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Panther update

T

Tony Spicer

Well Known Member
I was shooting the breeze with Stein recently when I called to order some electrical supplies for my Panther panel. Told him I was most likely the first to be ordering Panther electrical stuff. No he says, you're the third. And by the way, he said, you need to do a VAF update on the Panther. So here it is. Wasn't all that long ago that folks were hot to buy a matched hole, quick build -3. Having built a slow build -3, I understand why. Sure, the Panther is a Danbird and not a Vanbird, but it sure flies nice. See the Paul Dye writup in the March Kitplanes for details. I started working on the tail cone kit five days ago and it's ready to deburr, dimple, countersink and rivet. Front half of the fuselage is a welded steel cage, which I expect to see in the next couple weeks. The next Panther to fly will be O-320 powered. Being built by Bob Woolley, who's currently flying an RV-4. For details on what the build entails, have a look here. This is my third single-place build. I have no friends :)

Tony
 
Tony, I've been watching the various beta-builders and updates. I'm a few years away but the Panther (I mean "RV-3P" :D) is the top contender if I decide to build !
 
This is the pre-punched RV-3 solution.

Why Panther?

Took me 40 hours over a few months to build one elevator for the -3.

Took Ben an afternoon to build one elevator for the Panther, and he was giggling the whole time.

Do the math!! :eek:
 
Tony,
Is the Panther really an aerobatic plane? All those blind rivets make me wonder. What are the limitations? and weights? empty, gross, aerobatic.

And I'd love to know how it performs compared to the original RV-3.

Keep up to date on your project...there is a lot of interest.

Glenn Wilkinson
 
glenn654 said:
All those blind rivets make me wonder.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of blind rivets comparable to (or stronger than) a typical AD-type solid rivet. It's also typical to make sure that the rivet isn't critical in the structure, whatever the type of rivet used.

In short, a properly-engineered airplane made of blind rivets should be just fine.
 
Glenn,

DR and the moderators have been gracious enough to allow some general Panther give and take on VAF. Detailed discussions? I don't think that would be proper. If you would like answers, here are the links:

Panther specs: http://flywithspa.com/panther.html

Chat group: http://flywithspa.com/panthercave/

Panther factory blog: http://flypanther.net/

Note the archives and categories on the right side of the blog page. Plenty of video, and some very detailed flight test reports.

If you haven't already done so, read the March 2014 Kitplanes flight report written by Paul Dye.

Tony
 
The first Panther to put a deposit with AircraftWraps will receive a HUGE discount (HUGE).

I want that plane! Not just to wrap, but to own.:D

With our wrap, you'll never know the rivets are blind and every little hole will be bridged and covered. My install techs wont spend 2 days on their back wrapping the bottom of the wing... We'll take them off!:D

The looks of the Panther combined with with AircraftWraps design/wrap and saving 70% in weight! Come on!:eek:

Sorry... I got a little excited thinking of the combo...:eek:

Scott Farnsworth
AKA "I want a wrapped Panther"
 
Blind Rivets - usefull life

Blind rivets are a pretty neat invention. They serve a purpose and can really speed up the manufacturing process. My experience has shown that they, however, will smoke before a solid rivet. I am sure the design of the plane takes this into consideration.

My 1947 C-140 has a bunch of solid rivets that are still tight and going strong. I wonder what the useful life is for the blind rivet route? Maybe the design engineers are not concerned with the structure lasting 50 years or so. Maybe planes should only last one lifetime instead or two or three. Why have a 10,000 hr spar when you could be perfectly happy with a 2000 hr spar? The same holds true for fasteners. When the engine goes, just build another one. Sounds like a good idea to me, at least from the manufacturers standpoint. :)

The panther looks like a neat plane and hope it is successful for everyone involved. It is filling a market and thus providing more folks the opportunity to enjoy the joy of flying. Got to love the airplane homebuilding industry. Innovation at its best!
 
Everytime I see a homebuilt with pulled rivets, I start figuring out how to build it with solid. There really aren't many blind fasteners that have the strength of a solid rivet, and I'm decently certain none of them that are used on the Panther or the RV12 do. The tools required to set those types of fasteners are generally cost prohibitive.
 
Pulled rivets are not to be afraid of!

There are many, many examples of aircraft flying with pulled rivets. As long as the aircraft is designed around them, they are great.
MY experience is that properly installed pulled rivets will not "smoke" any sooner than solid rivets. There are quite a few pulled rivets on my 21 year old RV-6 and none of them are smokers.
Monnett and Murphy have been designing "pulled rivet" aircraft for many years and they hold up just fine.
 
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