Frankenflier & Breadzilla: Intelligence in the Machine

Won Over By Reality

by Tim Bayer

WEBSTER NY—(Weekly Hubris)—2/7/11—“What’s that?” I inquired of the pilot next to me.

“That’s Frankenflier,” was the matter of fact response.

I was a little confused by the reply. In an attempt to be clearer, I gestured and echoed, “Frankenflier?”

“Yes,” came the affirmative response. “Frankenflier is sitting right there next to Breadzilla”.

“Wha—?” was all that came out before my voice died off in confused silence. Not only was I from out of town, I was quite obviously miles removed jargon-as-she-is-spoke at the Stittville, NY fly-in.

Frankenflier

The outline formed by a prop ring, a single seat and three-wheeled landing gear identified Frankenflier as a Powered Parachute (PPC)—but it was somehow different. Practical, simple and efficient were the first descriptive words that came to mind. This machine had a molded, fiberglass cafeteria chair for a cockpit, and multicolored frame components: some parts were sapphire blue; others were unpainted aluminum.

I had seen many Powered Parachutes—from an original, two-engine, twin-propeller Paraplane up to the elaborate modern production models. But here sat a lone rebel; a one of a kind.

The name “Frankenflier” conjures up an image of Germany, a stormy night and a cadaver-stealing, scalpel-wielding creator working on a monster. But I was nowhere near Germany. I was in Upstate New York, standing on a grass field, under a bright sun in a cloudless blue sky, looking at a PPC with an elegantly simple design. The investigative trail from Frankenflier to creator did not lead to a mad Herr Doktor but, rather, to the jovial, approachable Joe Hines.

The Evolution of Frankenflier

“Why is it called Frankenflier?” I asked. Joe explained that Frankenflier was made from parts of a former, two-seat PPC, the Stittville Flier. The Stittville Flier was home-built, as was this direct descendent, Frankenflier. In my mind, I was establishing a diagram of the PPC lineage. Frankenflier came from the Stittville Flier. “Where did the Stittville Flier come from?”, I asked.

“A molded fiberglass cafeteria chair and wooden 2 x 4’s, which I fabricated and assembled in my workshop,” replied Joe.

Obviously, it was all crystal clear in his mind, but I was missing out on some important parts of the story. “You created a Powered Parachute out of wood?”

“Not a flyable PPC. I built a full-size frame model out of wood. After I created the model, I used the dimensions to cut the aluminum components for the Stittville Flier.”

“Why would you go through all the effort to design and build, from scratch, a PPC frame of wood followed by a complete metal machine, when new and used production PPC’s are available?” I then asked.

“Because they were the wrong size. Every PPC I sat in didn’t feel comfortable. I had told a number of people that I could build my own PPC that would fit me. Eventually, there came a point at which I had to stop talking and actually do it.”

Translation: When it came to put up or shut up, Joe produced the goods.

 

Wood to Metal to Stittville Flier

Using wood as a starting point was a good choice. Wood 2 x 4’s were inexpensive, lightweight, strong, and easy to work with. The dimensions of the completed wooden rolling chassis would be copied for cutting the square, aluminum box tube frame components. The ultimate result was the emerald blue Stittville Flier, a two-seat PPC Joe built between 2001 and 2003.

Most PPC manufacturers use two round tube main rails. Joe designed the Stittville Flier using one square tube for the main rail. A single aluminum, square tube rail is exceptionally strong and allows for a simple mechanical attachment for the rear landing gear.

A common malady encountered by PPC’s with a frame constructed from round aluminum tubes is bent main frame rails. To compensate for the problem caused by the weaker frame, the rear wheels of a round frame tube PPC have to be a bit forward, closer to the machine’s center of gravity. Moving the wheels forward shortens the span from front wheel to back wheels, and decreases the deflection leverage exerted on the main rails by the weight of the engine and passengers.

