Take a look!!!! I put the first turbine together the other day in order to get a feel for how it will eventually look. It seems really big to me. I would not want to be in the way when it is spinning for sure. I definitely understand why this is not legal in the city…I would never put this up in my backyard. You could kill someone.
In these pictures it is assembled with the fiberglass blades that I ordered a while back, which actually put it at 9 1/2 feet in diameter. I have started carving a set of wooded blades according to the Homebrew Wind Power book design. These new blades will be 10 feet in diameter and will prabably perform much better. I was disappointed that the blades seemed very heavy and unbalanced. I am guessing that the extra weight and the smaller angle of attack will make it much harder to start up and get to cutin speed. I will give them a try but am not too hopeful.
Anyway, the wood parts still need to be coated with linseed oil and the metal parts still need to be protected. I am thinking about powder coating the steel since I found someone that will help me get a discount on this process. We will see if that actually makes it affordable. It is getting really close and I can’t wait to get her flying and tested.
