Becoming a Test Pilot
I’m intrigued by Elliot Sequin [“Becoming a Test Pilot,” September 2015]. One gets the impression that he is going to become a legend in the world of Experimental aviation. His writing is superb, and I appreciate his obvious humility which, after all, is the key to real greatness. Keep up the fine work.
–Jonathan Tager
We agree—Mr. Seguin is keeping all of us on the editorial staff jealous with his current mix of flying.—Ed.
Boring on the Vertical
Thanks to Bob Hadley for a very informative article on boring on a vertical milling machine [“Home Shop Machinist,” October 2015]. I might add that a key factor in getting a good bore is to dial in the spindle to the table to assure they are absolutely perpendicular. I have seen too many jobs killed because the machinist neglected to check this. Before any boring operation, the machinist should mount a dial indicator on the table, extend and lock the spindle, then move the table and dial indicator up, and/or down, with the dial indicator shaft riding against the side of the spindle. If a zero reading is not indicated the entire length of the spindle, the mill head is moved to achieve a zero reading. Note: Moving the spindle up or down against the dial indicator does not accomplish this. The table must be moved.
–Chris Brammer
Bob Hadley responds: An excellent point indeed! As Chris points out, checking the mill for square before making parts is good practice. His technique is spot-on for Bridgeport-style knee mills. Small benchtop mills can be checked with a tramming tool (which is a bar with one or two indicators to check the table level) or with a precision machinist’s square.
Designer’s Notebook
Just wanted to drop a note thanking you for a great mix of editorial content. In particular I always enjoy Barnaby Wainfan’s “Wind Tunnel” column, and I’m now a huge fan of David Paule’s “Stressing Structure” articles as well. It’s nice to see someone picking up the “design baton” that other magazines rarely cover. Keep up the good work!
–Bob Johnson
Thanks for the feedback, Bob. We are hearing from a lot of builders who enjoy Dave Paule’s little math exercises each month, and we’ll try to keep them going, so long as they don’t interfere with the time he needs to finish his RV-3 project.—Ed.
Watch Mr. Wizard
Back in the day when baby boomers were still babies, there was a TV show called “Watch Mr. Wizard.” As far as I can tell, Mr. Wizard is alive and well, living at RST Engineering Laboratory and writing for Kitplanes. His writing style is a refreshing throwback to when we all were kids and WW-II vets ran the world. Always a delight to read his articles. Keep it up Mr. W!
–Alan Tlusty
We have asked the relevant agencies to do a background check on Mr. Weir and will let you know if any of his aliases show up including the term “Wizard.” We like him either way.—Ed.