The single square tube main rail is much more rigid and can stand significantly more force before it deflects than the dual, round tube frame configuration. The stronger square tube frame allows moving the rear wheels farther aft. Moving the rear wheels back increases the ground clearance for the bottom of the prop ring. This produces two benefits: 1) The prop ring will not strike the ground on a hard landing; and, 2) There is the added benefit that the front wheel of the machine may be raised higher off the ground before the prop ring touches the ground.

For his PPC construction, Joe used road-rated trailer-wheel bearings for landing-gear wheels. (The design features of additional prop ring ground clearance and the use of trailer-wheel bearings will be revisited later with a discussion about Joe’s Horseshoe Hitch.)

After a year of airtime in the two-seat Stittville Flier, Joe decided he wanted a single-seat PPC. The shorter wheelbase of the single-seat configuration meant Joe had to build a sorter main rail. Reusing the proven concepts from the Stittville Flier—square, aluminum box tube frame rail and jigs for creating the frame rail junctions and prop ring—Joe completed the single-seat rolling chassis in late 2005. Frankenflier and the Stittville Flier have more in common than a shared design.

Just as Dr. Frankenstein had scavenged parts to create his masterpiece, in 2006, Joe scavenged parts from the Stittville Flier to complete Frankenflier. The reason was simple: it saved money to re-use some of the parts. The common design concepts and the transferred components explained Frankenflier’s multi-colored complexion and inspired the name for Joe’s new single-seat aircraft. The blue-painted parts came from the Stittville Flier. The non-painted aluminum parts were fabricated as needed for Frankenflier.

The completed Frankenflier needed a means for over-the-road transport. Central to Joe Hines’ standard operating procedures are: mechanical wizardry coupled with a cost saving material and component recycling strategy. The need for Frankenflier transport, plus Joe’s recycling strategy, led to the creation of the “Horseshoe Hitch” for short trips, and “Breadzilla” for longer trips.

Short Transport: Horseshoe Hitch

For short trips transporting Frankenflier, Joe created a PPC attachment bracket for his trailer hitch using two horseshoes.

“Why horseshoes,” I asked.

“I had them lying around because I used to be a farrier.”

“Isn’t that too much information for this discussion?”

With a slight smile, Joe feigned irritation and fired back a deadpan response, “I said a farr-i-ER, Tim, as in a professional who shoes horses.”

The dual horseshoes attached to the trailer hitch cradle both sides of the front fork framework, securely holding the PPC in place while being towed behind his truck. The aft-mounted rear landing gear provides greater ground clearance for the prop ring. There is plenty of room below the prop ring after the front wheel is secured in the dual horseshoe attachment point.

Suddenly, I connected the individual links that comprised Joe’s design choices. His ingenious design led to a cascade of positive benefits, which became a complete, well-thought-out and connected chain. The chain of design points were:

●     Stronger box frame rail allows moving the rear wheels back.

●     Wheels farther aft create more prop ring clearance.

●     More prop ring clearance allows raising the front wheel for attachment to the simple Horseshoe Hitch.

●     Using trailer-rated wheel bearings allows towing the PPC directly behind a vehicle.

●     Since taillights of the towing vehicle are visible around the towed item, the PPC does not need taillights, making the Horseshoe Hitch configuration for towing the PPC street-legal.

●     Joe saves money because he does not have to buy and maintain a trailer to transport his aircraft.

 

Long Transport: Breadzilla

The Horseshoe Hitch worked wonderfully, but Joe wanted a means of transporting Frankenflier on longer trips while keeping it out of the elements. To solve this problem, Joe purchased a used bread van and modified it to suit his needs.

The paint on the exterior walls of the van has shadowed scars in the locations previously occupied by advertisement lettering. There is a bump in the roof above the back wall of the van. A single-piece back wall extends high enough to fit flush with the back of the raised roof bump, completing the multi- colored appearance of the obviously modified van. Like kindred spirits, the constructed-from-recycled-components Frankenflier travels securely in the reconstituted deliver van. Joe calls the van “Breadzilla.” (There’s a theme here, Folks.)

