Flying | Mr. G's Mind

“From out of the clear blue of the western sky comes Sky King.” When I was a kid “Sky King” ruled Saturday morning television. For those of you too young to remember, Sky King was a radio show first, and then a TV show, about an Arizona rancher who owned a cool plane (the Songbird), had exciting adventures, and caught bad guys.

Last year, I could not resist buying a piece of nostalgia – I bought a Sky King model airplane. I also bought an airband radio, which picks up local aircraft to tower communications. Both are kits and I figured that they would keep me busy. I thought that it would be kind of fun to hang the model from the garage rafters, while listening to pilot-to-tower chatter.

Well, the model is still in the box, but I have taken on the radio. This is a $16.00 kit manufactured in China, so not a big investment. You have to put it together and figure out a few issues with the schematics as well. There are a number of these kits available for purchase on eBay.

I laid out my tools and the electrical components, and the build began.

Mostly, you just follow the layout diagram, solder, and hope that you have received all the parts. I was missing one from the kit, but was able to substitute from my own inventory.

I also had to consult the web for help. I found a radio tech who had done a video on the same build. There were a couple of tips in the viewer’s comments that helped me out. Always consult the web for help.

Here is the radio just about completed. The aluminum case does come with the kit. Actually, pretty nice.

I also consulted the web for an antenna design. You can’t pick up radio signals without an antenna…

… but that’s another build and post!

Every once in a while a project morphs or leads into several different projects. An example is my hammerhead shark balance board Hammerhead Balance Board.

It’s made from a recycled desktop. I really wanted something different than a standard skateboard/surfboard shape, so I went with this design idea.

A balance board is like a skateboard but with a roller and track on its underside, instead of wheels. The board is 40″ long.

Just imagine a board that you stand on, with a movable fulcrum centered underneath. I decided that I would be less likely to break bones on this, as opposed to a skateboard – right!

Additionally, I thought once I improved my balance, I could add wheels to the balance board and it would morph into a skateboard.

Here is the roller that I will be using. I ordered this one from Vew-Do.

While building the board, I decided that I needed a balance paddle. So begins another project. I felt that I needed a safety stick (like a cane), so that I would not tip over while on the board.

Here is the balance paddle under construction. It’s made with 4 old ceiling fan blades glued together (a fan blade pair on each end) and laminated pallet wood for the paddle shaft.

I’ll show you how to build the paddle in a future post as well.

The balance board is not even complete, and now I am making a paddle too. But wait, there is more!

One morning I awoke from a dream and realized that I had been flying on the back of a hammerhead shark. So very cool I thought, “How could I do this – I mean really do this.”

Then it hit me, add a hydrofoil wing to the bottom of the board. If I could add the wing, I could literally fly above the water on the back of a hammerhead shark – a dream come true!

Hey, guess what? I am building a hydrofoil wing. I ordered this cool kit from Clearwater Hydrofoils. Of course it has to be fiberglassed, but I will learn a new skill. One post soon, I’ll show you that process too.