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Thread: BJ-1B Duster notes?

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    16

    BJ-1B Duster notes?

    Anyone have any build notes for the BJ-1B Duster around? Looking for some that perhaps Thor wrote to go along with the plans.

    Thanks,
    Wade

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    1

    Building my Duster N3ST

    No notes, just memories of the project. I wrote an article for Soaring magazine that I believe was published in about '75 "Homebuilding at Sea, and other Places" (titled by the editor, not me). I built from scratch, Jim Maupin and friends had no pieces available at that time. Maupin was building a Duster, Woodstock came much later. There was also no parts lists with the plans. I questioned that to Hank Thor and he said he wanted the builder to be very familiar with the plans before starting; creating your own parts list was his way of forcing that. Having gone through the process I heartily agree with Hank! No real problems building but I considered the landing gear a weak point and did in fact "retract" it in a gopher hole during one contest. My rebuild / fix of the gear was pretty solid. The plans called for one sized wheel but Hank, or some one else, updated to an 8" or 10" (?) pneumatic Tost wheel and then had to use pretty big aluminum angles to get clearance between bulkheads making it very susepable to side loads, hence my mess-up with the gopher.
    It was great fun and a good performer, I traded up into a Standard Libelle after a couple of years.
    Scott

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