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Progress on building prototype #1 continues. Some of our latest activities do not photograph that well, which is unfortunate considering the large amount of man hours we've spent on them. But we work for the end results, not the cameras.
First up is the foam plug that we will use to form the vehicle's fiberglass body. We have glued all the main pieces together and are in the process of sculpting and sanding the compound curves into the final shape. We are being careful on this step as we want to get the shape of the body right and incorporate any last minute changes before fiberglassing. It may look pretty simple, but the amount of work it took to get to this point hase been extensive. It is also amazing how heavy styrofoam can get when made the size of a car(!)
Next is a parallel task of building our new full-scale flight simulator and ergonomic test bed. We decided to replace our old cockpit mockup model with this new version that integrates new design features, LCD displays, and X-Plane flight simulator software. It is still a work in progress, but so far we have several projectors and LCD screens being run off of a whole bunch of networked PCs. We can't say enough good things about the flexability and utility of the X-Plane software for this. Flying the FSC-1 with a functional cockpit, real flight controls, and panaramic views has given us a great feel of how the real vehicle will be like to fly.
- Mitch Labiche IDS interview part 1 (4.7 MB .mp3)
- Mitch Labiche IDS interview part 2 (6.8 MB .mp3)
We are back from a successful presentation at the world famous EAA Airventure 2006, Oshkosh. We were invited to give an update on the FSC-1 project at the annual Roadable Aircraft forum. The pictures below shows the engineering test models we had on display.
The prototype #1 canard wing cores are in the factory for finishing and mounting of the controls. After finishing, the canards will undergo static load testing.
Interest is extremely high for the FSC-1 vehicle and LaBiche Aerospace has confirmed more orders. More people are coming to understand the convenience, practicality and flexibility of the FSC-1. It’s not just another airplane.
Last but not least, we have now made available some videos shown at the Roadable Aircraft forum:
- 1/10 Scale Model Flight (1.5 MB .wmv)
- 1/4 Scale Dynamic Test Stand (4.1 MB .wmv)
LaBiche Aerospace will be giving a presentation at this year's EAA Airventure Oshkosh. More details in the Forums.
AvWeb's Mike Blakeney has an interview with Mitch LaBiche on the FSC-1 as part of their audio podcast series. It is available for download at the AvWeb website..
In the mean time, here are a couple of photos showing construction progress of the FSC-1 prototype:
Labiche Aerospace now has a public discussion Forum. Now you can communicate directly about LaBiche Aerospace products or roadable aircraft in general.
The direct like to the forums is: http://labiche.proboards50.com/
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Hello in 2006, It’s been a long time since the last update. What have we done in the last few years on the FSC-1 project? Here are a few snap shots and descriptions showing our progress. We are currently on-track with our major milestones according to our business plan. We have flown a 1/10th RC scale model and verified proof-of-concept and flight stability in various configurations (i.e. gear up and down).   We also have performed extensive testing with a ¼ scale engineering model. This model has a wingspan over 8 feet and fully functional controls for high fidelity flight characteristics and data collection.    Moreover, LaBiche Aerospace has produced a full scale cockpit mockup for human factors testing, several numerical computer models, and an aerodynamically correct simulator using X-planes software. All of these different models have proven invaluable for fine tuning the aerodynamics and crew amenities while setting the stage for our full scale prototype of the FSC-1.   After putting some initial work into the full scale prototype over the last few years and initial customer feedback, we took a couple of steps back to explore some modifications to the vehicle. Because of this, the project has taken a little longer than we originally expected to get to our prototype vehicle build. We felt that this #1 vehicle will get a lot of scrutiny on the initial public showing and with such a large number of unique features, it was imperative that we have a very good understanding of all aspects of the vehicle before we committed more time and money into the fuselage and controls. We are now confident that the vehicle will perform well in all configurations! So where are we now? LaBiche Aerospace is completing the full scale frame and modifying the fuselage for improved aerodynamics and crew comfort found during testing. In Summary:
We do not have the exact timeline yet for the first public showing, but are making plans for shows in the near future. Customers who make an initial deposit for the FSC-1 vehicle are invited to tour the LaBiche Aerospace R&D factory. As part of the tour, you will get to review the FSC-1 prototype #1 vehicle and make customer inputs. For further information, contact LaBiche Aerospace at: mlabiche@labicheaerospace.com or (713) 582-5240. LaBiche Aerospace is also developing other roadable aircraft vehicles for customers that do not need the seats and capability of the FSC-1 vehicle. But more on these later…. Stay tuned for latest info on the FSC-1 vehicle, as well as other new vehicles, from LaBiche Aerospace. Happy New Year! -Mitch ---------------------------------------- |