THE HOMEBUILDER'S
Corner buPAULH.POKRUNY
-L HE 1975 EAA Convention was a great success despite the very hot weather. Members, their families, friends and other aviation enthusiasts attended in record numbers. It should be encouraging to all of us to see the increasing number of government officials attending each year as they go away with a better understanding of Sport and General Aviation, its needs, its problems and the great desire of the average citizen to own and fly aircraft. They are able to observe the creativeness of our aircraft designers and builders in a time when society is alleged to be drifting toward a faceless state of apathy; they are able to observe the high standards of cleanliness and cooperation that allow thousands to live quite closely together for a week in harmony in a time when society in general is supposed to be splitting at the seams. This makes quite a favorable impression on first timers. True, those of us charged with the responsibility of insuring your convention's success encounter some problems and personal challenges . . . however, when one considers the magnitude of the event, it runs quite smoothly. The daily mail has been bringing many fine comments and some recommendations for improving the convention. These we appreciate, especially the kind manner in which they are presented. Before we present some of these comments, I believe it to be very appropriate to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone who worked as a volunteer during and after this event, who contributed so very, very much to its success. For without this dedication and help, there would be no convention. If a dollar value were placed on the labor of those who volunteer their time and if this were made a part of the costs of the convention, registration fees would have to be boosted up to an intolerable level. We all owe these hundreds of people great respect and admiration. Now, here are some of the recommendations I have received since Oshkosh. I would like to hear your opinions on the matters discussed and earnestly solicit your solutions to some of the problems. I would also ask as many of you as possible to start thinking now about pitching in and helping us put on the 1976 event . . . our 24th EAA Fly-In. Suggestions and comments: • Aircraft should 6e parked by type and in separate rows. Comment: This is a difficult one to carry out because all aircraft do not arrive in one group, but rather over a period of days. To find persons to guard parking spots on a 24 hour basis is impractical, so space has generally been on a first come, first served basis. A few groups have selected rows to the back of the normal progression of the aircraft parking for some type aircraft and policed their own parking. • EAA was grossly negligent in not having medical facilities on the field on a 24 hour basis. Comment: As in past years a medical facility was available and staffed with qualified Red Cross personnel. Two doctors were on the field and on call at all times. Two medical technicians and 24 hour ambulance service was available. This medical facility served some 900 people at all hours and handled problems ranging from requests for aspirin to heart attack. Drug store and prescription service has always been available, too. • Fire protection should be provided. Comment: Wittman Field has a fire department and EAA has a fire truck and two water tankers ready for instant use in case of fire involving aircraft or fires in the campgrounds or EAA buildings. (Continued on Page 9)
SPORT AVIATION Official Publication of the Experimental Aircraft Association International Inc. An International Non-Profit Organization Dedicated to Aviation Education SPORT AVIATION ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED
SEPTEMBER 1975
VOL. 24 — NO. 9
Copyright ' 1975 by the Experimental Aircraft Assn., Inc. All rights reserved.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Homebuilder's C o r n e r . . . by Paul Poberezny .......................... Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hot Line From Headquarters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Little Wind Tunnels . . . by R 7. De Voult ........................ Osprey 2 . . . by George Pereira ....................................... Headquarters Comment . . . by Mike Heuer ............................. Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Sportplane B u i l d e r . . . by Antoni Bingelis ..........................
2 5 6 10 13 21 22 23
Page 13
Warbirds At Hamilton . . . by Jim McDonnell............................ 26
First Flight Procedures . . . by L. D. Sunderland ........................ A Simple Angle of Attack Sensing System Using A Photo-Electric Principle . . . by William E. Brown .................................. A Comparison of Two Place: Fixed Wing/Gyroplane/Helicopter Aircraft . . . by Martin Hollmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miller Sport Gets A New Tail . . . by William Y. Miller .................... What Our Members Are Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Influence of Weight On Maximum Cruise Speed . . . by Tom Jewett.. A Dear John Letter . . . by Mel Lamb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 'Miss Chris" Meets Murphy at Mojave . . . by Dr. Alan D. Weber .........
29 32 34 36 38 40 41 52
Sun 'N Fun Fly-In . . . by Martin Jones ................................. 56 Airplane Stability, Control and Trim . . . by Robert Wattson .............. 57
Washington Report . . . by David Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Page 52 PUBLISHER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
PAUL H. POBEREZNY
IACK COX
ASSISTANT EDITORS
ON THE COVER ... The Osprey 2
GOI DA COX, MIKE HEUER, RAY SCHOLLER
ADVERTISING MANAGER
PUBLICATION LAYOUT
BONNIE SOUCY
BERNICE SCHOLLER
Photo by Scott Kemper
EAA AVIATION MUSEUM 11311 W. FOREST HOME AVE. FRANKLIN, WISCONSIN S3132 (A MILWAUKEE SUBURB)
Aviation Museum hours of operation are 8:30 to 5:00 on Monday through Friday — Saturday — 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 — Sundays and Holidays — 11:00 to 5:00. It is closed on New Years, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christinas.
EAA AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION, INC T ION EUM
PAUL H. POBEREZNY, DIRECTOR GEORGE HARDIE, |R., AIRCRAFT AND DISPLAY RESEARCH
SPORT AVIATION is owned exclusively by the Experimental Aircraft Assn . Inc and is published monthly at Hales Corners. Wis. Second Class Postage paid at Random LaKe, Wis 53075 and at Hales Corners. Wis 53130 Membership rates are $15.00 ($20 00 after February 1. 1975) per 12 month period of which $10 00 is for the subscription to SPORT AVIATION Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES — Please allow at least two months for delivery of SPORT AVIATION to Foreign and APO addresses via surface mail EAA STATEMENT OF POLICY — The Experimental Aircraft Association. Inc cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy of the material presented by the authors opinions and ideas The individual reader must evaluate this material for himself and use it as he sees fit Every effort is made to present material of wide interest that will be of help to the majority ADVERTISING — EAA does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through our advertising We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of interior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measure can be taken
Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Experimental Aircraft Assn., P. O. Box 229, Hales Corners, Wis. 53130 SPORT AVIATION 3
ORGANIZATION THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION, INC. PRESIDENT PAUL H. POBEREZNY 9711 W. FOREST PARK DRIVE HALES CORNERS, WIS. 53130
VICE-PRESIDENT RAY SCHOLLER 453 FIFTH STREET RANDOM LAKE. WIS. 53075
SECRETARY S. H. SCHMID 2359 LEFEBER AVE.
TREASURER ARTHUR KILPS 10205 KAY PARKWAY HALES CORNERS. WIS. 53130
MILWAUKEE, WIS. 53213
DIRECTORS HARRY ZEISLOFT 2069 CRESTLINE DRIVE BURTON. MICH. 48509 HERB CUNNINGHAM 16 ACRE HEIGHTS CRESCENT SCARBOROUGH. ONTARIO, CANADA
GUSTAVE A. LIMBACH S. J. WITTMAN ROBERT J. GYLLENSWAN 2 EAST PLEASANT LAKE RD. BOX 2672 1606 RONCEVALLES ROCKFORD. ILL. 61107 ST. PAUL. MINN. 55110 OSHKOSH. WIS. 54901 RONALD G. SCOTT R. M. PURYEAR VAN WHITE DAVE YEOMAN 1005COPENHILL DR. 291 MARTIN RD. BOX 5255 RFD 1 WAUKESHA, WIS. 53186 SANTA CRUZ. CALIF. 95060 LUBBOCK. TEX. 79417 TOODVILLE. IOWA 52341
EAA WASHINGTON REPRESENTATIVE DAVID SCOTT
EAA OF CANADA PRESIDENT HERB CUNNINGHAM 16 ACRE HEIGHTS CRESCENT SCARBOROUGH. ONTARIO. CANADA
1346 CONNECTICUT AVE., S.W. WASHINGTON. 0 C. 20036
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT TOM POBEREZNY
BUSINESS MANAGER JERRY STRIGEL
EAA CHAPTER EXECUTIVE SECRETARY GOLDA COX
EAA DIVISIONS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY DOROTHY CHASE
EAA INTERNATIONAL OFFICES ARE LOCATED AT 11311 W. FOREST HOME AVENUE, FRANKLIN, WISCONSIN. A MILWAUKEE SUBURB. THE PHONE NUMBER IS AC 414/425-4860. PLEASE USE EAA'S MAILING ADDRESS FOR ALL MEMBERSHIP, CHAPTER, AND GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE . . . WHICH IS:
EAA, BOX 229, HALES CORNERS, WISCONSIN 53130
EAA AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION, INC. OFFICERS PRESIDENT PAUL H POBEREZNY 9711 W. FOREST PARK DRIVE HALES CORNERS. WIS 53130
SECRETARY DR. LYLE MC CULLOUGH 11222 W. FOREST HOME AVE. FRANKLIN. WIS. 53132
VICE-PRESIDENT DAVE JAMESON 4322 BELLHAVEN LANE OSHKOSH, WIS. 54901 TRUSTEES
JAMES BARTON, 262 CAYUGA AVE.. ELMHURST, ILL. 60126 EVANDER M. BRITT, BOX 458, LUMBERTON. N C. 28358 ROBERT H. FERGUS. 3060 OAKRIDGE RD.. COLUMBUS, OHIO 43221 JIM C. GORMAN, 1885 MILLSBORO ROAD, MANSFIELD. OHIO 44906 E. E. HILBERT, 8102 LEECH RD., UNION. ILL. 60180 MORTON LESTER. P. O. BOX 3747. MARTINSVILLE, VA. 24112 JOHN PARISH, 209 WEST WARREN, TULLAHOMA. TENN. 37388 ROBERT PURYEAR, 291 MARTIN RD., SANTA CRUZ. CALIF. 95060
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RAY SCHOLLER. 453 FIFTH STREET. RANDOM LAKE. WIS. 53075 RAY STITS, P. O. BOX 3084. RIVERSIDE. CALIF. 92509 DICK STOUFFER, 65 MILLER ROAD. LAKE ZURICH. ILL. 60047 BILL TURNER. 4110 MARSTEN. BELMONT, CALIF. 94002 M. C. "KELLY 1 VIETS. RR 1, BOX 151, STILWELL. KS. 66085 GAR W. WILLIAMS, JR.. 9 S 135 AERO DR.. RT. 1. NAPERVILLE, ILL. 60540 HARRY ZEISLOFT, 2069 CRESTLINE DR.. BURTON. MICH. 48509
EAA DIVISIONS ADDRESS ALL DIVISION MAIL TO: (NAME OF DIVISION), BOX 229, HALES CORNERS, WISC. 53130
INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB, INC.
^ -— ».'•:
> !
ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION
WARBIRDS OF AMERICA, INC.
PRESIDENT RUDY FRASCA 606 S. NEIL CHAMPAIGN, ILL. 61820
PRESIDENT E. E. HILBERT 8102 LEECH RD. UNION, ILL. 60180
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SECRETARY
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PRESIDENT
VERNE JOBST 1910 NORTH ORCHARD BEACH RD. McHENRY, ILL. 60050
4 SEPTEMBER 1975
LEN TANNER
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TREASURER GAR W. WILLIAMS, JR. 9 S 135 AERO DR.. RT. 1 NAPERVILLE. ILL. 60540
Dear Paul:
LETTERS TO THE
EDITOR Dear Paul: Your May Homebuilder's Corner article
hit exactly on a subject I've been meaning but neglecting to write to you about. And by the way. I understand your problem about mail. Do not try to answer this communication. Only think about it in the dead of night sometime, will you? EAA is not either a fat cat or too big. But it is in my opinion definitely trying to do too much in too many fields. You state the EAA purpose exactly as 'designing, building and flying for fun". That s it, and that's enough. But you then proceed to list a number of areas in which EAA attempts
to depart from the original simple concept and which are not. strictly speaking. EAA s
business. As to user s fees. ELTs, etc , you should report on these things to the membership, work against them if you think they're bad. but you should not attempt to reply to indi-
vidual inquiries. Send a printed form instead, or simply say in SPORT AVIATION that you
can't respond to individual comments. These
Congratulations! EAA again leads the way. Your recent meeting at Headquarters with FAA Regional and Washington personnel and EAA designees was most timely I am sure a better understanding of the EAA objectives and the responsibilities of both parties was thoroughly discussed and understood by all who attended With the followup you outlined and the cooperation of the chapters, which is most important. I am confident the self-policing program will do much to assure the freedom of the homebuilder for many years to come. Sincerely. Bob Burbick
EAA Designee 408 13624 103rd Ave. Sun City, AZ 85351
Dear Mr. Cox: Subject: Fire and Urethane Foam There have been several articles and letters to the editor recently in SPORT AVIATION with reference to using urethane foam and concerning fire problems. Two products which might be useful to those building airplanes are the following: PYROCRETE 102
This is a magnesium oxychloride plaster like material which provides a thermal barrier. For example on urethane, V* inch thickness of this material has been tested and has been found superior to V4 inch Portland cement plaster 102 is much lighter.
things are important, and your work in the
field is appreciated, but the paperwork is just too much and you shouldn't do it. You are overly preoccupied with the flyin. I hate to say this, because I personally think the EAA Convention is great and that you've done a magnificent job with it. But it is overshadowing everything else EAA is not in the entertainment business, or shouldn't be. Concentrate on the airplanes; let the people sleep where they fall. A fly-in yes; a carnival, no The EAA Museum is a worthy adjunct to EAA. but displaying fine old airplanes is not building new ones: don t over-emphasize it. The Pober Pixie should be designed and built by one Paul Poberezny, EAA member. The president of EAA and EAA itself should
have no more to do with it than with any other homebuilt I'm a former F-51 pilot, and nobody better say a word against the Kinner Fleet I owned before that. But warbirds and antiques are not homebuilts. These are rough words and I'm sorry. It's only because I have such high regard for EAA and such respect for you personally,
that I presume to criticize. I only think we should stay a little closer to the little man. the small airplane, the nuts and bolts, the true homebuilt and not try to do too much. Ray W. Taylor 3856 N. Glebe Rd. Arlington, VA 22207 Dear Jack:
Thank you very much for running that "Hotline" advertisement in the 6 June issue of SPORT AVIATION, titled "Smithsonian Ford
REFRASIL
A recent (May 1975) newsletter of the Professional Race Pilots Association details a symposium where Bob Pentigas from Hitco talked A new material called Refrasil was demonstrated which is fire resistant and also resists molten steel at 2800° F. It was held in the flame of a blow torch and the material refused to ignite or melt. For information on this material write to Hitco, Materials Division. P. O. Box 1097.
Gardena. CA 90249. Very truly yours. Marvin Garrett Margar Co.
1047 Duncan Ave. Manhattan Beach. CA 90266
Dear Friends: HELP! I'm building a Cassutt III with a
Cont -12 engine This engine is a taper shaft engine and I'm sure someone has made a 4" prop extension for this type engine at one time or another Would you please publish my request for information on a 4" prop extension for a taper shaft in the SPORT AVIA-
TION. You must get sick of hearing what a swell bunch you are and what a great job you're doing but you're hearing it yet again . Keep up the good work Sincerely, Al Main (EAA 14256) 813 Thompson Ave. Sioux Falls. SD 57103
Dear Sirs: I really enjoyed the "Flying Flat Fours"
Trimotor Needs". The response has been
by Mr. Cumber-ford in the July issue The list
very good, and we are now assured of proper engines and suitable propellers. This is but one of the many examples of cooperation between the Experimental Aircraft Association and the National Air and Space Museum extending over a period of several years. Sincerely, Robert B. Meyer, Jr.
of flat, opposed. 4-cycle engines should be expanded to include 2 motorcycle engines. Both BMW and Honda offer 4-cycle. opposed engines which are more available in this country than many of the engines listed in the article.
Curator, Propulsion Aeronautics
National Air and Space Museum Smithsonian Institution Washington. DC 20560
BMW offers a 900cc. 4-cycle, 2-cylinder,
air cooled engine. This is a well developed engine noted for its reliability. New and used engines and parts are readily available. Honda has a new motorcycle engine. 2 999cc. 4-cycle. 4-cylinder, water cooled engine which sings out 95 hp at 8700 rpm. This
engine should receive a lot of attention in the near future. Yours truly,
Michael F Modde 819 Walnut Mundelein, IL 60060
Dear Paul: Just came back from the 1975 EAA Con-
vention and was immensely impressed with the orderliness of the entire convention area. It is a credit to the entire EAA organization that so many people — exhibitors, spectators and homebuilders alike — can conduct themselves so well for so long. Equally impressive is the craftsmanship that is displayed in the building of the homebuilt aircraft. I think that each person that builds his (or her) own aircraft, whether its from someone else s plans or from his own, can be justifiably proud of their accomplishment. EAA. under your leadership, has supplied the "you can do it" that most of us need to realize our potentialities That "you can do it" momentum is increasing in speed every year And contrary to Peter Garrison s past comments concerning EAA. I am confident that more and more EAA members will be furthering the science of aviation in the near future — witness Ken Rand. Burt Rutan and Jim Bede to name a few. And while I'm talking along those lines I would like to suggest the possibility of someone in our EAA organization constructing a small wind tunnel to be placed in the EAA Museum that all EAA members could use to help further that work. It would or rather could be a pan of Project Crossroads Congratulations to you and your staff for another well-conducted convention. Yours truly. Ken Stremming (EAA 11067) 32 E. Bellevue PI. Chicago. IL 60611
Dear Paul: Just a note to tell you how much we enjoyed Oshkosh 75 This was our first time to attend, and it has got to be "the Greatest Show on Earth", bar none. The size and scope of the fly-in is unbelievable. I tried to see everything in the three days I was there, but as you know, this is impossible. The layout and cleanliness of the grounds, and the friendliness of the people made our trip most enjoyable. We stopped by the EAA Museum on the way up, and here again came away very impressed. I now have an incurable case of "Oshkosh Fever". Oh well, only another year —!! Yours truly,
Richard and Lynn Warner (EAA 22313) Rt. 4. Box 158-W Covington, LA 70433
Dear Paul:
Please accept our sincere appreciation for the conduct of another great EAA International Fly-In Convention at Oshkosh. We would appreciate having our sincere thanks passed along to the staff and volunteers to EAA who have again done an outstanding job of coordinating and conducting the world's largest aviation event. Enclosed is a copy of the news coverage of the Key to the City presentation made before the Oshkosh Rotary Club. Thought you would appreciate an extra copy. Sincerely. Louis Micheln Executive Vice President Oshkosh Area Chamber of Commerce Oshkosh. Wl 54901
SPORT AVIATION 5
BACK COVER
This month's back cover painting is David M. Aughinbaugh's beautiful rendition of the first Beech Staggerwing, the Model 17-R. Introduced in 1932, the 17R was the Lear Jet of that day - a very fast, very sophisticated, very expensive business aircraft. Often called a "fixed gear" Staggerwing, this was not the case as the wheels were electrically retracted about 6 inches up into the fully faired gear leg/pant fairings. In fact, the 17-R featured electric trim, electric fuel gauges, a Smith Controllable propeller, full electrical system, lights, etc. - it was, in a word, the ultimate in rapid personal transit in the early 30s. Although seemingly an anachronism even in 1932, the negative stagger biplane arrangement was very carefully selected to suit a specific set of performance characteristics. Walter Beech and his chief engineer, Ted Wells, knew that in the depths of the Great Depression, their best (perhaps only) customers would be the oil companies. These outfits would want to operate the 1 7-Rs right out of the oil fields from dirt roads and small clearings, so short field capability coupled with high cruise were paramount considerations. The 17-R met the challenge admirably - it could true out at around 200 mph, yet landed at only 60 mph. The negative stagger arrangement of the wings provided the pilot with good visibility and had very good stall characteristics. The 17-Rs were bears on the ground, however. Just two 17-Rs were built, NC499N (Serial Number 17R-1) and NC58Y (Serial Number 17R-2) before smaller and less expensive Jacobs powered versions were developed. Good as it was, it had taken over a year to sell the first one, so bad was the nation's financial condition.
David Aughinbaugh (EAA 77476) of 36012 Cabrillo Drive, Fremont, California 94536 paints as a hobby. He is a steamfitter by trade and he and his wife enjoy flying their Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, painting and camping. David learned to fly in a Piper J-3 he owned
in the early 60s and obtained his Private license in it. OSHKOSH '75
By Jack Cox For the past 23 Septembers it has become traditional to open the report on the year's annual fly-in convention by citing statistics showing more aircraft, more aircraft movements, more people . . . more everything. Record years have become so commonplace that only a nonrecord year could possibly make an old EAAer sit up and take notice. Well, on the surface, 1975 was it — not a record year. Total show planes were down from 1974's 6 SEPTEMBER 1975
figures — 1338 as compared to last year's 1345. Total aircraft movements were down — 67,314, as compared to 70,128 in 1974. Ironically, however, these two bellwethers of EAA
fly-in success were down slightly because the overall operation was so huge. Because a portion of last year's Classic parking area had to be taken to establish a show plane campsite, Classic pre-registrations had to be restricted to pre-1951 aircraft about half way through the process, so great were the numbers of owners of these popular post-war aircraft wanting a showline spot. The more recent Classics were again at Oshkosh, but they were parked in the itinerate area . . . all the way around the east/west runway to Baslers. And because the fly-by pattern in recent years has come very close to the saturation point, a schedule of fly-by times, based on aircraft speeds was imposed. This resulted in a much safer operation, but naturally cut down on total operations. In all other respects records were certainly broken at Oshkosh '75. Weatherwise, it was the hottest one on record. Those of you who have shivered your way through past conventions will find it difficult to believe that the temperature was in the 90's almost everyday and with attendant high humidity. It seemed more like Louisiana in August than Wisconsin. One day, Saturday, was stinko but the remainder of the week was clear but hot and hazy. Be forewarned, however, that this was freaky weather for Wisconsin — be sure to bring those jackets and sweaters along next year. The big news in the records department was Burt Rutan's VariEze. On the final day of the convention, the amazing little craft was flown non-stop virtually from sunup to sundown by Burt's brother, Air Force Major Dick Rutan, over a closed course extending from Oshkosh to Menominee, Michigan. Although throttled back to only about 30% power, the VariEze was able to maintain an average cruise speed of 125.5 mph so that after 13 hours, 8 minutes and 45 seconds aloft, it had covered a record 1638 statute miles. This broke Ed Lesher's record of 1554.297 miles set in 1970. All shades of high drama proceeded the successful record run: an attempted non-stop flight from California to Oshkosh, an abortive attempt at the record on Saturday, an all-night, last minute engine change . . . but we're getting ahead of ourselves. You'll read all about it next month. Even aside from the record flight, the VariEze was easily the sensation of Oshkosh '75. It was mobbed from the moment it touched down on Wittman Field until it departed for home, and the excitement persists — Chapter newsletters written after Oshkosh are full of VariEze information, impressions and praise. It would seem that an easy to build, two-place, fuel miserly little airplane capable of 180 mph speeds and
HEADQUARTERS transcontinental cruising range has a few fans out there, eh wot? Also attracting gobs of attention were this month's feature airplane, the Osprey 2; Molt Taylor's now completed MiniIMP; Pete Bowers' two story airplane, the
Namu II; the W.A.R. Corsair — incomplete, but enough
several top notch Spartan Executives, some virtually one-of-a-kind Waco models, etc. Classic aircraft, while reduced slightly in number, were again highly representative of the best of the immediate past World War
II era. The Warbirds were also well endowed with newly
there to set all the ol' Navy types aquiver; Chris Henitz's Mono Z; a new little VW powered design called the Mini Mac — two of them in fact; the Kraft Super Fli, a new low wing aerobatic job; static displays of both Dick Van Grunsven's RV-5 equipped with a Carr Twin and Larry
restored machines and quite a variety of types. The P-51
Haig's American Eaglet — both a few months away from
United States were honored with a "day" in which they were given tours of the entire fly-in, presented to
flying, but quite interesting in an incomplete state, nevertheless; the Crater Dart, a delta wing design
utilizing a BD-5 fuselage and Mazda power; a diesel
is still top gun, but it is interesting to note each year the steadily growing number of Navy fighters. An innovation for Oshkosh '75 was Aviation Greats Day. 36 men and women who pioneered aviation in the the members in several stage appearances and generally
powered Pietenpol Air Camper; Richard Bach's BD-5J — plus a couple of first customer-built BD-5s to appear at Oshkosh; and, of course, scores and scores of dazzling examples of the old standards — T-18s, Pitts, Stardusters, Skybolts, Fly Babies, Breezies, Midget Mustangs and Mustang Us, Cassutts, Pietenpols, Tailwinds, etc.
given the celebrity treatment they so richly deserve. This was an immensely well received and to some degree emotional program. During the evening presentation there were a few not-so-dry eyes in the audience as each Great was introduced and asked to say a few words. The largest aerobatic contest ever held was staged at Fond du Lac by EAA's IAC. 135 entrants competed
1975 was a ... dare I say it? ... vintage year for vintage aircraft. Veteran observers generally concede
in the four category extravaganza. Winners were:
the variety and quality of antiques was an EAA benchmark. A number of newly restored aircraft were making their first appearance at a national fly-in and some particularly rare aircraft were on hand . . . like half the known fleet of Harlows, a flyable American Eaglet,
flying a Clipped Wing Cub
SPORTSMAN: Giles Henderson, Charleston, Illinois I N T E R M E D I A T E : John Keplinger, Palm Springs, Florida flying a Pitts S-IS
ADVANCED: Chipper Melton, Boulder, Colorado flying a Pitts S-1
(Photo by Ted Koston)
Ed Wegner of Plymouth, Wisconsin and his 1975 EAA Grand Champion Antique, an O X X - 6
powered American Eagle. SPORT AVIATION 7
(Photo by Ted Koston)
Jim Young of Culver City, California and his 1975 EAA Grand Champion Custom Built "Big Red", a highly modified Starduster II.
UNLIMITED: Clint McHenry, Boca Raton, Florida Hying a Pitts S-IS The EAA/AC Sparkplug Flight Rally winners were Glen Zwicker of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in his Emeraude, CF-XOZ ( C u s t o m - b u i l t category) and S.K. Murdock of Dubuque, Iowa in his Aeronca 7AC, N16483 (Factory-built category).
Miss EAA for 1975 was Dianna Makepeace of Eldorado, Arkansas. Mrs. EAA was Pat Wilson of Knoxville, Tennessee. The major award winners for 1975
were:
CUSTOM-BUILT GRAND CHAMPION: Jim Young, Playa Del Rey, California for his Starduster Too, N69JY. Sponsor: Beech Aircraft Corporation. ANTIQUE GRAND CHAMPION: Ed Wegner, Plymouth, Wisconsin for his 1928 American Eagle, NC7310. Sponsor: Experimental Aircraft Association. CLASSIC GRAND CHAMPION: Jim Mankins,
EAA SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Richard Weinberger of Stockbridge, Wisconsin was the winner of the 1975 EAA Sweepstakes. He is not a pilot but plans to learn to fly in his "new"
Taylorcraft
BC-12D. Stockbridge is a small town just across Lake Winnebago from Oshkosh.
Other Sweepstakes winners and their prizes were George Meade, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ARC Encoding Altimeter donated by Aircraft Radio and Control; Paul Taipale, Lantana, Florida, Emergency Locator Beacon donated by Emergency Beacon Corporation; Scott
Kressmann, Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Susan Goss, Hendersonville, Tennessee and John Amos, Kokomo, Indiana, AC Recording Tachourmeters donated by AC Spark Plug Company and Dan Rohe, Patterson, Louisiana, Platinum Spark Plugs donated by Champion Spark Plug Company.
Corona, California for his Stinson 108-2, N971J. Spon-
sor: Experimental Aircraft Association. WARBIRD GRAND CHAMPION: Preston Parish, Hickory Corners, Michigan for his General Motors
FM-2, N1PP. Sponsor: Warbirds of America. ROTORCRAFT GRAND CHAMPION:
George
Spadie, Louisville, Kentucky for his Scorpion I, N3273. Sponsor: Experimental Aircraft Association.
FORMER CUSTOM BUILT GRAND CHAMPION: Lloyd "Jim" Butler, Norwalk, Ohio for his Midget Mustang, N14LB. Sponsor: Chapter 166, Hartford, Connecticut.
OUTSTANDING NEW DESIGN: Burt Rutan, Mojave, California for his VariEze, N7EZ. Sponsor: Bellanca Aircraft. PROFESSOR AUGUST RASPET AWARD: Molt Taylor, Longview Washington. Sponsor: EAA.
"OUTSTANDING
WORKMANSHIP:
George
Pereira, Sacramento, California for his Osprey 2, N36P. Sponsor: Mechanix Illustrated.
M E C H A N I X ILLUSTRATED AWARD: Paul H. Poberezny, Hales Corners, Wisconsin. All the facts and figures, photos and stories of Oshkosh '75 will begin next month. Custom Builts and Rotorcraft will be featured in the October issue of SPORT AVIATION, Antiques and Classics in the November issue and Warbirds in the December issue. 8 SEPTEMBER 1975
OSHKOSH '75 GOODIES
Did you forget to buy your "Oshkosh '75" patch at the fly-in? If so, some are still available, first come,
first served, from EAA Headquarters for 75c ppd.
Also,
a limited number of Oshkosh '75 football jersies can
still be purchased in adult and children's sizes. Small, medium, large and extra large adult sizes are available for $5.60 ppd. Small, medium and large children's sizes
are $3.90 ppd. These are specially reduced sale prices. ACCIDENT PREVENTION SEMINARS
FAA Accident Prevention Counselors are holding seminars around the nation and EAA Chapters are beginning to take an active part. In May the Houma,
Louisiana Chapter (No.
513) sponsored an Accident
Prevention Seminar at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport. New Orleans FSS Training and Development Officer, Tom Wimber, updated pilots on changes in weather reporting and made an excellent presentation on services available. Accident Prevention Specialist Lou Maduell of the New Orleans GADO briefed the group on 1975 accidents and trends. The FAA film "How Airplanes Fly" was shown. Counselors Bill Lucas, Al Hesselgrave, C. J. Christ, Charlie Hammonds and Donald Brignac also attended.
Every EAA Chapter is urged to devote at least one meeting a year to an Aviation Safety Seminar. Contact your nearest GADO for further information. FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR
Each year the AOPA Air Safety Foundation and the FAA co-sponsor a program which selects a Flight Instructor of the Year. The 1974 winner was Colene Giglio, chief flight instructor and operator of Eagle
CONFEDERATE AIR FORCE SHOW
Warbird fans are reminded again of the annual Confederate Air Force air show October 9, 10, 11 and 12 at Harlingen, Texas. Featured performers — other than the CAF's famous aircraft — are the Red Devils, Bob Hoover, Art Scholl, Golden Knights and Silver Eagles. For further information, contact AIRSHO '75,
P.O. Box 645, Harlingen, Texas 78550 or call 512/ 423-2775, 423-3535, 383-3827.
Aviation at Long Beach, California Municipal Airport.
A number of aviation organizations and businesses contribute to the more than $5,000 worth of gifts awarded the winner. EAA recognizes the importance to sport/ general aviation of good instructors and is happy to be a contributor to the prize. Our congratulations to Ms. Giglio.
EAA ELECTION RESULTS
Incumbents Paul H. Poberezny, president, Ray Scholler, vice-president, S. H. "Wes" Schmid, secretary, and Arthur R. Kilps, treasurer, were re-elected in balloting held during the Annual EAA Convention at Oshkosh. All were elected for three year terms. Newly elected as Directors were Dave Yeoman of Toddville, Iowa and Herb Cunningham of Ontario, Canada. Herb,
LIFETIME MEMBERS . . . HELLO, OUT THERE!
EAA has a large number of members who have
president of the EAA of Canada, has previously served as a director.
sufficient faith in the organization to obtain life membership. We are honored to have such members . . . but a small administrative problem sometimes results from the program. Since a Life Member gets SPORT AVIATION, for, naturally, the rest of his life, we often never hear from the member again. In order to keep in touch with you, be assured we are still sending your magazine to the correct address, etc., EAA Headquarters sends out a Status Report Form each year. Please mail it back to us ... with perhaps a picture of your latest project, or suggestions on improving the organization, or ... well, anything. Just please write, ya'll!
the 1976 EAA Fly-In Convention to be held at Wittman Field, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The 24th annual event is scheduled to start on Saturday, July 31 and end on
HOMEBUILDER'S . . .
who registers, goes onto the flight line and passes his
(Continued from Page 2)
Coordination with local municipal fire departments has also been worked out, should additional help be necessary. • No campground security patrol was available to quell some boisterousness in the campground at night. Comment: There were security patrol personnel on duty . . . but not nearly enough persons came forth to
answer repeated calls for additional help this year. • A youth program should be conducted during the convention. Comment: A youth program has been conducted during EAA Fly-Ins since the Rockford days. Due to problems with this program that seem to increase each year, damage to equipment and other instances of vandalism, coupled with an apparent lack of concern on the part of responsible adults, this program probably will be dropped for 1976. • People are seen on the flight line without passes.
Comment: This has always been a problem. We do our best in security and will try to improve in 1976. We have the usual fence jumpers and those who slip by the gate guards when they are distracted. The worst offender, however, is the fortunately rare EAA member who will register and ask for and receive 4 or 5 identification tags for his immediate family and then is observed passing them out to other members . . . or the member
1976 OSHKOSH FLY-IN DATES
The EAA Board of Directors has set the dates for
Sunday, August 8, 1976. This nine day meet will be
the longest ever staged by EAA. Members are advised to start making reservations as soon as possible as area accomodations were sold out this year well in advance of the '75 fly-in.
registration tag out to another person in order to get
them out on the flight line . . . without paying their fair share. • Short subjects . . . Not enough toilets (there were
218) . . . Not enough showers (there were 3 shower buildings) . . . The flight line is too long . . . Auto traffic problems . . . Food was too costly . . . Not enough ice available . . . Not enough drinking fountains.
It's quite a logistics problem to put on such a large event for one week each year. It takes some doing to keep cool heads, find some 500 volunteers besides our staff employees, obtain some 70 vehicles from local business men to augment our own EAA equipment . . . and to insure that each year we make it financially, with a little extra to pay the bills and carry us through until next year. You folks who attend each year have to be the most dedicated, congenial and kind people on earth. This event could not succeed otherwise. I recently test flew the Teledyne/Continental 0-200 powered EAA Acro Sport just completed by EAA Maintenance employee Dorothy "Carrot Top" Aiksnoras — and was more than pleasantly surprised with the aircraft's handling characteristics and performance on 100 horsepower. The airframe and powerplant match is such that even a C-90 would do an excellent job, thus making it possible to bring the overall costs down on the Acro Sport. We will have more on the little bird later. SPORT AVIATION 9
ABOUT little WIND TUNNELS By R. T. DeVault EAA 60523 21535 Highvale Trail
Topanga, CA 90290 (Photos by the Author)
-L HE MODERN WIND tunnel has developed into a dinosaur. The time and cost of its use keeps out all but the industry giants. But even if you're as rich as your Uncle Sam, you don't want a big tunnel during the first part of your development program. Big models are just too expensive and too hard to throw away. When you're learning, or exploring, or fooling around with hang
glider designs, you want the models to be quick and cheap and the tunnel ready to go at the push of a button. The professional will tell you that data from little wind tunnels may be worse than useless. Some suspicion is justified, but too much will prevent any action. A little wind tunnel will give you a little knowledge, which
View through bell-mouth, test in progress. You can reach in and poke the model in the nose with a stick and see how it responds.
may indeed be a dangerous thing. But if you protect yourself with carefulness and humility, you can learn. I recently built a little wind tunnel to solve a stability and control problem with a canard design. I was in the process of building another radio-controlled model, when I realized I didn't have the foggiest notion of how to design the control system, not knowing the stalling behavior of the design. I've crashed a lot of models in my
time (all of them, to be exact) so I decided to pause before I wiped out another RC set and all the labor in the model. The tunnel took only two weekends to put together, and cost about $200. The biggest item was about $100 for a standard commercial ventilating fan with a Vihorse motor. The tunnel test section has a flat plywood floor and an oval cross section formed from a 4 x 6 ft. sheet of plastic. The section is 34 inches wide and 30 inches high. Thus, it will hold a 1/10 scale model of a small airplane, or a 1/5 scale half-model as shown in the photos. Since my RG model is 1/5 scale, I can test full size RC components at their actual speed. The Vfe-horse motor gives a tunnel speed of about 30 mph, which is enough for a lot of tests. More speed will cost more, since the power required increases as the cube of the speed. Twice the speed requires eight times the power. Also, at 30 mph, the pressure loads on the structure are only about 2 pounds per square foot, so the tunnel can be very light, portable if desired. Conventional wind tunnels are built as complete
loops, recirculating the same air. I hate to build a lot of structure enclosing empty space, so over the years I've designed and built several of these "open-return" or "Eiffel" type tunnels. (Yes, he designed that tower also.) Another advantage of the type is that engines can be run on the models without making a smoggy mess of the tunnel. The airflow behind a fan is very turbulent and un-
even though, which makes it hard to get good results. 10 SEPTEMBER 1975
View through bell-mouth entrance, showing fan behind model.
