MOC: More Wacky Stuff - The AeroBrick (a prototype)

[dundarach]

The people of the Toffee Mountain Railway wonder that even though they are rightly very proud of the Atom2, two things are apparent:

1. Nuclear power might not be all that clean, something they’ve not really worried about

2. That entering the Wacky Challenge might require something a little more … wacky!

There best minds have been on the case and they would like to present:

The AeroBrick in its current prototype stage.

They would also like to point out that it really goes….and have commissioned a test video too :-)

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/dundarach/TMR/img_0361.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Zr5B19k6yBQ

Edited May 6, 2013 by Fugazi
oversized image replaced by link

[Electricsteam]

I can't tell if its moving from the propeller or from you moving the batterybox....

[Locomotive Annie]

Delightful That's something we haven't seen so much of with this contest, - propeller driven locos.

[dundarach]

No really the prop - haha - more work to follow :)

However on jolly hols next week so be the week after...

I didn't think it'd work either but really does - how cool is that...!!!

[Konrad]

i can confirm its the prop, used to do that when i was a kid except with wooden home made props. lol

[jonwil]

Reminds me of that Mythbusters episode where they strapped an airplane engine to some train wheels for some myth or other.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Very neat indeed! Have you tried the larger 3 blade propeller?

Reminds me of that Mythbusters episode where they strapped an airplane engine to some train wheels for some myth or other.

I remember that episode, testing to see if it would shred a fuselage; it does

[UrbanErwin]

cool idea, and it works that is cool

Very neat indeed! Have you tried the larger 3 blade propeller?

that won't work as it doesn't connect to the axle.

[Locomotive Annie]

cool idea, and it works that is cool

that won't work as it doesn't connect to the axle.

This one does though...... http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=2952

[1974]

There's also this one :

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=2740c01

[dundarach]

**must not buy more lego..must not buy more lego**

That's it - off to buy a bigger prop :-)

[Hrw-Amen]

That is really great, I would not have thought that it would work at all but it is amazing that it does. It will be interesting to see if using different props has a huge difference on its performance.

[dundarach]

New (larger) prop is en-route, also bought a 9v battery clip as the square 9v batteries weigh very little. Once all arrives and back from holidays will be building again - so lets see what happens :)

[alainneke]

New (larger) prop is en-route, also bought a 9v battery clip as the square 9v batteries weigh very little. Once all arrives and back from holidays will be building again - so lets see what happens :)

Nice project, I can see a 'Schienenzeppelin' running on the tracks of Toffee Mountain! Be careful using 9V batteries with this motor though, as it's only rated 4V (see backside of connector block)...

[1974]

Reality is quite often more wacky that our wackiest dreams :

[dundarach]

Yes I'm worried I'll destroy the 4.5v motor - by running it too fast.

I tried a 9v motor as need the power to weight ratio of the 9v battery, however it would not run fast enough.

So this evening I've built the AeroBrick-Turbofan which is self propelled - see below :-)

And the video to prove it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2KxfuzirdAA

I really want to only use Lego and I've ordered a new larger lego prop - however I'm not going to run the motor any more at twice the speed, so might need to re-think....

[Electricsteam]

If you go with the AeroTrain design you could use BlueRail as the over hang rail!

[Konrad]

you need that turbine prop that came on exo force sets

[dundarach]

Mmm - turbine prop - will go investigate...

However, before I'm off on jolly holidays, I can confirm the new larger propeller is here and it's much better.

So now, a real 9v motor, not an overdriven 4.5v one...

In order to bring some more passion (if we need it) to our hobby, the kids and I thought we'd re-enact the early days of the railway:

Therefore Dundarach and the little D's give you:

The Super-AeroBrick-Turbo with cheering :-) I'll be back with improvements after next week :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lpw60u3MXw8

[bricks n bolts]

However, before I'm off on jolly holidays, I can confirm the new larger propeller is here and it's much better.

So now, a real 9v motor, not an overdriven 4.5v one...

Fantastic, working really great..yay!

[Roger_Smith]

Reality is quite often more wacky that our wackiest dreams :

< image >

Another famopus example that actually ran on regular train tracks:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schienenzeppelin

Edited March 24, 2013 by Roger_Smith

[Konrad]

lol now you need to make a paper body.... bricks will weigh too much for a prop