The custom-built roof bump in front of the back door is there to accommodate the prop ring of Frankenflier. The back of the van has a sturdily constructed single-piece back wall, hinged at the bottom, which closes tightly against the sides and modified roof of the panel truck. Attached on the exterior walls, by each side of the back door, springs from a discarded overhead garage door create a door weight, counter force mechanism.

As is his standard modus operandi, Joe modified the van to include unique features to suit his (equally unique) purposes. When I asked him to describe his modification methodology, Joe said his goal was to, “. . . make loading and unloading so simple that anyone could do it. I wanted to design the intelligence into the machine.”

His comment suggests a wonderful ideology. However, wise words are useless unless one can produce results. This is where Joe’s work really shines. He has literally designed intelligence into all his machines.

Intelligence in the Machine

Joe said that he had two goals for Breadzilla: 1) The procedure for loading Frankenflier would be automated so that anyone could do it; and, 2) It could transport Frankenflier safely and securely.

Joe took a cutting torch and removed the double left and right-side swinging doors that were originally on the van. In their place, Joe fabricated a one-piece reinforced back door. The back door, hinged at the bottom, swings down to become a loading ramp with two wooden guide rails. Each wooden rail is about 10 inches from the outside edge of the ramp. On the van floor, behind the wheel well bumps, Joe used wood to construct traps for the PPC wheels. Each wheel trap is securely fastened to the floor and side wall of the van. An electronic winch is bolted to the center of the floor in Breadzilla.

To demonstrate the loading operation, Joe placed Frankenflier directly behind the backdoor/loading ramp of Breadzilla. He paid out the winch cable and attached the hook to the front wheel assembly on Frankenflier, then walked up the ramp and pressed the winch button. The loading of Frankenflier is a two-step process: 1) Attach the winch cable; then, 2) Push the winch button.

Pulled by the front wheel, the PPC naturally centered itself as it was drawn up the ramp. As the rear wheels moved to the middle of the loading ramp, the wooden rails automatically directed the rear wheels into the proper alignment for the internal wheel traps. At the same moment that the front wheel of the PPC reached the winch, the back wheels would snug themselves into the rear wheel traps. Since the winch cable is dispensed from the bottom of the spool, the front wheel is drawn down snug to the floor. The result is all three wheels are securely restrained.

The operation requires no physical exertion. It requires no tie-downs. With this configuration, the Frankenflier loading and securing procedure is mind-numbingly simple. Attach the winch cable and push one button. Anyone can do it.

Good engineering and building intelligence into a machine is an elusive goal. Joe Hines did both when he created Frankenflier and Breadzilla. Ah, the elegance of the nimble, artistic engineer!

Personal Note

In 2008, Joe Hines was diagnosed with cancer and on December 12, 2008, he passed away. He was 53. To say that he is missed is a vast understatement. His warm, infectious smile, dry wit, and mechanical expertise made him the go-to guy in any setting: at work, a social event, or a fly-in. Joe’s family was the most important element in his busy life, and anyone who was lucky enough to be Joe’s friend was treated like family. Joe always spoke of his friends as best friends; none was ever second-best.

In monetary terms, Joe was not a rich man, but that didn’t stop him from giving freely to any friend whatever he was able to give. In 2006, I met Joe at the Stittville fly-in and was immediately drafted into Joe’s group of best friends. After I had met him exactly once, Joe heard that I was a wanna-be pilot but financially strapped. Joe had a Rotec Rally 2B airplane stored in his garage and gave the plane to me – that’s right: Free! This magnanimous act was the genesis of my earlier column titled, “The Wright (Brothers’) Stuff.”

Joe had a heart as big as the skies in which he loved to fly, and was great fun to be with. People are indeed just like snowflakes—no two are the same . . . which is a great shame, as the world would be a much better place if the powers that be made an exception, just this once, and allowed us another Joe Hines.