Rear % view of tunnel. Construction is very light, plywood, fiber-glass, and cloth. Plastic test section is open. Fan is mounted in 36-inch square section behind test section. Tunnel fits in garage, barely.
Curved plastic test section is held in place with spring clamps, giving easy access to model.
Inhaling the air from a large, still room can give smooth uniform flow at the model if vortices (little whirlwinds) do not interfere. This is a common problem with open intakes, just like bathtub drains. Combinations of screens and honeycombs can prevent this trouble, and I'm still
dynamic pressure, or "q", and is what the pitot-static tube measures. Some standard aerodynamic coefficients are:
trying to work out the simplest system for my tunnel.
Lift: CL = lift/qS where S is wing area
Being both cheap and lazy, I've decided to get along without a balance system to measure forces and moments. Anybody that needs more drag data than published by Hoerner ("Fluid Dynamic Drag" by S. F. Hoerner, published by the author, 1965) is beyond help. There also are books full of lift and moment data. What I need is flow visualization, stability and control behavior, and maybe pressure tests of an engine installation, or other unusual item that isn't in the books. I'm currently running pitch stability and control tests with a half model mounted on a vertical-axis pivot at the desired test eg position. The model has an RC system in it to actuate the elevator, so I can wiggle the elevator and observe the pitch response of the design. This is the first RC model I've built that survived more than one "flight". Flow visualization can be had with tufts, as in the photos, or by injecting smoke through tubes. Water vapor or dust can be used under the right conditions. What can you test? Models of hang gliders, parachutes, (you can use Saran Wrap to simulate the fabric) ground-effect craft, sailboats, racing cars, wheel pants, windshields, stuffed birds, and on and on. For those not familiar with aerodynamic coefficients, I have to describe them, because you can't really get along without them. A coefficient is a number, describing a force or a moment, that stays the same for all speeds
and sizes of things of the same shape. A coefficient determined from model tests can be used directly for the final airplane, within certain limitations we'll discuss later.
Forces on an object in a fluid depend on density, speed squared, size and the angle with respect to the flow. Divide the force by these things and you get your coefficient.
The quantity !4 density x speed squared is called the
Drag: Crj = drag/qS Pitching Moment: Cj^j = pitching momentyqSc
where c is the mean aerodynamic chord Example: Tunnel speed 30 mph, or q = 2.2 pounds per square foot. Lift measured, 1.5 pounds. Then:
1.5
CL =
= .682 2.2x1.0
So, for an airplane 5 times the model size, flying at the same angle, but at 100 mph, Lift = CL qS = .682 (——)2 x 2.20 x 52 = 417 pounds
30
Because they are so small, pressures in a little wind tunnel are measured with inclined manometer tubes. I use clear plastic tubing, taped to a dimestore ruler, inclined at a 20:1 angle. The pressures in an Eiffel type
tunnel will always be lower than room pressure, so there is always suction to pull water up the tube from a jar or can of water. If a regular pitot static tube is mounted in
the tunnel, lined up with the flow, the tube connected to SPORT AVIATION 11
the pitot pressure will read zero with respect to the room, while that connected to the static orifices will indicate the dynamic pressure. A reading of eight inches on the 20:1 inclined tube means 0.4 inches of water, or about 2.2 pounds per square foot, which corresponds to 30 mph at an average air density. Now, about the limitations of applying small-scale data to full-scale airplanes. There are two kinds of effects to worry about: wind tunnel wall effects and viscosity effects. The wind tunnel walls keep the flow from spreading out around the model as it would in free flight. To minimize the effects, the models must be kept small. If the frontal area of the model is only 2 or 3% of the tunnel cross section area, this "blockage" correction can be ignored. If it gets up to 10%, you're in trouble. The tunnel walls also cause an exaggeration of model angles. For example, you may observe the model stalling at 15 degrees angle of attack, where in free flight the stall occurs at 20 degrees. The lift coefficient will be the same, but the angle is reduced. Exact tunnel wall corrections are a huge mess, fit only for computers to eat, so I'll let this discussion stop here, with the caution that your measured angles may have to be corrected, more for large models at high lift, less for smaller models at low lift. Viscosity effects are usually called "Reynolds number" effects, after the chap who did a lot of the original work on viscous fluids. There are many heavy books filled with theory and data on viscosity, but the important points are: 1. It's bad, 2. You can't avoid it, 3. It's worse on small models. Adverse viscosity effects usually show up through separation of the flow from the surface, resulting in wing stalls and drag rises. There is a phenomenon called "laminar separation" which is the real culprit here. The layer of air close to a surface, which feels the skin friction drag of the surface, is called the boundary layer. There are two types of boundary layers, laminar and turbulent.
View of half-model of canard design mounted on vertical axis pivot. Model has radio-controlled elevator, so that pitch response to elevator movement can be studied.
12 SEPTEMBER 1975
All boundary layers start out laminar, and usually change suddenly to the turbulent kind at some point downstream on the surface. With small models at low speed, or with very smooth surfaces, the layer may stay laminar over the whole surace. Laminar layers are prone to separation since there is no mixing with high energy air from the flow outside the layer. Artificial roughness is used sometimes to induce transition and prevent laminar separation. The Reynolds number is a ratio between inertia forces and viscous forces, so that it tells you the relative importance of the two for any test condition. At ordinary temperatures and densities, it is about 4000 x speed (mph) x length (feet). Thus a model tested at 30 mph with a one foot chord will be at a Reynolds number of 120,000, the area where laminar separation problems are usually found. Above 500,000 where airplanes fly, boundary layers are usually turbulent and laminar separation no problem. I believe that birds have overcome this problem, and we all know that bird brains are small, so that none of us should have any trouble here, right? No problem exists in using the tunnel data for the RG model, since they are in the same Reynolds number area. The problem will be in applying the data to the full-scale airplane. Radio-controlled models are a very useful development tool, as demonstrated years back by Ernie Stout at Convair. He developed several radical flying boats using the technique of "Froude" scaling, making it possible to use model data quantitatively. (Perhaps SPORT AVIATION should have an article on this Subject.) RG models make it possible to investigate extreme flight conditions such as stalls, spins, spiral divergence, etc., at minimum risk to your budget, bones, and buns. If enough of you are still interested in small wind tunnel construction, I will get a package of plans, instructions, and photos together, along with a wind tunnel primer. I expect this will cost about (gulp) $20.
By George Pereira (EAA 5668) 3741 El Ricon Way Sacramento. California 95825 (Photos by Scon Kemper)
I
DESIGN CONCEPT
STARTED DESIGNING the Osprey 2 amphibian shortly after my completion of the Osprey 1. The Osprey 1 is a single place flying boat with folding wings. It stored on a boat trailer at home and seldom saw an airport. The most frequent criticism of this single place design was the absence of a landing gear and only one seat. I thought it would be possible to simply widen the hull a bit, tack on a landing gear, and keep people happy. As the design evolved further, it soon became evident that the Osprey 2 was an entirely new aircraft and had little in common with the Osprey 1, other than a family resemblance. Starting with a preliminary set of drawings, I computed an estimated empty weight of a thousand pounds. From this figure I added a useful load of 560 pounds for a gross weight of 1560 pounds. A gross weight stress factor of 4.5 Gs was then calculated for the wing structure. A box spar would carry all the load with the D section, from the main spar to leading edge, to carry the torsion loads. Flying boat hulls are generally much stronger than conventional aircraft hulls. The water impact loads are very high, and once the hull is stressed for it, the air loads become insignificant. The tail loads fall into the same category. When you design around the loads imposed for water turns, porpoising, and rough water, the air loads are light in comparison. I had decided to make plans available for the Osprey 2 from the beginning. Since my shop is small and my tools limited, I felt that if I were able to build all the parts and pieces for the entire aircraft, this would set a criterion for future builders. My shop is 16' x 26'. The tools I used were as follows: band saw, table saw, drill press, bench grinder, gas welder, paint sprayer, hand drill and sander, plus the usual complement of small hand tools. I feel that the Osprey 2 is designed for the skilled amateur. The builder should have experience in woodworking, welding, and fiber-glass application. As for man hours of construction, I built and test flew the prototype in about 1300 hours. Two years of design, engineering and working mockups preceeded this. Another year was spent on part-time work with many modifications and detail finishing. I believe that a first time aircraft builder should be able to build the Osprey 2 in 1,500 to 2,000 hours; provided he has the skills mentioned. An experienced amateur builder should
wave pre-lifts the hull on to the step, shortening the take-off distance. If there is any obstruction such as a partially exposed wheel or strut, the water tends to dam and flow over the top of the wing and into the propeller disk. The thickest part of the wing to hide the wheels is just behind the main wing spar. This predicated the tricycle landing gear, and a nine foot center section in order to retract the main wheels inboard. I felt that a fully mechanical retraction was the most troublefree. My FAA agent required a redundant system to lower the wheels if motors are used. This understandable requirement furthered my decision to design around a lever and push rod system. Wood construction was chosen since it lends itself to home work shops and boat construction. I found that Douglas fir compared favorably with spruce. Its shear strength is much better and the select vertical grain is available in lumber yards. It's much less expensive than certified aircraft spruce. I experimented some with polyurethane foam on the Osprey 1 and as a result I have used it extensively on the Osprey 2. Side-by-side seating provides the hull width necessary for adequate flotation and efficient water performance. The sloping canopy was designed to provide a smooth
be flying in 1300 hours of construction or less. Work
airflow into the propeller disk and provide good visibility.
time is very difficult for me to estimate. Most of us know builders who complete a project in a year or less, and others spend six to ten years on the same aircraft. I had previously experimented with a landing gear configuration on the Osprey 1, and found that the main wheels had to be hidden if retracted under the wing to control water spray. Both aircraft have a bow wave, when the take off is started, that flows back under the wing. This
The engine mount legs were left open and unshrouded to keep the propeller air flow as undisturbed as possible. I would like to add this decision was made after the first canopy, cabin, and engine mount had to be replaced with the present configuration. Since the engine is sitting above and just behind the
passengers, the engine mount is designed to withstand a forward thrust of 18 Gs before yielding. SPORT AVIATION 13
CONSTRUCTION
I started with a work table of two sheets of 3A" plywood giving a working area 4' x 16'. The table is covered with paper, and the hull sides are transferred from the plans to the paper. It is necessary to make a left and right since the gussets go on the inside only. The two sides are erected, and cross members glued into place. The cabin and after body floor is glued to the bottom longerons. A full length keel spar is then glued to the bottom center line of the hull from front to back. All of the controls, seat rails, and parts that bolt to the floor are fabricated and attached to the floor with blocks and nut plates on the underneath side of the floor. This allows removal of the parts when foam eventually covers this area. The wing spars are next. The main wing spar is made in three sections, a nine foot center section and two 8 foot outboard sections. The spar caps are laminated from 3%" x W thick Douglas Fir. A Vs" thick plywood web is glued to each side of the top and bottom caps forming a box. The three sections are joined by 4130 steel straps bolted to each side of the spars. All holes were a ream fit and close tolerance bolts used in the fittings. The rear spar is quite simple with a single top and bottom cap and a single web. Since the main spar carries all of the load, the three pieces were bolted together and static loaded to 4 Gs with sacks of joint cement. The deflection was 10V4" with no yield in the wood or fittings. The center section spars were then glued into the hull. The landing gear and retract mechanism were made and installed. Cleveland wheels were used. The brake lines are automotive. The 26 gallon fuel tank was made from fiber-glass and permanently attached to the floor under the main spar in a bed of resin and glass matt. The center section was then ready for completion including the Vie" plywood
covering. 14 SEPTEMBER 1975
Aft cabin and engine mounting detail. Tufting has shown a smooth air flow to the prop despite a rather sharp break at the aft end of the cabin enclosure.
The hull sides and part of the aft deck were covered. The fin ribs are different sizes. The plans show each of them full size to ease in construction. The fin is built in place on the hull. The stabilizer is single spar with a small
leading edge. It is covered with Vie" thick ply. It is constructed on the worktable as were the elevator, rudder, and ailerons. The outboard wing panels were built with the spars attached to the center section sticking out through the shop doorway. I felt that the correct wing incidence
could be maintained much easier this way. With the outboard wings attached to the center section, it is a very comfortable working height. The wing panels are removed to build the tip floats. The floats consist of a '/41' thick plywood center profile with foam slabs glued to each side. They are shaped, then covered with fiber-glass. After all of the metal fittings were completed and bolted into place, I then removed them and made a full size drawing to insure an accurate set of plans. The hull was well varnished on the bottom, and taken to a roofing company to be sprayed with polyurethane foam. There are many roofing companies that specialize in tin roof repairs and can foam your hull in about thirty minutes. If this method is not available, you can mix your own or glue on slabs of foam blocks. Once the hull is foamed, it is very easy to shape the hull bottom. About three hours of cutting and sanding the foam makes it ready for fiber-glassing. The bottom has several layers of glass cloth with the heaviest amount at the step. With this construction you end up with a sandwich of plywood, foam and fiber-glass. The foam withstands heavy impact loads very well and insures against leaks even if the glass is punctured. The floor is flat with no bilge to pump out to clean. All of the hull gets at least one layer of cloth and resin. Polyester resin was used throughout. The cabin and canopy are shaped from polyurethane foam. Two laminated wood bows are mated and temporarily attached to the hull. They eventually hinge at the top. Paper is stapled from the cabin bow to the aft deck. The canopy bow is glued to the canopy frame consisting of two rails of plywood down each side of the gunnel connected to a nose former. There is a center bow connected to the middle of the nose former to the middle of the canopy bow. Paper is then stretched from this bow to the nose former. Foam is mixed and poured over the paper. It expands about forty times to its original bulk. The cabin and canopy can now be shaped, and fiber-glassed. Both sides of the canopy windows are sawed out as well as the two cabin windows. The canopy and cabin are removed and the inside shaped and fiber-glassed. Hinges and latches are installed and it's ready for clear acrylic windows. The canopy opens from the nose, being hinged over the passengers' heads. This allows you to beach the aircraft and step out over the nose without getting wet. The acrylic plastic is heated and drape formed over a curved piece of plywood or metal sheet. This is just a simple bend and not a compound curve. This is easy to do and it produces excellent optics. The cabin windows are stretch moulded over the cutouts from the cabin. This was also quite easy since they are small and will fit into a home oven. The engine is mounted on a tripod set of legs. The streamline tubing of the front two legs attach to the centersection spar, run up through the cabin, and attach to the bottom side of the engine mount ears. The top side of the mount ears are not used. The rear mount leg attached to a beefy bulkhead at the step, runs up through the rear of the cabin, and is attached to a special fitting on the engine. This fitting is designed for the Lycoming series engine. It picks up three case bolts near the prop hub and two bolts that hold the starter. The attachment to the mount leg is incased in neoprene. As a result the engine runs quite smoothly. An oil cooler is mounted just in front of the two magnetos facing forward. The fuel lines are %" diameter aluminum tubing. Starting at the tank bottom there is a small sump with a quick drain valve that sticks through the hull step to the outside. The fuel line runs to a 5 lb. capacity electric pump, mounted on the center section spar. From there the line runs to the engine driven pump to the gascolator, out of the gascolator to the carburetor. The electric fuel pump is there as a back-up. It is only turned on while
The bottom of the hull after foaming by a home insulating outfit.
The fuselage bottom up in the jig — showing how the shallow keel is attached.
1st Test Designer/builder George Pereira just prior to the first flight of the Osprey 2.
landing or taking off.
To make the engine cowling, the engine was removed and a short section of pipe was mounted to the front and
rear of the engine, so that it could be rotated on a stand. The engine, with all of the accessories, was covered with heavy aluminum foil. Plaster of paris was stacked on and rough shaped prior to a final set. After rough shaping the plaster, it was covered with several coats of hot paraffin. This was smoothed by dragging a blade across the surSPORT AVIATION 15
Outboard wing panel.
Center section and outer wing spar details.
\
Horizontal tail details.
Osprey 2 cabin showing the center console and radio installation.
16 SEPTEMBER 1975
face, shaving the paraffin. The cowl was then covered with three layers of fiber-glass cloth, and saturated with resin. It was cut down the center, removed, and the metal fasteners glassed into place. The plaster was removed and the cooling baffling was fitted to complete the cowling. The fabric used was dacron. The outboard wing panels and all movable control surfaces were covered without any
a gross load off water. The ideal test condition for water operation is a 3-to-7 knot wind. Just enough to ripple the water surface. This shortens the take-off and provides a reference for landing. High speed turns, or step turns, were next. I found 50 mph was about as fast as you could enter a sharp turn with-
rib stitching. The wing ribs have a very wide plywood cap
is used, holding the wing float down on the water throughout the turn. If the hull starts sliding, relax the rudder somewhat. You have to add power as the turn gets underway. If you keep your speed up, the ship will fly out of the turn if you so desire. Turning at 40 mph, the radius can be very short, comparable to any small speedboat. The air work in the Osprey 2 proved a bad characteristic that seems to be prevalent with high thrust line
strip that the fabric glues to. The peel strength was tested using this system, and the plywood would delaminate while trying to pull the fabric off.
I found on the Osprey 1 that automotive enamel, when applied over dacron fabric, would crack when pressed down next to a rib or spar. The new polyurethane enamels will not crack the dacron since they are very pliable. I
used the polyurethane enamel over all of the fabric areas and highly recommend it if you like the high gloss, wet look. TEST FLIGHT
out the hull bounding sideways. Full aileron and rudder
engined aircraft and long span sailplanes. When rolling
into a turn and neutralizing the controls, the aircraft continues to roll and only top aileron will stop the roll. In a steep turn it's worse. Heavy top aileron was held and the rudder was necessary to yaw it around out of the turn.
After much research, I rigged nearly ninety percent
Since the worth of any amphibian is its ability to perform well on water, I decided to water test the Osprey 2
differential into the ailerons. When one aileron goes
first. Generally you have more room with no obstructions on water. I also thought of the possibility of aerodynamic problems with the landing gear down. The ship was towed,
flying aircraft, eliminating the pronounced adverse yaw
on its gear, to the water. It takes two people about thirty minutes to attach the outer wing panels. It was rolled
off the bank into the water and the gear was retracted. There is a small retractable water rudder that comes out of the air rudder. With the water rudder down I started the engine and taxied for several turns. I increased power, holding the stick back, and it reached step speed, (about 40 mph) quite fast. This first test indicated a bad propoising tendency at about 50 to 60 mph; however, I was
able to make some short lift-offs. Osprey 2 was towed home for modifications. Since the bottom is foam and fiber-glass
it makes changes much easier than conventional wood or metal hulls. The planing area ahead of the step was changed and water tests were continued. The results were good. The porpoising tendency was eliminated and the general water stability greatly improved. Several lift-offs were made on the long waterway without the necessity of turning. It was apparent that the Osprey 2 would get off water very short. The load was gradually increased until a
near gross weight was reached. The take-off distance increased, but it was evident that the ship would easily haul
up 25 degrees the opposite aileron goes down only three degrees. This modification made the Osprey 2 a normal that it had before. I think I should say there have been several modifications on the Osprey 2 since the first test on the water. The first ten hours of flight brought out many faults in the design. I spent almost a year making modifications, trying to improve the performance and general flying qualities. The major changes were a new cabin,
canopy, engine, and cowling. I flew the aircraft for 65 hours with these major modifications before I froze the
design and completed the final plans. I now have 85 hours on the Osprey 2 at this writing, with no intended modifications. The retractable landing gear has been flawless except for a leaky brake. It can be constructed with a hacksaw and welding torch. No machining is necessary. The first engine used on the Osprey 2 was the Franklin Sport 4R. It was a good little engine, but Franklin stopped making the R model. Since the engine mount is so important in a pusher configuration, I redesigned around
the Lycoming 4 cylinder series because of their availability. This gives a selection from 125 hp through 160 hp.
SPORT AVIATION 17
COST TO BUILD
The largest hidden cost could be a wife and a happy home! I have built three aircraft to date and believe me, it's a huge time commitment for any individual; and the family gets involved one way or another. After adding up my shoebox full of bills, I found some problems trying to equate what the Osprey 2 would cost a new builder. The many modifications made since it was first flown were subtracted from the total cost. The following cost analysis is based on 1975 prices of new material and it is quite liberal. Structural lumber, including worktable . . . . . . . . $263.00 Aircraft and marine plywood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346.50 Steel tubing and flat sheet (4130) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114.50 Plating...................................... 28.00 Aluminum tubing and flat sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.00 Bushings, bearings, rod ends, turnbuckles, pulleys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134.50 Cleveland wheels, tires and tubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170.50 Nose wheel tire and tube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.50 Shock strut springs and hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.00 55.50 Brake cylinders, lines and fittings . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18 SEPTEMBER 1975
Seat belts (auto) and shoulder harness . . . . . . . . . 18.25 Battery, wire and switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.10 Propeller, prop extension, spinner and bolts . . . . 211.75 Instruments: A/S, R/C, Tac, Alt., comp., amp., oil temp & p r e s s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251.50 Fiber-glass m a t e r i a l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.00 Fabric covering and dope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128.23 Paint and supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.50 Bolt hardware (estimated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75.00 TOTAL COST OR AIR FRAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,133.33 Engine: Lycoming 0320 A2B used. Cost includes two fuel pumps, exhaust system, fuel lines, and fittings. Engine Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,025.00 Other Costs: Upholstery: seats and interior sent out . . . . . Radio Genave A-200B, headset, mike & antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
275.00
780.81 TOTAL COST OF PROTOTYPE . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,214.14
PERFORMANCE AND FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS
The Osprey 2 has shown a steady performance gain as modifications and trim corrections were made. I feel that the most significant performance gain in speed will
come when I get the best propeller compromise in a fixed pitch propeller. I am on my second prop now and I still cannot pull seventy-five percent power without overrevving the engine in level flight. I am presently able
to get a true airspeed of 115 mph at about 65 percent of power. At eight gallons of fuel per hour, the range is about
three hours, or 400 miles. Editor's Note: At Oshkosh, the Osprey 2 was equipped with a new three-blade Ted Hendrickson propeller that increased performance markedly. George Periera provided us with the following updated figures: Full throttle (2650 rpm) yields 125 mph indicated for a true air speed of 141 mph; 2500 rpm (75%) yields 117 indicated, 130 true; 2450 rpm 170%) yields 111 indicated, 125 true; 2350 rpm f609c) yields 108 indicated, 121 true; 2300 rpm (58%) yields 105 indicated, 117 true. Speed was obtained at 5000 ft. on a very hot day.
The rate of climb at sea level and full gross weight is 800 feet per minute. With no passenger it jumps to 1200 feet per minute. The climb angle at 80 mph is quite steep. On a 4,000 foot runway you can have a thousand feet by the time you get to the end boundary. The visibility over the nose is so good that a steep climb angle is not at all
objectionable. The landing gear retraction takes less than two seconds. The retract handle is between the seats and rotates about 170 degrees. The gear warning lights are mounted on each side of the instrument pedestal. They are both amber colored and the placard under the light says, "Light on land on land." The opposite side says, "Light on land on water." It is hoped this system will prevent any gear down landings on water! The high thrust line tends to hold the nose wheel on the runway until about 55 miles per hour under full power. As soon as it rotates it flies off at about 60 mph. The landings, if made with the nose wheel high, allows you to hold the nose wheel off, down to about 25 mph. The nose wheel is steerable which makes ground taxi quite easy. It is
also fitted with toe brakes which help in a tight radius turn. The sink rate, power off, is about 900 ft. per minute. I prefer to land the Osprey 2 with a close-in downwind, short base, and power off on the final turn to the runway. Eighty mph feels comfortable for all pattern turns and the final approach, slowing to seventy over the fence and it touches down about fifty-five. The wide track and tricycle landing gear make cross wind landings very easy. The aircraft sits low to the ground, and as a result I found myself landings about a foot high for several landings. A new set of
eyeglasses and a few more landings improved my touch considerably.
A question that is frequently asked, "Is the pitch change difficult to master w i t h changes in power settings?" I have flown it so much that it is difficult to be objective. New pilots have had no problem and never mention it; but when asked, they are reminded that it is
different. I presume that since we fly by attitude, we automatically make pitch corrections without thinking about it. Flying off water in the Osprey 2 is much easier in many
respects than land operation. You generally have more space so where you touch down is not critical. Cross winds
are no problem. I have landed in a crab, and on touchdown the hull straightens out on its own. You can be drifting sideways and it seems to make little difference. The best technique for landing on water is to set up an approach
speed of eighty mph with just a touch of power. Level off about three feet or less above the water and ease off all power while holding it level. As soon as it touches, relax any stick back pressure to prevent possible skipping. If the water is glass smooth and you use this technique, you would not know when you were on water if it were not for
the hissing sound and slight spray visible on the side. The water take-offs and fast taxi are equally easy. Ease on full power with the stick back. As the bow wave rolls back under the wings, ease the stick forward until the speed builds to about 60 mph. If you pull the stick back some at 60 mph it will lift off. If you want to taxi at seventy or eighty mph, simply hold the hull level on the water with elevator, and steer with rudder. I guarantee you will raise the eyebrows of the boating public when you SPORT AVIATION 19
taxi by at 80 mph using about 100 hp. I think the hardest part of the water work is learning to dock the aircraft. I can't comment more on this as I am still learning! PLANS
The plans are drawn in the sequence in which the Osprey 2 should be constructed. All of the metal fittings that are made from flat stock are drawn full size, so they can be used as patterns. This is also true of the stabilizer and vertical fin ribs. Much of the parts constructed from tubing are drawn full size for clarity. All of the drawings are dimensioned. There are many % view and exploded views in the drawings. The blueprints are 18" x 26" for a total of 150 sq. ft. of drawings. There is a construction manual with the pages of instruction linked to each page of blueprint. The manual also has 52 construction photos, a complete bill of material list, and a supplier listing. Test flight recommendations are also offered. I do not have any kits or prefabricated parts available for the Opsrey 2. It was designed to be built, in its entirety, in a home workshop with no molds required, other than the engine cowling. Each set of plans is assigned a number to catalog the builder for future modifications and general updates. I make it a practice to recommend that any potential aircraft builder join the Experimental Aircraft Association if he or she is not already a member. Local chapters have available the experience and information that can be a great help with an aircraft building project. Osprey 2 plans are available from me for $150.00.
The wing spar undergoing a static load test to 4 G's.
Residents of Alaska and Hawaii should add $5.00 for air mail postage and residents of foreign countries should add $10.00. The designing and building of the Osprey 2 has been a very interesting project and flying it is a unique pleasure. Hope to share it with many of you.
George Pereira and the Osprey 2. 20 SEPTEMBER 1975
HEADQUARTERS COMMENT THE RULE MAKING PROCESS
I A A IS B E C O M I N G increasingly involved with government, meeting with FAA representatives to work out mutual problems and to lend advice in areas concerning sport aviation, in commenting on Notices of Proposed Rule Making, answering member's questions on government actions, and simply keeping up with the many developments in government, both in the executive and legislative branches. The U.S. Federal government is m a m m o t h and diverse. Many agencies and branches can make policy
or pass laws which affect a v i a t i o n . Some of these initiatives were reviewed last month in this column.
The FAA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Congress, the Federal Energy Administration, and others can enact legislation or adopt regulations which can make significant changes in how we operate aircraft.
For the most part, the FAA is the chief federal agency with which EAA Headquarters works, almost on a daily basis — including Washington, regional and
local offices. Under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, the FAA was given the responsibility to promote civil
Bv Mike
Heuer
FAA's rule making — like other government agencies — begins with one of two types of notices to the public — the customary Notice of Proposed Rule M a k i n g (NPRM) or the lesser known Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM). These differ in that a regular NPRM will propose definite, spelled out wording of a new rule, or change, or deletion in the Federal Aviation Regulations. An Advance Notice of Proposed
Rule Making does not spell out the exact wording of a rule change or modification but instead invites the public to submit their views on possible new rules for
certain well-defined subjects. An NPRM or ANPRM may be initiated from several sources — the FAA itself, another government agency, the Congress, or the general public through an organized
group, such as EAA. Suggestions for rule-making from the general public
usually are in the form of petitions to the FAA Administrator and they usually suggest specific wording for a change in the Federal Aviation Regulations. Rules changes from Congress u s u a l l y consist of specific legislation, as was mentioned before, and suggestions for new rules from other government agencies ( t h e
aviation and establish regulations to insure a high level of safety. This two-fold objective is still in effect today and has resulted in some criticism of FAA from the Congress. Some believe that these two purposes are in con-
National Transportation Safety Board, for example) are
flict. Most Americans are well-versed on the method by which the U.S. Congress enacts laws. It is a long and complicated process which usually filters out bad legislation because of the many compromises that must
to the appropriate FAA service, such as Flight Standards, Air Traffic, the Office of Aviation Medicine, and so on. This branch of the FAA will review the
be made in order for the legislation to survive. This is
as it should be. Our nation is a conglomeration of peoples, with many and varied interests to be served. It is seldom, however, that the Congress passes laws specifically aimed at aviation, such as it did when it amended the Federal Aviation Act to require ELT's. Other examples include the Airport Development Aid Program, appropriations for other government
usually in the form of recommendations.
Once a petition or a recommendation for a rule change is received by the Administrator, he directs it
proposal and either turn it down or send it to the Office of the General Counsel for drafting for submission to FAA's Regulatory Council. This latter group meets once
a week to consider all proposals for rule making. Assuming that the NPRM has managed to survive all of these operations (which usually take six months or longer), the proposal is printed in the FEDERAL REGISTER. The public is given 60 to 90 days to submit comments. Public comments should be submitted to the FAA in duplicate since one copy goes to the Docket
agencies, and other similar legislation. Less well known, however, are the procedures used by the various executive branch bureaucracies to adopt regulations which, in their view, carry out the responsibilities given them by the Congress when they were created. These regulations have the force of law, and when not observed, in the case of Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR's) can lead to the revocation or suspension of your airman's certificate, or a fine, or both.
Section of the General Counsel's office and one copy goes to the FAA division that became the sponsor of the proposal. The Rules Docket is an interesting place to visit. Each comment is catalogued and placed in a binder. Any one can visit the Docket and inspect these comments. It is interesting for those who are curious to
These regulations are not enacted by your elected
After the closing date of the Docket, all comments are considered by the FAA in accordance with the aforementioned laws. One of the popular debates is whether the FAA pays much attention to the public comments before writing the final rules. In all fairness, FAA is very responsive to the opinions of the commenters and oftentimes incorporates ideas submitted by them. By the
representatives but must pass through an adoption procedure that was established by the Congress. The FAA's authority for rule making powers is based on the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946. This Act empowers all U.S. government agencies, bureaus, and administrations to write rules after appropriate consultation with the public. Sections 551 through 559 of this Act are the basis upon which the Federal Aviation Regulations Part II were written to provide for formal procedures for rule making.
get the pulse of the general aviation community. This
is exactly why it is so important that as many as possible take the opportunity to comment.
same token, if few or no comments are received, FAA naturally assumes that little or no opposition to the proposal as it is written exists. This process of review of public comments can take SPORT AVIATION 21
many months, especially if the number of comments runs into the thousands. The person who has charge of the project will quickly filter out the irresponsible comments and then consider those who have sober and realistic proposals and suggestions. The FAA service that is in charge of the NPRM then writes up the final rule in cooperation with the lawyers in the General Counsel's office. It is then customary to send the proposal to the various FAA Regional Directors for their comments if this has not already been done during the earlier stages of the process. Then the NPRM goes back for a final review by the Regulatory Council and if all goes well, it is published in the FEDERAL REGISTER as a new rule, to become effective on a specified date. It can be seen that this process is very timeconsuming. When the NRPM is initiated internally in
FAA, the entire procedure can be completed in as little as three months. For petitions from the public, time is much longer, usually running to over a year and in some recent cases to five years or more.
EAA will attempt to keep you abreast of all NPRM's which might affect you and the operation of your aircraft. When we ask for you to support a certain proposal, to make suggestions, or to submit recommendations, please take the opportunity to do so. Comments on FAA NPRM's should be addressed to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of the Chief Counsel, Attn: Rules Docket, AGC-24, 800 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20591. Be sure to make reference to the docket and notice numbers in your letters. Letters should be constructive, brief and courteous. Rest assured, they will do some good.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS SEPTEMBER 12-14 — RENO, NEVADA — Reno National Air Races. Stead Airport.
SEPTEMBER 26-28 — WOODLAND, CALIFORNIA — Regional Aerobatic
SEPTEMBER 13-14 — MARSTONS MILLS, MASSACHUSETTS — 2nd
Practice Day 26th. Contact I. A. C. 38, 2954 Timm Rd., Vacaville, Calif. 95688. (707) 448-5590.
Contest. Yolo County Airport. Sportsman, Intermediate, and Advanced Categories. 1st non-inverted category. Judges School 25th,
Annual Cape Cod Fly-In. Various contests. Trophies. Sponsored by EAA Chapter 498. Contact Duane Merchant, 9 Yale Circle, RFD 1, Dennisport, Mass. 02639. (617) 394-2006.
SEPTEMBER 27-28 — MARANA AIRPARK, ARIZONA — Fourth Annual
SEPTEMBER 14 — BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA — 5th Annual Fly-In
Arizona State EAA Fly-In. Sponsored by EAA Chapters 28, 81, 128, 228 and 538. Awards for Custombuilt, Antiques, Classics, Static
Breakfast sponsored by EAA Chapter 68. Butler-Roe Airport. Free breakfast to homebuilt pilots, awards, air show. All aircraft welcome. Contact Dick Hall (412) 378-4937.
Displays. Food and lodging at Airpark. Contact Bob Burbick, 13624 103 Ave., Sun City, AZ. 85351. (602) 933-7549. OCTOBER 4 — WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS — 2nd Annual Fly-In Picnic
SEPTEMBER 14 — FORT ATKINSON, WISCONSIN — Annual Noon Pot-
luck Lunch sponsored by EAA Chapter 320. Dairyland Marcie Airport. Free meal for homebuilt pilots flying in. Contact Ray Arm:
sponsored by EAA Chapter 422. Wichita Valley Airport. Contact Lucile Hauck, 1112 Polk St., Wichita Falls, TX 76309 or Mona McKee (817)692-6951.
strong, R #1, Fort Atkinson, Wise. 414-674-2058. OCTOBER 4-5 — GARDEN CITY, KANSAS — 5th Annual Fly-In sponSEPTEMBER 14 — CLAXTON, GEORGIA — Project Schoolflight Bene-
fit Fly-In/Air Show. Proceeds toward completion of second aircraft construction sponsored by Chapter 330. Everyone welcome. Con-
sored by EAA Chapter 377. Contests, Coverdish Banquet Saturday night. Awards. Contact Bob Townsend, 1606 N. 3rd St., or Bob Scott,
609 E. Price, Garden City, KS.
tact Merle Miller, Box 8, Claxton. Ga. 30417. (912) 739-1930. OCTOBER 5 — HEBER SPRINGS, ARKANSAS — 3rd Annual TailSEPTEMBER 19-21 — KERRVILLE, TEXAS — Southwest Regional Fly-In. Contact Bill Haskell, Box 1235, Kerrville, Texas 78028. (512) 995-2791.
dragger Fly-In. Sponsored by Optimist Club. Contests. Organizational meeting for new EAA Chapter. Contact E. U. Latch (501) 362-
SEPTEMBER 19-21 — GEORGETOWN, SOUTH CAROLINA — First An-
OCTOBER 9-12 — HARLINGEN, TEXAS — Confederate Air Force An-
nual Spirit of '76 Fly-In. All homebuilts, antiques, classics and warbirds welcome. Contact Herb Bailey, Spirit of '76 Committee, Box
nual Air Show featuring Bob Hoover, Art Scholl, the Red Devils, Golden Knights, Silver Eagles. Demonstrations of WW II Confeder-
619, Georgetown, S. C. 29440.
ate Air Force aircraft. Contact AIRSHO '75, P. O. Box 645, Harlingen, TX. 78550.
3294.
SEPTEMBER 19-21 — HARLINGEN, TEXAS — Confederate Air Force
Air Show. Fly-In and static displays, full air show on Sunday (21st). Contact Col. John J. Stokes. Central Texas Wing Leader, P. O. Box 629, San Marcos, TX. 78666.
