I seem to remeber a couple of years back catching the last couple of episodes of a T V programme where a guy was building a homebuilt. It was set in america and i think he had a time limit. I think he built it some guys barn who was quite well known for building homebuilts.
Now some or all of this could be true or my old brain has got programmes mixed together, but has anyone got any ideas what the hell i am talking about?
Any ideas much appreciated and apologies if this has been covered before.
By: stangman - 8th December 2006 at 20:16
Thanks for all the info guys. This sounds like the right programme ,the time scale fits, i just don’t remember the guy being such an idiot! from what i have read on the links.
By: BlueRobin - 8th December 2006 at 16:28
Program title “Plane Crazy”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164814/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_x._cringley
Well done Brooklands 🙂
By: Brooklands - 8th December 2006 at 15:13
I think the guy was Robert X Cringley. It was shown quite a few years ago though (certainly pre 2000), possibly on C4 (it might even have pre-dated C5). He was trying to design and build an aircraft in one month. As others have mentioned his initial design was ambitious to say the least – composite, with a mid-engine (converted auto engine) driving the prop through an extension shaft and retractable gear. On top of that he decide to try an entirely new way of building the composite fuselage which didn’t work, and took over two weeks.
As an ex moldel aircraft builder I decided early on in the first episode that the only way to complete the challenge would be to design and build something very simple and minimalist like a VP1 for example.
In the end he found a firm producing a wooden biplane kit, which they managed to put together in about a week of very hard work.
Brooklands
By: wessex boy - 8th December 2006 at 09:55
We had a thread on this about a year ago, I will see if I can find it…
The main thing I remember about it was the stress involved, and the fact that he used a tube full of red wine to level his workbench…which was drunk once it was level (I must try this in my workshop!).:D
I think he gave up on the composite thing and then went and built a wooden biplane, with some help, at a remote farmstrip?
Did he also lose his marriage mid-way through?
By: Paul F - 8th December 2006 at 09:17
Stangman,
Is this the show where the guy sets off with a very ambitious design, wastes a heck of a lot of time doing very little, and then ends up building a far less complex “off the shelf”design?
I’ve got some (all?) the episodes on a video tape somewhere, I will try and look it out over the weekend.
Paul F
By: Gromit - 8th December 2006 at 08:44
O.K., that was a bit too quick – I can see that it isn’t the one you’re after!
I remember seeing the programme at the time, I’ll have to give it a little more thought and if it filters through I’ll post again.
By: Gromit - 8th December 2006 at 08:41
I think you may be looking for “A Plane is Born” – available from Amazon:
Hope this helps!
By: stangman - 8th December 2006 at 00:32
Great do you know what it was called?
By: BlueRobin - 7th December 2006 at 21:02
Yes! A mate lent me the VHS copy he had made years ago. I seem to recall he gace himself two weeks then opted for the most complex design he could think of including an engine located over the wing spar similar to the Bell AirCobra.
In the process of research he came over to England and visited Old Warden, where he used to work for a bit, in order to gain inspiration.
Naturally he failed. All the hallmarks of “how not to do it”
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December 7, 2006 at 7:58 pm