PLANS FOR BUILDING THE DRIGGS DART By Ivan Driggs ‘The Dart 1 whose construction is illustrated and deseribed in this article is one of the most suc- fessful and practical of American single seaters, ‘This airplane with the Henderson motorcycle en- ‘gine won the greatest proportion of the prize money at the 1924 Air Races. The same design ‘with the Wright Morehouse two-cylinder engine took part in the Ford Tour of 1926 and subsequent: ly flew over the mountains from Moundsville, W. Va,, to Washington, D.C., and from there to Phila- delphia to compete in the races there. In making this flight the Dart [left a great many larger planes behind due to bad weather. "The only light plane at prosent owned by the US.Air Corps is a Dart I. It is used by the Engineer- ing Division at Wright Field in the development of Wing slots, This design was made under contract to the Air Corps and the stress analysis has been checked by the Engineering Division. No one need fear that this airplane, if properly constructed, will be structurally unsafe. ‘To build the Dart I a good knowledge of cab inet making and welding is necessary. No one should attempt it unless he possesses that knowl edge or is able to engage the cooperation of one who does, In building anything, it is usually best to begin by building the most difficult item first. Conse- quently we will first start the construction of the fuselage, though the wing might at first seem to offer greater difficulties. Such however is not the ‘ease, and there really is nothing tremendously diffi cult in the construction of the whole plane. Take two long beams that will later be used as cauls in building the wing beams, and make of them a base for the fuselage jig. This is made by support ing the beams on four saw horses, and leveling them up about two feet apart. They should be firm- ly nailed to the horses. Starting from the front of the fuselage, each station should be laid out with a sharp pencil on these beams, using a carpenter's Square to insure that the lines are absolutely square ‘with the center line. Then lay out the various lower cross tubes at each station. Erect at each stationAll Air Force Photos from Jack McRae US. Army Air Corps used this Driggs Dare for wing ot fea army officers took over {he Briggs Johnson Dist at the 1924 Dayton Alr Races. on both sides just at the rear edge of each bottom cross tube line a series of 2 by 4 yellow pine mem- bers, about 4 ft. long at the rear and 6 ft. long at the front, These members will support the fuselage Jig proper. Thirty inches from the surface of the beams mark a line on each of these uprights. This may easiest be done by the use of a piece of wire after laying out the front and rear uprights. By Stretehing the wire tightly a straight center line along the sides of the uprights is insured. This line so obtained on the outside of each corresponds to the thrust line marked on the drawing. Be sure that all uprights are square with the surface before nail ing. ‘Next obtain some % by 4 Yellow Pine for cross members, Measure down and up on each upright to Drigge Johnson 0-1 for the 1925 Air Races at Mitchell Field, NY. aFusalage details are in drawing above, and the det Bee Dart falaid makes ong of eather Ft hie Fea SchThis view shows the anor: Bast ein permite pared forthe “ereducibe: mit Fhe" full cantilever. wt 1."the modern thing, ia "highly. eficien!” and iy strane. the center line of the longeron plus one-half the of the longeron. This piece is nailed to front of top diameter of the cross tube as given and securely cross member in such a way that the longeron is nail these cross members on the front of the up- held exactly on the lines previously laid out. Next Tights. Bottom cross members st every station fit in the two bottom longerons in a similar man- should be placed below the longeron and tangent ner, When the Jongerons are in place and the work to its lower surface, top cross members above. For has been thoroughly checked, the uprights and the attachment of motor mount and wing fittings cross members are next fitted. It is not necessary to make up dummy motor bearers and wing spars and file out the tubes to fit the longerons exactly in such support from cross pieces. Make up fittings and small sizes. Simply cut them off square and allow properly locate on these dummy members. ‘about 1/32 clearance for expansion when heated, ‘We now have a frame into which we can lay When these tubes have been all fitted, an experi- ‘our tubing for welding. Referring to the plan view enced welder should tack them lightly’ into place. of the fuselage, lay out on the lower cross members Next make up the corner gussets. These pieces can the center line and both sides of the lower long- best be made by coiling the tubing around a large ‘eron clear back. Do the same for the single upper steel bar in a lathe, similar to the way a spring is, Tongeron. You are now in a position to cut and fit coiled. After this coil is made it is sawed into four the tubes previous to welding. Obtain