OCTOBER 11-12 — CLAXTON, GEORGIA — 6th Annual VW Powered
Aircraft Fly-In. Contests, races, forums, awards. All homebuilts welcome. "Bean Banquet" Saturday. Camping. Contact Merle Miller, Box 8, Claxton, Ga. 30417. (912) 739-1930.
SEPTEMBER 20-21 — MIDDLE RIVER, MARYLAND — 6th Annual EAA
East Coast Fly-In. Martin Marietta Airport. All aircraft types invited. Camping, forums, displays and awards. Contact "BIRDMAN", 504 N. Humer St., Enola, Pa. 17025. (717) 732-0953. SEPTEMBER 20-21 — GARDNER, KANSAS — 2nd Annual Heart of
OCTOBER 10-12 — TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA — 18th Annual Tulsa AAA-EAA-IAC Fly-In. Contact Calvin G. Bass, P. O. Box 4409, Tulsa, Okl. 74104. OCTOBER 11-12 — WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA — Colonial Fly-In/
America Sport Aviation Fly-In sponsored by area Chapters of EAA, AAA and IAC. Contact Larry Denning, Chapter 91, 3604 Appletree
Festival sponsored by EAA Chapter 156. All "flying machines" welcome. Free breakfast and no registration fees for pilots. Contact
Lane, Kansas City, Mo. 64119.
Tom Madre, Box 2103, Poquoson, Va. 23662.
SEPTEMBER 20-21 — OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA — Fly-in sponsored by EAA Chapter 24. El Reno Airport. Contact David Sharon, 810 Stansell Dr., Midwest City, Okla. 73110.
OCTOBER 20-26 — SHERMAN-DENISON. TEXAS — 1975 National Aero-
batic Championships and Air Show. Sponsored by Sherman Jaycees. Grayson County Airport. Contact Ken Baucom, President,
Sherman Jaycees, Sherman, TX. SEPTEMBER 21 — SIDNEY, NEW YORK — Air Show sponsored by the
Village of Sidney. EAA homebuilts and antiques welcome. Rain date September 28. SEPTEMBER 21 — STORMVILLE, NEW YORK — Fly-In sponsored by EAA Chapter 130. Chapter projects, EAA publications for sale, aero flea market, special awards. Contact Jim Loyd (914) 225-8612 or Vaughan Askue (203) 756-2170.
NOVEMBER 10 — FAIRVIEW, OKLAHOMA — Fly-Lady Derby. Inter-
city 3 point race for proficiency. Free Fly-In Breakfast on the 11th. Contact Joe Durham, Publicity Director, Fairview Flight Club, Fairview, Okla. JANUARY 19-25 — LAKELAND, FLORIDA — 2nd Annual Mid-Winter Sun 'n Fun Fly-In. Contact Martin Jones, 1061 New Tampa Hwy., Lakeland, Fla. (813) 682-0204.
SEPTEMBER 26-28 — CAMDEN. SOUTH CAROLINA — EAA Chapter
395 (Antique) Annual Fall Fly-In Big Fall gathering of antique and
JULY 31 - AUGUST 8 — OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN — 24th Annual EAA
classic aircraft with awards and plenty of flying fun. Contact
International Fly-In Convention. Start making your plans NOW!
Dwight Cross, Jr., Box 468, Huntersville, N. C. 28078. 22 SEPTEMBER 1975
THE ANNUAL
THE SPORTPLANE BUILDER
RECERTIFICATION OF A HOMEBUILT
By Antoni (Tony) Bingelis EAA Designee Program Advisor
HOMEBUILT'S AIRWORTHINESS Certificate automatically expires 12 months to the day after the FAA last certificates it. What this means to you is that, unless action is taken to obtain a new Airworthiness Certificate by that date, the old certificate will have expired and the homebuilt can no longer be flown legally. For the present at least, the process for effecting the "annual" recertification of a homebuilt by the FAA is not difficult. The procedure has become rather standarized for all FAA Regions. THE RECERTIFICATION PROCESS
Essentially, recertification requires that you first make your own annual inspection (almost everyone calls it the "annual inspection" even though the term is not technically correct) of the aircraft and enter a statement to this effect in the aircraft log book. Concurrent with that little accomplishment, send a short letter (Figure 1) to the nearest FAA General Aviation District Office (G ADO) informing them that your annual inspection
has been completed and the airplane is ready for recertification. I would suggest you also state that there have been no structural modifications (if to the contrary, describe them) and that the flight characteristics are normal. You might even suggest a date (other than a weekend date) for the inspection, although it may not always be possible for the FAA to accommodate your suggestion. It would help if you were to give your phone number, at home and at work. This information can be a real time
saver for the inspector as he could call you, propose an exact date and time, and obtain immediate confirmation from you over the phone. Oh yes, don't forget to mention where the aircraft is located.
NOTE: The Custom Built Sport Aircraft Handbook (EAA "How-To" Series) contains additional related information and examples of letters which could be useful for various communications between yourself and the FAA regarding your homebuilt. (Order from EAA. $2.75 plus
.30c postage).
8509 Greenflint Lane Austin, Texas 78759
A partially completed FAA Form 8130-6, Application for Airworthiness Certificate, if enclosed with
your letter, sometimes expedites matters by enabling the inspector to prepare his paperwork before he arrives to make his inspection (Figure 2).
Incidentally, some FAA GADO areas do require this form to be submitted before an inspection will be scheduled. If this is a mandatory
requirement locally, you will have to write or call the nearest FAA GADO and request they send you the necessary form. But before you do, why not check with your local EAA
Designee. He might have some extra FAA Form 8130-6's that he keeps on hand as a convenience to the EAA Chapter members. IS THE AIRPLANE READY FOR THE INSPECTOR?
I guess the real reason for the mandatory annual inspection is to
afford the homebuilt owner the opportunity of proving to the FAA
that his aircraft is being maintained adequately and that its structural integrity is undiminished. Apparently, EAA'ers are maintaining their homebuilts in good to excellent condition. Each of the 12 FAA EMDO/GADO Regions, represented at the recent EAA Designee Conference, concurred that their (FAA) inspectors in past recertifi-
cations, had not reported any significant defects which could have been considered hazardous to flight. However, lest you begin flapping your arms and start crowing about this achievement, consider this sobering thought. Would our record be as good if we did not have a built-in mandatory inspection as an "inducement"? During the past eight years of going through the recertification of my own aircraft, I have listened to a number of interesting stories relating to such inspections. Apparently, one thing that ruffles an inspector is for him to be confronted with
an aircraft not ready for the inspection. The lack of preparation conveys the impression that the owner is
lax and may not be maintaining the aircraft properly.
The inspector is automatically alerted to this kind of a situation as the clues are quite evident. The cowling has not been removed nor has the rest of the aircraft been
opened for inspection as is customary. Or, in some cases, although the aircraft may be stripped of its cowling and covers, it obviously has not
been given much care lately by the owner. The engine is dirty and oil
covered, as is the belly of the fuselage. Dirt and grime are all over the place. And most of us realize, as does the inspector, that a dirty aircraft cannot be inspected thoroughly because dirt and grime often hide cracks and defects. Just about as unwelcome as the unprepared aircraft is one parked in a muddy area. I heard of one i n d i v i d u a l who really took the prize for indifference and lack of consideration. His aircraft, awaiting inspection, was parked in a decrepit "T"-hangar whose better features were a dirt floor and poor drainage. The day of the scheduled inspection, the aircraft stood in a pool of water. Its cowling and fairings were still in place and, with-
out a doubt, the aircraft had not been attended to in some time. That gent needed more time to get ready for the inspection . . . do you suppose he got it? There are no set inspection standards for a homebuilt. The extent of the annual recertification inspection and the length of time (days or weeks) required to accomplish it is left up to the individual owner. The thing that does matter is the condition of the aircraft at the time it is viewed by the FAA inspector during
his annual look-see. This inspection flexibility enjoyed by homebuilt owners gives them an opportunity
to work out their own way of coping SPORT AVIATION 23
with the inspection requirement . . . and doing it in a manner which will least hinder their maximum use and enjoyment of the aircraft. Anyone who can only fly on weekends, would certainly be reluctant
to give up a couple of good weekends of flying because of a stripped-down out-of-commission bird awaiting an FAA inspection. So, how can anyone handle an annual recertification preparation without that kind of down time?
A progressive maintenance inspection of the aircraft inspection of the aircraft may be the answer. This is a practical arrangement and one
employed by a number of homebuilt owners.
Utilizing the progressive maintenance and inspection concept, modified to suit your available time, permits you to give your undivided attention to each component
and system in turn. A separate aircraft component or system can be inspected after a flying period with-
out pulling the aircraft out of commission. This reduces the amount of work time you have to put into the effort for any given day and, somehow, the entire inspection seems
easier to accomplish. You can, for example, divide the total inspection requirement into the following work sessions as a minimum preparation. THE CLEANING DETAIL
Begin
with
a
complete
and
thorough washing and cleaning of the entire aircraft. For, even as you are accomplishing that chore, you will find yourself going over every inch of the aircraft visually as well.
As you progress with the cleaning and washing, little problems may,
on occasion, be noticed that can be adjusted or corrected immediately. TAIL SURFACES
Look for hinge wear, general condition and the security of attachment. WINGS
Check for structural integrity, security of attachment and general condition. ALIGHTING GEAR
(Landing gear and tail, or nose gear)
Jack up the aircraft and inspect the gear for play and wear. Repack wheel bearings and check the condition and adjustment of the brakes. FUSELAGE
Check its general condition and all attach points for other components. 24 SEPTEMBER 1975
CONTROL SYSTEM
Inspect and trace the entire system to and from each component. Lubricate bearings and hinges.
Check the condition of all safeties. PROPELLER
Remove the spinner and re-torque prop bolts. Dress out all rough spots and nicks in the blades. Examine the prop for defects. PAPERWORK
Start it at least two weeks ahead of time. The letter to the FAA and the partially completed FAA form 8130-6 (Application for Airworthiness Certificate) and your log book entry is really all that this consists of. Up to this point in the inspection
process, you have probably reassured yourself that the wings and the rest of the aircraft will continue to perform as an integral structure during the next 12 months. Since the engine is also quite important in keeping you aloft in the manner to which most pilots fondly expect,
it would be well to devote a little extra attention to it. ENGINE SECTION:
The inspection of the engine compartment is saved for the last so that the cowling may be left off for the recertification inspection. If you changed oil a few flight hours back you can skip that exercise. However, you probably planned for an oil change to coincide with the inspection. If so, and an oil change is due; after that last flight, and while the engine oil temperature is still over 100°F, drain the oil pump. For the annual, especially, you should remove and inspect the oil screen for excess scrap metal and sludge. Don't forget to resafety the drain plug and to re-fill the engine with fresh oil. Do not go away without doing so ... you might forget. Service all systems (battery, hydraulic, smoke, etc.). What else? Clean the engine by removing all dirt and oil from its exterior surfaces. Note all sources of oil seepage and fuel stains. Then, decide if corrective action is necessary. During this cleaning process, your eyes and hands will reveal much . . . like leaks, loose brackets or electrical connections, binding controls, worn or cracked exhaust system parts, etc. A major system deserving separate attention is the carburetor (injector), the air filter and induction system, to include the cleaning and servicing of the gascolator. While you are at it, you might
run a compression check on all cylinders. In doing so, you can't help checking the spark plugs, can you? A very important part of your annual engine compartment check should be the removal of the cotter pins from the engine mount bolts and test torquing them. Refer to the engine manual for the recommended detailed inspection requirements. Everybody should have an engine manual for the model installed. With the completion of your engine compartment inspection and your log book entry signifying that your own annual inspection has been satisfactorily completed, you are ready for the FAA. If you find that you will have some time on your hands while waiting for the inspector, you should take that opportunity to make those little improvements you have been toying with. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity presented with the aircraft all opened up and everything accessible. After the inspector has completed the inspection to his satisfaction, he will ask you for the expired Special Airworthiness Certificate (FAA Form 8130-7) and the Operating Limitations letter, and will issue new ones to take their place. The new Operating Limitations will indicate the type of operations to be permitted with your aircraft during the next 12 months. Do not, for example, expect to be approved for Night operation if the aircraft does not have all of the necessary equipment required for night flying.
DESIGNEE NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIPTIONS
In addition to Tony Bingelis'
monthly column, The Sportplane B u i l d e r , EAA Headquarters publishes a montly Designee Newsletter containing even more "How To" material, a compendium of the previous month's Designee inspections and a summary of
all homebuilt accidents occurring around the nation the previous 30 days. Any EAA member can subscribe to the Designee Newsletter for $7.00 per year. Make your check payable to: EAA P.O. Box 229 Hales Corners, Wl 53130
Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration General Aviation District Office
(Address) (City & State)
I have completed my own annual inspection and the aircraft and its records are ready for your examination at Gilhooley's Airpark, Fulton, Indiana. (Hangar No. 7). No alterations or changes have been made in the original design or operational features in the past year. Please inform me of the day and hour that this inspection can be accomplished. Sincerely yours, Roland Q. Amateur 8503 Wingding Rd.
(Date)
Gentlemen: Enclosed is my application for an Airworthiness Certificate for N ——
"Acro Sport" aircraft in the experimental category for amateur-built aircraft. The aircraft has flown 83 hours since last certificate was issued.
AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
APPLICATION FOR AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATE REGISTRATION'MARK
J
fj———————————————
J
s
AIRCRAFT SERIAL NO
NOTE: enclose FAA Form 8130-6 — Application for U.S. Airworthiness certificate. Figure 1 SAMPLE LETTER: Application for Recertification (Annual)
INSTRUCTIONS—Print or type Do not write in shaded areas, these art- tor FAA use only. Submit original only to an authorized FAA Representative. If additional space is required, use an attachment. For special flight permits complete Sections II and VI or VII as applicable._______________
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL
Fulton, Indiana 46931 Home Phone _____ Office Phone _____
3
AIRCRAFT JUIlDfl S NAME •
AIRCRAFT MOOEl DESIGNATION 14
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PROPELLER SUUDER S NAME ( mukt,
ENGINE MODCl DESIGNATION
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FAR 91 173 D. CIRTIFICATION — I hereby certify that 1 am the owner (or his acem) of the aircraft described above, that the aircraft is registered with the Federal Aviation Administration in accordance with Section 501 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, and applicable Federal Aviation Regulations, and that the aircraft has been inspected and is airworthy and eligible for the airworthiness certificate requested DATE Of APPLICATION
I N AME AND TITLE f Print or I)f>t )
A. THE AIRCRAFT DESCRIBED AftQVE HAS BEEN INSPECTED AND FOUND AIRWORTHY BY : f Complett ibn legion out) if FAR 21 IHj (d) apphti)
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AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER (Gut Njmt of Firm)
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requested, or Lsll
I find that the a i r c r a f t described in Section I or VII meets the requirements for: [
I Amendment or modification of its current airworthiness certificate.
Section VII was conducted by: j DISTRICT OFFICE
| FAA Inspector; certificate holder Jnder [ DESIGNEE S SIGNATURE AND NO
| FAR 65,
] The certification
Inspection for a special fMghf permit under
[
| FAR 121 of 127, or [j FAR 145. FAA INSHCTOR S SIGNATURE
ii FAA Focm 8130-6 (7-701
Figure 2 SPORT AVIATION 25
Canadian Warplane Heritage President Dennis Bradley leads this formation with his Corsair while Mustangs of Don Plumb, at left, Steve Hinton and Max Ramsey hang in there.
By Jim McDonnell (EAA 2283) Box 159 Buffalo, Minnesota 55313 (Photos by the Author)
Warbird members of EAA had a chance to stretch their wings over Canada June 21 and 22, at the first annual Hamilton (Ontario) International Airshow. The Canadian Warplane Heritage foundation hosted the 26 SEPTEMBER 1975
fly-in and about 25 Warbird aircraft participated during the two days of sunshine and warm summer weather. General air show chairman was Bill McBride. Coordinating Warbirds of America participation was Dennis Bradley, president of the Canadian Warplane Heritage. Dennis estimated that between 50,000 and 60,000 spectators came out to see the show. Operational World War II aircraft were the center of attention, but there were also a good many interesting displays in the hangars, including several Heritage aircraft in various stages of reconstruction. Among the goodies tucked away in the workshop are a Seafire XV, about 2/3rd completed, and one of the fast Spitfire Mark XIX photo recon aircraft with plenty of work left to do. A B-25 restoration project is well along, and several other projects are in the works. Just over
the horizon, hopefully, not too far in the future, is a possible Hawker Hurricane project, reports Dennis Bradley. In addition to the aircraft on display, several beautifully restored automobiles, including an 8-Liter Bently straight-eight were on display, courtesy of the Craven Foundation. That organization maintains an antique automobile museum and restoration center in Toronto, which is really a story in itself.
Motorcycle buffs were treated to the sight of several old classics in fine condition. The group included a full dress Indian Chief, complete with vintage 4-cylinder,
in-line engine and bright red paint scheme. Airshow performances began at 13:00 hours and continued past 16:00 both days. The show included a great variety of air action, with 25 separate program events. Scene of the action was the Hamilton Civic Airport. The field is located at Mount Hope, Ontario, just a few miles from Hamilton. Hamilton itself is located at the western tip of Lake Ontario. A city of over 300,000 population, it is an industrial center of steel mills and auto manufacturing plants. From Hamilton it is only an hour's drive along the lakeshore to either Toronto to the northeast or Niagara Falls to the southeast. EAA members who are not acquainted with the Canadian Warplane Heritage should know that it is a nonprofit organization set up to find, restore and maintain (in flying condition) various types of training and combat
Warbirds of America President Don Plumb makes a steep rolling pullup in his beautiful P-40 during the afternoon airshow.
The Heritage's Firefly flashes through the hazy afternoon sky with EAA President Paul Poberezny in hot pursuit in the P-64.
SPORT AVIATION 27
aircraft flown by Canadians during and after World War II. It has foundation status with the Canadian government and all funds received through donations, air show fees, etc., are used to further the objectives of the Heritage. Donations are tax deductible. Every member is a volunteer and nobody receives remuneration. Annual membership dues are $100.00. Among the pilots and aircraft participating in the show were these: A B-25 flown by Dr. A. R. Crosby P-38 flown by past Warbird President Bill Ross Two P-40's flown by current Warbird President Don Plumb and by Tom Camp Seven P-51's flown by Dr. Burns Byram, Tom Wood, Jack Shaver, Don Plumb, Max Ramsey, Steve Hinton and Gary McCann Three FM-2 Wildcats flown by Rudy Frasca, Dr. Fred Edison and Pete Parish F6F-5 Hellcat flown by Jim Maloney Four F8 Bearcats flown by Gunther Balz, John Gury, Harold Beal and Chub Smith Two FG1-D Corsairs flown by Canadian Warplane Heritage President Dennis Bradley and by Al Sheavs P-64 flown by EAA President Paul Poberezny Firefly owned by the Heritage
Jim Maloney's F6F-5 Hellcat pulls into formation with a gaggle of FM-2 Wildcats flown by, from left, Dr. Fred Edison, Rudy Frasca and Pete Parish.
Among the training types seen at the show were these: T-28 flown by George Enhorning Nine Harvards or T-6's including those piloted by Bob Arend, Bob Small and others Two Stearmans flown by Ed Coleman and Bill McBride A one-of-a-kind Fleet 21 owned by Falls Aviation A Fiat Scale replicas of WWI SE-5 and Newport aircraft flown by members of the Ontario Aviation Historical Association
This first annual Hamilton International Airshow was very well received in the area and generated a lot of favorable comment. The Heritage has received quite a few letters of appreciation from folks who came out to watch the show. The planning committee is already looking ahead to next year, and so are the Warbird members who attended this outstanding first airshow at Hamilton.
The unmistakable silhouette of Bill Boss' super-clean P-38 in the Canadian sky. 28 SEPTEMBER 1975
The Harvard Demonstration Team makes precision formation flying look easy.
First Flight Procedures *'
6/47S2C
By L. D. Sunderland Editor T-18 Newsletter
Designee 66 5 Griffin Dr. Apalachin, New York 13732
J. HAT LONG AWAITED day has finally arrived and your brand new shiny airplane is ready to go. The inspector has signed it off declaring it ready for the first test flight. Unless you are a very callous individual, you are sure to pause and wonder how you can pull this off without putting a scratch on your new creation. First
flight reports appearing in SPORT AVIATION
indicate
that there is a rather high probability that something will go wrong. Indeed, some reports give hair-raising stories of how nearly everything goes wrong.
avail himself of the services of EAA designees or other experienced builders. Depending upon the inspector's particular background and experience, his inspections will vary on emphasis and comprehensiveness. He cannot catch everything that will cause in-flight problems
since every critical part of the powerplant and fuel system is not accessible to visual inspection. Furthermore, he probably is not qualified, nor is he required to evalu-
first flights, I have developed a set of procedures for pre-
ate the structural integrity or aerodynamic qualities of a new or modified design. The very best procedure is to swallow your pride and seek all the outside consulting and inspection assistance you can get. Remember, the wisest teacher of all
paring for and making the initial test flight of an air-
times said that we can be greater than the greatest man
craft which permits the test pilot to avoid most of the
who ever lived if we will just humble ourselves. This is
commonly experienced problems. I regularly receive reports from happy T-18 pilots who followed these procedures and made uneventful first flights. They are presented here in the hope that other builders will see fit
particularly good advice when applied to seeking outside assistance on your project. It brings us to the first of a number of rules which, if followed, will help make that first flight a happy event.
Having flight tested several new aircraft and talked or corresponded with over 100 T-18 builders who made
to follow them and reduce the number of close shaves, accidents and fatalities. When the FAA inspector approves an aircraft for the first flight, it doesn't mean that he has performed some stroke of magic to heal all its hidden ills. Sometimes he is able to detect significant safety discrepancies, especially if the builder is not able or does not choose to
Rule No. 1
Ask at least two qualified persons to independently inspect your completely ready-to-fly aircraft using the EAA inspection check list as a guide.
Have them review in detail the weight and balance SPORT AVIATION 29
calculations. The builder should also go through this formal check list inspection, but he is too close to the project and too occupied with the big things to notice the seemingly little things which have a way of growing at the wrong time. After the inspections are completed, you are still a long way from being prepared for the first test flight. Some inspectors ask to see the first flight made right on the spot after their inspection. This is not a wise procedure and is responsible for rushing builders into first flights unprepared. The FAA cannot require an immediate first flight. Only the test pilot should decide when to
Rule No. 5
Select a qualified pilot. If you are not an experienced pilot in the same type of aircraft being tested, find a qualified pilot to do the initial testing. The first flight of a new aircraft should not be a pilot proficiency training flight. All of the pilot's attention should be devoted to the aircraft, not to worrying about whether he will bounce on landing or ground loop on roll out.
fly.
As an example, a T-18 builder was asked after final inspection to take it around the pattern once. He obediently took off without high-speed taxi tests or lift-offs. He then attempted a landing without feeling out the airplane and checking its stall characteristics. As a result of what he later discovered was a 40 mph error on his airspeed indicator, he made a sizzling 120 mph approach and overran the short strip narrowly avoiding an accident. This brings us to another good rule. Rule No. 2
Don't rush into the first flight. Make sure the aircraft is prepared, the pilot is prepared, the weather is right and the airport is right. Many, and perhaps most, first flight problems are associated with the fuel system. The majority of these could be averted through proper ground tests and by following long established fuel system design principles. If a fuel flow test has been neglected in the rush before final inspection, do not fly without performing one in accordance with the requirements of your engine. A Flight Test Report Guide found in CAM3 and the newer FAR23 outline the fuel flow requirements for normal utility and aerobatic category aircraft. Therefore, the next rule should be: Rule No. 3
Run fuel flow tests and full power tests before flying. As a final check, place the airplane in an attitude which exceeds the attitude in a steady state climb and, with a nearly empty tank, run the engine for at least 3 minutes at full throttle. This would be sufficient time to get you enough altitude to make it back onto the airport. There is usually some sort of ditch or steep bank around the airport where this test can conveniently be run. Fuel flow tests, however, will not prevent fuel starvation due to a clogged or ruptured line, failed fuel pump or inadequate vent. Never fly an airplane without a finger strainer in each tank. Make sure air vents are adequate and place screens over them to prevent bees from clogging them. Rule No. 4 Select an adequate airport for conducting taxi tests
and the first flight. An airport should be selected which has runways sufficiently long to permit short lift-offs with a comfortable amount of space remaining for stopping. The surface should be reasonably smooth so the pilot will not get unwanted disturbances when he is checking handling characteristics and stability during high speed taxi tests. Relatively calm wind conditions should exist for the same reason. Select an airport with emergency landing
space nearby rather than one in a congested area. Test flights are not air shows to be enjoyed by enthusiasts . . . such as these two at Oshkosh. 30 SEPTEMBER 1975
Will Tetrault of the Rochester, NY GADO just after O.K.ing the author's T-18 for its first flight.
Rule No. 6
The pilot should perform taxi tests until he feels comfortable with ground handling of the aircraft. He should gradually increase speed on successive runs observing the indicated airspeed where the tail wheel or the nose wheel can be lifted off. If several highspeed taxi runs are made without lift-off, it will check the nose or tail wheel for shimmy, the airspeed indicator, longitudinal control, function of the fuel system, main gear relative to eg location, brakes and even structural integrity of the landing gear. If there is any question about the accuracy of the airspeed indication system, it is a simple matter to check it against an automobile speedometer which has been checked over a measured course.
The June Designee Newsletter gives excellent instructions on how to calibrate the airspeed indicator. Anyone can calibrate one with a 6 foot long piece of clear flexible plastic tubing, a yardstick and some water. Connect the hose to the inlet of the instrument and tape the tubing to the yardstick. Partially fill the tubing with water, orient the yardstick vertically and raise the open
proximations but are quite realistic for most fixed pitch propeller aircraft.
end of the tubing trapping the water in the U-shaped bend. Measure the difference in water level in the two sides of the U. Compute indicated airspeed according to the formula: IAS = 45.lVh where h is differential water level in inches. If this test is made with the airspeed indicator installed in the airplane and the plastic tubing connected
Rated Engine Power
TABLE I
Percent of
Percent of
Max. Rated RPM
91 84 79 73
75 60 50 40
to the pitot tube, it will check the pitot line for leaks. The static line should also be checked for leaks. But a statically calibrated airspeed indicator can give grossly erroneous readings during flight depending upon the particular pitot-static system. For instance, some builders who located the pitot-static head ahead of the wing
rather than above the fin on the T-18 reported a near zero reading at stall. Rule No. 7
Make lift-offs and low flights straight down the runway. Gradually increase speed until the main wheels can
be lifted just off the runway, then cut power and land. Repeat the short lift-offs several times and then try holding the aircraft just off the runway for a short distance. When you have accomplished this without problems, you are ready to go. Rule No. 8
Stay over the airport for the first five hours.
Even on a tower controlled airport, it is usually possible to obtain permission to fly within gliding distance of the field. This is just good common sense since there is no better place to make an emergency landing than on a nice long runway. Here is an example of how this practice would have saved one brand new homebuilt: The operating limitations read, "remain over the airport for six hours". One short flight had been made on the new Woody Pusher when another pilot said he would try some fast taxi runs. On the second run, the aircraft took off and climbed straight away from the airport. Suddenly it made a 180° turn and headed back toward the airport gradually losing altitude. It ended up landing in the city dump just a quarter mile from the runway. Photographs of the damaged aircraft appearing in the local newspaper showed the gas cap installed with the air vent pointing aft. During a Designee inspection, it had been pointed out to the owner that this cap should be interlocked to prevent improper installation. Rule No. 9 Explore low speed handling qualities. Once your airplane is airborne, it is only necessary to make turns and land. To accomplish these maneuvers safely, it is wise to determine how the aircraft performs
near stall. Make some gentle turns and approaches to a stall. Observe the aircraft attitude and the indicated airspeed where buffeting begins. There is usually some problem to concern the pilot such as high oil temperature or improper trim, so there might not be time to perform other maneuvers, but don't
So, to determine the engine RPM for 15r/i cruise power, take 91^ of maximum level flight RPM. This is why we are told to reduce engine speed by about 200 RPM to obtain cruise RPM. Maximum range occurs at approximately 40% power, a very appropriate number to remember in this age of diminishing energy supplies. Even if you are testing a well proven design and everything appears to be functioning normally, treat the first flight seriously and avoid unnecessary risks
such as aerobatics or low altitude passes. A first flight is not an air show. Spectators invite exhibitions and put pressure on the pilot which might cause them to act hastily. Save the crowd for a later flight. When you make your approach, keep it high with
plenty of airspeed margin. Use the old guideline that glide speed should be 1.5 times the power off stall speed (Vs). This holds true for most airplanes. (Maximum rate of climb also usually occurs at 1.5 Vs while maximum angle of climb is 1.4 Vs.) Touchdown should be a piece of cake since you have already gained experience with that maneuver during fast taxi tests and lift-offs. If you have followed these nine simple rules, chances are very good that you will be able to pull up to the ramp with an ear-to-ear grin on your face. First flights are the greatest thrill in the world only when they end with a smile.
OSHKOSH DATES 1976 JULY 31 -AUGUSTS, 1976
START MAKING PLANS TODAY!
fail to explore the low speed flight regime at a safe altitude. As a minimum, try to obtain status information on the powerplant. A guide for establishing engine speed settings at various power levels is given in Table I. These are apSPORT AVIATION 31
A SIMPLE ANGLE OF ATTACK SENSING SYSTEM USING A PHOTO-ELECTRIC PRINCIPLE By William E. Brown (EAA 10669) 1806 S. Mission Rd. Wichita, Kansas 67207 INTRODUCTION
This article describes an instrument aid, "A Simple Angle of Attack Sensing System Using a Photo-
Electric Principle." This device is 1. Aerodynamic Vane
intended to provide angle of attack
data as an aid in the control of aircraft where a simple, reliable system is required to measure the relative angle of flow past a body or vehicle in motion through a fluid or atmosphere. GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This instrument aid consists of a system of components, which, together sense a relative angle of flow past a sensing device, provide an electrical current proportional to the flow angle and provide a display
of the measured angle. This system includes the following components
Electrical 4 Components
which are shown in Figure 1.
1. Aerodynamic Vane — The aerodynamic vanes are immersed in the fluid flow and are free to move so as to always be aligned with the fluid flow within the limits of the
unit. The vanes are inertially balanced so as not to be influenced by accelerations of the vehicle perpendicular to the fluid flow. 2. Flow Sensing Head — The flow sensing head contains the pivoting mounting shaft of the aerodynamic vanes as well as the internal photoelectric sensing elements which provide an electrical current signal which is proportional to the angular position of the aerodynamic vane. The details of the flow sensing head are described in a later section of this article.
Meter 5 Display
6. Wiring
FIG. 1 SYSTEM COMPONENTS
3. Mounting Boom — The mounting boom provides for the proper
positioning of the flow sensing head in relation to the vehicle. 4. Electrical Components — Electrical components for the regulation of voltages and for the electrical matching of the components are grouped together in a common mounting. 5. Meter Display — An electrical current ammeter, suitably marked in angular angle of attack units, is used to display the sensed flow angle. 32 SEPTEMBER 1975
6. Wiring — Electrical wiring connects the elements of the system
electrically. INSTALLATION
The entire system is mounted on the vehicle in a manner such that the flow sensing head is positioned in the fluid flow for proper measurement of the flow angle. The compon-
ents are mounted in a convenient place in the vehicle and are provided with a suitable direct current electrical source. A typical installation on a light aircraft is shown in Figure 2. FLOW SENSING HEAD
The flow sensing head internal details are shown in Figure 3. The
Aerodynamic Vane
head is of tubular construction and contains in the forward end a light source and further aft a photoelectrical cell whose electrical resistance varies inversely with the light impinged upon it. The pivoting mounting shaft of the aerodynamic vanes pierces the sensing head between the light source and the photoelectric cell. A shutter is affixed to this shaft and moves so as to modulate the amount of light reaching the photo-electric cell so that the light reaching the photo-electric cell is proportional to the angle of the aerodynamic vanes. The vanes and shutter geometries are arranged such that a m a x i m u m amount of light reaches the photo-electric cell at the one extreme of angular vane motion and a minimum at the other extreme.
Aerodynamic Vane Instrument
Panel Mounted
Lignl Sou
Meler Display
Electrical Components
Behind Panel
PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
The flow sensing head is positioned so that the aerodynamic vanes are immersed in the fluid flow past the vehicle. The aerodynamic forces cause the vanes to align themselves with the relative fluid flow in the vicinity of the flow sensing head. This causes the shutter to modulate the amount of light reaching the photo-electric cell to be proportional to the relative angular position of the vane between the extreme angular position limits of the vanes. The photo-electric cell electrical characteristics are such that the resistance is inversely proportional to the light reaching the cell. This functions to vary the electrical current flowing through the cell in a manner proportional to the light reaching the cell when an electrical voltage is applied to the photo-electric cell. The electrical source voltage for the light and the photo-electric cell is regulated by a suitable device such as a zener diode/resistor combination so that variations in electrical power supply voltage do not influence the device. A simple electrical current ammeter is used to measure the current flowing through the photo-electrical cell, and is marked to show the angular position of the vane corresponding to the current values associated with the angular positions. The electrical components are chosen so that the maximum current on the ammeter corresponds with the extreme vane travel limit associated with the maximum light reaching the photo-cell. A variable resistance is connected across the ammeter to provide adjustment for minor component variations so that the needle of the ammeter can be adjusted to read maximum when the associated vane
FIG 3 INTERNAL DETAILS — FLOW SENSING HEAD
w E BROWN 11 3073
Switci
1
Flow Sensing Head
1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 i
L.gnt Source ISc
]
/
s^/
Suiter
1
4 Zener
1
""
DC
Power Source
A A A V
1
~
-^—
Piode
*
Res.sto-
———
>
Resistor
*—> xi*,.,,.,,,.
'
^~
—
—
—
<_
1
Res-sior
Eiecuicai Components 1
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^
1
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1
Ammeter Par* Display
1 j
l__
__
__
i 1 ___ '
W E BROWN 112973
FIG «
WIRING SCHEMATIC
limit is reached. A typical electrical schematic is shown in Figure 4. MAJOR BENEFITS
The major benefit of the system described is the result of the photoelectric sensing principle. This principle allows sensing of the vane position without producing forces on the vane which could influence its behavior or position. As a result the vanes motion is entirely influenced
by the aerodynamic forces. Since the sensing involves no moving parts, aside from the vane and shutter, an extremely simple system is achieved which can be built at low cost and with high reliability. The direct sensing of angle of attack has been shown to be of great value as a pilot instrument display aid for the control of aircraft as well as in providing an input to automatic control devices for aircraft, missiles and other vehicles. SPORT AVIATION 33
A COMPARISON OF TWO PLACE FIXED WING/GYROPLANE/ HELICOPTER AIRCRAFT
By Martin Hollmann (EAA 77760) 7917 Festival Court Cupertino, California 95014
10 Scale
COMPARISON OF like aircraft such as a Pazmany PL-2 to a Cessna 150, two fixed wing, two place aircraft, is quite easy to make. However, comparing unlike aircraft such as a helicopter to a fixed wing aircraft, is like comparing apples to pears. Each type of aircraft, fixed wing, gyroplane, and helicopter, derives its means of lift and control in a somewhat different manner. Subsequently, their structure, mechanical complexity, maneuverability, and performance are substantially different such that each aircraft can best meet a specific set of requirements. It will, therefore, be my intent to first note what specific requirements are commonly met by each aircraft, and secondly, it will be interesting to see for what price, e.g. rate of climb, fuel consumption, range, maximum speed, mechanical complexity, if any, these requirements are satisfied. For the sake of simplicity and practicality this trade study is made for good performing, general aviation type, two place aircraft representing current "state of the art" technology. For a typical two place fixed wing aircraft, the performance and specifications of the PL-2 are given. See Ref. 1. The helicopter data is given for the Hughes 269A as shown in Ref. 2. While the gyroplane data is calculated per Ref. 3. Several two place gyroplanes such
as the Air and Space Model ISA and the McCulloch J-2 are currently on the market. However, each aircraft has at least one functional problem which could have been readily solved had the problem been noted early in its development. The rotor, for example, on the McCulloch
J-2 is too small such that the aircraft will not "jump 34 SEPTEMBER 1975
15
20
start" and its performance which, as will be shown, is somewhat different than for any other type of aircraft. The large cockpit profile of the Air and Space Model ISA limits this aircraft's directional stability and has necessitated several redesigns of the vertical stabilizers. The gyroplane data presented herein is data that can be expected for an optimum designed aircraft. FIXED WING, TWO PLACE AIRCRAFT
Primary Purpose: Sport flying and pilot training. More people have learned to fly in a. two place fixed wing aircraft, such as the PL-2 or Cessna 150, than in any other type of general aviation type of aircraft. Advantages: Most efficient form of flying when considering power required for payload carried. Fuel consumption is about half that of a properly designed com-
parable rotary wing aircraft and good performance can be expected as shown in F-4. Limitations: Must operate from an airfield. Long take-off and landing run and high take-off and landing speeds. Poor maneuverability in the horizontal plane. A
180 degree turn requires about 30 seconds and a 400 foot radius. While a 180 degree turn in a helicopter or gyroplane requires about 5 seconds and a radius of less than
30 feet. Limited visibility since the wing will always present a blind spot. This has been the cause of many midair collisions. Aircraft can stall and spin. Large wing
span, 28 feet, makes it difficult to store and transport.
