How did they build that?
Build PICS from
“The Incredible Journey”
The build & install.
See the “guts”
Trace a real butterfly and scale it... AutoCAD -coolest tool ever
A small maquette to work out some ginks
This picture really shows the scale -20'
Pipe bushings provide linear alignment for mounting and provide plenty of weld area
This jig was used to create all of the bodies and drill the holes in the bluff. Perfect alignment
Heavy C-channel used for body mounting plates
(3) Females. (3) Males -One is the Selfie Station (not shown here)
There are 3 different body positions, each requiring its own flange orientation.
male and female armatures
"Wings straight out" model
"Wings at 45 degree" model
"Wings straight back" (tent) model
Plenty of triangulation transfers load precluding tensile failure
The bodies were created using sheet steel and hand formed
Lots of tar paper templates for creating body sections
Arrival from Sahm Welding and Fabrication BIG Laser fun
Figuring out what goes where
Oil is removed by soapy wash followed by mineral spirits
Ben reinforced with wing edges with telescoping pipe so it would taper
Totally custom tools used to rotate wing pipes to clean them for rusting
Large flanges to distribute wing flex to body cage
Very heavy bucket of wing gussets
Here the wing has been surface rusted
20 different wings (4-per butterfly)
A slight amount of pigment has been added to the surface treatment to give some color to the rust
2 coats in-backside
3 coats in on the backside, spots are coated bare metal
They will eventually return to rust and lose their color. 4 per butterfly. 20 total-both sides
Bodies in various stages of finish
treating the internals for long lasting fun
Boring and epoxy test -SATISFACTORY
Safety First Pardner
First Selfie
Wrestling the wing flanges into position
(4) 7/8" Threaded rod, drilled 20" into the bluff and attached with construction epoxy.
Admiring the final install with our pals
Hot final day on the install
Bodies only, Day 1
Installation Order-Epoxied rods, bodies, wing sections
Our fav on body position
A great setting for these guys
For scale, 80 ft man-lift and Ford F350, 1 ton van (in the foreground)
A view from the top
The males have the expanded scent gland (the ball) in the lower wing
Position criteria included both aesthetic and rock integrity for secure rod attachment
Females have wider "veins" and no scent gland. They also lack "claspers"
Male Claspers (at the end of thorax)