sufficient of pieces lengthwise. Next the welder tacks in these the specified sizes, Specification 1025 will be satis- gussets. Go over the fuselage and set in all fittings factory, First fit the upper longeron and fasten in not already mentioned, having them lightly tacked place by a piece of wood with a hole in it the size into place. When all parts are in, a thorough check Sys erreur" i Be st Se sre tne on As " under the wing of the huge three-engined, all- aan imetsi Ford "dyring the 1928 Ford "Airplane Re. | —cemc 7 scar seen Nae gro ata se"? z F i /| SS wasn |S “ace vem b——-9 BP aneshould be made to Insure that all parts are prop- erly located, especially the wing attachment fit- tings and the motor mount. When you are sure that everything is O.K., complete the welding at ‘each joint as far as possible so as to insure that ‘the members will not shift after removing from the jig. The splices in the rear Iongeron should not be ‘Welded until the last operation. When this is com- plete remove from the jig by sawing off the cross members, Place on horses and complete the welds at every joint, Next wire up and line up the rear part of the fuselage, using small buckles and the wire called for. ‘The next operation is to varnish the fuselage ‘and to cover it. After varnishing, bolt in the spruce Stick at station three, and wrap the members ‘around the door with tape to which you can sow the cover. When covered dape with three coats of good nitrate dope and paint. ‘The next part to make Is the landing gear. ‘The average man has a great amount of trouble in building a gear so it is true. The whole secret is in having a good jig, and the best one is the fuselage that has been completed, Support the fuselage on two horses so that the lower longeron at the gear attachment is about 12 in. from the floor. Level the fuselage fore and aft, and crosswise. Plumb down to the floor from the center of the front fuselage fitting and lay out the wheel centers on the floor. Support small pieces of axle tubes on blocks from. the floor in the exact location given on the drawing Set up the upper ends of the main axle and brace tube and bolt into fuselage fittings. By sawing at Here arg the complete details for the benutiflly enai- ed desi of The wing tank. All dmancions are aiven. Tewovld be wisest for the amateurbuilcer fo take This [oe"to his Tocl finamith, whe will build ft for him. Highly streamlined Dart was ahead of its Hie”Engine wes 8 8°hp Henderson, the proper angle the main axle and the stub for the wheel are made to meet properly where dimen- sioned. When the three tubes fit properly they should be tacked together and the fittings made up land applied. The welding on the axle should be completed as far as possible before removing from the fuselage and floor blocks. When completed each vee should be heat treated by a competent ‘man to the specifications given. The S.AE. number of the steel is 4130 which the heat treater will have to know. The shock tube is too simple to make to warrant any explanation. Next the tail surfaces and ailerons should be made. Obtain some % by 6 yellow pine lumber and make jig boards sufficient- ly large for each surface. On these boards lay out ‘each surface and all of its members. Make up some ‘locks about 3 in. high, with holes in them on cen- ter, the sizes of the various spars and leading edges. ‘Split these blocks and nail to layout boards at able intervals to support spars. Be sure they all line up perfectly level. Cut spar tubes and clamp in 4g to the above blocks. Then bend up rib tubes and weld in where shown, Tack as far as possible in the jig and complete welding after removal. Thorough- ly varnish, then cover and dope. Be sure that all hinges properly line up on adjacent surfaces before ‘completion. ‘The tail skid, motor controls, seats, flooring and plane controls can now be made and installed. No jigs are nevessary for these parts which can easily be made by a good welder and mechanic. No description of their construction will be given. Tn the next part we will describe the making of the cowling, and the installation of the motor fuel system, ‘This ship has been flown in all kinds of weath er, and has made long cross country hops success: fully. It has a high speed, with a Henderson motor, of around 84 mph, and 2 ceiling of about 12,000, ft, It will climb better than $00 fpm and is very sturdy and rugged. The ship built for the Army to these specifications is shown in a photo on page 31. We have built another, powered with a Henderson, and itis from this ship these figures are taken. The ship shown above is powered with a Bristol Cherub ‘and performed in every way like its bigger sisters. Full illustrations for building the wing will appear in the second part of this articlePF WINGS AND FUSELAGE FOR THE DRIGGS DART In the first section of this article full details for the fuselage parts and the method by which this most important part of the ship is constructed ‘were treated. Herewith, in this, the second part of the