Bronson
Engineering
Company
Engineering
Company
Old Fashioned American Ingenuity
Applied to Today’s Problems
Applied to Today’s Problems
Hobbies
The Village of Saint Gilbert
The picture on the left is of me flying my home built
Bronson/Kolb Fourstar on a southerly course on the
Illinois side of the flooded Mississippi River, about
15 miles south of Saint Louis Missouri.
While I have released my narrative above on how I
built the smooth running 1/2-VW engine, I have not yet
released my narrative on how I built the airframe.
Fourstar is a 100% clone of the famous and successful
Kolb Firestar, except that I designed and built my own
“tractor” pod to offer better cooling for the Volkswagen
engine. All Kolb parts bolt up to my pod and the C/G is
identical to a Firestar. The little 4-cycle engine produces
about 40% of the climb angle of the Firestar with a Rotax
2-cycle Engine, but makes a 400 FPM climb rate, which is
similar to the old Piper Cubs and Aeronca Champ, which
are very safe airplanes. The real charm is the 1.2 GPH
fuel consumption (no oil to mix).
Bronson/Kolb Fourstar on a southerly course on the
Illinois side of the flooded Mississippi River, about
15 miles south of Saint Louis Missouri.
While I have released my narrative above on how I
built the smooth running 1/2-VW engine, I have not yet
released my narrative on how I built the airframe.
Fourstar is a 100% clone of the famous and successful
Kolb Firestar, except that I designed and built my own
“tractor” pod to offer better cooling for the Volkswagen
engine. All Kolb parts bolt up to my pod and the C/G is
identical to a Firestar. The little 4-cycle engine produces
about 40% of the climb angle of the Firestar with a Rotax
2-cycle Engine, but makes a 400 FPM climb rate, which is
similar to the old Piper Cubs and Aeronca Champ, which
are very safe airplanes. The real charm is the 1.2 GPH
fuel consumption (no oil to mix).
Bronson/Kolb Fourstar=4 Cycle Powered Kolb Firestar
How I built the regulated 12 VDC Wind Generator for my Fourstar
This nifty little wind generator is built from salvage components from
Gateway Electronics in St. Louis Missouri. It produces 12 VDC at one
half Amp output. The regulator provides 82 db of ripple isolation, making
it ideal to keep a small gel cell battery charged in flight for GPS or a
hand held radio. Although FAA Part 103 Ultra Light Aircraft must not be
aloft after sunset, an added nice feature would be a halogen landing
light. These lights will drain a little battery in minutes, but in a pilot
caused emergency (flying too late in the day), the light can be turned
on moments before contact with the ground, to see where to set the
airplane down. Of course, if you do not like what you are seeing, you
can immediately “turn the landing light off”.
Gateway Electronics in St. Louis Missouri. It produces 12 VDC at one
half Amp output. The regulator provides 82 db of ripple isolation, making
it ideal to keep a small gel cell battery charged in flight for GPS or a
hand held radio. Although FAA Part 103 Ultra Light Aircraft must not be
aloft after sunset, an added nice feature would be a halogen landing
light. These lights will drain a little battery in minutes, but in a pilot
caused emergency (flying too late in the day), the light can be turned
on moments before contact with the ground, to see where to set the
airplane down. Of course, if you do not like what you are seeing, you
can immediately “turn the landing light off”.
My 61-Page Illustrated Step-By-Step Narrative on How I Built
The Smooth-Running One Half Volkswagen Engine That Powers
My Airplane.
The Smooth-Running One Half Volkswagen Engine That Powers
My Airplane.
The red arrow points to the balance point of my engine, motor mount,
cowling, spinner and propeller. The all up flight weight of this assembly
is 95 pounds. It turns a 54 x 22 inch Tennessee Propeller 3,500 RPM in
the air, for a 400 foot per minute climb rate (similar to the old Piper Cubs
and Aeronca Champ. It is very smooth running, with nice and low cylinder
head temperatures (even in a hard climb). At 40 MPH, it burns a mere 1.2
gallon per hour of common automotive gasoline. It is not picky about fuel
grades and does not need Aviation Fuel.
Like all my narratives, this is written in a simple to follow step-by-step
style, which avoids getting out of sequence. This engine must be built
that way, because you can easily ruin the project at several points.
cowling, spinner and propeller. The all up flight weight of this assembly
is 95 pounds. It turns a 54 x 22 inch Tennessee Propeller 3,500 RPM in
the air, for a 400 foot per minute climb rate (similar to the old Piper Cubs
and Aeronca Champ. It is very smooth running, with nice and low cylinder
head temperatures (even in a hard climb). At 40 MPH, it burns a mere 1.2
gallon per hour of common automotive gasoline. It is not picky about fuel
grades and does not need Aviation Fuel.
Like all my narratives, this is written in a simple to follow step-by-step
style, which avoids getting out of sequence. This engine must be built
that way, because you can easily ruin the project at several points.
May 1994 Experimenter Magazine Cover Girl
(And listed in Jane’s Aircraft of The World)
(And listed in Jane’s Aircraft of The World)
The Village of Saint Gilbert is a never ending sequel of 3/16-Inch To
The Foot creations (“S” Scale-American Flyer electric trains). Each
building or structure attempts to portray America The Way It Was,
in The Golden Age of Railroads. Each CD guides the Newbie towards
success, yet gives accomplished modelers the means to Kit Bash to
their heart’s content. No expensive or complicated CAD or Graphics
Software to buy. Just open the; Open Me First file (written on
MS Word) print everything and follow the instruction steps. I have
even built it on my Xandros/Linux Paint and MAC Paint Programs.
The Foot creations (“S” Scale-American Flyer electric trains). Each
building or structure attempts to portray America The Way It Was,
in The Golden Age of Railroads. Each CD guides the Newbie towards
success, yet gives accomplished modelers the means to Kit Bash to
their heart’s content. No expensive or complicated CAD or Graphics
Software to buy. Just open the; Open Me First file (written on
MS Word) print everything and follow the instruction steps. I have
even built it on my Xandros/Linux Paint and MAC Paint Programs.
Dad bought this (for me? I was only 3) in 1948
and like myself, “It Still Works”!
and like myself, “It Still Works”!