TWO PLACE GYROPLANE
Primary Purpose: Sport flying, pilot training, aerial photography and surveillance. Without exception, every person whom I have talked to, in the past six years, who has flown both a post WW II gyroplane and fixed wing aircraft, agrees with me that the gyroplane is the most enjoyable aircraft to fly. This enjoyment from flying comes from the ease of piloting this type of aircraft and from its
high degree of maneuverability in the horizontal plane. Its high maneuverability and almost unlimited cockpit visibility make the gyroplane an ideal aircraft for aerial photography and surveillance work. Advantages: Safest form of flying. Aircraft wiH not stall or spin and unlike the helicopter, is typically landed power off from all altitudes. Aircraft can take-off from small clearing. Easier to fly than fixed wing aircraft or
helicopter. Small structural size. High maneuverability. Simple structure and fewer moving parts than the helicopter which reduces operating and maintenance costs to one third of that of the helicopter. Limitatons: Poor performance limits service ceiling.
High fuel consumption and a low rate of climb. Moving rotor presents a hazard to people during take-off and landing.
F-4 COMPARISON OF AIRCRAFT DATA
Weight: Empty Fuel Oil Pilot & passenger Gross Engine Power:
Primary Purpose: Only aircraft that mets the re-
quirements of a "sky hook". Used for rescue operations and surveillance. Advantages: Can take-off and land vertically. Small structural size and good cockpit visibility. Highly maneuverable in all places. Limitations: Poor performance limits service ceiling. High fuel consumption and low cruise speeds. Rotor
Gyroplane
900 Ibs. 150 Ibs. 15 Ibs.
900 Ibs. 180 Ibs.
15 Ibs.
15 Ibs.
435 Ibs.
455 Ibs.
488 Ibs.
1.500 Ibs.
1,550 Ibs.
1.550 Ibs.
135 hp at 2600 rpm
180 hp at 2700 rpm
2700 rpm
6.5 gph
9 gph
11 gph
Performance*: Fuel consumption at V
TWO PLACE HELICOPTER
w
V
Helicopter
Fixed Wing Pazmany PL-2
Mughes 269A
867 Ibs. 180 Ibs.
180 hp at
cruise
cruise
130 mph
95 mph
85 mph
max
148 mph
110 mph
90 mph
62 mph
28 mph
450 mi 1.500 fpm
280 mi 800 fpm
200 mi 1.450 fpm
$12,000
$14,000
$35,000
u .
mm
Range Rate of climb Price:
*Sea level, standard air
presents hazard to people. High initial costs, high operating and maintenance costs. Many moving parts. Considerable skill is required to operate a helicopter which requires the constant attention of the pilot. Both hands
and feet are needed to manipulate controls. While in a gyroplane only the control stick is manipulated and the rudder is normally not used in flight.
REFERENCES:
1. "The Pazmany PL-2", (San Diego, Ca.: Pazmany Aircraft Corp.) 2. Dzik, Stanley J., "Helicopter Design Data Book" (Milwaukee, Wis.: Hector Cervantes, Inc., 1965) 3. Hollmann, M., "Gyroplane Performance Calculations and Trends", SPORT AVIATION (Hales Corners,
At first glance at F-4, it is seen that the fixed wing aircraft is superior for cross-country flight for which high cruise speed, low fuel consumption and long range are vital. However, when a zero take-off and landing run is required, obviously a rotary wing aircraft is needed. It is also interesting to note that, although the gyroplane's performance is generally better than that of the helicopter, its rate of climb is almost one half of that of the helicopter. However, the advantages of low cost, mechanical simplicity, ease of piloting, and the safe flying characteristics of the gyroplane in comparison to the helicopter, guarantees this aircraft a useful role not only as a real sport aircraft but as a utility aircraft which will
perform many of the functions for which the helicopter is presently being used.
Wis., May 1975)
SPORT AVIATION 35
By William Y. Miller EAA 7908
Bill Miller in his WMII, the "poor man's U-2." Note the larger horizontal tail.
1838 W. Tremont St. Allentown, PA 18104 (Photos Courtesy the Author)
no bad nose-over tendencies; however, this near aft limit C.G. caused pitch problems. If rough air caused the nose to pitch up or down and I was flying hands-on the stick (holding the stick firmly into position), the
HEN MY SON, Terry, and I originally planned the Miller Sport, (Poor Man's U-2, SPORT AVIATION May 1973), we tried to design for it the smallest, lightest and simplest horizontal tail possible. A one piece all flying tail with a positive cambered airfoil and without a servo to return the movement was decided upon. An adjustable bungee trim spring was attached to the elevator horn to pull the trailing edge down as increased air flow over the cambered airfoil pulled the leading edge down. As the speed decreased the spring was to pitch the plane nose down thus increasing the plane speed. Once the ship was trimmed to the pilot weight,
plane would remain fairly stable, BUT if I was enjoying hands-off the stick flying and rough air was encountered, the nose would pitch either up or down and whichever way it started pitching, it would just get worse instead of returning to its original flight path after a couple of oscillations. To me, this is unstable flight — so back to the drawing board for a winter re-building project. A new tail was designed to provide stability in rough air. Stabilizer-elevator configuration was selected because we wanted anti-gust dampening but didn't need greater area for maneuverability. The total area of the tail was increased to 12.85% of the wing area.
it was supposed to stay in trim at any speed flown. The idea was good and speedwise it really worked; however, other problems arose that the homebuilder should
(See the photo comparison of the two tails.) The stabilizer area was 55% and the elevator was 45% of the total tail area. It was to be a quick change attachment (like used on sailplanes) which would require mini-
be told about. More on that later. The size of the tail was to give sufficient lift to stall the aircraft in ground effect and provide all maneuver-
ing requirements. To do this a tail area 9.4% of the wing area (144 sq. ft.) was used on the prototype. After flying the prototype 200 hours and enjoying its many types of sport flying, I noted some problems with the one piece tail which I felt could be improved. Because of the location of the folding landing gear on the front face of the main wing spar, a C.G. of about 30% was used to make the ground handling good. Applying brakes and landing on soft fields resulted in 36 SEPTEMBER 1975
mum fuselage modifications. My design made the change possible without altering any of the existing fuselage structure, which I thought was quite an accomplishment. See the photos of the old vs new tail as you read the next paragraph. The original bolt holes in the fuselage that held the hinge bracket for the all-flying tail now are used to hold the rear brackets for the stabilizer spar. The stabilizer leading edge spar, at the root rib, is attached to the fuselage with two % inch bolts that slip into selfaligning uniball fittings. This attachment of the sta-
bilizer allowed me to use the same bracket of the old elevator throw walking beam for the new, but slightly longer walking beam. The beam had to be lengthened to allow for more throw on the new elevator as compared to the throw on the all-flying tail. A short strake of bent aluminum was added to both sides of the fuselage to cover the uniball fittings. I think it looks pretty sharp. After 75 hours of flying with the new tail this is what I have learned and offer it for what it is worth: 1. Although a one piece (non-servo) tail can be built simpler, smaller and lighter than a two piece tail
and still provide the necessary maneuverability required to fly the plane, the small tail will not provide sufficient
stability in rough air for good flying qualities. 2. In order to get sufficient stability in rough air I had to increase the area of the tail about Mt more than was needed for just maneuvering the plane. Flight testing the bird with its new tail has left me well satisfied. I now feel that the plans, which have been ready for months, can be offered to the public. At red
line smooth air speed of 150 mph, no flutter could be induced and when it was flown in fairly rough air at 120 mph the plane held its pitch without even holding
"Lrm
the stick. I now consider the plane stable; however, I have limited rough air speed to 100 mph. All of the old
statistics for the plane still hold true, i.e. stall is 42 mph with good tail buffeting for warning. Slow cruise at 1600 rpm is 80 mph burning a bit less than 2 gph.
Try to beat that for saving gasoline! 75% power at 2150 rpm (4 gph) trues out at 120 mph. Initial rate of climb is 1100 fpm and at 15,500 it is still climbing 500 fpm. Soaring with the propeller stopped is at 55 to 60 mph
and the L/D is somewhere in the 19 to 1 range. To restart, I just tilt the nose down and at 90 mph the prop windmills. I snap on the mags and I'm with power again.
Of the 275 hours on the prototype N-24832, at least 40 hours have been logged (engine off) just soaring. FUN FLYING . . . that's why I called it a Sport Plane, yet 120 mph cross country isn't too bad, is it? The author, Bnl Miner, ana trie oid tail, left, ana the new version for his Miller Sport.
This Temco Buckaroo is owned by Representative Dale Milford (EAA 52917) of Texas who has been taking a forthright stand on the floor of Congress against the Administration's proposed new user charges. It's good to know we have a sport pilot in Congress.
SPORT AVIATION 37
What Our Members
Almost everyday EAA Headquarters receives pictures of still another beautiful Starduster Too. This one was recently completed by Jerry St. Andre (EAA 62055), Kings River Chapter 376, 6312 N. Callisch, Fresno, California 93710. It is powered by a new Lycoming 0-360 equipped with a Hartzell C/S prop. Empty weight is 1235 Ibs. Jerry is an agronomist with the University of California. He says he had to learn a number of skills to complete the Starduster but more importantly, the project taught him patience and humility. "One more Fly Baby in the air," says T. A. Reagan (EAA 60358), 15930 Indiana No. 8, Paramount, California 90723. First flight was in March after 4 years construction time. Powered by a Continental A-65. The "GM" in the N-number is for his very patient wife, Geneva Maye.
Cecil Ogles (EAA
21280, Century
Club 82), 448 C Ave., Coronado, Calif. 92118, left, has the answer to project hauling in this day and age of the compact car (and truck). He has an entire Piper Vagabond on and in this Chevy Luv. Cecil has no less than 5 Vagabonds and heads up a national Vagabond Club. He prints a newsletter, the Vag News. If interested, contact him at the above address.
38 SEPTEMBER 1975
Bob Brashear (EAA 37166), Rt. 5, Box 1118, Waco. Texas 76705 and his wife Catherine completely rebuilt this 1947 Cessna 140 from spinner to tail, doing all the work themselves. Bob is a past president of Chapter 59 in Waco and has rebuilt several other aircraft in addition to the 140.
A lot of homebuilders, particularly those constructing wood aircraft, are thought by their neighbors to be building a boat. Dr. Jacques Fanucci (EAA 84024), 35, Langford Road, Westville, Natal, South Africa has a worse time than most convincing folks that his project is an airplane . . . a Spratt Controlwing, in fact. This shot was taken last year and the bird should be nearing completion by now. We hope to have pictures and a story on this interesting machine in a future issue.
After an overly long period of gestation, a few Stephens Akros are showing up at fly-ins around the country. This black and orange beauty belongs to Chuck Wentworth (EAA 40382), P.O. Box 385, Hesperia, California 93345. The picture was taken at the Corona, California fly-in in early May. (Photo by Jack Cox)
THE INFLUENCE OF WEIGHT ON MAXIMUM CRUISE SPEED By Tom Jewett (EAA 61986) 472 E. Lancaster Blvd. Lancaster, Calif. 93534
AIRCRAFT'S CRUISE speed has always been of prime importance to a prospective owner and/or builder. There are many factors that influence this parameter. Factors having a significant effect upon aircraft cruise speed include horsepower, size and shape, and the Public Relations Department. Conversely, cruise prop efficiency, sweptback vertical tails, new paint schemes, and weight have little or no effect on cruise performance. I would like to zero in on the last factor-weight, because it is one that is often misunderstood. Basically, for the following class of aircraft WEIGHT HAS A NEGLIGIBLE EFFECT ON CRUISE SPEED: 1. Wing loading less than 15 lb./ft.2. 2. Cruise speed over 150 mph. 3. Aspect Ratio of wing greater than 5. Why is this so? Because weight affects only the induced drag component of the total aircraft drag. Induced drag is a measure of how hard the wing is working to support the aircraft. At the high speed, Ig condition, the fast flowing air allows the wing to loaf. Therefore, it follows that increasing the weight some would still not make the wing work very hard. As a result, induced drag is low at high speeds and is not appreciably influenced by weight. Figure 1 illustrates a more technical approach to the same argument. A power required curve is shown for a ficticious aircraft at two different weights. The aircraft was sized and shaped to represent a VariEze or a KR-2 although the results would apply to a Thorp T-18, Smyth Sidewinder, BD-5, etc. As can be seen from the curves, for a 160 mph cruise speed, adding 125 lbs. of weight (equivalent to increasing the empty weight by about 30%!) reduces the cruise speed
40 SEPTEMBER 1975
by only 2% mph which is less than 2%. Note also that above 200 mph the difference becomes nearly unreadable. If you would like to prove this point for yourself, try
the following elementary flight test task. Some sunny morning, go out to the airport early, take off at a light weight, and climb until you find smooth air, probably around 5000 ft. AGL. Set up the power for maximum cruise speed and hold altitude and power setting constant for at least 3 minutes after the airspeed has stabilized. Note the IAS. Back on the ground, determine your TAS for the point. Next, load your wife or girl friend into the right seat and onload fuel and baggage until the aircraft is at maximum gross weight. Then repeat the test at the same conditions: i.e. same altitude and power setting, smooth air, and airspeed stabilized for at least 3 minutes. Again note the IAS and convert it to a TAS once you're on the ground. If you have done the test accurately, you will not notice much difference in the two airspeeds, certainly not over 3 mph. Although weight may not affect cruise speed much, it does adversely affect most other performance parameters; stall speed and takeoff and landing distances increase; range, rate-of-climb, and service ceiling decrease; and generally there is a deterioration in structural integrity, handling qualities, and stability margins. So, there are many excellent reasons to keep any aircraft light, but cruise speed is not one of them. Now you can put the aspirin back in the bottle and discontinue that crash diet; your 550 lb. KR-2 will still go as fast as a 425 lb. version. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Jewett is a graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. In addition, he holds a CFII certificate and averages about 5 hours of flight instruction a week. Presently he is a Flight Test Engineer for Rockwell, assigned to Edwards Air Force Base and working on the B-l bomber program. He was formerly the Project Engineer on the BD-5J air show team aircraft and was with the company through the construction of the first three jets.
A Deat
John By Mel Lamb (EAA 78509) 7338 Toft St. Merrillville, IN 46410 (Photos by the Author)
N,
O VEMBER 1973: Dear John: Enclosed is a check for $75.00. Please send one set of plans for a Sonerai II. Thanks, Mel Lamb
The Sonerai goes belly up ... but only for the application of fabric.
A "Dear John" letter normally means trouble, but in this case it was the start to a trail of happiness, enjoyment, hard work, frustration, aggravation, fun, laughter, excitement, patience, and, finally, the thrill of flying my first homebuilt airplane. Many before me, with far greater aeronautical knowledge, have written on how to select an airplane to build. I don't know the answer, but I will try and relate why I decided to build a Sonerai II and how I accomplished it. It all started on Valentine's Day 1973 when a friend of mine bought a wrecked PA-12 Super Cruiser, and I volunteered to help him rebuild it. Unknown to me, he belonged to an organization called the EAA . . . so he has his religion, I have mine. We finished and test flew the PA-12 on July 4, 1973. Frank mentioned he would like to take the PA-12 to Oshkosh for the EAA Convention but had no way to get it there. Well, being big-hearted (plus given a chance to fly), I again volunteered my services and offered to fly it to Oshkosh. First requirement,
join the EAA so you are one of the bunch. Take-off day arrived clear and beautiful. I loaded wife and daughter into the PA-12 and we were Oshkosh bound. Three hours later Wittman Field — Wow! look at all those planes. The window on the PA-12 was open just a little and that's how the homebuilt bug got in and bit me. How do you know? The symptoms: you thrill at the appealing beauty of each plane, your heart beats faster, and you tingle from head to toe. As my wife and I walked through the acres of homebuilt airplanes, looking at each one, the gears in my head began to grind. If I should
Elevator/aileron mixer detail.
build a plane, which one should I choose? This triggered a number of questions that all builders-to-be must answer, and when you have I don't think you'll have any trouble choosing the right plane for yourself. The questions I asked and answered myself were: What should it
look like? A plane that looks like it is going a 100 mph standing still. Many filled this category. Next, how many seats? It must be two place or more, because always flying alone is no fun, and I like to take a little instruction every once in a while to sharpen my skill. (It's pretty dull at times.) Next, do I want a tandem or side by side? Answer, tandem and a tail dragger. Open or closed cockpit? Closed. Now with the above questions answered the field has been narrowed quite a bit. Next, what about performance? Want it to handle similar to a Cessna 150, Aeronca Champ, etc., because my son, who is a new private pilot, and my daughter, who is interested in becoming one, probably will be flying it. Of course,
Fuel tank details. Note that the fuel filler neck is marked for 100 octane in addition to the information readable on the tank. SPORT AVIATION 41
First fitting of the fiber-glass. John Monnett now offers
a fiber-glass skin for the entire fuselage.
An early trial fitting of the bubble canopy.
economics entered into the picture, also, both for building the plane and operating it after construction. Next, did I want a VFR or IFR plane? VFR will fill the bill. Size also was considered. Since I had never built a plane before, one that was simple to construct was foremost in my mind. Engine was not much of a concern because aircraft or automobile seemed to be doing a good job. The last thing was, a plane I could build quickly yet be a sound one. Sitting around the campfire that evening, I shared my thoughts with others of our EAA chapter and they suggested I take a look at the Sonerai designed by John Monnett. So I did, plus some others. Then all too soon the show was over. Back home and time to think. I dismissed the whole idea of building an airplane, but deep back in my mind there seemed to lodge the word Sonerai II. August and September flew by, airplane forgotten (almost), but one October morning just out of the clear blue sky my wonderful wife said, "If you want to build an airplane, why don't you, you're not going to live forever." That statement was almost as thrilling as my first flight.
Guess what? Out of the cobwebs of my little brain jumped Sonerai II: looks like it is going 100 mph standing still, tail dragger, two place, easy to handle, simple straight forward design, Volkswagen powered for economy, many parts formed for ease and speed of construction, basic all metal construction for strength, no complicated parts to be machined, small in size, light in weight, folding wings so it can be trailered, it will almost carry its own weight, stall at 45 mph and cruise at 135 mph on 2'/2 to 3 gallons of gas an hour. Needless to say, the Sonerai II blanked out all other contenders. I called Monnett Experimental Aircraft, "Would you have time to show me the Sonerai II?" You bet they would, was the reply. Date set and camera in hand, we drove to DuPage Airport. Greg Erickson met us, answered all our questions, and arranged the plane any way I wanted it in order to acquire all the pictures that I wanted. This was a great help later on in building the plane . . . when I did not understand something, I brought out the pictures and the answer was usually there. I recommend this for any plane you build, if it is possible. John and Betty Monnett are also great people. They make a fellow feel right at home when you are with them. I ordered the plans and waited for what seemed like an eternity for them (from November to January) because they were still being drawn. February 1st, plans in hand, I spent the next three weeks studying them and reading the builder's manual (this is a great help as it tells you almost step by step how to build the plane). The first paragraph states, "Build a work table 2' by 16'." A 4x8x% sheet of chipboard works perfectly. The complete plane can be laid out and assembled on this work table. Next, off to Flight Line Aircraft Supply with the material list supplied in the drawings to purchase my tubing and hardware, so construction can get started. An order to Monnett Experimental Aircraft for all the preformed parts obtainable at the time, such as cowl, landing gear, wheels, wheel pants, wing kit,
canopy,
etc. If you remember, this was at the time everything was difficult to obtain. I decided to order everything necessary to build the plane at the beginning, rather than wait until it was needed. This was a wise move as many things increased in price over the year, and a few things took almost a year to receive. Next paragraph says, "With the workbench, two pairs of aviation snips and a hacksaw you can build the airplane." I do not doubt this statement, but I found that my table saw, an electric drill, drill press, saber saw, band saw, chalk line, carpenter's square, micrometers, straight edges 18" and 48", 12' and 50' rules, oxy-acetylene welding outfit, pop rivet Seat/control system detail. 42 SEPTEMBER 1975
tool, plus American and metric wrenches and sockets
sure made the job a heck of a lot easier. To give you some idea of the ease of construction, let me give you an example of the first month. February 2, 1974, I built the workbench in two hours. February 7, Jack and I laid out the side of the fuselage on the workbench in three hours. February 8, I ordered tubing, one hour. February 11, I cut tubing, three hours. February 12, I cut tubing, 12 hours. February 14 and 16, I tack welded, 11 hours. February 18 and 19, I cut cross members to fuselage and tack welded in place. Welded fuselage February 22, 23, 25 and 26 for a total of 54 hours in February. The fuselage was laid out, cut and welded ready for our EAA chapter meeting at my house on March 1. It passed the critical eyes of the membership. Boy, did I feel good. I had never welded anything before, so this was a new experience. I must give thanks to a good friend, Corky Thursby, who helped with the welding and was patient with me as I learned, plus let
cap strips are drilled. You can do all of this yourself, but it saves a lot of time because you don't have to run all over buying material plus building jigs to do the work. Back to the builder's manual — how to construct the wings. Draw two rib patterns on the table (left and right), guess what! all ribs are the same size. Neat-o! It says to bend outside rib flange to 90° and flute for straightness and flatness. O.K., where do I get a flute to serenade those crazy ribs? Then Jerry Krill from J & M Aircraft informed me that the fluting was accomplished by a funny
me use his welding equipment. One small tip was discovered, if you place a scrap piece of aluminum under your welding, you can tack weld on the workbench without burning the wood because the aluminum will absorb the heat. The next two weeks were spent in cutting, bending and welding together the tail feathers. It takes just a little longer, but I discovered that by cleaning the tubing and buffing the areas to be welded, it did a nicer job. By the end of April all fittings, controls, throttle linkage, rudder pedals, etc., had been completed and were ready for attaching to the fuselage. Attaching the bushings to make hinges for the elevator, rudder and rudder pedals is something. Many different ways were suggested, but I had less difficulty with John Monnett's suggestion. Take a 10-32 threaded rod and nuts. Remove the threads by drilling from the nuts, slide the bushings on the rod and place a nut on each end. Using masking tape, tape the rod to the tubing. You will find that the nuts will supply a flat surface for easy alignment of the bushings plus provide sufficient space between the bushing and tubing to allow the placement of pins or bolts for attaching control surfaces, etc., later. The month of May was spent in cleaning all welds, tubing, plate stock, putting linseed oil in the tubing and then Glidplating the complete fuselage and tail feathers. Oh yes, one important thing just before painting, my friendly FAA inspector (no jest, he's a great guy) came out and inspected the fuselage and all welds . . . giving a stamp of approval and an A-OK. At this time, I had spent 156 hours on the project. What is next was a surprise: my wife suggested we go on a vacation — and stop the project! She reminded me of spending four miserable, rain-soaked days in Florida sitting in a motel room (and I promised fun in the sun) while I struggled to get my multi-engine ticket. I relented — because something was said to the effect that, "If you like to eat, sleep and have your laundry done, then think 'vacation'.". Well, a vacation is mentioned only to say I did not work on the plane 7 days a week 24 hours a day to complete it in such a short time and only to emphasize the straight-forward construction and ease of assembly. Usually, two hours, two or three nights a week and 4 to 10 hours on Saturday was the average time spent on construction. Sunday was reserved for God and my family. July appeared and with the fuselage ready for cover, it was time to start on the wings. Now where did I store all of the wing parts? Overhead in the garage, down in the basement and in my closet. As mentioned earlier, I purchased a wing kit from Monnett Experimental Aircraft because it included all material necessary to build the wings and ailerons. The main and rear spars plus the ailerons are bent (this helps since an eight foot bend break is difficult to find). The ribs are stamped and the
the aluminum." Careful study of the prints on how to attach the ribs informed me to install the cap strips first. So, what is a cap strip? It is strips of aluminum bar stock of various lengths (with holes drilled one inch apart) that
looking tool similar to a pair of gas pliers, and you crimp
the metal every couple of inches to remove the twist in the ribs. Good thing — my whole project might have gone
down the drain because I can't play a flute. Following the instructions in the manual and on the prints, I managed to get the ribs ready to mount on the spar. Very carefully the main spar was placed on my now carpeted workbench . . . carpeted because everyone said, "Don't scratch
must be attached one on top of another, then riveted to
the main and rear spars to strengthen them, jjlus provide a method to attach the wings to the fuselage. Realizing the importance of this step, the cap strips are installed. (Someone mentioned the wings fall off if you don't
do this.) Reading further it states, "Drill 3M> inch lightening holes in the main spar." I thought this was a VFR plane to fly on sunny days, why do I need lightening
holes? It's my raisin'. I didn't know there was a difference between lighten and lightnin'. Anyway, again following John's instructions, I drilled the lightening holes with no problem using a fly cutter in a drill press, attached the cap strips to the main and rear spars, installed the main spar plates and wing fold tubes. Then, popriveted the wing ribs in place on the main and rear spar. (Be careful not to get a rib in upside down or backwards, it's easy to do.) I stepped back and looked at my work —
doggone, it looks like two wings with no skin. Time to take some pictures again. Time out for Oshkosh. Time does fly; it is now the first of August with another 73 hours work for a total of 229 hours since starting. A decision must be made because the two car garage is full, one stall with the fuselage, and the other with the workbench. Space must be provided for the jig to hold the wing so the skin can be formed, drilled, dimpled (counter sunk), and pop-riveted in place. So with the feeling of pain (mashed my finger), the workbench was torn apart and the 2 x 4's reused to construct the wing jig as the plans show. At this point it is suggested you follow the plans,
builder's manual, and photos to the letter, and you'll have no trouble. Don't take any short cuts. The skinning and finishing of the wing can greatly affect the flying ability of your airplane. In order to hold the wing ribs in the jig, two pieces of pipe l'/2" in diameter and 8' long or better are required. Down to the hardware to purchase a length of pipe. They don't have it and don't know when
they will get any. "Haven't you heard there is a steel shortage?" Stumped, now what do I do? A friend came to the rescue. He works for the local water company and loaned me two ten foot lengths for two weeks. Have to work fast. With wife, son, daughter and friends (the
more hands the better at this point) we started. It was impossible to figure out how to use my two snips and hacksaw to hold the wing skins. I broke down and purchased three dozen Vs" clecos and a pair of skin fastener pliers (these are a must). You will use them many times throughout the remainder of construction. So with the drill in hand and tongue in cheek, I proceeded to drill the first hole through the skin and rib. At this point, it pays SPORT AVIATION 43
to have a body on the back side of the wing to eyeball the drill to be sure you are hitting the center of the rib flange and to buck the drilling with a wooden block. There are approximately 1000 holes to be drilled in each wing. After the holes are drilled, everything must be deburred before you countersink the hole for the pop rivets. To countersink the skin and ribs, you take the flush dimpling tool and place one piece on the back of the aluminum skin with a six penny finish nail protruding through
the drilled hole. Then place the other piece of the tool onto the nail and slide down on the skin from top side, slip the pop rivet gun onto the nail and squeeze; result, one 120° dimple. Now repeat the above 999 more times. You can dimple both the rib and skin together if you wish. I tried it together at first, but the rivets did not seem to set as well as when the ribs and aluminum skin were dimpled separately. This takes a little more time, but it does a smoother job of joining the two together. Remember, before you pop-rivet the wings together, zinc chromate everything inside lightly. Placing the pop rivet is no major job; just be sure the rivet is flush and seated in the dimple before you squeeze it. One-eighth inch cherry N 120° flush head stainless steel rivets were used, riveting each skin diagonally from the top to the bottom at a 45° angle starting from the wing tip and working toward the root end. The top of the wing was completed first then the bottom, but I don't know if it really makes a difference. Thanks must go to my daughter who dunked each rivet in greenish zinc chromate for me. The cherry N rivets were preferred because they have an elongated mandrel preventing it from dropping out once the rivet is squeezed. First of September, and wings are all pop-riveted except for the last 12" on the underside so my friendly FAA man can look inside before closing the wings. He looked, gave an A-O.K. and signed the log. Another milestone reached. The remainder of September and all of October was spent in fitting the wings onto the airplane fuselage. This included aileron hook up, installing lead weight to the aileron tips for balance, putting on the aileron hinges, completing the wing folding mechanism, pitot lines, and installing the wing tips. This added another 69 hours to the project for a total of 345 hours since starting. By this time I had been taking a pretty good ribbing because of installing bicycle training wheels on the landing gear to aid in moving the plane around. November was spent turning the axles, drilling and fitting the brake back plates, installing the brake cables (this machine has mechanical brakes), putting the wheels together, filling the tires with air, cutting, fittings and sanding the wheel pants, and installing the tailwheel spring and tailwheel. Guess the guys were right, the big tires and wheels do make a difference. December 1974, the year is almost gone and it seems I am just getting a good start, but it is beginning to look like an airplane. All that is left is the engine, fitting the cowl, covering and painting. Now begins the difficult
period. I decided I could finish by February 1975 . . . one year to build the plane. A rebuilt short block Type-3 Squareback IGOOcc engine had been ordered from my local VW dealer because brand new VW engines are not obtainable. I asked Jim, the parts manager, if he would watch for an engine with a new case and crankshaft in it because the majority of other parts would be replaced. He said he would . . . and
he did. Jim became interested in the project and volunteered his time to help dismantle and reassemble the engine. He and I did not realize that we would be performing this act three more times in the near future. More on
that later. With the engine dismantled, we put it back together with a new highlift camshaft, replaced the 85.5 44 SEPTEMBER 1975
millimeter pistons and jugs with 88.0 millimeter pistons and jugs, replaced the oil pump with a heavy duty pump and installed a larger oil sump hoping for better oil cooling. It helps, and I would recommend using it on the VW engine if possible. The cowl on the Sonerai is close and tight, and the oil temperature stays at 195° on cruise. With the engine back together, I installed Monnett's conversion to the engine. This task is not difficult if you follow the directions received with the conversion. Read them, and be sure you understand each step before you start. Attaching the conversion to the engine is a critical step. Do not exceed the tolerances stated in the directions. You are headed for difficulties if you do. Engine completed, it was installed on the fuselage. Now the fun was about to start — first problem, mounting bolts W too short; they were a special order — had to reorder — delay. Drill oil sump to install oil temperature bulb. Second mistake, drill the hole before you put oil sump on the engine. It is easier to remove the drill shavings that way. Third mistake, test oil temperature gauge in hot water to be sure it works, and that the sensor cable is long enough. The first gauge was defective and too short. You may find mechanical gauges difficult to obtain, so order early. Fourth mistake, impossible to install gascolator where planned. Required moving. It is now directly coupled to the gas shut off valve. This gives sufficient height to gravity feed the Posa carburetor, plus the complete hook-up can be accomplished with standard aircraft fittings.
At last the engine was complete and the Hegy 52 x 44 propeller proudly attached to the prop hub. Amble over to the corner of the shop where safely stored are two gallons of 100 octane av gas reserved for this moment. The airplane is chained to the garage, wheel chocks in place, switch on, CLEAR, CONTACT . . . contact . . . cont-a-c-t. Sometime later and one sore arm from propping, mistake number five is discovered. The magneto is firing on plugs 1 and 4 only and not 2 or 3. This can't be — I sparked it out before installing it, but it is. After two days of calling and reading about how a magneto works, I decided to remove the magneto and spark it out again. I had loosened the one mounting bolt and started around the propeller to the other side, but because it was tight in the garage, it was necessary to turn the propeller to get by the front of the plane. As I turned the prop, I heard a loud click as the impulse fired on the magneto. Strange it wasn't that loud before. I pulled the propeller through several times, magneto firing on each plug — tightened bolt, magneto would quit. Magneto was coupled too tight to the engine. I cured the problem by removing .005 of an inch from the coupling. I went through above starting procedure again, chained to garage, etc. Posa carburetor with No. 4 needle valve set at full rich (14 turns out), gave the propeller two pulls, and the Sonerai roared to life. Happy day. In order to adjust a Posa carburetor you run the engine 10 or 15 minutes, pull a spark plug and check its color. If the plug is black, too rich; if plug is white, too lean; if plug is tan, just right. After 3 hours of starting and stopping and adjusting needle valve No. 4 all the way in and
the mixture was still too rich, I decided to skip No. 3 needle and go to No. 2. (I'm running now with a No. 3 needle valve 11 turns out.) Ready to start the engine again. I can't turn the propeller. What happened? Problem number 6. Why did the propeller freeze? Visual inspection revealed no problem. I removed propeller, still frozen. I removed prop hub assembly, won't move. I removed magneto, tight as ever. I disassembled valve covers and
heads, no change. I removed the engine from fuselage, removed the oil pump, problem still existed. Split the case, removed the cam, no help — you guessed it! Number 4 main bearing had seized. My first thought, "Nuts — what if it damaged the crankshaft?" Called my friend at
VW. He came over, took the crankshaft in and verified it with a micrometer and returned with good news. The shaft was O.K. VW informed me that this bearing was used only to support the crankshaft and no thrust forces are applied to it. So, one week later and with the help of Jim from VW the engine was ready to install again. As before, chained to the garage, spin the propeller, engine fires, turns 50 rpm, and quits. Problem number 7, repeat of problem 6. Problem number 8, repeat of 6 and 7. It is a good thing that I am English instead of German, or I might have said something nasty to that engine. I called my friend Corky instead and asked if he had a set of inside micrometers as it was time to get serious. Every-
thing was tested with a micrometer and we found the case, or casting, or webbing, whatever you call the hunk of aluminum that No. 4 bearing sits in was 1.5 thousandths out of round where the case halves go together. Symptom: Shaft turned easily % of a revolution and would bind slightly the last 1A turn. Thought! new engine tight, it will run in. No so. Cure? Tube of blue dye, new bearing, scraping knife and very patiently scrape and dye until the bearing fits like a glove. Engine is back together — fired up and purring like a kitten for 30 hours. Needless to say I am still skittish about the engine and watch it very closely. (Text Continued on Pag* 49)
VW engine installation detail.
