I’ve never posted any of my work before, so here goes. For the past three years I have built a child’s pedal plane for my pilot’s club annual fundraiser. The proceeds go to SMA Support, a nonprofit that helps families with children born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
I have enjoyed building each one, and after the third one I am getting it down to a science. It doesn’t help that I’m a perfectionist.LOL So here is the third annual Glenndale Pedal Plane. The plane is made for children 3-7 years old, and is fully functional with steerable tailwheel.
And to place a shameful plug: there will be another one next year that will be raffled off for $10 per ticket.
Mitch
Replies
Man, that is really gorgeous. Tell us next year; I'd certainly buy a ticket or two - got some of the right age at home.
Forrest
Thanks! I plan on setting up a website to expand the exposure a bit, I'll definitely let everyone here know.
Hey McDesign,
You showed some interest in this last year...just thought I would let ya know(and get a shameless bump in the thread).
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Mitch
I did see it when you put it up - son and I are discussing it!
Forrest - another bump on the walll
Man that is beautiful! Where did you purchase the plan and get the wheels and pedal set up?
Luke
luke,
The wheels are standard off-the shelf, and my machinist dad helped me build the steel parts(landing gear, wheels, tailwheel assembly, etc.). The pedal crank was hand-bent with a jig I built from the plans. The cowling and turtle deck was made from a roll of white aluminum sheet stock. I bought a sheet of vinyl from a local sign shop to make the decals(much easier than masking and painting).
The plans can be purchased from Aviation Products, Inc.(http://www.pedalplanekits.com/). All the components can be purchased as a kit(except for the plywood and 3/4 stock used for the nose and wheel pants). They also have different models of planes. It's a lot of fun building, and the one I built last year gets a lot of use( and it's hangered with a P-51, SWEET!)
If you don't do the GeeBee R2 next year, I will!
I LOVE the GeeBee! I quit RC modeling because it was taking up too much of my life, just before taking on a 1/4-scale model of one.
Now I have a project I can build for our grandson!
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Really nice. Thanks for posting.
Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
That's great!
Looks like a Pitts Special. If you did the paint in Red, White, and Blue it'd be a dead ringer.
Pedal Power Pitts...
Tom,
I did a red and white one two years ago, and a blue and yellow last year. Next year's will be orange with white stripes. Here are the past color schemes, with a close-up of the gear and pedal crank assembly, and looking into the cockpit.
Nice work, Mitch.
And nice to see you around BT again.
open downThat's what a Proctologist tells a gabby recalcitrant patient."Shut up your mouth and open down your pants."SamTEdited 9/25/2007 9:02 am by SamT
Edited 9/25/2007 12:18 pm by SamT
there will be another one next year that will be raffled off for $10 per ticket.
Have we already missed this years?
jt8
"I was gratified to be able to answer promptly.
I said 'I don't know.'"
-- Mark Twain
Unfortunately, yes. This year's was the yellow and white, and the raffle drawing was last Sunday. Crazy enough, my Dad bought two tickets each for my two nephew's, and my oldest nephew won the plane.
I plan on promoting the raffle early next year, starting in July, and getting a lot more exposure with a web page. And on Breaktime of course.
Mitch
Mitch,
Looks geat! You could get greedy, build another plane, and hold your own raffle on Breaktime and give all the proceeds to your charity of choice. I figured that if you had time to build one that you could probably start some type of assembly line and build a few. How much time do you have in building each?John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
WOW! What a gem of an airplane. Nice work for a very good cause.
Thanks!
Well it's that time of year again! I finished this years pedal plane a couple weeks ago, right before my South Dakota trip.
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A few people mentioned that they were interested in the raffle, so here's your way to get in on it: http://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/ . As mentioned on the site, all proceeds go toward SMA Support. This year, tickets can be purchased online...as well as through mail and during the festivities. The raffle will be held September 21, 2008.
Mitch
Are you an EAA member? What's going on in your chapter these days? Do you have a personal project or completed aircraft?
Edited 9/4/2008 11:48 am by Hudson Valley Carpenter
I'm not an EAA member, so I'm not sure what's going on in the local chapter. My dad, brother, and I have a '63 Cessna 150 that we fly. There are several RV's that fly in, and are based, during the Glenndale(8I3) Days.
Mitch
The EAA guys in my area often build those pedal planes for raffles at the annual airshow, so when you mentioned a club I thought you might be involved.
My first plane was a '66 150F. I put about 1100hrs on it over ten years. Great experiences, lots of good memories.
How do you like the RVs? Seems like one of those would be a great project for you three guys.
I've been trying to figure out which one of them I should build...for about fifteen years now. The RV-9A looks real nice. I met Van when he flew their prototype 9A into an EAA event near here, a few years ago. Very dedicated aviator.
Peter
Maule MX7-180A
Well, my brother already has himself a project---a Maule. Drove all the way to Alaska to get it. And my Mom won't let my dad get another airplane(he has a 1/2 interest in a Super Belanca also). I have fallen in love with the F1 Rocket..kinda a souped up RV.
Our pilots club has an annual get-together for the public: airplane rides, T-6 rides(Tom Wood's plane), Stearman rides, Lifeline helicopter display, and plenty of planes flying in. I decided a few years ago to build this pedal plane and raffle it. In years past I would build it and drop it off. This year I decided to get it done early and do the raffle myself. I'm hoping it brings a lot of money for a good cause. My CFI had two boys born with SMA.
