Day 3
Days remaining: 231

That's... 33 weeks today that I'll be launching at HISC with Race 1 of the championships just hours away... Hopefully.....  I mean it's not unknown for racing at Moth Championships to be a bit delayed because of the weather!

Work is pretty hectic at the moment- and in amongst a busy month has been the build of the new boat... Mothies generally like techie stuff, so here's a few words on what the new ship will be like and where the name comes from...

The Lockheed SR71 'Blackbird' 

I have always been so inspired by this remarkable aircraft... Indeed I have been the last person to leave the American Exhibition at Duxford Air Museum a couple of times, and just about all I do when I go is walk around the Blackbird. I saw one flying when I was a kid too - Not surprising as there were 2 SR71s based at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk

Lockheed began developing the A-11 as a replacement for the U2 Spyplane, in 1958...  The Lockheed special projects team 'Skunk Works' then took on the development of the aircraft and developed the A-11 to the A-12 and eventually the SR-71.  The aim was simple - an aircraft way faster than Mach 2 and able to out run any missile system.
Not the reason I did it, but Mothies might see a couple of reasons I like the name more already! ;-)
There are so many amazing developments in the aircraft - The engines are a work of art on their own. The Pratt and Witney turbo jet engines actually become ram jets once the aircraft reaches about Mach 2 Those 'trade mark' cones in the front of the engines move for and aft to ensure that the shock wave generated after Mach 1 does not obliterate the turbo fans, while ensuring the maximum air pressure is directed into through the outer gallery, bypassing the combustion chamber and going straight into the after burners - where at above 1600mph, all the power comes from.

The fuselage was made from materials which seem commonplace now but which had never been used in aviation before. Almost 80% of the fuselage was titanium alloy and the remainder is described as 'advanced polymer composite' (still classified, but most likely carbon fibre in Phenolic Epoxy)... Compared to all other aircraft of the same era, it's like the engineering for the Blackbird was sent back to 1962 in a wormhole from the future. Or from a planet far far away.

Bearing in mind it took the Joint European Fighter Agency 11 years just to get the Eurofighter Typhoon airborne from the first design meeting, the A-11 precursor to the SR-71 flew just 4 years after its design project began and the 'full race' version actually entered service with the USAF just 6 years from the get go, in 1964. Interestingly the Typhoon claims to be the most advanced fighter ever... It may well be - but the Blackbird is still the Fastest and Highest flying aircraft ever built.  

Mach 3 is 1 mile in 2 seconds... Yup.. Get your head around that!!

If you want to know more about this incredible beast, I found this programme on youtube. It's an hour long but very good quality - and completely brilliant.  The SR71 on Discovery 

Just think how far ahead of the game the Skunk Works guys were....
Nothing has ever been faster than an aircraft designed in 1958-62. That is 55 years ago.

Utterly mind boggling.

So...  from bow to stern... I give you, 'Blackbird'

The shape is very simple - round bilged, and like it's namesake it has a chine - a very subtle one though.  It's about the same depth and beam as the most competitive designs out there with not a lot of rocker, and although it has a foredeck, it is quite small. There's another idea designed into the shape so a little more on that in a moment.

• Dreadnought? Yes it has a dreadnought bow - quite a pronounced one, but the forefoot is pretty bulbous, a fair bit more so than anything else around at present... Making the entry fairly full and then straighter in the first third. Pretty straight all the way to the back really.
• Foredeck. Very low and extends past the mast post and returns onto the cockpit floor - More for reducing aero drag than anything. All the control systems are under the foredeck extension.
• Wave piercing? I doubt it - Whenever I've hit a wave hard in a moth, I've spent 30 seconds swimming back to the boat with a bruise from the shroud like a railway line has been bent over my thigh!
• Mast Stump - Maximum Aero section we can use and of course, removable - with the wing struts locking in to a moulded joining piece. 
• Round wing bars with fairings. Tramps connected to hull with sail track. 
• Side elevation. A little rocker - more towards the back than the front.
• Waterline Beam Max 330mm
• Deck Beam Max 350mm
• Materials - Carbon UD on Nomex (70kg foam in potential crush areas)

Foils. 

Main foil section, very similar to everyone else. Starting point for span 1060.
Rudder Span and section under development.

Controls.

Same as everyone else with a couple of extra strings that I want to try.
Wand Mech - machined stainless mech with carbon push rod. There is one particular feature of this system which I am confident will make a big difference to the way the boat sails in waves, but until i've tried it, I'm not letting anything go!

Next development...? Well I have an idea for a full on version - the Black Project of the Blackbird if you like.... There's some crazy stuff in my notebook!

Right - that's enough for now.... Off for a trot around the peninsular - Go and stand by the water and visualise launching on the first day of the Worlds.......

D