When the auxiliary drives assembly is fitted, the main oil pump has an external O ring which seals into the boss fitted at the bottom of the tank. The upper end of the auxiliary drive shaft sit below a hole in the top of the tank. The distributor will be fitted and sealed to the top face of the tank at that location.

A long overdue update: Progress has been interrupted by the need to rebuild my microlight engine, following an in-flight failure and forced landing in a random crop field. No damage to man or machine (apart from the dropped valve, piston, rod and barrel!) and the landowner was more interested in taking photos of the aeroplane in his field than complaining about it. He even helped with the recovery. The radial engine now has its auxiliary drives gearbox on the back of the crankcase, containing 2:1 reduction bevel gears driving a vertical shaft which drives the main oil pump. In progress is the oil tank, which also acts as the engine mount. The tank design is a short cone, for which I had to make a set of versatile bending rolls. These will later be adapted to roll the exhaust collector ring from 38mm stainless tube. Photos of the bending rolls and the oil tank in progress added to the album.

The timing of the Gatwick drone event was extraordinary, both as a distraction from the chaos in parliament and with respect to the sale of the majority of shares in the airport to a French company on the 27th December. With the tin foil hat on... one might suspect that the event could have been brought to a conclusion very quickly if there was a will to do so. As usual, there will likely be a knee-jerk response, introducing legislation which causes cost and inconvenience to legitimate users while having no effect on those with malicious intent.

One last photo to round off the year. A 'dry' assembly with all the 'front end' parts in place. This marks the completion of the induction side of the engine. Next will be the oil supply, scavenge, oil tank, primary drive and ignition systems.

New photo - the first of the inlet tracts loosely assembled. Now I need to practice Tig welding thin stainless tube a lot.

Yes, indeed I did! I never owned a motorcycle trailer. I helped out the guys at Freewheel https://www.freewheeluk.net/ many years ago when they needed to design a subframe for an overseas customer who had a Kawasaki Zephyr. I had a Zephyr at the time, so the subframe was designed around my bike and I had the opportunity to try it out.

I second the proposal for a trailer. If you bolt a sub-frame to the bike, supporting a standard tow ball behind the rear wheel and below spindle height, you can tow a conventional two wheel trailer. I have ridden this set up and it is surprising how little difference it makes to the bike.

For me, Paramotoring has now given way to microlighting. Aside from flying, almost anything with moving parts interests me. I also dabble in a little amateur electronics. Bikes seem to be a recurring theme here - I currently ride a Triumph 1200 Tiger and I've built a few, including a Panther (British 600cc single) with a whole array of hidden features.

Another couple of photos added, showing the mechanism for engaging the high supercharger speed. A cable will pull on the long end of the curved lever, pulling the ends of the brake band together. When assembled, the brake band sits around the ring gear carrier shown in the other photo. I had a chap come to visit last week, who is also building a radial engine. I am not the only person in the world mad enough to embark on such a project!

Hi Hann, I don't consider myself patient. The engine is a hobby, so I work on it when the mood takes me and step back from it as soon as it starts to feel like work. For that reason, there is no projected date for firing up. I see Bren quite regularly on Tuesday evenings at the Old Buckenham bike night. Very nice chap!