All this work is making me hungry!

I got you covered

This past weekend my Dad and his main squeeze Gini came by to help Allison (my main squeeze) and I stretch the paper over the main wing sections. It is a process that goes pretty easily when you have a few people. The process goes like this. My dad applied glue to the wing ribs, Gini and Allison wet the center of each piece of paper with a roller leaving the edges that get glued in place dry. Next they applied glue to the edges and when the glue gets a little tacky I place them on the wing ribs, making sure the seams are smooth. The cool thing is by wetting the paper down the middle it expands letting you glue it down and when it dries it shrinks giving you a nice tight wing covering.

Right to the source

Today after dropping off a proposal for sponsorship at Vienna® Beef, they helped sponsor the Original Red Hot flyer, I walked around to the factory store to get some inspiration. I think the Vienna factory store is one of the best places to get a dog in the city. After all, it’s no more then 100 feet from where they make them. I ordered up the Chicago Dog Special, two Chicago style hot dogs with all the trimmings and a small fry. I also got a coke to wash it all down. Mmmmmmmm, definitely some good food for thought.

When I say dance, you best dance...

As if the pressure of designing and building a human powered flying machine, in my case a 28 foot hot dog biplane, I have to come up with a one minute skit! What do you do to impress 70,000 plus spectators and ultimately the judges? Do I enlist the dance moves of my three nieces who are competitive cheerleaders? Do I get my dad to do a Ray Clay Chicago Bulls style introduction of the Red Hot Flyer II and all the toppings? Do I stage a Godzilla style attack by a giant bottle of Ketchup with the RHF2 flying away to safety? Have a suggestion for a skit, let me know?

Red Hot Flyer Redux

It's  official the wiener will fly again! The Red Hot Flyer II been accepted into the 2008 Red Bull Flugtag Chicago. It has been nearly five years since I entered and competed in the 2003 Red Bull Flugtag Chicago with the first Red Hot Flyer. Now that the nervous excitement has started to subside I must get busy planning the construction of my bi-winged flying machine. I will keep you posted all along the way with this blog so, stay tuned.

"This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last."
- Oscar Wilde