SPORT AVIATION 45
•
monnett
48 SEPTEMBER 1975
DEAR JOHN . . . (Continued from Pag* 45)
Well, December and January went by quickly and half of February. The one year completion date just went out the window. Five hundred eighty-nine hours had been spent on the project. So close yet so far. March 1, refitted the cowl, filled the rivet holes in the wings with DuPont 212S epoxy auto body filler. I then sanded for two solid weeks trying to get them smooth. The filling of the wings and fitting of the canopy are the two most difficult tasks you will encounter building the plane. The sanding of the wings required five operations and four orbital sanders. Before applying the epoxy filler, roughen the rivet hole areas with No. 240 wet or dry sandpaper. This gives the filler an adhering surface. Then three thin coats of epoxy filler were applied. To smooth the epoxy filler, I started with No. 80 grit sandpaper (you must be very careful not to get over on the aluminum skin, sand only the epoxy filler) then No. 240, No. 320, and No. 400 wet or dry for the finish coats. Be sure all nicks and pin holes in the epoxy filler are filled. If not, this will cause your paint to blister above them from air expansion. The wings finished, I next sanded the fiberglass cowl and wheel pants until all the wax was removed from the surfaces. You can tell when the wax is removed because the fiber-glass finish becomes dull looking. April 1st arrived and I was really beginning to push myself to get it done. A warm sunny day can sure hurt a fellow about then! Time to rig the plane, so very carefully it is set up on blocks and leveled. Now I didn't quite understand everything about this, so a call was placed to our chapter designee, George Urbanek, for help. (May I add right here, many times I called George for help or advice and both were graciously given.) George came over with his protractor angle, bulb indicator, and placed it all over the wings, fuselage, tail surfaces, etc.; 0° was the reading. At this time it was realized that someone bigger than I had been helping build this plane. I did not know that when you weld the fuselage together, if you start from the front bay and weld counter-clockwise each joint to the tail and then turn the fuselage over 180" and repeat the process the tubing would equalize itself. I did it because it was easier. One other incident assured me of receiving some outside help. It happened while leveling the wings in order to bore the tapered pin mounting holes in the spars. The wings were leveled and blocked. The center line of the chord was marked. A measurement from the top longeron to the wing chord line of the left wing was made. It was perfect. Now I measured the trailing edge of the right wing, perfect; leading edge of the right wing '/•>" low. For a week I pushed, pulled, lifted, wiggled, shimmed and everything else a fellow could think of and still Vfe" low on the leading edge. Panic set in. Is the leading edge of the wing misformed? Will it have to be taken apart? I called John Monnett for a suggestion. He thought I might have mismeasured the chord line. So I did it again. Same results. Corky came over and we made various types of jigs, laid out all types of angles, and still the leading edge was Vfe" low. This was Thursday evening, and I was disappointed and discouraged. I made another call to George, our designee, and explained the problem. He said he would be over Saturday after supper. The next two days were spent with soldering iron in hand carefully cutting the canopy bubble. George arrived Saturday evening and we went to the garage to show him my problem. O.K., here is how it measured: left wing trailing and leading edge was 4'/4" to the chord line from the center line of the longeron. Over to the right wing trailing edge — 4'/4". Then to the problem area, the right leading edge. Down goes the rule, see, it measures . . . 4',4"?? What happened? — it has been 4%" all week! George measured it, 414" all the way around. Well, if five other people had not verified my original measure-
ments, I would admit to guilt. I had not touched the plane for two days. You may say temperature, atmosphere, wind or my bifocals, whatever you wish, but I know different. I was there. Hence came the name of the plane, "God's Gia". Time to cover the fuselage with fabric. Next question was what type of fabric. Cotton, linen, Ceconite, dacron, Razorback? After considerable research it was found that some fabrics weigh a little more, some weigh less, some last longer than others, some require more steps than others to apply. Finally, the decision was made to use the Cooper Super Shield process using the dacron that has the first coats of dope already impregnated into it. A call to Cooper and they are out of stock of the 50" material at present. So I switched to plain 2.7 oz. 50" dacron using the blanket method. I spent the next three evenings putting on the fabric. You shrink it with an iron set at 350°. The fabric is tightened until a nickel will bounce about one inch when dropped on it. That's about the only thing on an airplane that a nickel is good for. Next, three coats of clear nitrate dope was hand-brushed on, lightly sanded with No. 400 wet and dry. Then four coats of clear butyrate non-tautening were sprayed on. Again sanded lightly. Then two coats of silver butyrate were sprayed on. It was now time to put the aluminum skirt on the canopy frame. This to me was a difficult thing to do. You have three different bends to make plus being careful not to scratch the Plexiglass bubble. It has to fit into the recessed lip in the cowl and still allow the canopy to latch tightly. After 12 cardboard patterns, the job was finally completed. All complete except for painting. Previous arrangements had been made with Jerry Krill of J & M Aircraft to paint the plane. I wanted to use Alumigrip paint and did not feel my compressor was adequate to do the job. "Would it be O.K. if I help you paint the plane?" Jerry said, "O.K., but it will cost twice as much." He did let me help, however. He let me do all the sanding and the biggest majority of the masking. Wasn't that nice of him? After the painting came the final assembly. Can it be true? I put it together for the last time. I just finished the plane and stepped back to admire it when a fellow pilot came through the door and stated, "I'd never fly that airplane with those colors. Every bumblebee in the country will be attacking you!" The next day Ray Miller, our FAA inspector, was coming to make his final inspection (I hoped), and as the hangar doors were opened, a loud buzzing was heard and we watched as a big bumblebee hit the end of the spinner, shook himself in disbelief, backed up and tried it again. He flew off into the wild blue yonder. I might have a problem at that! The inspection was over, and I was signed off, ready to fly. Center of gravity figures showed it was necessary to add 6 lbs. of lead to the tail. On Saturday morning, May 24, 1975,1 was busy putting the lead in the tail plus being teased by everyone as to whether I was going to fly that thing or just look at it all summer. I had already taxied it a few times and felt it was ready — but was I? I told them, "Maybe". Well, by noon all the usual excuses were used up. I checked the weather — not a cloud in the sky. There was a 2 knot wind out of the north, and it was 95° in the shade. Well, why not? — I built it. I'll fly it. As the canopy closed and latched, the realization came that vents should have been installed for air. Boy, it sure was hot in there. I taxied out to runway 36, lined up with the center, opened the throttle and that VW roared. The propeller became a blur and we rolled down the runway. Help, I can't see where I'm going! — stick forward — tail up — that's better. I can see. I just passed the 1000' mark and was still not in the air. It didn't act like it was going in the air either. Boy, it's hot!! Better abort and try again. Just as the tail began to lower, swish into the air SPORT AVIATION 49
we went. Hot diggity it flys! Then comes the thought, "Did you put in all the safety pins? Is everything hooked up correctly?" Nevertheless, it flew and climbed out just beautifully. All gauges read in the green. Up to two thousand feet. Throttle back for some straight and level flight.
Fifteen minutes went by quickly, climbing and gliding turns — handles great! I thought I'd better do a few stalls to see how it is going to handle in a landing. Throttle back, nose up, breaks clean at 47 mph IAS. Power in, recovery smooth. Again
I must put those vents in next, it is hot! The outside temperature being 95° and about 150° in the cockpit, plus my nervous apprehension, caused me to perspire profusely. Unfortunately, this caused my wash and wear pants to appear as if they had been doused with water. (I'm still trying to convince the fellows I wasn't that scared!) Oh yes, the landing was uneventful. Entered downwind, picked the spot, throttled back and waited — she just keeps wanting to fly — pointed the nose to the runway, settled back and in she came three points and smooth. Forgive me if I appear conceited, but I was a little proud at the time. At the time of this writing, I have flown thirty enjoyable hours in the Sonerai II. It has no adverse characteristics. It has fulfilled every expectation. You will recall one of the requirements was an economical plane to fly. Counting hangar rent, insurance, gas and oil, it costs $3.00 an hour to fly. The Sonerai II was constructed in 789 hours over a period of 15 months at a cost of $3213.00. If you are a good scrounger you can beat this price. The statistics quoted include using the
SPECIFICATIONS Wing Span . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18' 8" Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18' 10" Empty Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523 Ibs. E n g i n e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VW 1700cc Take O f f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 mph* Landi ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 mph* Power Off Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 mph* Cruise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 mph/3200 rpm 60%* 140 mph/3500 rpm 75%*
Fuel Consumption . . . . . . . . . . Approximately 2.4 gallons per hour at 3200 rpm; 3.0 gallons per hour at 75% cruise/3500 rpm Altitude 1500ft. msl: Cylinder Head Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380° Exhaust Gas Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1150° Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Ibs. (40 W Oil) Oil Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195°
All that is left to be said is, "If you want a good, stable, economical, wonderful flying little taildragger that's easy to build take a look at the Sonerai!"
instruments installed in the plane and carrying only the
pilot. Sand bagging will be done at a later date to prepare for carrying two people.
TREAT
THAT WOOD
By Richard B. Anderson (EAA 5432) P.O. Box 338 Hailey, Idaho 83333
W,
OOD AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES are prone to wood rotting fungi in structures that collect
water from rain or splashing, and in areas of continued high humidities. Finishes will seal wood and retard moisture absorption but do not prevent it. Wood will absorb moisture which includes humidity. Once moisture is absorbed, the wood finish will also retard drying allowing high moisture conditions to 50 SEPTEMBER 1975
exist for a period of time. Fungi that rot wood require moisture and warm temperatures for best growth. These conditions will be found in wood aircraft structures in most parts of the world and should be guarded against for extended aircraft life. Good aircraft design and preservative treatment along with good finishes will offer an insurance policy against wood rotting fungi.
The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, has published "Technical Bulletin No. 1334, Preserving Wood by Brush, Dip, and Short-Soak Methods" for sale by the Superintendent of Documents at 25c each. This bulletin has application for aircraft structures although
tests were carried out on boxes, porch steps, and columns. Pentachlorophenal 5% solution with a lightweight proven solvent of the aliphatic mineral spirits type is recommended. Brush and 3minute or shorter dip treatments will afford good protection in aircraft designed to avoid the worst decay hazards. The bulletin recommends
temperatures of the treating solu-
tion to be as low or lower than the wood to be treated for better penetration and absorption. Pentachlorophenal is available at most hardware and farm stores. The solution should be applied liberally to keep wood wetted. The wood should then dry for 48 hours
or more before painting. The best preservative will be only as effective as the amount penetrating the wood in relation to the severity of exposure. Brush, dip, and short soaks give only limited pentrations; therefore, they offer good protection only under low to moderate hazards. Aircraft construction would normally be a low to moderate hazard and preservative treatment followed by painting will give good protection that cannot be acquired by painting alone.
Do not forget holes and areas under metal fittings. Some commercial preparations contain a waterproofing compound. A test structure should be treated and then finished with type of paint or varnish to be used to test adherence and compatability.
(Photo by Dr. Alan D. Weber)
300 feet over Ventura Marina "IF ANYTHING CAN GO WRONG, IT MOST CERTAINLY WILL!"
— MURPHY'S LAW EXAMPLES OF MURPHY'S LAW
1. THE TOOL YOU DIDN'T BRING, IS THE ONE TOOL YOU CANT DO WITHOUT. 2. WHEN CLEARANCE IS CRITICAL, A PART YOU DIDN'T FIGURE ON, WON'T SLIDE BY. 3. DROPPED NUTS AND BOLTS ALWAYS FALL INTO INACCESSABLE SPOTS. 4. THE FOLLOWING:
M< .OJAVE, CALIFORNIA ON the western edge of the Mojave desert at the beginning of August is likely to be one of the most uncomfortably hot places in the
plane was assembled and the FAA inspector, Bill Daniels arrived. In the blazing noon day sun, Inspector Daniels meticulously did his job, and by 1:00 p.m. I had the
entire U.S. Temperatures regularly rise above 120° in
temporary Airworthiness Certificate installed in the
the shade, (that is if you can find the shade to measure it in) and also rise as fast under the collar as under the cowling. We arose at 5:00 a.m. on the morning of August 2nd, loaded the unpainted plane aboard the trailer and arrived at Mojave Airport about 9:00 a.m. By noon the
the taxi tests were begun with the cowling in place. It was not too long, before we had a vapor lock. It was now necessary to wrap some asbestos tape around the offending fuel line. Guess What?? No Tape! I ran all
52 SEPTEMBER 1975
plane. Some more run-in time was done for insurance, and
over the town of Mojave. No Tape! I finally located a washing machine hot water hose. Back to the field. I slipped the hose over the fuel line as a heat shield. It Worked! Dinner time. Back into the plane — chute buckled on — all systems go. Crash helmet on — close canopy. Canopy won't close!! Even with modern wrap around thin chute, my brain bucket was hitting the canopy. Decision time. Leave helmet, take chute. Almost sunset time now. High speed taxi runs with
tail high, tracking excellent. Once more down the runway — Hell, now is the time! The field is now in the shadow of the mountain. 60 mph, 70, we're airborne! 100 mph, 120 mph, climbing 2,000 feet per minute. All systems go. 2,700 rpm — Level off 3,000 feet above the ground, Throttle back to 25 inches — rpm 3,000. Pull back prop control — No Help! Prop not controlled. Pull back throttle to idle — rpm drops with throttle. Prop obviously not working properly. We have to land now,
but we must know the stall characteristics. Airspeed bleeds off, 100, 90, 85, 75, 70, 67, straight break away — now full flaps — breaks clean at 62 mph indicated. The
sun has just dropped behind the mountains, time to get down. Full flaps, 85 indicated on final. Tires kiss — "Not bad", I say to myself. I taxi up to my dear friends and wife waiting in front of the hangar, glasses raised on high as the last rosy rays of the daylight recede, WHAT A DAY! THE NEXT DAY
After some discussion between my dear friends, Oby Tolman, and Jack Swan, (both A & E's) with me just listening, it was decided to pull the governor and take it back to the prop shop 2'/2 hours away. The governor checks out O.K. Ray Fulton of the Santa Monica Propeller Service gives me an entirely different gover-
Chris preparing cowling for painting.
nor to try out anyway. Back to Mojave — install governor — run up on the ground, O.K., Check out O.K., Level off— propeller begins to overspeed — land plane — further discussion. We adjust the flat pitch stop on the propeller. Another flight, the prop still refuses to control. More discussion and some hair pulling. Both A & E's turn to me. "Did you place the frong plug correctly." "What's a frong plug." "That's the little freeze plug you seated in the core of the crankshaft to convert to a constant speed propeller." When two of your dearest friends (both A & E's) point their combined finger at you, a mere mechanical mortal, you rejoice that the problem is solved, even if you are a possible clod. So, with Oby's and my wife, Chris's, help, we removed the spinner and the constant speed prop (each bolt can only be turned a few turns at a time, so that prop removal is a very tedious job). Now, Oby has fabricated a tool so that a frong plug can be removed without filling the crankcase with steel filings. Removing the plug proved difficult and a few new words were added to our vocabulary. Everybody now returns home for a week of work,
(we had been having fun at Mojave). I borrowed a new frong plug and a "frong plug placing tool" from Ernie Shults, who was Wiley Post's mechanic and now a retired engine consultant living in Burbank. Burbank is an additional hours drive, but we got back to Mojave after work on Friday. Saturday morning, up at dawn, frong plug placed, prop and spinner replaced, cowling
replaced, run up. Prop checks O.K. on the ground — another flight — prop still won't control.
It's Sunday again — Oby has devised a method of checking the oil pressure at the inlet of the governor
line into the case. We need a pressure gage — not available in Mojave. We locate a large air compressor that's not in use — we borrow the pressure gage. Run up engine, only 60 lbs indicated at full coarse pitch. We
Chris — draining oil. SPORT AVIATION 53
test pressure out of governor directly, 300 lbs. Somehow we are not holding pressure after oil enters case. Oby says, "Pull the engine". I say, "Newly learned words". Oby agrees to make an independent hydraulic pump set up so as to test pressure holding capabilities with engine not running. Oby can't help this weekend so, Chris and I connect his device; essentially a hydraulic pump with a pressure gage. I start pumping, the prop begins to change pitch, the pressure gage ceases to function. As soon as I stop pumping the blades return to flat pitch. By clamping boards to the prop it is relatively easy to move the blades to flat, while pumping. I call Oby, he says "pull the engine", I say "bad things". I call the prop shop, he says, "Bring the prop and the governor down together". Another week goes by. We rush down to the prop shop. As we are waiting for our turn on the governor tester, the machine breaks down. The prop man says return in three hours, we do, governor and prop are fine. However, prop man places a new bypass valve in governor, pressure up an additional 30 lbs. Back to Mojave. Put everything back together. Fly again, No change! Nothing to do now, but pull the engine. Nobody around the next weekend to help. So, my lovely, petite wife and I do it all ourselves. When we have everything loose except the last bolt, I find three other strong fellows and while Chris stands by with the wire cutters to cut anything we might have forgotten to disconnect, we drop the engine on back of the truck. We hadn't missed anything. I had made a dozen flights in a one month period. Jack Swan was going to tear the engine down, so we drove it to his house. But, since Jack was crew chief and builder of "Sundancer", the winningest biplane racer ever, and since the Reno Air races were coming up, the engine would have to sit idle in his shop, until after the races and a short vacation with his very patient wife, Sam. At this point my unbelievably brave wife says, "Let's paint the airplane while we're waiting for the engine, after all, we already have the beautiful design Jerry Slocum did for us". Painting an airplane in the field is one thing, painting in temperatures of 120° and sand storms with winds of 50 knots (very common) is brave. After a tremendous effort, the preparation was completed, and the first gallon of blue tone white was opened. You can imagine our exasperation to discover that the paint was not white, but silver. At this point Chris allowed that she was prepared to believe in Murphy. Murphy, fearing Chris's wrath, allowed the other two gallons we brought with us to be white, which was enough to finish the job. We were all very anxious to know what the problem was, and waiting these few weeks to find out was difficult. We had such bad thoughts as "What if it's something simple we overlooked. What if Jack can't find anything?" Oby was firm, "It's the engine!" It was! Opposite the entry port for the oil governor line in the main bearing area was a 3/16 inch hole drilled in the left half of the case. The local Lycoming tech reps were called. They knew nothing about a hole in the case. However, they called the factory in Pennsylvania and it was on the plans for the 0-360 A4A. It seems that the A4A series made for the Cherokee 180 had solid cranks and therefore, the engineers decided that hot spots might develop in the main bearing area, so they drilled a 3/16 hole in the left half of the case for an oil return to the sump. Since I purchased the engine without a crankshaft, I bought a new crank for use with constant speed prop. We used an older style main bearing which partially occluded the drilled 3/16 hole and therefore, we were 54 SEPTEMBER 1975
The builder (me) painting.
Oby Tollman and Jack Swan reinstalling engine after plugging the case.
able to develop enough oil pressure (60 lbs) to change pitch to full coarse when there was no load on it, on the ground. As soon as I leveled out and the prop was loaded, we did not have enough oil pressure to hold it from going flat and so the rpm increased. If we had used a newer style main bearing the 3/16 hole would have been completely lined up with the bearing groove and the prop probably would not have worked on the ground. Something to consider for people who are using the solid cranks in Lycomings not originally designed for them, might be the possibility of the development of hot spots. Anyhow, the case hole was tapped and plugged, the engine put back in the plane, and the plane
flew like never before. The testing was completed the hours flown off, and on Nov. 11, 1974 we received the airworthiness certificate from Bill Fletcher and left Mojave, almost S'/a months after our arrival. At the present time, June 1975, we have 100 plus hours, and the plane's performance exceeds the pipe dreams I had during it's construction. We are using it every chance we get and it's particularly rewarding to
be able to fly to Mojave and give my dear friend Oby Tolman a hand while he is testing his just completed
retractable Mustang II. Our fondest hope is that our experiences with "Miss Chris" have so exhausted Murphy that he will remain dormant until Oby has completed his testing at
Mojave. WEBER-MUSTANG II SPECIFICATIONS
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lycoming 0-360-A
Propeller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hartzel Constant Speed Carburetor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS5C Turbo Charger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poor-Man's (Ram Air) Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19' 6"
Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5' 5" Wingspan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24' 4"
Wing Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97.1 sq. ft. Empty Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 980 lbs. Gross Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1550 lbs. Useful Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570 lbs. Fuel Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 gal. Oil Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 qts. Baggage Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 lbs. Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 side by side Flaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Electric Tie Down Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Retractable Landing G e a r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fixed PERFORMANCE
Cruise Speed (75%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 mph (TAS) Fuel Conserving Cruise Speed . . . . . . . . . 185 mph (TAS) Best Rate of Climb Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 mph (IAS) Rate of Climb at Gross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000 fpm Stall Speed No F l a p s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 mph (IAS) Stall Speed 20° Flaps or More . . . . . . . . . . . 62 mph (IAS) Never Exceed Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 mph (IAS)
The painter (me) polishing.
Mrs. Weber (Miss Chris) supporting Mustang II pilot.
FLY-IN By Martin Jones (EAA 51545) 1061 New Tampa Hwy. Lakeland, Florida 33801
The Second Annual Midwinter Sun 'n Fun Fly-In is scheduled for the full week of January 19 through 25. Lakeland, Florida's Chapter 454 will again act as host Chapter and the 60 Chapters of the Southeast EAA Sport Aviation Council (SESAC) will sponsor the event. The first Sun 'n Fun was a great success, it was well attended, everybody enjoyed it and we expect it to get bigger and better each year (see SPORT AVIATION, April 1975). We have been advised that the "nawth" is going to freeze over again this winter, so what could be more sensible than to come to Florida in January? All you folks who were here in '75 plan to come back early. Those of you who missed the first fly-in get another chance. We will try to make you feel welcome. The philosophy and format of the fly-in will be unchanged — no registration fees, no paid performers. Lots of homebuilts, antiques, classics, warbirds, static displays of projects underway, commercial displays, awards and fun for everyone. We'll have a banquet, some more corn roasts, Southern Hospitality and good weather (at least better than where you came from). Lakeland and central Florida are great for a winter vacation, so come on down early and bring the family. We'll tell you about some fun places to visit . . . such as Disney World, Cape Canaveral, Cypress Gardens, etc. We'll point out some nice spots within easy flying distance, too, like Cedar Key, Bahamas and Venice on the Gulf where you can taxi right to the beach. To help you get here, we will publish some enroute stopovers where you will find a friendly Dixie Flyer, some hospitality if you have to wait for weather and possibly some other airplanes headed for the Sun 'n Fun. Our complete information package will be mailed well in advance. To get on the mailing list send your name and address to: Martin Jones 1061 New Tampa Hwy. Lakeland, Florida 33801 See y'all at Lakeland! 56 SEPTEMBER 1975
AIRPLANE STABILITY, CONTROL AND TRIM by
Robert K. Wattson, Jr. (EAA Tri-State College
75616)
111 Summit Angola, Ind. 46703
L THIS ARTICLE IS for you if you are — itching to start on the design of your first homebuilt and have a general idea of how to go about it, but — would like to secure satisfactory handling qualities using a little more insight than ancestor worship. What we say here isn't supposed to make you a Complete Airplane Designer; a lot more than appears here is required for that. Here we will do just three things — —First, present an engineer's view of the subject of stability, control, and trim. We'll avoid the engineering jargon where possible or if we can't avoid it we'll provide working definitions. —Second, present in table form a series of numbers that can be used to proportion a conventional airplane. No guarantee is implied, and you'll see when you read the table that some of the numbers give you considerable room to move around. The values given are means to help you avoid serious technical surprises. If you want to be unorthodox, or if you have misgivings about what you see on the paper after you've laid on your first three-view — get help. —Third, give a series of references using which, with assistance where necessary, you can increase your detailed understanding of what goes to make up an airplane with satisfactory handling qualities.
there. If there is no tendency to return to trim or to diverge further the airplane is said to be neutral. If when disturbed the airplane tends to diverge further from
trim, it is statically unstable. These three forms of static behavior can be illustrated by considering, not an airplane, but just a ball, on any of three types of surface
(Fig. 2).
X Fig. 1 — Reference axes
SOME DEFINITIONS
Although the broad subject of "flight qualities" is sometimes referred to as "stability and control", it actually has three basic divisions: Stability deals with the tendency of an airplane to return (or not to return) to an initial steady flight condition without pilot assistance, once it has been disturbed. Control deals with how the airplane responds to movements of the aerodynamic control surfaces — the elevator, aileron and rudder. Trim refers to whether or not, in perfectly smooth air and without any help from the pi-Tot, the airplane will continue in level unaccelerated flight, once placed there and the controls released. It is not necessary for a trimmed airplane to be stable, but if it is stable it will "return to trim" once disturbed. If it is unstable it will "diverge from trim" in some way if it meets any disturbance. Handling qualities is a catchall term: if the stability, control and trim characteristics of an airplane are all satisfactory, the airplane is said to have satisfactory handling qualities. Axes: There are three reference lines, intersecting at right angles at the airplane center of gravity, to which the motions of the airplane are keyed. (Fig. 1). The airplane pitches about its spanwise (y) axis, rolls about it fore-and-aft (x) axis, and yaws about its (z) axis. Well, almost. There is more than one definition of these axes floating around, so to avoid confusion — we hope — we'll just say that the X axis is parallel to the wind direction, and any special cases will be dealt with as they arise. General types of stability: static stability exists if, when disturbed from trim, the airplane tends to return to the trim condition — without regard to how it gets
A
B C Fig. 2 — Stability: (a) positive, (b) neutral, (c) negative
This concept of static stability is fine for some purposes, but for others we need more detail., so we speak of the dynamics of the airplane when we want to describe just how the airplane behaves in its return to — or divergence from — trim when it is disturbed. Fig. 3 shows two kinds of dynamically stable behavior, one of neutral behavior and two of dynamically unstable behavior. Suppose that from straight and level trimmed flight at constant speed ("level, unaccelerated flight") an airplane is disturbed by a healthy pull on the stick, followed by a return of the stick to its original position. The airplane will of course pitch, and the time histories of Fig. 3 all begin at about the instant the stick is returned to its original position. The gently curved lines are a
simple convergence toward trim and a simple divergence away from it. The wobbly lines are an oscillating convergence, an undamped oscillation and an
oscillating divergence. SPORT AVIATION 57
We speak of longitudinal stability about the spanwise axis, directional stability about the vertical axis,
things won't get much pleasanter, because the airplane is neutrally stable. That is, if it gets hit by an upward
and lateral stability about the X axis, but the lateral and directional stability are hitched together — coupled — of which more later.
gust, say, which doubles its angle of attack, it won't help
STATIC LONGITUDINAL STABILITY
The most convenient way to discuss static longitudinal stability seems to be to draw charts displaying "nose-up tendency" and "nose down tendency" against airplane angle of attack, portrayed by the inclination of the mean aerodynamic chord — the "MAC" of the wing — to the oncoming airstream (see Fig. 4 for a simple graphical way to find the mean aerodynamic chord of a wing approximately). In the graphs that
follow, airplane size and speed have been "divided out", so that all you'll see are the effects of shape and direction of the airstream.
you get back to your original trim angle — it will simply move upward and start slowing down until it's passed through the gust, and then if you insist on returning to
the original airspeed (and angle of attack) it will hand you the whole job. Some old fighter pilots don't mind this. Now let's add a decent-sized tail to the all-wing airplane, deflect the elevator to trim the airplane at some angle of attack "0" and pretend for the moment that the elevator is immovable — you're preventing it from moving by holding the stick firmly. See Fig. 6. The little black circle denotes the trim angle of attack. You have the stick in hand but at this angle of attack you are exerting neither forward nor back pressure. Now "follow me through on one", as my flight instructor used to say. Pretend that the vertical gust hits the airplane and increases the angle of attack. The slanting line on the figure represents the behavior of
the airplane. With the new, higher angle of attack (point A) comes a nose-down tendency, the strength of which is denoted by the distance from the angle-ofattack axis down to the slanting line. Thus the airplane now tries to correct the situation for you — noses down to get rid of the high angle of attack and go back toward the trim point. The same thing, upside down, happens when the angle of attack goes down to B, say, and the airplane tends to nose up to get rid of the deficiency and return to trim. Very nice.
NOSE UP Fig. 3 — Dynamic stability (a) positive, (b) neutral, (c) negative
NOSE DOWN
ANGLE .^ATTACK
X
\
-^ >—• -
^Z5>——
V
A.C. & CG.
Fig. 5 — Pitching tendency of a wing alone with center or gravity at aerodynamic center.
NOSE UP
Fig. 4 — Graphical construction for approximate Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC)
Fig. 5 shows on such a chart an airplane consisting of only a wing, with its center of gravity at the aerodynamic center of the wing (a little forward or aft of the quarter chord point of the MAC — usually). This with the addition of a tiny tail is a perfectly flyable airplane, provided you agree to fly it all the time. Notice on the graph that no matter what its angle of attack it's always trying to nose down. With a piece of tin somewhere on the trailing edge, bent upward, you can persuade the beast not to nose down, or you can even select an airfoil cross-section that won't try to nose down at all. But 58 SEPTEMBER 1975
NOSE DOWN Fig. 6 — Pitching tendency of wing and adequate horizontal tail, trimmed at 0, e.g. at a.c.
The engineer's turn to confuse things comes when a fuselage is added to the wing and tail. Back in the bad old days when engines were heavy and tails were long, it used to be enough to consider that the fuselage had little effect on stability. But now engines are light and noses are long, and it appears that there is something called "lift on the body nose" which makes the fuselage
destabilizing! The effect is shown in Fig. 7, which por-
trays the upward slant in our stability curve, produced by adding to the wing a fuselage but no horizontal tail. Now if the upward gust hits this combination, the effect at A is to cause the airplane to nose up, further increasing the angle of attack, which causes the airplane to try to nose up even more, and so on. So the horizontal tail must be large enough to kill
movement of the center of gravity. As the center of gravity is moved aft, the tendency to react correctively to angle-of-attack changes gets weaker and weaker, until finally, for some e.g. location, there is no corrective tendency at all — we're right back where we were when we had only the wing. The center of gravity is now said to be at the wing-body-tail neutral point,
off the destabilizing effect of the fuselage, and then some. If it's not large enough to do this the airplane
stick-fixed (remember we haven't let go of the stick;
will be unpleasant, if not impossible, to fly — it will try to take control away from the pilot by diverging up or down from trim. An engineer is usually happy if the tail
is about twice as powerful a stabilizer as the fuselage is a destabilizer. Fig. 8 presents a summary of the effects of wing, fuselage and tail that we've been talking about, and shows trends with fuselage tail or nose length and horizontal tail surface size or tail arm (distance from tail surface MAC to center of gravity).
UP WiNG-TBODY
DN
-06
WING ALONE CG. AT WING A.C.
that comes later). The wing-alone neutral point is at its aerodynamic center; this seems to say that if we get the center of gravity far enough forward we can fly an airplane with very little horizontal tail at all, but don't try it — there are
other things for that tail to do, as we'll see. Now let's move the center of gravity vertically. If it's moved down — the equivalent of changing our design to a high wing configuration — increasing angle of attack moves the resultant force on the wing farther aft on the X — axis (not on the wing chord) thus stabilizing the airplane. If it's moved up — so we have a low-wing design, essentially — as angle of attack increases the resultant force on the wing moves forward, rendering the airplane less stable. Either effect is more pronounced at high angles of attack, so the result is two curved stability lines, as shown on Fig. 10. The low-wing airplane is less stable at high angles of attack. Although if you were to make a tabulation of horizontal tail areas from commercial airplane data you'd find considerable variation, you could still discover a slight difference on the average, favoring larger tails for low wing aircraft, and this is the reason.
Fig. 7 — Effect of adding body UP
WING + BODY
XX
MEUTgAL PT
\J$S DN
BODY+ TAIL UNTRIMME1D
WING BODY H. TAIL UNrRIMMED - CG. AT WING A.C.
Fig. 9 — Effect of fore-and-aft movement of center of gravity
UP
WING-BODY-TAIL TPIMMLD HERE C.G. AT Wl N G A.C.
Ot,
Fig. 8 — Effects of body nose length and tail length and size, e.g. at a.c.
The designer's goal is to place wing, body and horizontal tail at angles of inclination relative to each other such that at typical cruise angles of attack there is no, or very little, upward or downward force required from the horizontal tail. Effect of Center of Gravity Location
All the above discussion was based on the statement that the airplane center of gravity was at the wing MAC. Suppose it's not; what happens now? Fig. 9 shows the effect of forward or rearward
WING I LOCATION^ Fig. 10— Effect of vertical movement of center of gravity Center of Gravity Locations of Design If for an airplane which could be loaded in a good many ways, you were to make a diagram of all possible combinations of center of gravity horizontal location and airplane weight, you'd come up with a bunch of points around which you could draw a sort of sweet-potatoSPORT AVIATION 59
shaped line, such as is shown on Fig. 11. This is the socalled center-of-gravity envelope, and since the stability of an airplane depends on the location of its center of gravity, we should be concerned that it be satisfactory at every weight/c.g. combination inside the envelope. Rather than run checks of the stability at large numbers of points, we select a few of them on the boundary, at locations which experience has shown are adequate to represent the airplane. These points are usually one or two at maximum takeoff gross weight, and one or two at weights below maximum. You may hear the latter referred to as "most forward" or "forward regardless (of weight)". At these center of gravity locations certain requirements must be met, and here we must start talking about control and trim as well as stability. At most forward center of gravity there must be: —enough horizontal tail authority to rotate the airplane for takeoff (and then some); on tricycle-geared airplanes it should be possible to lift the nosewheel off the ground at speeds below stall speeds). —enough trim capability to allow the airplane to be trimmed in landing approach (you've trimmed the airplane if you can reduce the pitch rate to zero with the stick, but on anything much larger than a J-3 it's nice to have an adjustable stabilizer to increase the total authority somewhat and to let you trim the stick force out, too). —enough remaining elevator authority to land the airplane after changing from approach to landing configuration. At forward gross the requirements are the same, and paper exercises are usually done to predict the behavior at both center of gravity locations during preliminary design. At aft gross and at all other points on the aft-c.g. boundary, the important thing is stability, whereas at forward gross it was control and trim. At aft gross enough stability must remain for the airplane to behave and feel normal. A typical first-pass criterion is that the distance from the center of gravity aft to the stick-fixed neutral point must be no less than ten percent of the length of the mean-aerodynamic chord. This ten percent is referred to as "ten-percent static margin".
there's no elevator deflection, and the airplane is being held at zero pitch rate. The tail then, is acting as though it were an unflapped wing, and its characteristics can be estimated somewhat as we should do for the wing.
When the stick is released, what happens depends on the extent to which the elevator is aerodynamically balanced — the size of the balance horn or the extent of the overhang of the leading edge, in front of the elevator hinge line. Assuming first that the hinge line is at the leading edge of the elevator (no balance), when the stick is released the elevator will float up (Fig. 12B). This decreases the up-load on the tail. The contribution of the tail to the stability of the airplane is diminished; we say its "stick-free stability" is less than its stick-fixed stability. Assuming the airplane is in fact stable either stick-fixed or stick-free, the curves showing the pitch-up or pitch-down tendency for the two cases would appear somewhat as shown in Fig. 12C. The stick-free neutral point — The rearmost permissible position of the e.g. without the airplane going unstable — is forward of the stick-fixed neutral point, usually about 4-7 percent of the MAC length for garden-variety airplanes. If we want to improve this situation so we can load to more aft center of gravity locations we can add aerodynamic balance to the elevator. This causes the elevator to float up less, and restores some of the upload lost when the stick was released. It's actually possible to add so much balance that the tail will float down, thus moving the stick-free neutral point back of the stickfixed neutral point. This is not necessarily to be desired, however. Fig. 12 — Effect of freeing elevator on horizontal tail upload
WIND A
AFT GROSS
FOP WA I? D GROSS MOST I-
X
y?
WIND
LU
Ck-QW. E. O^EMPTY
CG. POSITION, IN. OR % MAC Fig. 11 — Center of gravity envelope
06 Stick-Free Stability
Now we have to let go of that stick and see what happens to the airplane stability, and why. In Fig. 12A is a picture of a horizontal tail in profile. We've assumed that the tail is carrying an upload, and is therefore at a positive angle of attack. The stick is "fixed" so that 60 SEPTEMBER 1975
NOSE DIM
There are a couple of center-of-gravity locations behind the neutral points, which you won't have to worry about if your airplane can't be loaded back that far. If it can, you should be warned that these locations, the so-called "maneuver points", are waiting there to make your flying miserable. At one of these, the stick-fixed maneuver point, the e.g. is so located that you can put lots of g's on the airplane with hardly any control motion. At the other, the stick-free maneuver point, you can do the same thing with hardly any force. This is obviously a good way to bend the airplane.
_ FREE-RETURN SPEED PULL
FORCE REQ'D. PUSH
Z FRICTION BAND
The neutral points and the maneuver points change their location with angle of attack, so the remarks we've made about them apply only within a few knots above
or below any selected trim speed. They can be found by
Fig. 13 — Gradient of stick force with airspeed in level unaccelerated flight.
flight test, fortunately for all engineering test pilots, by
flying the airplane with the e.g. at each of several locations forward of any of them. That's another story, however.
Stick Forces
The FAA specifies, for airplanes certificated under the airworthiness requirements, that a stick pull shall be required to fly the airplane straight and level at all speeds below hands-off trim, and a push shall be required for all speeds above trim, up to and down to certain limits. Also, with the airplane held at a speed above or below trim speed, when the stick is released it must
B
return to within a certain percentage of trim speed. This
Fig. 14 — Tabs: (a) Geared, (b) servo
is the so-called "free-return" speed. Although not specified in the regulation, a backward motion of the stick should be required for a decrease of speed from
-ADDED BY SPPING
trim, and a forward motion for an increase of speed. If
an airplane does not meet this second criterion the FAA will cite the general provision that the "feel" of the airplane must be normal. Such requirements seem a little
PULL
,-TRIM TIAS
•NO TAB
elementary now, but they were put there for good rea-
son. Time was when the argument raged over whether the stick should be pushed or pulled to increase speed
PUSH
(and incidentally, whether the rudder should or should
not be rigged like a sled). It is also possible, using great ingenuity, to design an airplane so terrible that while the stick motions are in the right direction the stick forces are not. And it has been done. If, however, the airplane is stable stick-fixed and stick-free at any e.g. location and at any speed, the
ADDED BY TAB — Fig. 15 — Tab and downspring effect on stick force gradient in level unaccelerated flight.
proper relationships among stick force, stick position
and speed will exist. We can then draw a picture of, say, the stick force versus speed curve (Fig. 13), showing the elevator system friction band which helps determine the free-return speed. The question is now how large
should the stick force gradient be (it seems to make little difference how small the motion excursions are, so long as they are there at all and in the right directions. The
outer limits are set by the location of the pilot's midriff relative to the dashboard). The usual ailment of a big airplane is that the stick force gradient is too high; that of a little airplane, that it is too low. The high gradient can be lowered using a geared tab (Fig. 14A); there are several flavors of this), power boost, fly-by-wire controls, or a servo tab (Fig. 14B) which is connected to the stick instead of the elevators. The low gradient can be increased by putting thin strips of metal (say of 0.1 inch square cross-section) across the span of the elevator of the trailing edge, by installing a trimmable centering spring, by sharpening the elevator trailing edge, or by a device known as a "downspring." The downspring is a very popular crutch, so some explanation is in order.
