Albacore dual-prop retrofit

[greenman407]

Re: Albacore dual-prop retrofit

As you can see in the top picture in the last post It is here prepared for drilling with the Forestner bit. Several problems. One being that the forestner bit has a tiny starter point on it and the prop spacer has a 3/16" hole in it. Therefore I had to fill it in on one end with JB Weld, then sand it down, find perfect center and drill a 3/32" starter hole.









Dave Merriman made the hole in the spacer an interference fit on a 3/16" shaft so I put a 3/16" drill bit in it as a way to hold it in my precision drill press vice and Wallah!!!

[greenman407]

Re: Albacore dual-prop retrofit

Oh and by the way, my humble and capable assistant Slobodon Dimitrijevic helped me in the drilling process. No picture available :

[greenman407]

Re: Albacore dual-prop retrofit

I bet you thought that I had forgotten about this project, no indeedy! It got moved to the back burner but I have been thinking about it. For one thing to do this I will have to disable the Albacore while the work is being undertaken. It could be a lengthy project, we will just have to see how it goes. Once I do start however I dont think I will stop until its done. The Dave Meriman 3" single output WTC will need to be converted to a twin motor twin output unit. This creates a problem of space for the electronics. The single output endcap was hollow and housed the motor and gearbox internally. The twin motor units motors hang off the inside of the endcap consuming a lot more space. To make this thing work I will replace the 8 channel polk reciever with a miniature Sombra labs unit. It already uses mini servos for the x-tail. If I have to I can always move some componants(mixer, apc,failsafe) to the front compartment(where the speed control and BEC and nimh battery already are). Once I finish my testing of the front bow planes and waterproff servos I will be ready to start. TaTa for now

[greenman407]

Re: Albacore dual-prop retrofit

I just found these pictures in my archives and thought that I would share them. I believe that these are pictures of the Albacore on display, showing its dual propeller arrangement. This I believe is one of the shorter versions. I dont know who sent me these pictures or if I found them somewhere.


The color of the props are of interest to me, so that I can figure out what colors that I need to blend together to get somewhat close to this(naturally aged phosphor bronze).

[greenman407]

Re: Albacore dual-prop retrofit

Here is a picture of Dave Merrimans Albacore that he converted to a duo-prop. When mine is finished it will have the same prop setup.

[greenman407]

Re: Albacore dual-prop retrofit

Just so that everyone is aware of it ,this build is not just a matter of sticking two props on the same shaft. These are counter-rotating props. Thats why I purchased thrust bearings and am making all the fuss. Thats why a friend said to me " why would you take a perfectly good operating submarine and tear it all apart to make something that might not even work?" Because its so cool! I am sure that I can make it work, Ive got plenty of interested people to draw on if I need the help. The Oscar build is coming along nicely. Soon I should have time to get serious about the Albacore. It should be done by Winter.