Driggs Dart design story, details on the wings and further data on the fuel system will be added to make the story more complete. When you have completed the balance of the story given here you ‘will have the complete design, just as I turned it ‘over to the Army Air Corps for acceptance, only ‘minus the voluminous stress analysis. Here is the data on the construction of the ay referring to the drawing on page 37 we see that the wing of the Driggs Dart is full canti- lever, that is, without external bracing, and is ply- ‘wood covered. Sufficient plywood 3/64 in. thick should be ordered to cover the wing as shown and to make the 21 ribs. Then obtain about 84 pieces of spruce 3/16 square and about four feet long for the rib cap strips. These ribs are made of one soy abo ey SA ee sheet of 3/64 plywood with the cap strip nailed and glued in each side. They may be laid out on one plece of plywood and that tacked to another and then both bandsawed together. This will insure that the corresponding ribs on each side are alike With the rib contours sawed from the plywood each size is lightly tacked down on a smooth plank and about a dozen Ys by % by 1 in, blocks are nailed to the plank around the outer edge of the plywood, fas closely to it as it is possible, After the blocks are nailed to the plank so as to form the rib jig the 38/16 square pieces are glued and nailed to the ply- wood. Use the best grade of casein glue. Force the cap strip out against the blocks with the fingers to insure that the proper contour is obtained. It will bbe necessary to soak the strips for the deeper ribs at the nose in hot water to make the bends without breaking the strips. When the strips are applied to one side of the plywood pry off the plank and apply the strips to the other side by constructing ‘a similar jig, but of opposite hand. When the ribs are dry they should be cut out for the spars with a sharp ‘knife and neatly trimmed and sanded. Do not varnish at this stage. "The next problem is to make the spars. This is. where the services of a good cabinet maker will be 8‘Above you will see the, tems ot ne wing "These are like Front and rear views of slots and flaps flied om Army Al Corps Bartnecessary. From your local mill obtain some planks V8 in, by 7 in. by 12 ft, and some 1/8 by 4 by 53 from clear spruce. This material need not be espe cially the airplane quality, but should be free from knots and reasonably straight grained. Then obtain two 6 in, by 8 in. by 14 ft beams and two planks 2 by B by 14 ft for use as cauls. Spike these beams end to end onto about six saw horses. Be sure that they are perfectly level and without any twist. They should be perfectly straight. By referring to the wing drawings we see that the different. lamina- lions of the spars stop at different intervals from the center. Lay off these intervals on the beam and cut the outside lamination from the front spar, lay- ing one of these pieces on the beams and securing it with a few small brads. Place two separate pleces outboard of this center lamination the remainder af the length of the beam, Also brad these pieces Cut the next lamination and lay it on the first, using shorter filler pieces at the end. Com tinue until all of the spars laminations are cut You will note that the center four laminations are continuous and that. your material is not_ long fenough to reach. Each lamination may be spliced taking care that no two pieces have a splice closer together than about two feet. A good scart splice should be made using a slope of about Tin. for the 4% in. plank. When the laminations have all been cut and spliced they should be glued together by applying the glue to the shorter planks of any pair. That is, apply the glue to the first plank and lay down the next. Apply to the third and s0 on, Fill the ends on top with 4 planking cutoffs and firmly clamp on the two 2 in. planks above men- tioned. Use about four dozen 12 in, Celamps. Al low the spar to dry about 24 hours before removing, from the caul, Be sure to use casein glue only. When the clamps are removed you have your front spar ready to work down. ‘The rear spar is made from the four inch planks in a similar manner except that the beams are raised up at the tips to take care of the bend in this spar as shown, This is accomplished by locking up each successive saw horse until the ‘beams make the proper included angle. Then a piece of soft wood should be screwed to both planks in the center and worked down by hand to form the proper radius for the bend of the spars. After the caul is thus made proceed exactly as for ‘the front spar. ‘After the spars are made and dried the next step is to lay out a center line on the spars and then lay out the heights of the spar at each rib point from the rib drawings. When this is done the spars may be sawed approximately to these points and worked down by hand so that the ribs will slip in place. These lines marked, horizontal plane ‘on ll ribs should be marked on the spars, especially ‘on the rear since it is