Thursday morning my broker called me to find out how things went..... She called back 2 hours later and explained what had happened. Once upon  TIME... There was this crook named Charles Dixon... Well... Old Charles Dixon decided to do some illegal contraband type stuff and got caught by US Customs... Unhappily ever after anyone who is named "Charles Dixon" and tries to import a package from ANYWHERE puts US Customs to Defcon 1 status, and their package into quarantine- sometimes as long as a month! My Broker finally managed to get the package released on Friday morning, and I was told that I had to pick it up that day or I would be charged by the warehouse for storage..... Nice business huh?? I picked it up Friday night at 11:00 pm, drove home, and spent the next 2 hours unpacking and playing with my parts.

The "Crate" from Australia

The US Customs Service was "nice enough" to open this side for me.

Top removed.

Fan Duct 

Fan assy.

Front View of Flex Hub

 Back View of Hub/ Motor Mount

Side View of Flex Hub and Motor Mount Assembly

Fan / Motor mount Assy

    With my parts finally in hand I needed to sort out my power requirements for my new craft. I imported an engine mount assembly from Australia that was designed for the Rotax 532/ 582 motors. I'm pretty sick of 2 strokes and had many discussions with various designers and builders before deciding on my current selection for power.... After many hours of  study I have decided on using a 1996 Honda VFR 750 Street Bike Motor for my power plant. I figured out how I would mount it before I even cut the first piece of lumber, and if my calculations hold up in the real world I should be putting out about 80 HP to the fan at about 430 fps tip speed. The torque and HP dyno curves for this motor are very linear and match the fan very well.... Hey!! If it doesn't work I can always bolt in a Rotax instead!! But if it does work....... Just maybe it will open a few eyes to the current state of motorcycle development and a new supply of motors for homebuilt craft!

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