7 September 2021
Extraordinary DIY: When Engineers Think Big
We could easily have titled this article, “Engineer Puts Copywriter to Shame,” but the engineer in question so impressed the copywriter that there are no hard feelings at all. In fact, the copywriter’s admiration for members of the AEC industry grew. But let’s back up a bit to explain the “shame” aspect. (If you’re an engineer, you’ll probably have a bit of a chuckle when you see where this is going.)
The middle-aged (to be polite) copywriter in question recently undertook two DIY projects, because frankly, she dementedly thinks she’s invincible. Not only is she lovingly restoring the vintage 1950’s desk she works at, but for some utterly inexplicable reason, she also decided, at the same time, to replaster her bathroom to capture a hint of Marrakesh in the color and texture on the walls. There’s nothing shameful about either of those projects until you discover that the above-mentioned engineer is also a fan of DIY projects. And what project did he choose? He built a freaking helicopter. Not a model helicopter, mind you. Not a built-to-scale helicopter. Not a remote-controlled helicopter. Nope, he built a genuine, bona fide, fully-functional-and-capable-of-flight chopper. No contest, game over. Oh, man, can you hear the copywriter’s strangled sigh of defeat?
To be fair, the engineer had a slight advantage, because unlike the artsy-fartsy copywriter, the engineer is, well, an engineer. So, while the copywriter feels utterly obliterated in the DIY arena, the truth is, she was outclassed by a man of great intelligence and ability, which is not the worst type of person to lose to, is it?
Discovering an Unexpected Passion
Adam Weaver was at Purdue University completing his Master of Engineering degree when he stumbled onto this DIY project at the Irish bar where he worked part-time. A regular patron had worked out the plans and purchased the parts to build a helicopter. However, the construction of the remaining parts and the actual assembly were proving too much for him and he asked for assistance. Adam and a friend leapt at the opportunity.
What project did he choose? He built a freaking helicopter.
For a year, they labored together until, sadly, the bar patron passed away. Determined to complete the project, Adam and his friend purchased all the parts and continued working on the helicopter, with Adam eventually becoming the sole owner of the chunks of chopper. After Adam graduated, he moved to New Hampshire, taking the pile of parts with him, where they languished for several years.
Although it was originally estimated that the build would take a year, Adam says, “I have learned that you set a target date so you can miss it. Again and again. Without fail, every task took longer than I thought it would. All the studying, trial and error took a lot of time. Plus, there was that day job.”
Having never built a helicopter before, there was so much to learn to get it right. “When lives are at risk, you need to be confident in your own work, and that confidence comes only after doing, undoing, and doing again. In the end, hopefully you are undoing less than you’re doing,” says Adam. “The electrical was a prime example of learning by doing and undoing. I must have laid every wire in that helicopter at least three to four times.”
Don’t Bother Asking Google
It turns out not everything in life can be Googled, as Adam soon discovered. “To understand what an aircraft mechanic knows — like where to mount the antenna — cannot be Googled. I had to study antenna theory. To set up the avionics, I had to master wire looms (an assembly of wires which transmit signals or electrical power). To change, adjust or fix body panels, I became an autobody expert,” he explains.
Adam says he’s not the only person ever to have attempted a home-built heli. There’s a small community of dedicated diehards who generously share solutions to common problems amongst themselves. “It is a community where people help each other,” Adam says of the group’s reciprocal attitude. “When I heard someone had suffered a fracture on their tail rotor, I designed an assembly and brought it to an engineer friend, who fabricated it. It was a safety-critical component, so I was happy to provide it to the community. Multiple people have implemented this fix.”
I can’t fully describe the feeling of what it was like when my helicopter lifted off the ground for the very first time.
It was when work on the engine started that Adam’s aviation hobby finally benefited from his professional background. “Having studied and worked with turbo machinery gave me much-needed insight into the physics of the turbine engine,” says Adam. “When the engine wasn’t operating correctly, I was able to rely on my coursework to diagnose the problem. I knew how to prevent compressor surge during acceleration, for instance. And my controls engineering courses helped me tune the electronic governor system to regulate the fuel control and design the circuitry for the engine and gearbox instrumentation.”
Eventually, in 2019, Adam packed the bits and pieces of his helicopter into a trailer and headed to Missouri to benefit from the prodigious knowledge of Orville Neisingh. Generally recognized as one of the foremost helicopter-building experts, Adam says Neisingh is “certain to be on the short list of important Orvilles in American aviation history.”
Up, Up and Away
In Missouri, the two men went through the entire project in fine detail. “I learned more about aircraft building in a few days than I had in the last few years,” Adam admits.
After a thorough check of everything in the engine bay, cockpit and tail, it was time to finally mount the rotor blades and do the very precise work of static and dynamic balancing. “Here, my academic background was of great help and I was able to balance an articulating rotor system,” Adam says.
Over the course of a couple of days, the men ran the engine up to full RPMs. Neilsingh would test the helicopter to see if it was ready for take-off, but he’d shake his head, shut it down and make adjustments. Adam recalls Orville finally casually saying, “Yeah, feels good. Here we go.” And off they went.
“It lifted off the ground ever so gently. We moved out into the field to begin testing some gentle maneuvers,” Adam says. “Despite playing it over and over in my head for the last several years, I can’t fully describe the feeling of what it was like when my helicopter lifted off the ground for the very first time.”
A near-ground hover makes both the pilot and the engine work harder than during any other part of a flight.
A year later, the two men met up again in New Hampshire to commence Adam’s flight training. “We started with hovering — which I had been warned was ‘hilariously hard.’ A near-ground hover makes both the pilot and the engine work harder than during any other part of a flight. Keeping a helicopter safely a few feet off the ground is an intense mental exercise requiring coordination of multiple inputs from feet and hands. You never feel like you’re stable or you’re coasting. By the end of a day of training, I was mentally exhausted. The training period for hovering alone is around 20 hours. I needed all of it before I transitioned to the next part of training — bringing it up to altitude.”
In July of 2021, Adam Weaver’s homegrown helicopter, almost a decade in the making, finally earned its airworthiness certificate. A month later, Adam happily explained, “Appropriately enough, National Aviation Day 2021 (16 August) found me continuing the official test flight plan — the final step before official certification of the helicopter. It marked the completion of my training. I now had the freedom to fly.”
An enormous amount of time and energy goes into a project such as this. CAD skills, a background in engineering and sheer dogged determination help ensure success, as borne out by Adam’s adventures. But what if your CAD platform forces you into repetitive manual tasks that simply make you feel resentful of the grind?
What if, like Adam Weaver, you want the freedom to fly? Or swim? Or ski? Or nap? For that, you need productivity tools that overcome those platform quirks.
Overtime versus Leisure Time
As an engineer like Adam Weaver, whether your platform of choice is MicroStation®, Revit® or AutoCAD®, you know it has its quirks. Those quirks can chew up your time, forcing you to work late or on weekends. But what if, like Adam Weaver, you want the freedom to fly? Or swim? Or ski? Or nap? For that, you need productivity tools that overcome those platform quirks. It took Adam Weaver almost a decade to complete his project, but we can help you get your projects completed significantly faster than that! And with that extra free time on your hands, you can pursue your passions, whether that’s more family time, a Star Wars marathon, a weekend getaway or — dare we say it — your own DIY projects.
Time for Freedom
Call 727-442-7774 to talk with a friendly Service Consultant or visit us on the web. For MicroStation tools, see here. The Revit options are here and if you’re an AutoCAD user, your tools are here. Freedom to fly? Absolutely. Go ahead and spread your wings.