the same as the center line on the front. On the rear spar this line is somewhat above the center but Is perfectly straight. ague . eo cn ies ae TE amare ase ‘When the ribs have been properly fitted the whole assembly should be clamped to the saw horses in an inverted position and blocked at vari- ‘ous points to insure that the two lines on the front and rear spars are perfectly level. ‘Then glue and brad the ribs to the spars in the proper locations. Glue a strip of spruce 3/16 by % between each rib along the center line of the spar at top and bottom so that the cover will have an attachment to the Spars. Shape the leading edges of all ribs to a straight edge and apply the spruce leading edge piece, gluing and nailing to each rib. Then apply the plywood cover to the bottom surface, gluing and hailing to each rib. It is well to cut each panel before applying and to work from the tips inward. ‘Make all splices in the cover at the ribs by lapping about % in. When the lower surface has been ap- plied and the glue has had an opportunity to dry ‘Air Corps, Driggs Dart with « Ws Grae weighed 489 Ibe empty and turn the wing over and apply two coats of good spar varnish to the inside, except to the tops of the spar strips and the ribs, Again block up the wing so that the base lines are level and apply the top cover. Make sure the blocks and the aileron hinges fand aileron pulley brackets are glued in before the cover is applied. When the wing is thoroughly dry apply the balsa leading edge and form the contour by hand. Sand the wing and cover the trailing edge with eloth on which apply four coats of dope. The loth is tacked to the rear spar and the joint cov: ered with rib tape. Glue rib tape over the leading edge balsa and apply two coats of spar varnish over the whole wing. Before the wing is sealed up the fuel tanks must be built and installed. Any good tinner can ‘make up this tank when the filler eaps, ete., have been machined up for him. No description of the eight Mereheuse ena ined" a"cetut load of 9method of making this tank is necessary since a person constructing this airplane would much bet- ter turn this job over to his local sheet metal shop. Previously we have described the method of building all of the structural parts. Now we will de- scribe the construction of the fuel system and of the cowling, together with a table of the source of supply of suitable material, In installing the fuel system only ground union joints should be used, except between strainer and ‘carburetor where we have shown a hose connec- tion, Care must be taken so that the lines always have a downward slope so as to avoid any possibili- ty of air pockets in the tubes. Bends should be very carefully made and not too sharp or the tubes will be considerably flattened and reduced in area at the bend. Thoroughly anneal all tubes with torch after bending and clean out all scale. The type of fuel level gauge shown is the most simple and re- liable. Naturally one should be used for each tank In making the union connections be sure to thor- swaicHr= MooREHOUSE" ‘oughly sweat the ends of the tubing before trying to solder on the nipples. A line of solder around the tail of the nipple is not sufficient to hold the joint. If these instructions are carefully followed ¥you should have no trouble with the fuel system. ‘The good appearance of your ship depends ‘upon the care with which the cowling is made. A person sometimes gets too anxious at this stage and slights the final finish. To properly make the cowl a form should be made to which the pieces are fitted while bumping. If this form is well made and the parts fitted to it carefully, you cannot help Dut get a good job. If the builder knows nothing about bumping or forming metal the services of an automobile body repair shop had best be enlisted With a power hammer a much smoother job can be done and in less time. ‘The cowl sections should be laid out on 4x4 Yellow Pine boards and suitably held together by four longitudinal pieces notched into the section formers at the top and bottom and two sides. The angular section for the lower part of the firewall, should also be set in. This form should be well screwed and glued together and properly braced so that it cannot he sprung out of shape when be- ing worked upon, ‘You will note that the cowling is made in three parts, an upper and lower motor cowl and a fuse- lage éowl. By forming these pieces separately rath- cr than the whole cowl in one piece will consider- ably simplify the work. The firewall is laid off the same way the cowl former bulkheads are made, and is screwed to ash bending around its outer cir- cumference. These endings serve to fasten the firewall and front fuselage cowl together. We believe the drawings are sufficiently clear that this cowl can be made with but little trouble if the bumping form is properly made as above outlined, ‘The writer hopes that with these drawings and the above explanation any one with fair me- chanical ability will be able to build the Dart 1