The Lynx ProjectLincoln-Mercury’s Lost Dream Car



BUILDING THE DC-8 PLANE

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26 May 2011:

After some months of designing and drawing the structure of the DC-8 plane on Autocad, I finally had the formers and other parts cut from sheet steel with a CNC laser cutter.

12 June 2011:
I began erecting the frame. The two aluminum profiles go all the way along; through the spaces in the formers, holding the formers at the same level and also serving as the base to fix the floor of the fuselage. I used soldering for joining the formers with the stringers (2 mm brass wire).

24 June 2011:

I completed soldering the stringers. In the photo below, the mating of the aluminum profiles with the formers are seen.

I used the same principle for the fuselage ceiling support. The photo below shows the upper aluminum profile inserted through the formers.

25 June 2011:

Now was the time for fixing the floor panel to the aluminum profiles. Before fixing, I scraped both the floor panel and the aluminum profiles for better grip of the adhesive.

I used epoxy resin for bonding. I fixed the assembly with clamps while curing.

26 June 2011:

After the floor cured, I did the same with the fuselage ceiling.

04 July 2011:

The stringers were brass, but since the formers and ribs were steel, to prevent rust forming risk in the future I applied Zinga (cold zinc coating) on the formers and ribs. 

 

17 July 2012:

Spending some long time on how to manufacture the engine, I finished the sectional Autocad drawings that would be the basis for construction of the engine.


I wanted the engine to be as lightweight as possible, so I had the sections laser-cut from 2 mm clear plexiglass.

I began with assembling the intake part of the nacelle. In order to assemble them perfectly concentric, I printed a template on sticky paper, stuck it on a piece of wooden plate, drilled the guide holes and inserted the guide toothpicks which would aid exact alignment of the layers.

I used CA glue between each subsequent layer to form the stepwise rough shape. The last photo shows a side view.

I continued with the assembly of the engine body frame and pylon. I made use of  indexing holes for correct positioning of the glued layers.

This is the finished rough "skeleton" of the engine and front intake part.

To smooth out the stepped curvature, I first applied automotive polyester putty to the inside, then to the outside and sanded.

23 July 2012:

To manufacture the nozzle, I drew the development on the computer, printed on a sheet of sticky paper and used it as a template by sticking on a plastic sheet. Then I cut the development out.

24 July 2012:

I added the raw plastic material for the bezel of the intake, also joined the nozzle development to a rounded cone. I used CA glue to join the edges of the development. I applied automotive polyester putty on both parts and sanded to proper shape.

I applied a primer coat to see how things are going.

28 July 2012:

I turned the central pod from aluminum rod, and cut the compressor blades from a Sprite can.

30 July 2012:

For the inlet guide (stator) vanes, I cut strips from a copper sheet, rolled the inner and outer rings, fixed the ends with solder. I cut the vane blades also, and formed a slight twist along each blade.

I fixed the pod and the rings on a template and fixed each guide vane blade with CA glue.

After finishing with the stator guide vane assembly, I made a test-fit .

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