The active ingredient of the simplest form of downspring is not the spring at all, but the adjustable stabilizer or an elevator tab. The tab seems easiest to explain, so I'll use it. Suppose we have an airplane whose stickforce gradient is so shallow that too much of the aerodynamically-induced stick force is inside the friction band, and the free-return requirement can't be met. A
fixed tab is installed on the elevator, and its trailing edge bent down. Now the pilot must hold the same stick positions as he did before to maintain the same speeds. But the tab is trying to raise the elevator, and the faster the airplane flies, the harder the tab tries. This means
the pilot has to add, to whatever force he'd otherwise hold, a hard enough push to overcome the force transmitted to the stick by the tab. The result is shown in
Fig. 15. Since the speed for hands-off trim has now been changed, this new force pattern has to be biased to raise it on the graph u n t i l the hands-off trim speed is where it was to begin with. That's what the spring is for, and you can usually tell if a modern airplane has a downspring by sampling the stick force with the airplane SPORT AVIATION 61
z o cv
u ,''~~X__ _i LEFT <
+
P u 33
Q
Fig. 16 — Bobweight schematic. This one requires increased pull if airplane accelerates upward (eyeballs down)
standing still on the ground. The spring can be a constant-force device (like a watch-spring) or it can be tailored using additional hardware so as to be, say, light at rearward stick positions and heavy at forward ones, or vice versa. Another device used for the same purpose is a bobweight (Fig. 16). This is a hunk of metal on an arm fixed either to the stick as shown, or to some other part of the movable system where its weight will make the stick go forward. In this way it takes the place of a constant-force downspring — except that it does something else besides. Suppose an airplane so equipped and trimmed for level, unaccelerated flight hits an upward gust. The bobweight will try to stay where it is while the airplane accelerates upward. Result: the stick is pulled forward. Or suppose the airplane is in a turn; The g's you feel are felt by the bobweight too, and it compels you to haul back harder on the stick to keep the nose up. Some airplanes have to be crutched up with both downsprings and bobweights, plus/or any one or combination of other devices which the fiendishness of control system designers enables them to contrive, but which we won't describe here for fear somebody'll go try 'em on his little airplane.
/~"xr
RIGHT
— v.^' -X__,'
U. _l
Pig 17 — Effect of aileron deflection on wing lift ,
ROLLING ROLL I VELOCITY OF WING
th, c
ir(AII?) DUE TO ROLL VELOCITY
LIFT DUE. TO
BOLL VELOCITY
Fig. 18 — Effect of rolling velocity on wing lift LATERAL-DIRECTIONAL STABILITY AND CONTROL
LONGITUDINAL DYNAMICS
If you tried to find all the forms of dynamic stability I enumerated by flying an airplane, you wouldn't see much. There is, however, one "mode" you can develop if you have both patience and fortitude. If you trim an airplane carefully for straight level flight, then release or "freeze" the stick, a long, slow oscillation known as the "phugoid" will develop. This oscillation is essentially an energy trade between speed and height, the speed being fastest at the bottom of the oscillation and slowest at the top. The term "phugoid" means "flying", and was hung
on this particular mode before it was understood that there was another mode, the "short-period" oscillation.
This "short-period" mode is very fast and very heavily damped by the horizontal tail. It takes place at essentially constant speed, and is not easily set up on a small airplane in a way you can readily see. As flight speed is decreased, the phugoid oscillation becomes faster and the short-period mode slower; for very short-takeoff airplanes the two modes approach each other in length.
As I mentioned before, the lateral (rolling) and directional (yawing or sideslipping) stability and control modes are "coupled" for conventional airplanes. This means it isn't possible to talk about one without at some point having to drag the other in by the heels and talk about it too. We'll touch briefly on the kinds of lateraldirectional stability behavior that exist, and then we'll talk about some specific items that have to do with design. The uncontrolled lateral-directional motions of an airplane can be classified as follows: —a roll-subsidance mode: this is what keeps the airplane from continuing to roll after you've cancelled out an aileron input and returned the stick to neutral. —a poorly damped oscillation known as dutch roll, a combination rolling/side-slipping affair. —a slow spiral divergence mode, which never causes any trouble under VFR conditions, but which used to kill people who didn't understand how it worked and under IFR conditions couldn't sort out the instrument indications quickly enough. Roll Behavior
Heavy airplanes with relatively small horizontal tails can develop some preculiar behavior in turn entries in which short period dynamics play a part, but for small airplanes neither the short period nor the long one is
Whenever an airplane is upset in roll or yaw, the above three modes all begin to exercise, but how much of each one you see depends on the aerodynamics of
much cause for concern.
the particular airplane you're flying. In our discussion
62 SEPTEMBER 1975
below we'll start simple and work up. Let's say we are flying, trimmed in level cruise, and sharply commence a right roll, r e t u r n i n g the stick
smartly to neutral at a moment later. A number of things happen at once, but we'll look only at the wing and its ailerons and (for now) pretend that nothing happens except roll. The effect of the ailerons is to add camber on the left side of the wing and subtract it on the right.
The effect of each aileron is felt by the wing from one wingtip to the other (bet you didn't know that), but the new result is additional lift over the lefthand panel, and
diminished lift on the righthand one. As long as the ailerons are deflected this can be considered to be present. (Fig. 17).
But there's more. As the roll velocity builds up, the
ui
wing resists it. This is because the angle of attack on the downgoing (right) side increases while the angle
of attack on the left panel decreases (Fig. 18). There is thus an addition to lift on the right panel and a decrease on the left. The faster the roll, the greater is this effect, and if we could continue the manueuver long enough, we'd finally find that we weren't building up roll rate anymore — the power of the ailerons had been caught up with by the resisting tendency of the wing. When we finally return the stick to neutral the roll stops, again due to the resisting effect of the wing. This is what is known as roll damping; to stability and control experts the total behavior is the roll subsidence. The father out on the wing the aileron is, the greater
LOCATION OF INBOARD END
Fig. 19 — Aileron effectiveness gain due to aileron
span increase
power it has, so outboard aileron ends are placed very near the wing tips. The longer the aileron is, the more powerful it is, but trying to squeeze more power out of an aileron by adding area on the inboard end is effective only to a point: the last few inches outboard of
the fuselage don't buy you much. Likewise the last few inches inboard of the tip don't buy much either, so we could envision the effect of adding area somewhat as
is shown in Fig. 19. In this figure the outboard end of the aileron is assumed to be at the wing tip, and the inboard end is whatever you want it. The engineers' graphs are made up a little different, but it comes to the same thing. For a conventional airplane, at the point
where the ailerons extend from the tips inboard to about half the span of the panels, the relative effect of adding
Fig. 20 — Types of lateral controls — (a) Frise aileron, (b) ventilated hinged spoiler, (c) slot-lip aileron, (d) plug aileron
still more aileron span starts to fall off. By that point
also, the airplane is usually pretty alert to aileron inputs, so it's a good place to stop, especially since you may want some room left for flaps. Biplanes need almost this much on both upper and lower panels. It's fair to ask: what happens if I elect to try for
greater aileron effectiveness with increased aileron chord. The reason, stated very roughly, is that what you
do when you deflect ailerons is to add camber to, or subtract it from, the sections of the wing which include the ailerons, and this camber increment and decrement is what causes the unbalanced rolling tendency. Each aileron, in other words, isn't acting all by itself like a little isolated wing — it's acting to influence the lift of the entire wing, mostly that which is just in front of it. Increasing the aileron chord changes the camber for equal aileron deflections, but there's no increase of the proportion of the wing area in front of the aileron, and the relative effect of the camber change due to aileron chord change alone is less powerful.
the ratio of tip to root chord. This will cause the roll
damping to go up. So will decreasing the taper of the wing planform. As the roll damping rises, the final
steady roll rate goes down. Since the roll damping effect depends on the roll rate, the initial acceleration due to the ailerons is unchanged, but the acceleration "bleeds off quickly. When the ailerons are neutralized the roll stops quickly, too.
Well, you say, when we increased the span we moved the ailerons out, too, so they should be more powerful. True, which is why we held the aileron power fixed in the paragraph above — so we could inspect what damping did by itself. As the airplane would actually be designed, the aileron power and roll damping would be "traded off against each other, structural considerations such as wing flexibility might be rung in, and the pilot effort required to work the ailerons estimated. The result, it should be obvious, is a manyfactored compromise. But since both materials and pilots
Now how about the effects of the resisting tendency, or roll damping we mentioned a bit ago? For the sake
are more alike than they are different, most wing/aileron
of illustration, on an imaginary design, let's fix the
good guide to proportioning is to stay within the approximate limits displayed by typical successful airplanes.
aileron power (not the area, but the ability to command the initial roll acceleration, which is some different) on
an imaginary design. Now pretend that we revise the design so as to increase the span without changing the total wing area or
designs turn out more alike than different, so a pretty
We need to diverge for just a minute to talk about a term you may hear while indulging in hangar flying — "adverse yaw." There's no certain way for you to try to
experience this on a modern production airplane, beSPORT AVIATION 63
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has done some recent work with spoilers applied to light aircraft, and there is much older literature also available on many types of spoilers. Dihedral Effect
Fig. 21 — Schematic of dihedral effect cause it's usually been carefully suppressed, but some older airplanes would behave about as follows: If you were to try to perform, say, a right roll using ailerons alone, the first thing you would notice would be a sickening nose-left swerve as the roll started to develop (I seem to remember being able to produce something resembling this for my stability-and-control students in their familiarization flights, and if I fudged with just a mite of top rudder I could produce a really disgusting lurch). So where did that come from? Well, when the left aileron was deflected down, it didn't produce just more lift — it produced drag too, and that's a good general fact to remember — any attempt to produce lift by deflecting the oncoming airstream induces drag too, called simply induced drag. On the right (up) aileron the opposite happened — less lift, hence less induced drag. So the airplane swung to the left. The way to get rid of this tendency is to fix things so the up aileron will produce some parasite drag. The Frise aileron (Fig. 20A) does this (it also does some other things). You can help with this by deflecting the up aileron more than the down one — differential ailerons. An additional benefit from this is that you "protect" the down aileron by not letting it move down so far; it doesn't retain its power up to deflections as high as the up aileron. (If it is allowed to deflect to too high an angle the result, at low airspeed, can be the opposite of what you want: the wing in front of the down aileron simply stalls, and you roll the wrong way). Before we leave the subject of roll response we should mention the alternatives to conventional ailerons. The most important of these are spoilers (Fig. 20B, C & D). Well-designed, spoilers can be quite satisfactory. The things to remember are: First, only one wing, not both, is effective in producing roll, so the spoiler span must be from about 1.6 to about 2.2 times the span of our conventional aileron, for equal power. Second, the farther forward a spoiler is on the wing, the more powerful it is, but the longer it waits to become effective after you've put the stick over. On our memorable ride in a spoiler-equipped airplane we waited for what photopanel data from later flights showed was almost a second-and-a-half after full stick was in, before anything happened at all. When the roll finally got going it about tore our heads off. Third, spoiler controls do not feel like ailerons, nor is the yaw response the same. The initial yaw is usually favorable — into the turn, not away from it — and while this sounds fine, there is such a thing as too much of it. Successful spoiler systems have usually used a spoiler about ten percent of the local wing chord in width (fore-and-aft) positioned from about 60 to 70 percent of the wing chord aft of the leading edge. An example (patented) appears on the Mitsubishi MU-2. 64 SEPTEMBER 1975
The effect of dihedral angle can be shown using a front and a top view of oversimplified airplane (Fig. 21). The picture shows the airplane yawed to the direction of flight. Eliminating details of the flow over the wings, it can be seen that air flowing over the windward wing leaves the vicinity of the trailing edge relatively lower than it would were the airplane unyawed. Air flowing over the leeward wing leaves it relatively higher, etc. Thus the angle of attack of the windward wing has effectively been increased, and that of the leeward wing decreased. The result is that the airplane rolls away from the wind. If you were to fly an airplane with very little vertical tail, and lots of dihedral, the result of yawing the airplane would be a roll, followed by a slip to the downwind side. The slip would change the direction of the oncoming airstream, and a roll in the opposite direction would set in. This process would repeat — nose-left yaw, left roll, left slip, right roll, right slip — until you get on the rudder and the ailerons to correct things. This is dutch roll (don't ask me what's Dutch about it), and it will not correct itself unless there is enough vertical fin to cause the airplane to nose into the slip. At the other extreme, an airplane with no dihedral and a large vertical fin will respond to a slip with no correcting roll at all. The vertical tail will simply take over and turn the airplane into the slip. In the lack of anything to hold the nose up, the plane of the turn is tilted downward toward the direction of slip. The nose falls, the airspeed increases, the decreased angle of slip is offset by the airspeed increase, the airplane turns some more, the nose falls some more, and so on until you roll it out. Your flight instructor probably told you that this type of behavior is particularly deadly when you're on instruments and using only needle, ball and airspeed. Fortunately for chronic map-gazers like myself, there is between these two extremes a stable region which can be counted on to forgive anything except the most flagrant head-down-and-locked behavior. The stable region can usually be entered, for conventional airplanes suffering from annoying dutch roll behavior, by increasing the wing dihedral. Conventional airplanes with objectionable spiral guide behavior can usually be improved by increasing the wing dihedral. The consequences of excessive dihedral shows up when steady slips must be held, as in crosswind landings. Aileron must be held in to correct the tendency of the airplane to roll away from the wind, and too much dihedral therefore limits crosswind landing capability by using up too much aileron authority. Agreeable airplanes typically have some aileron authority left at the maximum sideslip angle attainable in a straight slip, i.e. they run out of rudder first. How much stability, how much control authority, are "enough"? It wouldn't do much good for me to quote engineers' rules of thumb or to spout strings of mathematical "derivatives" which mean nothing unless they are properly assembled. Over the years, however, general agreement has been reached on what constitutes a pleasant, docile airplane. Perhaps surprisingly, this is not the same thing as a very stable airplane, for reasons similar to those cited in the previous paragraph — too much stability uses up control authority, and usually produces a disagreeable ride anyway. The limits of proper-
tioning between which a conventional airplane can be expected to be reasonably agreeable are shown in the table at the end of this article. CONTROL FORCES
Most of our judgments about control "feel" are formed by whether we think a) that the forces we have to exert are about what we're used to in everyday life on the ground, and b) that the motions of the cockpit controls are somehow consistent with the forces. During takeoff and landing we also insert an independent judgment of whether the motions themselves are reasonable in magnitude. Airplanes have been built whose cockpit controls would not move at all, the force on the wheels or pedals being sensed electrically and the signals used to actuate the control surfaces through "black boxes." Such airplanes were flyable, but somehow did not "feel" right (though I suppose if we'd never experienced anything else we'd think them quite good). At the other extreme would be airplanes whose control actions are all motion and no associated force whatever. Again this can be done electrically, and can even be approximated mechanically, but the result can be extremely dangerous. In such an airplane the pilot's sudden response to something startling can place enough acceleration on the airplane to fail its structure, though in normal flight the pilot may be able to school himself to keep control motions slow and small. So the control forces are there to protect us as well as provide signals we use in precise maneuvering. They may be adjusted by any of the means I mentioned previously. The bobweight which is the longitudinal force-per-
twisted so that the tip is at a smaller angle of attack (measured from free stream) than that of the root. Of the three, the last two require further discussion. The tip airfoil section should be in the moderatethickness, moderate-camber area. The high side of 9% and the low side of 12% thick are approximate limits: thinner airfoils will stall early, and very thick ones will stall at the trailing edge and will develop thick wakes at
almost any angle of attack. Airfoil characteristics appear in many NACA/NASA reports, and collected data are given in NACA TR 824, in "Theory of Wing Sections" (same authors, — EAA stocks or can get it), and in "Airfoils," a German compilation by F. W. Riegels. Before making your selections, have someone brief you on the effects of Reynolds Number and how to figure them into your work. There are two definitions of twist: geometric (chord line) twist and aerodynamic twist. Aerodynamic twist is what you want. It works like this: say that the root airfoil
no-lift angle of attack was zero degrees, and the tip airfoil no-lift angle of attack was -2°. Then a wing with the root chord line parallel to the tip chord line would be aerodynamically twisted plus-two degrees (plus indicates in this case that the zero-lift line of the tip airfoil is nosed-up two degrees from the chord plane). To take out the aerodynamic twist, the tip would have to be rotated nose-down two degrees. Get it? If not See Fig. 22.
knot increaser can also be of use in raising or lowering
the effort required to hold the nose into turns — the "stick-force-per-g" — provided the force-per-knot gradient remains reasonable. Airplanes certificated under FAR Part 23 must conform in several ways to prescribed limits of control force — "pilot effort" — both high and low. You've probably read Part 23 — if not, do so. The reasons for its provisions can be appreciated by anyone who's had to fly some of the cantankerous products of the first ten or fifteen years of this century. STALLING CHARACTERISTICS
The type airplane in which I — and a lot of you — learned to fly would not allow me to continue using the
ailerons in the normal manner as I decreased airspeed toward a stall. Instead, aileron inputs had to be made increasingly gingerly, and finally as the last knot or so
bled off, the rudder was the means of holding the wings level. Performed at altitude, this was not dangerous once one got the hang of it, and it was even sort of smugly satisfying to see how long I could keep the poor old bird staggering around up there by walking the pedals. New airplanes must be designed so that normal aileron control is retained up to the stall (through the
Fig. 22 — Geometric and aerodynamic twist. Subscript T refers to tip airfoil section. (A) equally cambered root and tip, (B) and (C) tip camber larger than root camber
pedal-walking technique is still useful). Although there
Here I refer to the contour of the control surface, viewed in cross-section. Aileron, elevator and rudder all obey the same rules, but the tail surfaces offer more
is no way to be absolutely certain of this until the airplane flies, there are several things which can be done to increase the probability that normal control will exist. The wing can be designed so as to stall first somewhere inboard of the ailerons. This can be done in any or all of three ways. First, a reasonable planform is adopted. For wings of ordinary slenderness or aspect ratio, tip-cord/
root-chord ratios from about 0.6 to 1 or over will provide good protection. Highly tapered wings tend to stall first at the tips, slightly tapered wings at the root. Second, the airfoil section may be made different at root and tip. The tip section should be a higher-lift section than that at the root. Third, the wing can be
CONTROL SURFACE DESIGN
room to move around, so let's talk about them. As we've seen, we must have tail surfaces of some sort, and their size is fixed by certain factors we can estimate fairly well. But tail surfaces add nothing to performance — they just stick out there and drag. Our only
means of significantly reducing the drag is to make the surfaces thinner. Externally-braced surfaces can be as think as their structural materials allow; internallybraced surfaces usually must be from 6 to 9 percent thick. A thicker surface generates a thick wake, with resultant poor centering. SPORT AVIATION 65
The shape of the movable flap itself can have quite a bit to do with the surface characteristics. Control surfaces with, say true-contour 0010 airfoil sections don't always behave as they should. The peculiar behavior — typically poor centering or even porpoising of the airplane — is due to the thick boundary layers over the flap surfaces. One way to improve behavior is to select an airfoil section of higher thickness ratio than you intend for the surface. Then straighten the aft portion by drawing tangents to the basic airfoil section at the hinge line — Fig. 23. The outline so formed is your new airfoil section. There should be no break in the direction of the curve of the surface except that the airfoil can be squeezed a little just forward of the flap nose, not more than about 12 percent of the maximum airfoil thickness, to get some reduction in drag. Do not let the fixed surface run outside nominal contour, or the movable surface run inside it. How about the outline or silhouette of the tail surfaces? The same aerodynamic rules apply here as do for the wing. The aspect ratio of the horizontal tail of a conventional airplane, however, should be lower than that of the wing. The lift of a low-aspect-ratio surface develops slowly as angle of attack increases, but the maxi-
mum lift is little different from that of a high aspect ratio surface. You want to retain control through a stall, and the way to do this is to assure that the wing stalls but the horizontal tail does not. The assurance is provided partly by the low tail aspect ratio. The shape of the vertical tail should be made consistant with the appearance of the rest of the airplane, again within the aerodynamic limits. The aspect ratio can be quite low, since the presence of the fuselage and the horizontal tail effectively fool the vertical tail into thinking it is slimmer than it really is, by a factor of as much as 1.5 or so.
fuselage, a la DC-9, that's about all there is to the story. But high mounted tails used together with highly swept and tapered wings and aft-pod-mounted engines are something else again: in certain combinations they can lead to what's called "deep stall", a locked-in flavor that's very hard to get rid of. The best advice is to avoid this general type of configuration altogether. If you are determined to build such a bird (and somebody will try), get help from an aerodynamicist who's been there. Canards The VariViggen is not for everybody to try, anyway not without a Burt Rutan around to supervise the design. An acquaintance of mine tried it with no such expertise handy, against the advice of his engineer friends. The wreckage came by on a truck the day after he made his first lift-off, and he was fortunate not to be included in it. To get an idea of why such warnings need be uttered, let's refer back to the graphs of nose-up/nose-down tendency versus angle-of-attack. You'll see that we have indicated there that the conventionally-placed horizontal tail is stabilizing. The fact that it is stabilizing is due to its location behind the airplane center of gravity. Well, a canard tail is just the opposite — it is destabilizing. So if you hung a canard tail on an otherwise-satisfactory airplane whose center-of-gravity was on, say, the stickfree neutral point, you'd suddenly have an unstable airplane. The cure for this — in theory at least — is obvious once it's pointed out — you say "Now why didn't I think of
that?" We saw that as its center of gravity moved forward, a conventional airplane became more stable. A canard airplane behaves the same way, so it boils down to just moving the center of gravity far enough forward to more-than-offset the destabilizing contributions of the fuselage and the horizontal tail. Simple, you say. Well, let's see. In the first place, a canard airplane has, almost by definition, no "tail" — no fuselage afterbody, that is.
Fig. 23 — Tailoring movable tail control airfoil section
Now a conventional fuselage afterbody is less stabilizing than its forebody is destabilizing, for equal lengths. But a canard fuselage not only lacks an afterbody — scratch one stabilizing contribution — but it also has a longer forebody — add some destabilizing effect. So,
2
3 3.5
•MAC LENGTHS FROM A.C. Fig. 24 — Horizontal tail location relative to wing for
best stall warning and freedom from pitchup QUIRKS AND FREAKS
The T-tail The horizontal tail does quintuple duty: it provides stability, control and trim, helps provide stall warning, and assists in developing normal post-stall behavior. That is, it does if it's located right. For best stall warning the horizontal tail should be in the shaded area shown on Fig. 24. If the tail is above this region (the boundary is actually very fuzzy) the wing wake will not approach the tail as stall is approached, and the stall buffet will be lost. There is also some danger of the airplane pitching up at the stall. As long as wings are straight and there are no jet engine nacelles on the aft 66 SEPTEMBER 1975
counting the destabilizing effect of the forward-mounted horizontal tail, the comparison between conventional and canard airplanes winds up like this (for the same e.g. locations in percent of MAC): Canard airplane stability = Conventional airplane stability
Minus Minus Minus Minus
effect effect effect effect
of fuselage afterbody of conventional tail of longer forebody of canard tail
which adds up to a pretty darned unstable airplane indeed. Put another way, the neutral points (remember
them?) of the canard airplane lie much farther forward on the mean aerodynamic chord of the wing than do
those of the conventional airplane. I was once associated with a program for development of a canard airplane
whose normal center of gravity range turned out to be from 85 percent to 120 percent of its MAC length forward of the leading edge of the wing, which shows how drastic the change can be. Stick around, there's more to come. What shall we do about stall behavior? The book says we should have adequate stall warning and should retain control through the stall, and by implication it also says the airplane should pitch. As interpreted by the good guys that means down, not up.
We saw how we could get what we wanted on a conventional airplane by proper placement of a horizontal tail of relatively low aspect ratio. Since things have gone by opposites so-far, we should expect that a canard tail of relatively high aspect ratio should do the job. But wait — doesn't that mean the pitch-down will be caused by the stalling of the tail, not the wing? It most
the center of gravity forward of the aerodynamic center, without the necessity for a large up-elevator deflection. Trim at other angles of attack would be accomplished
certainly does — do you want that? Answers from various designers are various.
dency can fortunately be secured without throwing away much maximum lift, by starting with a conventional
Where do we place a canard tail vertically? On a conventional airplane the horizontal tail helps in pro-
airfoil section with a lot of forward camber, and reflexing
viding stall warning through its proximity to the wing
as the solid lines in Fig. 25. A small forward movement of the center of gravity now makes the wing stable — weakly so, If you want more stability, and hence a longer
wake. But the canard tail flies in the crossflow field of the fuselage forebody, which usually doesn't want to
using elevator deflection.
Maximum lifts of upside-down wings are low. The greater the camber of the airfoil section used, the lower the maximum lift. The desired nose-up pitching ten-
the after portion of the camber line. The result is shown
stall at all. So shall we put the wing in the canard tail's
usable center-of-gravity range, simply increase the reflex
wake and hope the wing will give us at least a little something? Well, inboard of the vortexes shed by the tail, the airflow is deflected down when the tail lifts up (which uplift is one reason people get trapped into designing canards). But outboard of these vortexes the flow is deflected up — not so much up, but up, anyway. This means the angle of attack of those portions of the wing that are in that upflow will be increased, possibly
of the wing camber line, and move the center-of-gravity range out forward to correspond.
beyond that for stall. How much? It varies with what
the pilot is doing with the elevator at the time. I'm fairly
change can give you fits when you come to locate the main gear — one or two people have been killed because
certain that, what with everything else that can beat up
they didn't know how to handle the variables involved —
the load distribution on the wing — props, the fuselage, maybe even nacelles — I don't fancy the idea of intro-
and the combination of that and the high drag due to lift make the airplane poor in roundout for landing. The situation can be handled, of course; if it couldn't all
ducing a wing stall that will vary with a load on the tail.
So the logical location of the canard tail is above the chord plane of the wing. Considering the available locations for the tail, this usually means it's easier to design a low-wing canard than one with a high wing.
Through yet? Nope; we haven't talked about the vertical tail, which doesn't have any structure to sit on where it's normally used to being. Instead, it sits very close to the wing, or on the wingtips, so despite the relatively far forward center-of-gravity location, square foot for square foot the vertical tail of the canard is a relative weakie. This is why the vertical tails of well configured canards vary in area from merely huge to
simply tremendous. I guess what it all boils down to can be summarized by repeating what Prof. Otto Koppen used to tell his classes at MIT: "It is reasonable for airplanes — like Bo-peep's sheep — to carry their tails behind them."
A conventional high-aspect-ratio wing doesn't have
much room inside where you want to sit, so a low-aspectratio wing is very attractive for this application. Remember, through, that a stubby wing has two characteristics you don't want — a low rate of change of lift with angle of attack, and high induced drag. The low rate of lift
the high-performance fighters, which display somewhat
the same characteristics, would be in trouble. Some have been, in fact. Since by definition a flying wing has no tail, the vertical tail picture is about the same as for the canard. All you can cram on is none too much. Along with that
goes a cautionary note on dihedral: keep it low. One notable very large flying wing had no geometric dihedral at all; what little effective dihedral it had comes from its moderately swept wings. The airplane flew, but because it had to be weakly stable for the reasons we've just seen, it wasn't a very "steady" platform for the job it had to do, and for this and other reasons it was never produced in quantity. NOSE UP
Flying Wings
A flying wing has no tail at all, in the conventional sense, but it still obeys the same aerodynamic ground rules we've observed til now. Its longitudinal stability must be supplied by the wing characteristics and the center-of-gravity location. What "tail" it has is vestigial — the elevator alone, hitched to the trailing edge of the wing in a cutout provided for it, and frequently split so that it can be operated through a yoke mechanism so as to serve as ailerons as well — "elevens".
NOSE DOWN Fig. 25 — Effect of wing camber on ability to trim a flying wing with little elevator deflection
It is possible to make this contraption longitudinally
stable. To see how to do it and still retain the normal elevator deflection range, refer to Fig. 25. This shows, in dotted lines, what happens when the center of gravity of a wing with a conventional airfoil section — say a 2412 or a Clark Y — is moved forward of its aerodynamic center to provide stability. It simply can't be
trimmed anywhere in the usable range of angles of attack without a lot of elevator deflection, and this uses up total nose-up control authority. If the wing were turned upside down, its nosingdown tendency would be changed to a nosing-up tendency, and it could be trimmed for level flight somewhere in the usable range of angles of attack by moving
Swept-Wing Airplanes
There's no particular reason to build a slow sweptwing airplane outside of just showing you can do it.
Actually, low sweep angles — perhaps 5 to 10 degrees measured at the half-chord line — won't bother you with
odd characteristics. Several airplanes have had a little sweep designed into their wings to compensate for rather far-aft center-of-gravity ranges. Beyond such small sweep angles though, things begin to happen: —maximum lift diminishes, so stalling speed increases for the same weight and wing area. SPORT AVIATION 67
—the lift distribution shifts outboard, so that a conventionally-tapered wing with sweep tends to tip-stall. More twist is called for, plus higher-lift airfoil sections toward the wingtips.
—the effective dihedral changes with angle of attack, being large at high angles. The lateral-directional stability characteristics therefore move toward the dutchroll region as speed decreases (airplanes with unswept wings frequently go the other way). Geometric dihedral angles are chosen as compromises between the high settings needed for cruise flight and the very low, even negative settings needed for slow flight. —the rate of change of lift with angle of attack diminishes with increasing sweep, producing a mild version of the characteristics we talked about for the low-aspect-ratio flying wing. There's nothing in the above that we can't handle — with expert help, that is — but until we start building high-Mach homebuilts, why bother?
14. Roskam, Jan., "Flight Dynamics of Rigid and Elastic Airplanes", published by the author, 519 Boulder, Lawrence, Kansas 66044 NOTES: Reference 3 is the oldest listed book, and has been a standby on aerodynamicists' shelves for years. Its approach to static stability and control is classic, and it reads fairly easily, but its treatment of dynamics is becoming obsolete. In universities it is being superseded by Reference 4, a comprehensive text but with British notation, and Reference 14, which is complete and very powerful. The best general discussion of flying qualities requirements will be found in Reference 6. The most complete single reference for airfoil data is Reference 13.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Fink, R.D. et al, "USAF Stability and Control Datcom", Flight Control Division, Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Oct. 1960, with revisions 2. ————————MIL-F-8785B (ASG) "Flying Qualities of Piloted Airplanes", prepared by USAF, 7 August 1969
3. Perkinds, Courtland D., and Robert E. Hage, "Airplane Performance Stability and Control", New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1949
GUIDELINES FOR PROPORTIONING CONVENTIONAL AIRPLANES
Wing
Aspect ratio = (square of span)/area
5-8
Taper ratio of straight-tapered wing: (chord of tip rib)/(chord of root rib)
0.5 - 1
4. Etkin, Bernard, "Dynamics of Flight", New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1959
Twist
For rectangular wing For 0.5 taper ratio
5. Gilruth, R. R., "Requirements for Satisfactory Flying Qualities of Airplanes", NACA TR 755, 1943
Sweep
Less than 15° at quarter chord line
Dihedral
Parasol airplane High wing airplane Low wing airplane
Thickness ratios
Not much under 9% at tip, or much over 18% at root
Camber
(higher cambers go with thinner sections) 0-4%
Airfoil sections
Select so as to protect ailerons at stall. If you just must use laminar flow sections, NACA 64A, a = 0.8 are the most consistent in behavior.
6. Phillips, W. H., "Appreciation and Prediction of Flying Qualities", NACA TR 927, 1949 7. Spreeman, K. B., "Design Guide for Pitchup Evaluation and Investigation at High Speeds of Possible Limitations due to Wing Aspect Ratio Variations", NASA TM X-26, 1959 8. Neihouse, A. T., J. H. Lichtenstein, and P. W. Pepoon, "Tail Design for Satisfactory Spin Recovery", NACA TN 1045, 1946 9. Bowman, J. S. Jr., "Summary of Spin Technology
as Related to Light General-Aviation Airplanes", NASA TN D-6575, 1971 10. Murray, H. E, and E. G. Wells, "Wind Tunnel Investigation of the Effects of Wing-tip Fuel Tanks on Characteristics of Unswept Wings", NACA TN 1317, 1947 11. Smetana, Frederick O., Delbert C. Summey, and
W. Donald Johnson, "Riding and Handling Qualities of Light Aircraft — a Review and Analysis", NASA CR-1975, March 1972 12. Cooper, George E., "Understanding and Interpret-
ing Pilot Opinion", Aeronautical Engineering Review", Vol. 16, No. 3, Mar. 1957, pp. 47-52 13. Abbott, Ira H., and A. E. von Doenhoff, "Theory of Wing Sections", Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Var-
ick St., N. Y., New York 10014 66 SEPTEMBER 1975
0° usually 2° - 3°
0° 0-3° 5-7°
Flaps Type and chord ratio — your choice, but remember that very effective (wide-chord or Fowler) flaps may cause trim change problems. Also, wide-chord flaps eat into the available space for wing structure. Flap performance data: lots on NACA 23012 with various types and sizes of flap; less on other airfoils. Ailerons 35 - 50%
Span Chord (total)
Usually controlled by
rear spar location
Aerodynamic balance: don't try for anything fancy without help from an experienced man Deflections
Vertical Tail
Area (not including dorsal or ventral) 12 - 15% projected wing area
Anything above about 20° down isn't very effective, and may hurt you at high angles of attack, Up deflection may be 25° or even more.
Volume Coefficient (Tail area) (Tail length)
Horizontal Tail
Length from wing quarterchord line to hinge line
Note on vertical tail volume coefficient:
2.3-3.1
Wing MAC
Use lower values for single engine, high power loading, high wing airplanes. Use high values for low power loading and twin-engine a i r planes.
lengths
Total area
20 - 24%
projected wing area "Tail Volume Coefficient" Aspect ratio
(Tail area) (Tail length)
with low mounted horizontal tail with high-mounted or T-tail
(Wing area) (MAC length) — Airplane with adjustable stabilizer 0.5 - 0.7 — Airplane with cockpitcontrollable trim tab on elevator 0.7 - 1.0
Thickness ratio
0.8-1.0
Same remarks as for horizontal tails. T-tailed airplanes can use relatively thick (10 - 12%) sections for structural reasons
Taper ratio
Same as horizontal tail if h.t. is low-mounted for T-tails 0.7 - 0.9
pect ratio (except for typical Canard airplane)
Special note:
T-tails are troublesome: get expert help if you simply must have one.
Not critical for very small airplanes. For large airplanes 6 to 9%. Do not go 129J or over.
Sweep
up to about 35° at the guarter chord (sheared method) will gain effectiveness if the root location is fixed. Maximum tail power will not show a gain in proportion.
Lower than wing as- 3.2-4.5
0.5- 1
Taper ratio
Airfoil section
1.0-1.6
Thickness ratio
Use high values for low wing configurations and for low power loadings
Aspect ratio
.04 - .07
(Wing area) (Wing span)
Keep upper and lower surfaces of elevator straight. Do not allow elevator surfaces to go under contour.
Center of Gravity
Dihedral of horizontal tail
none
Sweep at hinge line of elevator
none
Fore-and-aft locations between 25 and 30% of MAC will usually be satisfactory. Check loadings which will give you most forward and most aft locations. If you must run beyond these limits, run forward rather than aft. Canards: limits are farther forward. Get help!
Homebuilders, Antiques, Custom World's Largest Variety of Fiberglass Parts. New items are under construction all the time. Special machined parts, hardware, spruce. Write for catalog - $1.00
RATTRAY AIRCRAFT CO. 2357 Afton Road (608)
Beloit, Wis. 53511 362-4611
Components MARCEL JURCA MJ-77
(P-51 3/4 scale Information Package) $5.00 SPORT AVIATION 69
SPECIAL EAA OFFER!
GO EAA All THE WAY!