Mitch
Hey, guess what just went on the market? And in your neighborhood too.
http://www.vincesrocket.com/
Nice job on the plane. Did you paint it, or did what's-her-name ???(-:
The shortest distance between two points is how far apart they are
I painted it, and the white striping is vinyl decal material. Yeah, whats-her-name prolly woulda used a roller to paint it. G,D&R
Mitch
OUCH.Don't forget she's on BT, and may see what you say.(-:
The person who says it can't be done should not interrupt the person doing it [Chinese Proverb]
That's OK, she'll know what I'm talking about.
Mitch
Very nice. Any idea what s/h might run?
jt8
Shipping is included to whomever wins the raffle. Depending on distance, it will either be delivered by myself, or crated and shipped by commercial carrier. Thanks.
Mitchhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Only one week left to get tickets. Hurry up!
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Bumphttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
I need two tickets. The online ordering is not working for me. It hangs on 'redirecting' when I try to add ticket to cart. I'm not confident that USPS would get the check to you in time, so will PayPal it if you can give me the account to pay and amount to pay (ticket price plus PayPal fee).
You can send an email to me at:
t8john@yahoo.comjt8
JohnT8,
E-mail sent.
and a bump
Mitchhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Mitch, USPS didn't waste any time. The tickets arrived today.
Good luck with your raffle, and thanks again!
John.
jt8
Hey Everyone! Today's the final day. The drawing will be held at 5p.m. EDT. There's still time to get tickets online. Just go to http://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/ and click on the Buy Tickets Here! button. The cut-off for online ticket sales will be 4p.m. EDT.
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Thanks
Mitchhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
OK, the drawings over, who won it?
The winning ticket belonged to Phil Bartlett, from Maine.
I would like to thank all who participated to help SMA Support. The pedal plane brought in $950, quite a good chunk of change.
Stay tuned next year for the 2009 Glenndale Pedal Plane.
Mitchhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
I'll be looking for it again next year!
jt8
Thanks for posting Mitch
Doug
Once again, I'm bringing this post out of the dust. I've started production on the 2009 Glenndale Pedal Plane, and it will be completed in time for the annual raffle held on Sept. 20th.
This years color will be purple with yellow stripes, you can see past pedal planes at http://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Mitch
http://www.rdwoodworks.comhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Shameless Bump.
Mitch
http://www.rdwoodworks.comhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Sold three tickets online thus far....Anyone want in?
The link to the Pedal Plane page is at the bottom of this post.
Mitch
http://www.rdwoodworks.comhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Four days left.....
...and a bump.http://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Here is a pic I got today of the pedal plane.
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Only 24 hours left before the drawing......and I've only sold 12 tickets. Odds are in someones favor. Go to the website below and help out a great cause. Thanks.
http://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Edited 9/19/2009 5:03 pm ET by MRockwell
maybe someones already asked but how do you get it to me if i win?
who pays?
how much for you to custom build one?
purples just not my color. :)
but the plane is awesome!
maybe you should put it in the back of your truck and go to the shopping center to sell tickets I'm sure you would sell more
The plane will be delivered to the winner, or crated and shipped.
Who pays what? For shipping? If that is the question, the answer is I do. All proceeds from ticket sales go to SMA Support, I build the plane on my dime and take care of all the logistics of getting the tickets sold and anything to do with the pedal plane.
Someone asked me last year what it would cost to build one. I have fifty hours of time in building this plane. Lets just say it would cost a lot.
Mitchhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Hi Mitch! Nancy and I just purchased a ticket. This is a challenge to all you other Breaktimers with kids or grandchildren to step up and help Mitch with his project.This is also a bump to keep this thread on top of the pile!Chuck
Thanks Chuck..I appreciate it.
Mitchhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Mitch, Another ticket and a bump.Nice job!KK
Thought granddaughter would look good flying this in a year of so, but no joy on purchasing a ticket...checkout gets stuck. Are we too late?
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.
PeterJ,
I don't know what could be happening, but tickets will still be for sale until 4:30p.m. Eastern today, Sept. 20. The drawing will be held at 5p.m.
*edit* I just tried the site, and it worked o.k. But if anyone has problems and wants a ticket, e-mail me through Breaktime and I'll get you taken care of.**
And thank you all for helping this year.
Mitch
http://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Edited 9/20/2009 8:44 am ET by MRockwell
Update!
We have a winner for the 2009 Glenndale Pedal Plane! Our very own IBEWChuck!
Once again, thank you to all those who helped out SMA Support by purchasing a ticket for the raffle.
It was a light turnout this year, and we had rain today, but $510 was raised through pedal plane raffle tickets.
If you want to be notified of the raffle next year, go to the website below and leave a comment....or e-mail me through breaktime.
Mitchhttp://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Thanks Mitch! I appreciate the opportunity to help you in your support of SMA.Call me and we'll make arrangements for the delivery. We can offer you a bed for the night if that will help in your arrangements. Will you bring Jennie along as co-pilot? We have room and she would certainly be welcome. Nancy and I will fill you up with some Kansas City style Bar-B-Que so that you will get something out of the trip also.Looking forward to seeing you or both of you again.Chuck
John,
The first one took me about 60 hours, the second about 50, and this year it was around 50 including my dad fabricating the steel parts. An assembly line doesn't sound half bad. One morning before going to a job to hang cabinets I was working on shaping the wheel pants and my dad decided to jump in(after a little coaxing) and did some rough shaping on the other one.
Maybe next year I could do a photo progression of all the work and post it on website.
Mitch