Learning to Cricut - Playing with the wife's new toy!

[CharlesHuddleston]

So my wife bought a new Cricut, which is basically a desktop computer controlled die cutting machine. People use them to cut paper for crafts or vinyl for making stickers and vinyl prints for shirts. She bought it to use at our med-spa. Well, I got a hold of it, and did a little playing on my own! What a cool device! The software is easy to navigate, and with the help of Photoshop and some high-res logo files I found here on MS, I made my own sticker! Next one will be a little bigger, to go on the back of the Jeep!

 

[Schllc]

That’s pretty cool!

How’s that Mooney turboprop project coming?

[CharlesHuddleston]

5 hours ago, Schllc said:

That’s pretty cool!

How’s that Mooney turboprop project coming?

Ahh, still in the consideration stage. I did get a quote from the PBS Aerospace, and it was higher than what I was anticipating. Plus, the TBO time is still not high enough to make it economically viable. However, I did consider trying to get an FAA grant to look at it!

[MB65E]

Neat! They are cool. My wife has one too. 
All sorts of applications. I don’t have the patients to learn the files and sizing etc. 
-Matt

[Schllc]

On 11/4/2020 at 12:21 AM, CharlesHuddleston said:

Ahh, still in the consideration stage. I did get a quote from the PBS Aerospace, and it was higher than what I was anticipating. Plus, the TBO time is still not high enough to make it economically viable. However, I did consider trying to get an FAA grant to look at it!

What did PBS quote you?  Was it a Walter or a RR?  How does that work, do they do the stc, or can you convert to experimental?

I don’t think it will ever be “economically viable” but it sure as heck would be cool, and very little about GA is economically viable...
it still baffles me that someone went through the effort and expense to do the conversion on a bonanza but no one has for a mooney.  I mean their one claim to fame from the beginning was speed and efficiency. 
The UL on the bonanza makes it a two person airplane as well, but you don’t get the benefit of the sleek airframe, or the ability to carry 130 gal of fuel. 
nNeither will ever have mass appeal without coming out of the stratosphere in pricing, but I’d be willing to bet the Mooney would really be a rocket at 25k+ with a turbine...

if I had the money to burn i would do it just to be the first. 
It would also be a rock solid way to distinguish the appeal from a cirrus, with turbine reliability.

[CharlesHuddleston]

On 11/8/2020 at 9:36 AM, Schllc said:

What did PBS quote you?  Was it a Walter or a RR?  How does that work, do they do the stc, or can you convert to experimental?

So the PBS is a company specific product. 

https://www.pbsaerospace.com/aerospace-products/engines/turboprop-engines/ts-100-turboshaft-engine

It is rated at 241 hp take-off for up to 5 mins, then cruise at 188 hp, max continuous 214 hp. All in quote was just over $150k, but included all the accessories to mount it and get it running (fuel pump, ECU, prop governor, etc...). My initial thought was that if I could get in for around $100-120, and get the TBO up to 3000hrs, you would be approaching (not quite meeting) the cost per hour for a turbocharged 6 cylinder piston. But then you start to consider increased fuel burn compared to fuel cost savings, etc... 

Anywho, if I could just win the lottery, and finance my own pipe dream, I think I could at least sell a few! I mean a TSIO-360 is around 400#, versus 135#, so you would have to either stretch the nose or re-adjust some weights to get the correct balance. Could use LR tanks to carry the extra fuel, in a trade off for a little extra speed. Its a lot of engineering that I myself am not fully versed in. Having said that, I think it would be pretty dam cool!