JEWELRY
Brooch - yellow gold sunburst with EAA emblem . $ 6.8 Charm - on white gold plate or yellow gold plate
$ 4.8
Earrings - regular .............................. $ 9.8
Earrings - pierced, post-type .................... $11.2
Wire type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.2
Lapel Pin/Tie Tac (blue and gold)................ $ 3.0 Lapel Pin/Tie Tac (white and g o l d ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 3.
Tie Bar (Out of Stock) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 5.
JACKETS & BLAZERS New EAA Jackets in our traditional blue with double white stripes. EAA Patch over stripes. The new Antiq ue Airplane Jacket is the same style as the EAA Jacket but
made of same material as jumpsuit shown above. Knit EAA Jacket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $26.95 Polyester Cotton EAA Jacket . . . . . . . . . . . $15.95 Antique Airplane Pattern (Polyester Cotton Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.95 Liners for above Jackets (order same size as jackets) . . . . . . . . . $11.95
Adults — Small Children — Small (5-8) Adults — Medium
Children — Medium (8-11)
Adults — Large Children — Large (10-13) Adults — X-Large
Smart new double knit blazer in EAA blue with embroidered EAA Patch. SIZES
Double Knit Blazer.............................. $59.95 (Above Items Postpaid)
Men's Sizes Only — 36-50 Short Men's Sizes Only — 36-50 Regular Men's Sizes Only — 36-50 Long
Note — Orders for Jackets, Blazers and Jumpsuits described on these pages should be sent to EAA Headquarters. Apparel will be shipped (allow 4-6 weeks for delivery) directly from the manufacturer, Flight Apparel Industries, Hammonton Airport, Flight Apparel Lane and Columbia Road RD 4, Hammonton, NJ 08037. Any returns or exchanges must
be returned directly to Flight Apparel Industries. All Photos by Lee Fray
JUMPSUITS
* PUBLICATIONS
You've been asking for it for years — an EAA Jumpsuit. Now they are available in knit, polyester cotton and Nomex fire retardant material — also a wild antique airplane pattern. These jumpsuits are tailored and fit beautifully — no baggy look. Knit EAA Jumpsuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Polyester Cotton EAA Jumpsuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Antique Airplane Pattern (Polyester Cotton Only) Nomex Fire Retardant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$39.95 $27.95 $27.95 $69.95
SIZES
__ __ __
Basic Hand Tools, Vol. 1 Basic Hand Tools, Vol. 2 Custom Aircraft Building Tips, Vol. 1
__
Custom Aircraft Building Tips, Vol. 2
__ __
Custom Aircraft Building Tips, Vol. 3 Custom Aircraft Building Tips, Vol. 4
__
Custom Built Sport Aircraft
__ __ __ ——
Ladies — 6-20 Regular Ladies — 8-20 Long
__ __ __
Note — When specifying sizes for jumpsuits, indicate height, weight and suit or dress size in addition to the above information (i.e., 40 Regular).
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Men — 36-50 Regular Men — 38-50 Long
(Above Items Postpaid)
EAA Embroidered Cloth Patches EAA - Small (cap size)......... $ .75 EAA - Medium (3W x 4Vi".. $1.95
EAA - Large (5" x 6") .......... EAA Wings........................ Aircraft Builder.................. Antique/Classic Division .....
$2.25 $1.50 $1.75 $1.75
I.A.C. Division................... $1.95
EAA Vinyl Decals EAA Standard (round)......... EAA Winged...................... Antique/Classic Division ..... I.A.C. Division...................
$ $. $ $
.50 50 .50 .50
Other Metal Aircraft Placards........ $2.50 Flight Bags (14" x 5" x 11 Vi") $7.50 Garment Bags (1 suiter) ...... $2.25 EAA CAPS
EAA (white mesh, blue visor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3.50 Men's sizes . . . small, medium, large x-large Ladies . . . one size, adjustable to fit all
SPECIAL EAA OFFER! EAA JACKET REDUCED The EAA Jacket (not shown) with the triangular white panel is being closed out. Save on the unlined version.
Skool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3.95 (knit cap, navy and gold)
__ Wood, Volume 1 __ Wood, Volume 2 __ Wood Aircraft Building Techniques
$2 • 75 ea.
Unlined — medium and large only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12.95 Lined — medium and large only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.95 Each special offer item, enclose
$1.50 additional for postage and handling.
Plans EAA Acro Sport................ $60.00 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawings...................... $15.00 Acro Sport Info Kit........... $ 4.00 EAA BiPlane P-2 . . . . . . . . . . $27.00 Pober Pixie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40.00
Farm Type Hangar ........ $ 5.00
"Fun in the Sun" . . . . . . . . . $5.00 (sailor type - small, medium, large, x-large)
Handbook Design, Vol. 1 Design, Vol. 2 Design, Vol. 3 Engine Operation, Carburetion, Conversion Engines, Vol. 1 Engines, Vol. 2 Engineering for the Custom Aircraft Builder — Hoffman Metal Aircraft Building Techniques Modern Aircraft Covering Techniques Pilot Proficiency Pilot Report & Flight Testing Sheet Metal, Volume 1 Sheet Metal, Volume 2 Sport Aircraft You Can Build Tips on Aircraft Fatigue Welding
EAA Sport Shirts Knit pull over types with zipper at neck. EAA emblem. Sharp in red or blue! Specify color. Small, medium, large, extra-large....................... $12.50
Miscellaneous EAA Lucite Key Chain .........$ 1.25 EAA Letter Opener........... $ 1.80 EAA Coaster Set (4)........... $ 1.55 (Order Today — All items this Section Postpaid)
Add 30c postage first publication, 10c each additional manual.
Air Pictorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.30 CAM-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.30 CAM-107 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EAA Air Show & Fly-In Manual ..
4.30 2.80
EAA Log Book for the Custom-Built Airplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.30 Flying Manual, 1929 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.30 Flying & Glider Manual, 1932 ... 2.30 Flying Miscellaney, 1929-33 ..... 2.30 Golden Age of Air Racing . . . . . . 2.80 Hang Gliding (by Dan Poynter) . 5.95 How to Build the Acro Sport.... 4.50 Service & Maintenance Manual . 3.80 Theory of Wing Sections (Abbott and Von Doenhoff) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.50 Wings of Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.80 (All books lower section — Postpaid)
Send check or money order to:
AsSOCI
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 229
Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130 SPORT AVIATION 71
At your Service, Headquarters since 1931 for
BARKER
SPECIALTY
VW Engines - Ports - Fittings
PLYWOODS
AIRCRAFT To MIL-P-6070
Ted Barker Experimental Engines
90° Mahogany Type 48 x 96 Panels
1/16", 3/32", 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 9/32", 5/16", 3/8"
Palomar Airport - Bldg. SC Carlsbad, California 92008 Telephone (714) 729-9468 or 729-9033
MARINE To MIL-P-18066
ALL NEW (including cose)
HAND BUILT ENGINES — VW 5 5 - 1 0 3 H. P. Ready to install. CONVERSION PLANS by TED BARKER (VW) — $5.00 INFORMATION PACK AND CATALOG — $1.00
Handy, Compact, Precision Tools for Nicopress Sleeves V. 12 for $1; Jfc' . 10 for $1
Vt", 20cea : V- 25c ea K»". 50c ea.; Vt". 75c ea.____
Slainless Steel Thimbles: ) AN 100 C3 0V AN 100 C4 (V)
& V'> 8 (or $1: 6 for $1;
AN 100-C5 % } 20c ea
AN 100 C6 (V)
"SWAGE-IT"* TOOLS
#2 for K»", %"* V4"
Nicopress Oval Sleeves $12.50 #3 for Vi". &". JfV' and W Nicopress Oval Sleeves $27.50
Tlghtenini bolts applies swaflni pres-
30cea,_____ sure. Will hold full rated strength of
Galvanized Cable MIL-W-1511A: 7»7, '„'. He H : V H e f t : 7«19, \\". 1 9 c f t ; V'. 21c f t . ;
K.". 25c ft.
Send check or M.O. with order.
Calif, residents add 6% Sales Tax.
Famowood Plastic Filler &
Borden adhesives also available.
HARBOR SALES CO., INC. 1401 RUSSELL ST., BALTIMORE, MD. 21230
Phone 301-727-0106
OWN ANY AIRCRAFT ! !
SWAGE-IT YOURSELF Nicopress Oval Sleeves; Zinc Plated:
Fir, Overlay and Mahogany types 5/32" to 1!/2" thicknesses custom scarfed to any length
cable.
'trademark
13th Year Nationally Advertised S & F TOOL CO. -E-Box 1546 Costa Mesa, Calif. $2626
Orders postpaid in U.S.A.— Foreign Orders Add 10%
J
Now, every pilot, not just those with money to burn—can easily own the aircraft of his choice. No cash investment, no monthly payments! Sound impossible? Definitely not. It is being done more and more, every day, by thousands. General aviation is booming and so is the need for aircraft. New, unique purchasing and operating methods give every average pilot the chance to own the aircraft of his choice and make good money at the same time. Tremendous tax advantages for every pilot—not just the ones in a "tax bracket". Get the facts today by sending for this simple, brief, and proven system of aircraft purchase, operation, and ownership. Provides all the info you need to analyze the economics of any aircraft purchase. Shows you step by step how to end up owning your own plane for no cash down and no monthly payments. A proven system in use by thousands. Send $3.50 (fully refundable) to M. D. Wilier & Company, Box 3040E, Long Beach, Calif. 90803
—
NEW ELECTRIC AND MAGNETO POWERED AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENTS
—
AIRCRAFT ELECTRICAL SYSTEM NOT REQUIRED
All new manufacture, low cost, lightweight instruments for homebuilts; 98-0 accuracy, dust and moisture proof, lighted. 2'.4" and 3! B" standard sizes. Send For Free Brochure
ENGINES
BE CONSPICUOUS With combination tip
lights
anticolhsion lights.
AT A PRICE ALL CAN AFFORD
HOMEBUILDERS Complete One Stop Shop For Your Aircraft Engine And Needs
LYCOMING 125 HP TO 260 HP CONTINENTAL A-65's TO 0-200's
J1W.50 COMPLETE
Please Add 5°6 for Packing, Shipping and Insurance * Made for us by an FAA Approved Manufacturer * 6 Times FAA Requirement * Flashes 52-62 Times per Minute * Excellent Haze Penetration * Hemispherical Coverage * Weighs only 12 ounces
* Two year Guarantee
STICK GRIPS
Send large self-addressed stamped (20c)
AIR ENGINES, LTD.
72 SEPTEMBER 1975
150HP Lyc. 0-320, 1836TT . . . . . . 125HP Lyc. 0-290-G As removed
1695. 395.
SAFETY ITEM 0-290-G GPU OWNERS DON'T LOSE YOUR PROP! Propeller Flange inforcement, as
Reper
in April 1971 Sport Aviation. Precision machined from 4130 - Cad. plated Baked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 5 9 . 5 0 Extra long propeller Bushings for the above . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 4 9 . 5 0 set envelope for FREE CATALOG.
1325 W. Washington Bldg. A 6, Orlando, FL 32805 1 305-4226595 nights 1 305-896 3692 DICK WATERS or GENE KERR
190HP Lye. 0-435 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395. 180HP Lye. Injected; 2039TT ..$2695.
175HP Ranger On a PT19 Mount..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495.
John Thorp drawings
Completely remanufactured engines plus high and low time engines. (91 aircraft engines built in 1974. 41 this year to date). OUT Name Is Our Guarantee
310HP Lye. TIO-540-A2B w/all access. 340 STOH, 1340 TT, Xlnt ...$3595. 200HP Lye. 1O-360 1436TT .....$2695. 20DHP Ranger w/mags . . . . . . . . 595.
Add S% shipping (USA) 6°0 tax.
- Calif, add
. SPORT TRAINER
^~~~~~
FOR SAFETY
The CUBy - A New Dimension In Amateur Built Aircraft
plus
A PROVEN DESIGN Available in kit f o r m with many preformed and prewelded components, providing ease of construction and assembling
BEAUTY
Send for FREE information packet showing photos and 3-view illustrations plus complete list of assembly kits and accessories available. Builder Assembly drawings available for $65.
WAG-AERO, INC. Box 181, North Rood.Lyoni, Wise. 53148
SPECIAL
SPECIAL
SPORT AVIATION BACK ISSUE OFFER . . . .
12 ISSUES FOR $7.50 Because of the tremendous response to our special "warehouse bargain price" sale, this offer has been extended indefinitely! Added to this SPECIAL are SPORT AVIATION issues for 1972! Go through the following list, pick out any 12 issues and pay only $7.50 for them (instead of the usual $10.80). EAA is making this offer to clear out badly needed storage space. Take advantage of this offer while the issues last. This offer is for issues up to and including December. 1972 only. 1973, 1974 and 1975 issues are not included. Any quantities of less
than 12, of the years prior to 1973, sell for 90c each, as do all issues of 1973, 1974 and 1975. Back Issues Available are the following . . . 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974
- July, September, October, November - July, August, October - May, June - September, October. November, December • January, February. March, April, May, June, July, Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. - January, February, March, April, May, June, July, Sept., Oct., Nov. • May, June. September, October, November, December - March, May. July. September, October, November, December • January, February. March, April, May. July. August, Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. - January, February, March, April. May, June, July, August, Sept., Oct.,Nov., Dec. - January. February, March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. - January. February, March, April, May. June, July, Sept.. Oct., Nov., Dec. - January, August, September, October. November, December - July, August, September, October, November - January, February, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.
1975
- January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August
r Flight Proven^" Durable AIRCRAFT FINISHES for Executive, General and Agricultural I Aircraft... POLYURETHANE • BUTYRATE •NITRATE •ACRYLIC'EPOXY • ENAMELS • PRIMERS
Contact Randolph Products Company, for name ol nearest distributor.
P.O. BOX 67 CARLSTADT • N. J. 07072
Make check or money orders payable to EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION, INC. P. O. BOX 229
,
/NJ-20I-43837UO / N Y - 2 1 2 - 2 7 9 3254
HALES CORNERS, WISCONSIN 53130 SPORT AVIATION 73
aviation supply co. 2149 E. PR ATT BOULEVARD
ELK GROVE VILLAGE. ILL. 60007 AREA CODE 312/439 2060
Your No. 1 Supplier of Aviation Products
Specializing in Recovery Materials and Supplies for Classic, Antique, Homebuilt and Standard Category Aircraft.
LENGTH . . . . SPAN . . . . . . EMPTY WEIGHT
GROSS WEIGHT ENGINE
. . 14'4"
FUEL CAPACITY
. . .20-2" 420 LBS 800 LBS V W 1600
TOP SPEED . CRUISE SPEED STALL SPEED SEATS . . . . . .
12 U.S. GAL. . . ISOM.P.M. . . . . . 140 M.PH. . . . . . .42M.P.H. 2. SIDE BY SIDE
FREE INFORMATION (Send itamped. wlf add retted envelope)
RAND/ROBINSON ENG., INC 6171 CORNELL DRIVE HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA. 92647
DETAILED PLANS & INSTRUCTIONS '45.00 Construction Kits ilio available
Immediate delivery from the country's largest stock of Grade "A", Ceconite and Dacron Fabrics, Tapes, and Recovery Envelopes — Time-Tested and Proven SuperFlite Finishes and the revolutionary Super Shield Process, Super Shield Process Recovering and Finishing System for Ceconite and Poly-Fibers (Dacron). . . Most Outstanding Finishing Achievement in the Last Ten Years. Great Labor Savings — Six Coat Application! Lightweight — Less Coats! High Gloss Finish — No Visible Fabric Grain! Positive Adhesion — Will Not Peel or Crack, Ultra Flexible! Base Primer — No Odor, Fireproof, Water Clean-up! Aero Acrylic Color Coats — Use over Fabric, Metal and Plastic Alike for Uniform Finish! Free Catalog For complete information, send for our latest Aircraft Parts and Supplies Catalog for the Amateur and Professional Builder. Includes technical information and procedure manual. Specialized Quote Service: Be sure to write or phone us for dope and fabric material requirements for your specific aircraft. Advise name, year, model and serial number of aircraft and type of fabric you wish to use. For immediate reply, address attn: SuperFlite Division
THE NEW EAA ACRO SPORT-A SPORT BIPLANE FOR EVERYONE!
acio 22 BIG SHEETS OF BEAUTIFULLY DRAWN PLANS THAT CONTAIN: •
NEARLY 100 ISOMETRIC DRAWINGS, PHOTOS, AND "EXPLODED" VIEWS.
•
COMPLETE PARTS AND MATERIALS LIST.
•
INVERTED FUEL SYSTEM DIAGRAM
•
FULL SIZE RIB DRAWINGS
•
METAL OR PLYWOOD TURTLE-BACK COMPLETE CONTROL SYSTEM AND LANDING GEAR DRAWINGS. PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED BUILDER'S MANUAL.
NOW AVAILABLE
ACRO SPORT PLANS
$15.00
Info Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 4.00
EAA AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION
COMPLETE PLANS
Box 229 Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130
and Builder's Manual . . . . $60.00 74 SEPTEMBER 1975
Super Acro Sport Wing Drawings
The PORT ABLES New from Terra 1-6 $2409 1694 1874 1970 3933 4535 3445 3455 2077 21 59 2497 2692 4289 44.27 30 12 3096
One Size $21 14 1569 17.68 18.55
37.33 40.35 32.45 33.35 19.72 20.59 22.97 25.92 40.94
41.32 28.92 29.51
SPECIAL CORPORATE TIRES
1 8 x 5 x 5 Tubeless. 10 ply 26 x 6 x 6 Tubeless. 10 ply
WAG AERO -
Porlahle hand held transc e i v e r 1 lo 10 optional channels 11H.000-1 t").')7". MH/. ! Wall Min. RF Carrier Power output. Operalos 4 lo 12 hours from lonn lite recharneahle
Ni Cad hatleries. P r i c e IIH ludes
charter and 1 channel of 118. {00 or 122.K or 12t.t. Additional channels factory installed, $2"..00 each.
Box 181, Lyons, Wisconsin 53148 - 414. 763-9588
I'orlahle B a t t e r y L l e c l r i c a l System. Sealed loni; lile, rechargeable (,cl h a l l e r i e s . O p e r a t e s radios for (> lo
12 hours. Has
sell-contained
charter
charge
li^ht.
Includes
and
aircrall
mounting and all connectors.
$129
Oeooo corporation (or more information on ihe complete
Terra Corporation line of communication and navigational equipment, write to T E R R A CORPORATION, 3520 PAN AMERICAN FREEWAY, ALBUQUERQUE, NEWMEXICO87107.
SPORT AVIATION 75
4130
AIRCRAFT STEEL
Round tubing - square tubing - streamline tubing - bushing stocks - steel sheets aluminum sheets, .25c FOR PRICE SHEET
CLASSIC
Ik,
(813)
Al R
* All Metal * Easy to build for beginner and veterans alike * Plans — only $39.00 * Brochure — $1.00
SPRUCE AND
Madison County Highland, III. 62249 618/654-2191 No Collect Calls, Please RIVETS
MONEL STAINLESS ALUMINUM C L O S E D END
Rive! Kns PL 4 etc Fast Mail Service SPORT AIRCRAFT SPECIALTIES formerly WSL of Maroleriead
Build your own Audio Panel, Marker Rcvr, Test Equip. & more.
La Jolla, California 92037
NEW ITEMS
(714)
AN Rlvels 426 & 470 AD-3 -4 -5
120° 4 IMP CSKS - Clecos
FREE CATALOG
RST POB23233B
BEST PRICES
USMC -POP Rivets « HO 402 Pulton
KIT AVIONICS
PACIFIC AIRCRAFT P. O. Box 2191
PLYWOOD
WICKS AIRCRAFT
686-1285
723-S Saratoga Ave. - Lakeland, Fla. 33801
BUILD THE LITTLE D-8 SAILPLANE:
AIRCRAFT
Spars, Stringers, Cap-Strips * Surfaced either two or four sides. * Plywood and spruce in stock for immediate delivery. * Dynel Fabric Polyurethane Foam and Epoxy Resins for KR-1 Aircraft.
Marson HD Pullers • Fenwl Epoxy
San Diego, CA 92123
SAS • Bo:
277-1917
Sport Aviation Supply Ltd. 1104 Cambie Rd., Richmond Vancouver, B. C., Canada V6X 1L2 604/273-8501 1st Finished. ART CHARD, Bronson, Mich.
CERTIFIED AIRCRAFT BIRCH PLYWOOD
In stock in thicknesses from .6mm 3-ply thru 6.0 mm 5 ply. Various size sheets.
VAN'S RV-3 1973 & 1974 EAA Flight Efficiency Winner The total perfomance homebuilt, Tops 195 mph on 125 hp. Lands 48 mph. STOL. Aerobatic. Aluminum structure. Easy to build and fly. 85 - 150 hp. Parts Available. Brochure $3.00 Plans $85.00
Checks accuracy of tach in panel, shows true prop speed, 1800-2400 rpm, cw/ccw. TACH-CHEK is self-contained, nothing to connect. Accurate! Easy to use! Pocketsized w/carrying case. $12.95 ppd USA. ROBERSON & COMPANY, 17 E. Thomas Road, Phoenix, Ariz. 85012. Dealers Wanted.
VAN'S AIRCRAFT 22730 S. W. Francis, Beaverton, OR 97005
NOW IN STOCK AIRCRAFT SITKA SPRUCE (MIL
6070S)
%", 1", 2" x 6"', dressed to 20' long. HOMEBUILDERS SUPPLIES, AN, BALSA, AEROLITE GLUE
Write For Free Quarterly catalog
COMPLETE HARDWARE SUPPLIES Aqua Glider Eaby Ace Baby Great Lakes ED-4
Coot Bakeng Duce
Kingfisher Mustang Pazmany PL 1 & 2 Sidewinder Starduster
Starlet
Dyke Delta
FIRST IN SPRUCE
8 lb. Kit
15.05
1 qt. Kit - 5 Ibs 1 gal. Kit - 15 Ibs.
$11.00 $29.90
ASSORTED SUPPLIES Seatbelt & Harness Set $1.50 Yd. Dynel Fabric, 39" 2" Quick Disconnect $25.70 Epoxy Resin Kit Vernier Controls Foams 2# Rigid 24" X 48" Blk, Blue, Red Knobs Styrofoam Polyurethane Injector Carbs for VW ..$2.12 $4.65 New AC SR-88 plugs
..................
.. 3.68
8410
DALLAS
SEATTLE, WA. 98108
F. 0. B. Fullerton, Calif.
* Trademark of Ciba Co. Ltd.
1"
SPENCER AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES
HUGHES FPL-16A
Epoxy Wood Glue
9.95
Bantam
EVERYTHING IN HARDWARE SEND YOUR REQUIREMENTS
KILN DRIED SPRUCE TO SPEC. S-6073
Finished spars, stringers, capstrip — All sizes available 3 ,i" x 6" lengths 10-14' $1.80 lin. ft.
5 lb. Kit
Turner T-40
Others in Process
Second to none in building supplies of all kinds including spruce kits, steel tubing kits, covering materials, instruments, accessories and hardware.
AEROLITE* Wood Glue 1 lb. Kit $ 4.25
T-18
Fly Baby Heath
$23.50 19.50 49.95 5.95 3.25 330.00 75.00
5.20 LA-47 plugs for VW
10.40 2" .................. .. 7.36 Radair 10 radios (Port.) Battery Packs Dacron Frabric 2.7 oz. 66" $1.90 Yd. Intercoms (Battery Opr.) $22.75 Non-Taut. Nitrate Dope 5 Gal.. RT-7 Recording Tachs 5 Gal. $24.75 Butyrate Dope All Prices F. 0. B Fullerton, Calif.
99.50 32.50
AIRCRAFT PLYWOOD
4'x8' sheets to Spec. MIL-P -6070 Prices per Sq. Ft. Mahogany Birch 45» 45» 90" 90" Thickness 1.53 2.27 (Poplar only) 1/32" 3 ply 1/16" 3 ply 3/32" 3 ply
1.21 1.26
1.94 2.07
1.26 1.31
2.11 2.16
1/8" 3 ply
1.31
2.18
1.37
2.20
3/16"
3 ply
1.36
2.26
1.51
2.61
3/16"
5 ply
1.63
2.94
1.57
2.83
1.76
3.01
1.88
3.08
1/4" 5 ply
Fully Controllable Metal Except Fabric
Easy To Build Brochure $2.00
10% Discount for 8 sheets or more - 25% cutting charge on less than half sheets. $3.00 packing charge for less than 3 sheets unless cut in half. Marine Plywood Available. NEW 120 PAGE ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE $2.00
(Applicable to $25.00 Purchase)
BOX 424, FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA 92632 76 SEPTEMBER 1975
ns & Brochure:
714/870-7551
Box 5222. Dept. E
Glendale, CA 91201
457 Atminta St , Unit E 'an Nuys. CA 91402
1975 WARBIRD CALENDAR 6 beautiful 11 x 14 color inflight photos taken at Oshkosh.
Included are F6F, P-51, FM2, P-38, P-40 and AT-6. Order From
WARBIRDS OF AMERICA P. 0. Box 229 Hales Corners, Wis. 53130 Only $2.50 including post-age
BD-5 Sailplane $2200 Easy-to-build, low-cost sailplane version of the Famous BD-5. Information Kit: $5.00
Bede Aircraft Inc. (Desk 02) Newton, Kansas 67114
Full Color Sport Aircraft Cutaways
A unique im\v concept in sport aircraft construction drawings. These illustrations are incredibly detailed and drawn to perspective scale directly from the latest aircraft plans set. A worthy addition to your den and a valuable visual aid to clarify construction details of your aircraft project. Available now with highest quality color reproduction on heavy weight matt white stock 18" x 24". D PITTS S-lS D STARDUSTER TOO Q STEPHENS AKRO Price including postage and sturdy mailing tube is $ 12 for one drawing. $22 for two and $30 for the set of three. (Calif, residents add 6% tax) Remit check or money order to Ivan Clede Studios. 296 Ridgemark Dr.Hollister. Ca 95023
High Intensity Strobes 2 Model 429 strobe lamps, wiring, remote mounting. &
DUAL FUSELAGE STROBE Flush mounted strobe lamp assy., wiring, and remote power supply
$229 THREE LIGHT STROBE SYSTEM
THE MAGAZINE
[SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
Dual tip strobes plus high intensity tail light strobe, wiring and remote
power
TOOL COUPON
FOR MECHANICS/1
supply.
$319
°NLY$5.00
STROBE-NAV LIGHT COMBINATION High intensity
Yearly rates:
strobe for left
and right wings, including left & right navigation light plus tail
per year
Si I
lr *
s* r r- c § ' ' S.
/3 » • -
*5.00 one year *8.00 two years.
light, wiring &
power pack
Become o regular lubtcnber to the only t r a d e mogo;me publnhed
e*dui>vely (or aviation maintenance personnel
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too1 The A via 11 on Mec homes Jour no I contain* monthly maintenance >ipi, new product news, tool evaluation!, ports information, job Opportunities, and much more'
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and Moil
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Simply fill out the coupon
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SPORT AVIATION 77
BUILD YOUR OWN AMPHIBIAN
INVERTED OIL SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$107.50 Includes *0il changeover valve *Sump fittings
PITTS
—
SKYBOLT
—
*0il Separator tank
"COOT
ACRO SPORT
*Fuel Tanks - Smoke Tanks *Dyna Focal Ring Kits *Dyna Focal Rings *Flop Tubes - Winp Fittings Completely welded Complete with Bearings * Stainless Steel Exhaust *"l" Struts - Slave Struts 150-180 and 10-360 200 HP *Engine Mounts * Pilot Tubes For Complete Listings and Prices
Write To:
ACRA - LINE PRODUCTS
Rt. 1 Box 267A
HOWARD COUNT <• AIRPORT Greentown, Indiana 46936
(317)628-7272
Two-Place — Folding Wings — Towable — Easy Construction "COOT-A with fiberglass hull. We have hard to build parts and .hull shells SEND available. -*i~-^. $3.00 Construction Photos — $25.01]V •"" ,for Specifications Photo, 3-Views, COMPLETE PLANS AVAILAB Prices and nformation Packet MOLT TAYLOR Box 1171 — Longview, Wash. (986?2)
Phone (206) 423.8260
ATTENTION EAA MEMBERS In answer to your many requests, the single-seat PITTS SPECIAL is now available in kit form. Most of the fabrication work has been completed at our plant leaving only assembly, covering, and painting. If you have ever wanted to own a WORLD CHAMPION PITTS SPECIAL, but couldn't find the time to build one from scratch, here's your chance, and at a price far below the factory-built version.
For those of you who would rather "Do it yourself," there's a new plan set for the S-1 D 4-aileron model consisting of 47 sheets of production quality drawings with assembly manuals. We also have a large selection of off-the-shelf parts to facilitate construction. All the details are included in a vinyl portfolio containing spec sheets, parts lists, assembly details, etc., plus a giant full-color brochure that opens up into a poster-size picture of the finished airplane. SEND $5.00 FOR VINYL PORTFOLIO CONTAINING FULL DETAILS ($6.00 outside continental limits of U.S.A.) PITTS AVIATION ENTERPRISES
Box 548E, Homestead, Florida 33030
Read how Air Facts Evaluated the Great Aircraft of 1939-47 When They Were New! Pilots'reports of nearly 50 airplanes from 9 golden years of aircraft design and production. Read about the WACO N, the Taylorcraft 65, the Rearwin Ranger, the Funk, the Interstate Cadet, the Langley Bi-Motor, the Culver V and other great birds. Get the feel of the times, the dreams, the way the factory and pilots felt about the future of these aircraft.
500 Air Facts size pages lifted from the files and assembled in a single paperback. Written by men deeply concerned with aviation. Some, like Leighton Collins, Robert Buck, and Wolfgang Langeweische are among the most respected pilot opinion makers today. See what they thought of your bird when it was new. Or, if you are about to rebuild one, see what was said and thought about that aircraft when it was new. Order from the coupon below.
*r&
COMMUNICATING TODAY S AVIATION TODAY
110 East 42nd Street New York, New York 10017
.copies of THE AIR FACTS READER at $7.95 each. New York Send me_ State residents please add 7% Sales Tax.
D Check Enclosed. Q Bill me ($1 service charge added) Name
—————————————————————
Address_——————————————————— 78 SEPTEMBER 1975
City/State/Zip———————————————
PLANS NOW AVAILABLE
PLANS FOR ALL-WOOD FLY BABY FOLDING-WING SINGLE-SEATER WINNER OF 1962 EAA DESIGN
CONTEST.
$25.00 SEND $1.00
Simplified step-by-step assembly drawings and detailed printed instructions.
for literature, specifications, material com, tooling requirements, large flight photo.
PETER M. BOWERS 13826 DES MOINES WAY SO. SEATTLE, WASH. 98168
Build Paul Poberezny's latest design, the VW powered Pober Pixie. Features a very roomy cockpit, super short field performance, economical operation and is easy to built. Plans consist of 15 big sheets drawn by Bill Blake who also did the widely acclaimed EAA Acro Sport plans. The Pixie is a very docile little- sportsplane designed for the pilot who wants an honest, inexpensive fun airplane for weekend and sparetime flying.
Plans are only $40.00. Mail your check to:
HATZ CB 1 Thrifty 100 h.p.
EAA AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION, INC. BOX 229 HALES CORNERS, WISCONSIN 53130
3-view & photo $3.00 Plans $125.00 DUDLEY KELLY Rt. 4,
Versailles, Ky.
AL BUTLER will do your 49% with PRECISION!
COMPLETE SERVICE Certified aircraft quality material cut to blueprint sizes full
STITS C A T A L O G LISTING
COMPLETE WOOD KITS BY A BUILDER
Sitka Spruce. Pine. Douglas Fir. All Plywoods - Nails Wing ribs fabricated j•1 AN hardware packages are complete to conform to plan | down ,0cotterHpins |ndaM deil{^
AEROLITE 306«
ONE SHOP • ONE STOP
4130 TUBING
KITS MADE UP TO THE SPECS OF
PACKAGE
HIGH GLOSS URETHANE ENAMELS FOR METAL & FABRIC
AIRCRAFT, URETHANE & EPOXY VARNISH, CORROSION INHIBITING EPOXY PRIMER, ETCHES, BRIGHTENERS, CONVERSION COATINGS, CLEANERS, AIRCRAFT PAINT STRIPPER, REPAINTING & RECOVERING SUPPLIES.
AIRCRAFT YOU ARE BUILDING
Drag and Anti-drag wires with fittings to your specs. V W Prop Flanges - Built by Butler
Full Machine Shop Facilities Modern facilities used for welded
[components, fuselages, gears, etc. Complete follow through on your project. We are a shop, not just a store!
POLY-FIBER AIRCRAFT COVERING PROCESS SERVICE PROVEN, NON-BURNING COMPLETE FABRIC COVERING SYSTEM USING
NEW MODERN MATERIALS WRITE OR PHONE FOR CURRENT CATALOG AND DISTRIBUTOR LIST
STITS
FAA Facility f 1Q3-13
PumimlbY Pirtcju Suitors
Quality materials and Craftsmanship are buy-words at BUTLER'S.
SEND WE OOLUR FOR CATALOG
STITS AIRCRAFT COATINGS POST OFFICE BOX 3084 S . RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA 92509 -v A H BUTLER. EAA 57353 RD 2 Box 174 BLAIRSTOWN. N J 07825 AC/201-362-6333
PHONE 714-684-4280 SPORT AVIATION 79
CERTIFIED AIRCRAFT
BIRCH
P
O
L
1/32" 1/16"
Y
W
O
D
$8.40 3/32" $13.60 3/16" $19.80 9.20 1/8" 15.00 1/4" 25.20
FOB per 4x4' sheet. 20 or more 10%. Cut in half, or smaller for prepaid parcel post and faster service. Marine, Cabinet, Plywood, Lumbercore. Most all species, up to %". 4 x 8 ' sheets or cut to size. VIOLETTE PLYWOOD CORP. P. 0. Box 141X LUNENBURG, MASS.
INTERESTED IN GYRO-COPTERS? STEP UP TO THE REAL ONE!
The all-aluminum Boomerang uses 65 to 180 hp engines. So rugged it makes a great 2-place dune buggy. Costs no more to build than the little ones. Forget the hard to get high octane gas and the special strips. Take off from and land on almost any terrain and even use car gas in most engines. 1 airframe for one-or two-place construction, ideal for wide range of engines; so adaptable that almost any body can be used. Shown above, the BOOMERANG II. Kits start at $295.00. Send $5.00 for information package, $35.00 for complete one or two-place plans to
INFORMATION'/oo
..•*-"'
RON SANDS
"
RDI-S4I MERTZTOWN. PA.HSii
V:
READ THE CLASSIFIED ADS
STREAMLINE FLYING WIRES AND TIE RODS New Production Highest Quality Made to highest standards of workmanship and materials. Fully approved for all aircraft including Standard Category. These wires are made in three specifications: American AN, British, Metric, and are available in both Stainless and Cadmium Plated Carbon Steel. Fork ends available for all three thread types. We stock wires for: Pitts, Starduster Too, DH82A Tiger Moth, Great Lakes, Jungmann, etc. Write for quotation and price list. CADMIUM PLATED CARBON STEEL WIRES 15% LESS
AVITARA CORPORATION
ROTOR MASTER AIRCRAFT
Shangrila Ranch, Star Rt. Box 100 Ramona, CA 92065
FOKKER DR-I TRIPLANE DETAILED CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS WING SPAR t RIB SETS .*• FIBERGLAS COWLS --i'• -1 REPLICA FUEL GAGES -j " —^
P. O. BOX 624
TULUAHOMA, TENN. 37388
Aerobatics IAC IS ... The world's largest aerobatic organization. Consisting of over 2500 members, IAC is the voice for sport aerobatics. There are also over 30 local Chapters of the Club scattered all over the United States, Canada, and South Africa. IAC sponsors dozens of aerobatic contests, judge's schools, training sessions, and educational meetings. The Club publishes the most comprehensive magazine on aerobatics available, Sport Aerobatics. IAC gives you the opportunity to participate in the most dynamic and exciting aspect of the sport aviation movement within the framework of the EAA. Dues are $13.00 per year
and is open to anyone interested in aviation and INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB
who is a current EAA member. Write today!
I. A.C. YOU GET . . . For your annual dues, the following:
1. Twelve issues of Sport Aerobatics containing many interesting and educational articles and pictures. 2. Membership number and card and official decal. 3. Your own copy of the IAC Official Contest Rules if requested. 4. Eligibility to fly in many IAC sanctioned events. 5. Numerous programs available to IAC members, including the Aerobatic Achievement Awards Program, the Judge's Continuing Education Program, and others oriented toward the aerobatic enthusiast.
CONTACT: 80 SEPTEMBER 1975
INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB, INC. P. O. BOX 229, HALES CORNERS, Wl 53130
PL-2 THE
ONLY
AIRPLANE
DESIGNED FOR AMATEURS
I6EHCY SEAT PACK PARACHUTE
ALSO USED AS A TRAINER 8V THE AIR FORCES OF TAKAN, SOUTH VIETNAM
SO. KOREA AND NOI BY INDONESIA AND CEYLON
The PL-1 was two lime EAA GRAND CHAMPION. The easier to build PL-2 is superbly engineered. Don't settle for less.
2 P LACE-90 to 150 HP-EASY TO FLY CER
INTRODUCTORY PACKAGE ?4 PAGE BROCHURE W I T H PMOIOS 3 VIEWS AIRPLANE DESCRIPTION PERFORMANCE AND PHYSICAL DATA BUILDERS ARTICLES - LIST OF DRAWINGS AND ONE FULL SIZE SAMPLE DRAWING
J3.00
WALT PIERCE IN HIS 1.50 STEERMAN
RATED FOB CONSTRUCTION BY AVERAGE AMATEURS
DRAWINGS
J1SO.OO
CONST. MANUAL, iLijtit Anolane Construction) SOME PRE-FAB PARTS AVAILABLE
$9.00
PAZMANY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION BOX 80051S -SAN DIEGO-CALIF. 92138
LIGHT WEIGHT-WHOLE SYSTEM UNDER 16 LBS • 76' LOW POROSITY, STEERABLE CONICAL • STANDARD CATEGORY TESTED TO 5000 LB SHOCK LOAD • PARACHUTE SYSTEM MEASURES 16" WIDE, 12" DEEP, LESS THAN 3" THICK • 120 DAY REPACK CYCLE •PADDED HARNESS • CONVENIENT CARRYING BAG AND INSTRUCTION MANUAL INCLUDED S 450.00 Pp See You Al Oshkosh
24
and Evaluation. Repack $10 00
STROI1G f EHTERPRISE5, IIU *
54? E AST SQUANTUM ST
NORTH QUINCY MASS 02) 71
"THE PARACHUTE COMPANY WITH IMAGINATION"
x 36
P R O F U S E L Y I L L U S T R A T E D An e x c l u s i v e lirsi m the modern
method o'technical presentation which could not De accomplished otherwise m lesser lorm A straightforward approach to proper float aircraft design practice (Finger tip f'oat design engineering data for light float aircraft from i 000 and less and jp to and including gross weight of 2 4 2 5 lbs } Highly detailed showing details sub-assemh'ies and ma'n assemblies generously detailed "Float Aircraft Design Guide." $1950 postpaid m u S A and its possessions For airmail service add $2 00
Bring Your Parachute To Our Booth F-It,
For Free Inspection
617 3289J17
A comprehensive works paMicuiarly for the serous minded individual interested in designing and building light float sport atrcra't 7 drawings
Outside of North America kindly use international money order payable in u S equivalent currency Add $100 additional for postage or $300 tor airmail service Or send seH-addressed stamped envelope for detailed lioat a»rc'aM design guide information
MRS. STANLEY J. DZIK 4079 NORTH 62nd STREET MILWAUKEE. WISCONSIN 53216. U.S.A.
Finally. A homebuilt fun plane for the average homeowner.
SHE
ill X-1
Its unique design permits it to be constructed in a basement room or a garage. By the "Unitized" method employed, seven basic units comprise the complete airplane. Each unit is self-contained and is capable of being carried through a standard indoor doorway and up a flight of stairs to the open where the final assembly is but a nut and bolt job. Wing folding permits home storage and road towing on its own wheels. It takes up no more garage space than an average automobile. The wing folding arrangement is designed so that no preflight rigging is required prior to flight. Power is provided by a VW engine converted to an aero engine. INFORMATION BOOKLET Ruggedness and safety of design If you desire a booklet showing permits rough field takeoffs and specifications, construction landings. No hangar or tie-down and a sample blueprint fees are necessary. IT'S A simply send $2 to address KEEP-AT-HOME AIRPLANE. below: It's easier to build SKEETER X-1 than a model airplane from a kit.
designed by Ken Sheffield
COMPLETE BLUEPRINTS Everything you need to see and know from start to finish. Send $70 for complete set of prints for the airframe build. Engine conversion manuals are available for either twin or single ignition.
KEN, BOX 1456, South Pasadena, Ca 91030 SPORT AVIATION 81
NEED A & P RATING
Guaranteed to pass written, oral, Practical. All Three Exams in b to 14 days.
Very Moderate Tuition. Examiner on Staff For Full Information Call or Write: FEDERAL EXAMS 5602 N. Rockwell, Okla. City, OK 73008 405/787-6183
Western Division
4137 Donald Douglas Dr., Long Beach Apt. Long Beach, Calif. 90608
213/429-3318
CUSTOM GRAFTED WOOD KITS A/C SPRUCE, PLYWOOD & SUPPLIES
Wood kits for most homebuilts with parts cut, sanded, ready to assemble. Spar kits with spars beveled and tapered. Acro
ZENITH Top performance 2 seater - 85 to 160 HP - Award Winner - NASAD quality seal INFO $2.00; Plans $150.00; Kits; Parts.
Sport milled wing kit $398.39. TRIMCRAFT AERO 4839 Janet Rd. Sylvania, OH 43560 419-882-6943_______Catalog 25c
SOUTH FLORIDA
Homebuilders Supplies, 4130 Sheet and
MONO
No minimum charge Distributor for all STITS Products. AN Hardware, Etc. KNAPP AVIATION P. 0. Box 764, Miami, Fla. 33148 305/888-6322_____________305/887-9186
Z
You can afford to build . . . and fly this economic single seater: V.W. powered aerobatic performer: 100 HP Continen-
Tubing. All sizes, any length.
SAL 2/3 Mustang Miniature Fighter Plans - $150.00 Brochure - $4.00 S-14 High Wing All wood STOL Plans - $50.00 Brochure - $3.00 Also available F-9, F-10, F-ll & F-12 brochures $3.00. Add $1.00 extra for Airmail,
Kits for above will be available. Let us know your needs.
tal. Removable Wings - INFO $2.00; Plans,
Kits, Parts. ALL METAL - BLIND RIVETS EASY TO BUILD - SAFE TO FLY
Designed by Chris Heintz ZENAIR, LTD., 236 Richmond Street Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, L4C 3Y8
A & B SALES
36 Airport Road
MACDONALD
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
S-21
403/453-1441 AIR SKIMMER
Performance so intriguing the U. S. Navy purchased these plans and the prototype! Folding wings-Cont. or VW, 60-90HP The orginal plans by the design engineer. Info. $3, Plans $65. Special to EAA Members $55 including plans for landing gear. 180
lc.
° Carmelo Drive (E)
Jtl
Real Performance In A Proven Design
CARMICHAEL CA 95608
Engineered For Safety And
Solve Your Metal Cutting Problems Homebuilt 80-Inch Bandsaw
Simplicity — VW Powered Specialty Hardware
Build it in a few evenings for about $100 using materials you can buy at the
available Phone
(716) 745-9544
MacDonald Aircraft Co.
lumberyard and hardware store. It also has a high speed that zips through wood. Plans and step-by-step instructions $6.00 - check or money order.
P. 0. Box 643-S
Sonoma, CA 95476
FLYING BOAT
HOMEBILT TOOL COMPANY
Box 2138,
Brochure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3.00 Plans (168 sq. ft.) . . . . . . . . . .$75.00
West Lafayette, IN 47906
A Challenge fo The Home Builder!
SPORT AVIATION
ANNUAL FILE... - s-^S-i^^^-*——— ^gjjt
Set of 5 — Holds 5 Yrs.
$4.95 Post Paid EAA CH. 202. Box 202 Panama City, Fla. 32401
Single-Place Homebuilt
"OSPREY 2" AMPHIBIAN PLANS AVAILABLE
Information Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$5.00
Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $150.00 GEORGE PEREIRA, DESIGNER/BUILDER OSPREY AIRCRAFT 3741 El Ricon, Dept. SA55 Sacramento, Calif. 95825
SMYTH SIDEWINDER 1969
EAA "OUTSTANDING DESIGN"
Build and fly the boat that does not use or need ailerons, elevator or rudder. Information free.
SPRATT CO., Inc. BOX 351
.
MEDIA, PA. 19O63
TAYLOR MONOPLANE & TAYLOR TITCH —Taylor Mono. The popular single-place
low wing, all wood, aerobatic model. 30
to 60 H.P. 100 mph. with 1300 c.c. VW
engine. Excellent plans, fully detailed. $30.00. Taylor Titch. A super single place
low wing aerobatic tourer/racer. Simple
Long-awaited, low-cost, easy-tobuild homebuilt. Suitable for Hirth, Volkswagen, Continental or Franklin engines.
Send for illustrated BD-6 Information Kit: $4.00
Bede Aircraft Inc. (Desk 02) Newton, Kansas 67114 82 SEPTEMBER 1975
to build wood construction for 40 to 95
High performance, all metal, two-place sportplane.
Designed with the amateur
builder in mind. Three-view, specs, sample drawing, 15 page illustrated brochure $2.00. Good quality, easy to follow, stepby-step construction drawings. $125.00. Plans may be purchased in five - $25.00 packages if desired. JERRY SMYTH
Box 308, Huntington, Indiana 46750
H.P. engines. Superb plans for this superb airplane include full size rib sheets, material list, and numerous advisory notes. $40.00. Send $3.00 for details, brochures and colored photo of both airplanes. Construction pictures, per set —
$2.50. These plans are obtainable only from . . .
Mrs. John F. Taylor 25 Chesterfield Cresctnt L»igh on-Saa, Essex, England
WASHINGTON REPORT . . . (Continued from Page 91)
civil servants have spent their time in delving into the operating problems of the agencies w i t h i n the
DOT.
This situation has made the
job of FAA Administrator an impossible one and this is why it has been so difficult for the Administration to find a qualified man from the industry who is willing to take the
and competent EAA group that will continue to press Congress and the Administration for the right to enjoy the marvelous freedom of flight.
The morale of you EAA members, EAA's traditions of self discipline, responsibility and integrity in everything we do are our Declaration of Independence. This w i l l preserve the freedom of sport a v i a t i o n . WHEELS AND BMKfS
top FAA job. An independent FAA is the only answer to this problem. I do not want to end this report on a note of pessimism. Yet the problems that I have mentioned are real and serious. But the bright side of this situation is that we have a united
New, monufocturerf to F.A.A. Slumlords. Will fit sld. axles , S include! seoled beoring. 1 2.80/Z.50»4 . . . ,9.50 5.00x5 ...........................109.50 o.00»4 .. ................119.50
MASTER BRAKE CYLINDERS Reservoir style with pork ing broke ond seoled ocrobotic type. New. Mfg. for Cessno, Beech, Pipei , A.C. S ECT. .
THROTTLE QUADRANTS Push-pull controls, ignition switches, velvet, primers, rudder pedoli, control wheels, etc.
see rou« oisimtuTot ton THESE FfODUCTS PRODUCTS CO . INC ' PO BOX 142
"BROOKVILLE AIR PARK
Reliable fuel Control The Christen 844 Manual Fuel Pump System introduces a new concept in fuel systems for light aircraft. It is a self-contained single fuel control unit which provides all fuel management functions for light aircraft without the need for connection to electrical power. The pump section of the Christen 844 System consists of a self-priming, high-volume, positive
3HOOKVIUE OHIO 45309 ALCLAD 2024
ROLLED AIRCRAFT ALUMINUM T3 .016 by 36" wide SI 60 per running foot T3 .016 by 48" wide S2.15 per running foot T3 .020 by 48" wide S2.55 per running foot T3 025 by 48" wide S2.75 per running foot T3 .032 by 48" wide $3.50 per running foot 0 .040 by 48" wide $2 95 per running foot 0 .040 - 5052 341/2" wide $1.95 per runAdd 13 cutting charge for less than 5 ft. Add $2 cutting charge for less than 10 ft. BRAND NEW SHEET FASTENERS ! ! 3/32" or 1/8" 39c each - 38c each in lots of 50 - 37c each in lots of 100. Sheet Holder Pliers used — $2.75 pair.
COMPLETE READY FOR INSTALLATION On 289-302-351-400 CID. Ford V-8. Now available for Chevy V-8's. Permits SCALE Fighter Replicas. Designed for installation of constant speed propeller. Custom engine building available. For illustrated brochure, specs, price list, send $5.00.
NOTICE DEVELOPING TWO NEW ENGINES
RIVETS (GOOD AIRCRAFT) Lot ifl Mostly 3/32 mixed 95c per pound Lot —2 Mostly 1/8 mixed 75c per pound Lot — 3 Mostly 5/32 mixed 50c per pound
2-1 Reduction Pinto and Capri 4 cyl. (2000 cc and 2300 cc) Capri and Mustang II V-6 (2600 cc and 2800 cc) These engines could be installed in many popular homebuilts with improvement in performance and appearance. For further information contact us.
Be sure to include ample postage, excess will be returned. 100% money back customer satisfaction guaranteed, if returned within 30 days. Send 25c for brochure
AIRPARTS, INC. 1430
FORD V-8
CONVERSION KITS
South 33rd Street
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS 66106
GESCHWENDER AEROMOTIVE, INC.
913 831-3903
Box 5152
Lincoln, Nebr. 68505
HANSEN AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS 1207
Valebrook Place
CUSTOM
COVERS
Glendora, Calif. 91740
PANEL
(213)
9632251
OVERLAYS
$3000
THORP T 18 BD-5* PL4 EAA ACRO'
S2SXX)
displacement, dual stroke pump. In addition, the Christen 844 System includes a three-way balltype fuel selector and shut-off valve, a replaceable filter, and a moisture sump with a quick-drain valve. The Christen 844 System functions in all aircraft attitudes and is particularly suited for installation in sport aircraft. Simplicity of design assures reliable troublefree performance. Send two dollars first-class postage and handling (refundable with order) to receive new color catalog of sport aviation products.
POBER P I X I E -
VANS RV 3' -INCLUDES DETAILED BLUEPRINT
Prices Include Installation Instructions With Lighting Tips All overlays finished in Haircell Pattern, deep vacuum iormed for sunshield effect, with pockets for switches and indicator lights, and rough trimmed.
Christen Industries, Inc. 1048
Santa Ana Valley Road
Hollister, California 95023 Telephone: (408) 637-7405
Quality products for sport aviation SPORT AVIATION 83
VARIVICCEN KH-l KH-2 W.A.R. FWI40 F4U
XPERI MENTAL
SKYBOLT STAROUSTER TOO MA-S CHARGER
IRCRAFT
COOT
fi
others
SSOC/AT/ON
s,,.ng RAZORBACK METHOD"
Ughl
OF AIRCRAFT COVERING FAN-TASTIC
Hovercraft skims over ice and snow, up rapid rivers, along sandy beaches, planes out a 250 pound payload on only 6 HP. Read about it in the September 1974 issue of SPORT AVIATION.
Complete Plans, Instructions Free Information
Pliable
y*%^L
Permanent
f^^Lr~"^ f^^\
Economical
$\{j* Jk\ vfs^ /
*"*re ^es'stan*
$9.00
FAA Approved
PALMER AEROSYSTEMS P. O. Box 691 Renton, WA 98055
A HOG FOR PUNISHMENT
RAZORBACK GLASS PRODUCTS
RAZORBACK RECOVER KITS
BD-5
BD-5
BD-5
BD-5
AIRCRAFT MAKE & MODEL Aeronca 11-AC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beech D-17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bellanca 14 Series . . . . . . . . . . Boeing Stearman PT-17/Waco Cassutt
PLANE CHECKS To make paying bills easier and faster. Plane Checks were styled after the self-addressing business checks. Used with our "No-Fuss" double window envelopes they will save you the bother of addressing envelopes, and assure you that there is never a chance of sending the check to the wrong place. Complete the order form, and write out your check. Now, get a deposit slip from the same account, and clearly indicate address changes etc.. on the deposit slip. (These two documents will furnish us all the data we need to make your checks compatible with your bank's computer, and Amer. Bank Ass'n specs.) On gift orders, send your check and mark his check VOID. n
_ ?*^ ^ll i. Plane (Checks N?*L Identity Check Co. Box 149 D Park Ridge, III. 60068 n 300—56.50
"I 600—$11.25
' 900— $15.75
Deposit Slips, register and checkbook cover are included with every order.
D PIPER Assortment D Cherokee D Arrow D Twin Comanche G BD-5 Q TWA 747
n CESSNA Assortment C. BEECH Assortment T Sundowner •^ Hawk
D Continental DC-10
G Western DC-10
_____
Racer
. .............
Cessna 120, 140, 170 ..... Champion L-2 & 7-AC . . . . . . Consolidated PBY Series . . . . . . DeHavilland Dove . . . . . . . . . . Douglas DC-3, C-47 . . . . . . . . Douglas DC-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ercoupe 415 Series ........ Fairchild M62-A Series . . . . . . Grumman AG CAT G-164 . . . . Luscombe 8A Series ........ Mini A c e 1 6 1 . . . . . . . . . Piper J-3 PA-11. L-4 Series Piper J-5,' PA-12, PA 14 Series Piper PA-18 Series . . . Piper PA-16. 17, 20 22 Piper PA-25 Series
LIST PRICE ... $219.60 .... 372.37 .... 290.82 . . . . 375.96 ... 136.02 .... 95.04 . . . . 224.52
. . 804.48 ... 173.64 ... 254.10 .... 332.04 ... 77.64 .... 238.56 ... 197.46 . . . . 110.64 . . . . 156.03 ... 242.46 ... 235.59 . . . . 244.41 . 220.50 .... 214.56 ... 148.68 Pitts/Smith Miniplane . . . . . . . . . ... 54.04 Sonerai .................. .... 208.26 Starduster T o o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220.56 Stinson L-5 . . . . ........ ... 458.76 Stinson V-77 Gullwing . . . . . . .... 193.02 Stinson 108-3 Series ....... . . 150.42 Stilts Playmate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 131 88 Tailwind ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 243.75 Taylorcraft. All Series . Partial & Other Kits available upon Request Prices
F.O.B.
Manila
Arkansas
Each Kit consists of sufficient Glass Cloth. Glass Reinforcing Tape and Glass Finishing Tape required for each respective aircraft. Complete Installation Instructions and Decals included in each kit.
n 3io
D Baron
Q Mooney ._, Eastern L-1011 n American DC-10
Q United DC-IQ
"No-Fuss" self mailing envelopes at $1-80 per 100.
CONTROL SURFACES DC-3 (C-47) ....$417.00 Elevator . . . 496.00 Aileron Rudder . . . . . . 456.00
BEECH 18 (C-45) Elevator ..$275.00 Aileron . 210.00 . 195.00 Flap . . . . 180.00 Rudder . .
D 1000 Cks. your "N" number any current production plane $70.00 —————
Startirtf N*. _
NAME
36
Yard Roll
(101 wh.gi
Fresh Razorback Cover with 12 coats C.A.B. dope. Finished thru silver. Exchange-outright - FAA 337 Satisfaction guaranteed. Write or call:
i United Parcel Service where available mg the day to sign for the p*ck*ge.
84 SEPTEMBER 1975
PER ROLL
$246.00 285.00 195.00
1.80
1.95
.150
2.59
1" Glass Finishing Tape 50 Yard Roll . .150 3.70 2" Glass Finishing Tape 50 Yard Roll ... . . .225 6.72 3" Glass Finishing Tape 50 Yard Roll ...... .350 11.76 4" Glass Finishing Tape 50 Yard Roll . . . . . . . . . . 350 14. 9G 6" Glass Finishing Tape 5 0 Yard Roll . . . . . . . . . . . .375 17.80 (Each Additional Diameter Inch .030 Cloth Less Than Full Rolls, Add 10%.
TIME TESTED - PROVEN QUALITY No adhesives, sealers, irons or other gimmicks - not
to be confused with other coverings. Razorback is 100% glass cloth especially pre-treated to give you the best money can buy. Tautening by use of C.A.B. dope. No STC necessary. Fully F. A. A. and Military aproved. Compare! Then choose the number one covering.
DOPES AND THINNERS C.A.B. Clear Dope C.A.B. Thinner . . . C.A.B. White .... Retarder . . . . . . . . . . Non Tautening Dope Dope
Softner
GAL.
5 GAL.
$5.63
$5.31 3.62 8.13 5.58
3.93 . ... . 5.89 . ...
54 GAL. DRUM
$5.13
3.43
5.39 5.29
8.25
Nitrate Clear Dope . 8.00 Nitrate Thinner . 3.94 3.44 3.63 Aluminum Paste - - $3.13. All Dopes and conform to MIL Specs.
RAZORBACK FABRICS, INC.
CITYW* (hip
PART NO.
44" Pretreated Glass Cloth 100 Yard Roll ... 200 51" Pretreated Glass Cloth 100 Yard Roll .. 250 72" Pretreated Glass Cloth 5 0 Yard Roll . . . . . . .300 3/8" Reinforcing Tape 36 Yard Roll . ... .......100 1/2" Reinforcing Tape 36 Yard Roll . . . .. ..175 3/4" Reinforcing Tape
[: V Bonanza
n 210 Centurion
n 1000 Checks from your B&W photograph $50.00
"N" number .
Durable
P. O. Box 217 - Manila. Arkansas 72442 — (501) 561-4447
Classified Ads
BD-5D — Serial #1877, contracted for the original $4400.00. Selling for $400. you pay balance of $4000. ten days before delivery.
A D V E R T I S I N G CLOSING DATE: 1st OF THE MONTH PRIOR TO PUBLICATION DATE
smoke, front hole cover, rear cockpit canopy, blue/white sunburst. $22.500
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATE — Regular type per v»orc 30c Bold face type per wo-d Jtn ALL CAPS L-e r ACK: 40c (Minimum charge S5 00; iRate covers one 'nser'ion one issue. CLASSIFIED DISPLAY: $2? 00 per inch t2'< width column,
CASH WITH ORDER Address advertising correspondence to Box 2?9 Males Corners Wisconsin 531 30
SPORT AVIATION
Make all checks or money orders payable to EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
Aircraft MINI-MUSTANG N2736. Picture in October
74 issue. 0-290-G Lycoming, Bayside 990. 200 hrs. $10,000.00. Louis Brand!, Lancaster. California 93534. Evenings 805/ 942-3195.
and engine SMOH. This is a good one, needs some work. $1850. 314/326-0961.
BO-4 PROJECT — mounted 180 and CS prop, fuselage on gear, need wing panel ribs, best offer, trade over $6,000. Oregon. 503/ 283-3646. after 7:00 P.M.
VP-2 — about half completed. All major parts
except fabric and dope. Jack Boman, 6000 Garden Grove, Apt. 361, Westminster. Calif. 92683. 714/898-2912.
DOODLEBUG except tips material to $800 firm.
PROJECT — Wings complete Fuselage 4130. 50% complete, finish tail group. $1300 value. Particulars: Jack Cummings.
4134 Stathmore. San Antonio. TX 78217.
PL-4 — Complete aluminum package for construction. $300 FOB. Save almost half the cost. M. Lihl. 760 Ravenhill Place. Ridgefield. New Jersey 07657. SCORPION II — FACTORY TACK-WELDED
AIRFRAME — landing gear tubing and plans. $350 firm. F. A. Tuck. 1105 Woodward Street, La Porte. Indiana 46350
CASSUTT RACER — C-85-8 TT 75 hours, excellent workmanship, beautiful finish. $5500.00. J. Eberle. Bloomer, Wisconsin 715/568-1171. JUNKSTER I PROJECT — approximately
20% complete, all capstrip for ribs, most of fuselage and tail assembly done. Some wood stock. 215/HI6-0914 after 5:00 P.M EST. ______ SPORTSMAN AMPHIBIAN — 125 HP 0-290-D
tractor. 30 hours since T.O.H.. 912 hrs since new. 150 hrs. airframe. Stinson wings, flaps. 2 wing tanks. Mark III omni 3 blade wood prop. $8000. 705/292-9707,
Peterborough. Ontario. Canada. BREEZY plans and pre-cut fuselage kit (less gear) $600.00. Cessna 150 gear and wheels complete. $250.00. Phone "occh" 601/ 355-2476 (D), 601/366-7845 (N).
SPEZIO SPORT 0-290-G. 25 hours since recover and major overhaul. Beautiful yellowwhite orange trim. Consider trade, $5000. 216/784-6596. Luftschrauben VW prop 5333. $90.00. FLY BABY — 75 HP. 180 TT Airframe and en-
gine. Ceconite. Cub yellow, excellent workmanship, flies great, $2800.00. Bud, Moline, Illinois, 309/797-2952. BABY LAKES project. Certified heliarc weld-
ed fuselage, cabane. Wing ribs, spars, fittings ready for assembly. Excellent workmanship Roger Might, 187 E. Streetsboro Street. Hudson, Ohio 44236. 216/653-5562 BD-SB — Serial #745, wings and vertical fin
complete. Fuselage parts formed. 70 HP. $2350. Call after 6. Bob Sager. 314-8491042. P. O. Box 4093, Jennings. MO 63136.
cabanes, gear, tail section, wing ribs, spars finished Real buy at $1850. Work done by professional. Call Jim Neilsen, 919/292-4782. 919/294-2533. Greensboro, North Carolina. BABY GREAT LAKES — project. $1000 firm,
ACRO SPORT PROJECT — fuselage, landing gear, controls, wing ribs, ailerons, plans. Jim Hulet. Littleton, Colorado 80123. 303/973-0860. VP-1 — First flight April 1974, 20 hours total time on 1600 CC engine. Airworthiness
expires July 1976. $1500.00 firm. Richard Rowe, 2226 Laketon Road, Pittsburgh. 15221. 412/242-8211.
STITS PLAYBOY SA3A — C-85-12-F, 192TTAF
firm. Call T J. Brown, Day: 913/649-5666 Night: 913/492-7581.
SKYBOLT PROJECT — Fuselage, fittings,
ADVERTISING MANAGED
FOR SALE
804/899-2651 PITTS S2A — 260 hrs. TT, always hangared.
VP-1 — 180 hrs. flying time, totally enclosed cockpit. Barker 1600 engine, two spare props, one spare windshield. Stits polyfiber over entire aircraft, equipped with com 11A radio, 360 channel, boom mike. ear phones, push to talk on stick, improved exhaust system. Posa 29mm carburetor, original carb, and intake system with package, easy to fly aircraft, reason for selling building new project, price $2500.00. Excellent workmanship. 617/428-6231 or 617/428-9987.
LUSCOMBE 8A — No papers complete, except prop, best offer, domestic problems. 609/386-5157 after 5:00 P.M.
BD-4 fuselage framed, all welding done, all kits less instruments Tires, wheels, brakes. 150 hp Franklin, aeromatic prop, accessories. Bob Eldridge. P 0. Box 283, Goleta. Calif 6018.
93017. 805/965-8107. 967-
PITTS WINGS — Standard, flat wings Make offer, business phone 312/354-4200. 1944 HOWARD GH-2 — six place, trade for 180 or 182. Floyd Washburn. 602/275-0010.
ACRODUSTER 11 — 2 place aerobatic biplane, 55 hrs. TT. Factory new, 200 hp Lycoming, inverted fuel and oil. Hartzell constant speed prop, symmetrical wings, four ailerons yellow, blue with white trim 714/ 873-7606
BD-5D, Serial 6525, original low price. Pay $800 now. $4998 balance ten days before delivery. John Gracie. 7013 Pomelo Drive. Canoga Park. California 91307. BD5A It'1963, 70 hp, elect option, wings,
flaps, ailerons skinned and assembled. $2500. Robert Kapp. 1343 Rainer Road. Brookhaven, PA 19015. 215/876-9451.
BD-4 ALL kits complete, taildragger on gear, 15% complete No time to finish. Clary, 5216 Cockrell. Ft. Worth. Texas 76133.
LUSCOMBE 8A, $1000. slight wind damage right wing tip. tied down at Richfield, Utah. Glen Larsen. 1025 Primrose. Reno. Nevada 89502
COUGAR, 0-290-D. 150 SO. 450 AC. $2750.00
or trade for pickup or camp trailer of equal value Aircraft needs some work before flying. Homer H. Rushing, 469 Robin Lane. Marietta, Georgia 30062. 1947 LUSCOMBE 8A — 65 Continental 670 hours TT, Top O.H. 100 hours ago, white
with green trim, radio, $3400. Calif. 41 S/ 359-5428 or 209/795-1817 evenings.
WILLIE II — one of a kind — 4 year old, two place sport biplane. 180 Lycoming, 125 TTAFE. electrical system, new prop, new
battery, new license, basic instruments, excellent condition - $12,500 - Iowa - 515/ 232-6530 or 232-4310.
plus shipping. Send or call for details. 607/638-2178. Don Palmer. RD 1. Box 206, Schenevus. NY 12155.
PIPER J3-S/N16040 — 700 hour total airframe. 300 hour ISO on A65-8F engine.
2 year old Ceconite, new Bendix. 360 Channel Transceiver. Vacuum T & B. full electric system, deluxe interior, annual due August 1976, recent winner in East Coast Antique Competition. $6500.00 firm. Write Doris Dougherty, 520 Becker Avenue. Woodcrest. Wilmington. Delaware 19804 BUCKER 181 "BESTMAN" — ex-Luftwaffe
trainer, built in Sweden 1945. engine original HIRTH HM504. 105 HP aircraft total for
restoring. Good plane for a true fan Price
ex-Germany, $5500.00. Wolfgang Rees. 4005 Meerbusch-Lank. Allensteiner Strasse I. West Germany. HOMEBUILT: Junior Ace. 2 pi. sbs . 80%
complete, wings and tail ready for cover, fuselage 39" wide, ready for sand blasting. Bellanca Champ gear with axles. Many instruments new or certified 0-200 Continental. 0-time since top overhaul, certified with logs, $3000. 416/632-3262 after 6 P.M., E.S.T. TWIN PROJECT — all metal 2-plus-2. 28'
span, 16' wing centre, retract ML.G. Flaps, tail done. Pair 10320 Lye., 670 hours, damaged. Much Misc., $3000.00 all. R. H. Belter. 703/893-8016.
Engines PROFESSIONALLY ENGINEERED CONVERSION INSTRUCTIONS for VW engines to
use with incredible Volksplane VP-1 and 2 and other aircraft. Simple, low cost, extremely reliable. Flight tested and proven over 300 hours. 28 page brochure $7.00 ppd. U.S.A. Chas. Ackerman. 1351 Cottontail Lane. La Jolla. California 92037. LYCOMING ENGINES — Homebuilders see or call us first. We build the best from 0-320 to 0-540. Call Dick or Gene 1-305/422-6595. 1325 W. Washington Bldg A-6. Orlando, Florida 32805. MONNETT VW ENGINE CONVERSIONS —
Easy bolt on! Streamlined prop hub unit, rubber anti-vibration mount. Slick magneto for aircraft engine look and performance. Fits type 3 VW blocks. No modification to existing VW parts necessary! Available completely machined or "do it yourself" castings. Also new cast manifold system for "dual port" heads and Posa Injector carbs. Flight proven designs on the Sonerai I & II Introducing - ready to run converted VW s 100% new parts. Monnett Conversion. Posa Carbs. you add exhaust and gasoline! 1600CC $1295. P.O.B. 1700CC
$1395. F O B . Send $1.00 for Sonerai information Monnett Experimental Aircraft. Inc., 410 Adams. Elgin. Illinois 60120. LYCOMING ENGINES — factory new. crated, for Acro. 150 HP 0-320A2A carbureted. Ben-
dix ignition complete. $3895.00. 180 HP IO-360B4A solid shaft, fuel injected, complete $5699.00. 0-360A4A 180 hp aerobatic engine, carbureted. $459900 Send check or money order to Aero-Fabricators, North Road. Box 181. Lyons, Wisconsin 53148. 414/763-3145. SPORT AVIATION 85
Now Available! Brand new Continental R670, 240 HP, 7 cylinder radlals for homebuilders. Weigh only 485 Ibs. Prop hub and new design wood prop available. Contact Chris Stoltfus, Box 470, Coatesville, Pennsylvania 19320. 215/384-1145 - or - Ken
Stoltzfus, North Lawrence, Ohio 44666. (216) 833-7265. No Sunday calls please. VW 2074 cc — All new parts. POSA or Mikuni carb, $1875.00 fob. Full electrical system available, SSE for specs. Bob Hoover, 1875 Monte Vista, Vista, Calif. 92083. 714/ 724-1513.
PROPELLERS — Custom manufacture, plastic leading edge, 2, 3, or 4 Blade Tractor or pusher. Ted's Custom Props., 9917 Airport Way, Snohomish, Wash. 98290. 206/ 568-6792.
____ _____
PROPELLERS — 23 diversified custom pre-
cision machined models. Propeller Engineering Duplicating, P. O. Box 63, Manhatten Beach, California 90266. CUSTOM MADE WOODEN PROPELLERS —
Proven design, VW, Continental, Lycoming,
others. Recommended by Ray Hegy. Wayne Ross, Box 7554, Phoenix, Arizona
CORVAIR CONVERTED TO AIRCRAFT USE —
Bored .060, forged pistons, high torque cam, ports enlarged, crank tested and ground. Chrysler pointless ignition, magneto (unmounted) dual plugs, oversize aluminum pan, many extra parts, needs induction system. $500 cash invested, sell $500 or offer. Donald Wall, 5595 Uni-
DO IT YOURSELF Aircraft Inspection Handbook and Appraisal Guide. Whether you own, or are just looking, get positive retail value on your airplane. Complete step by step instructions, forms, avionics, and fully illustrated. Also useful as maintenance manual. Send $7.95 to Aero-Specialties, Dept. SA, Box 17325, Washington, DC. 20041. AIRCRAFT PROPELLER MAKER'S TECHNICAL HANDBOOK — $4.00, How to design
your own, including two full size drawings. R. G. Huggins, 4915 South Detroit, Tulsa, OK 74105.
85011. 602/265-9622.
STARDUSTER TOO BUILDER'S MANUAL —
PROPELLERS: VW, Corvair, Continental, etc. Ray Hegy, Marfa, Texas 79843.
PROPELLERS — V. W., Corvair, Continental, etc. approved for V.P. by Evans. H. A. Rehm,
CG data all engines. Hints, modifications, illustrations, photos. $8.00 pd. Fred Meyer, 108A Shawler Brook Road, Sherburne, NY 13460.
Dousman, Wisconsin 53118.
versity Avenue, San Diego, Calif. 92105. GROUND ADJUSTABLE PROP for VW, Cont., CONTINENTAL A80, mostly new, write plus
stamp. Eash, 7920 W. Glendale Avenue 36, Glendale, Arizona 85303.
Lye., up to 125 HP. All wood, lightweight, VW prop - 8 lbs., mirror finish, 2, 3 and 4 blades. Bernard Warnke, Box 50762, Tucson, Arizona 85705.
MAGNETIC engine gives unlimited range. Propulsion system is lighter and uses no fuel. Send 50c for 3,879,622 to Commissioner of Patents, Washington, DC 20231.
CARVE YOUR OWN with this step-by-step Oshkosh forum handbook. $3.00 plus .50 PP. Merle Miller, Aeroneering, Inc., Box 8,
LYCOMING IMO-360, 225 HP, 10 hrs. TT, loaded. Best offer, 514/684-1442, no collect.
I CAN HELP — Solve your propeller problems, standard, experimental, 33 years
Claxton, Georgia 30417.
FAA APP STA. #3727. Tremendous inven-
HIRTH 55 HP ENGINE — $450.00 complete. A. Jancso, Jr., 18440 Clifftop Way, Malibu, Calif. 90265. SMALL TURBINES — 100 hp, 14 GPH, 190 LBS., cost Navy $100,000, sell for $675,
specs $1.00. R. Finch, 1070 Sapphire St. #4, San Diego, Calif. 92109. NORM BENDER - LYCOMING ENGINES —
A long standing combination. Norm has exceptional New Lycoming Engine Exchange Plan for Piper, Cessna, Beech and Mooney owners. Results: Clean, airworthy Lycomings in the "150", "160",
tory, Hartzell distributor, new, exchange, recondition, McCauley, Beech, Ham. Std., Aeromatic, Curtiss electric, etc. Straightening. Chromic anodize. shot peening, Magnaglow, our service. Experience and ability is a legend in the industry. Information and propeller log book - send $1.00 or call ANDERSON PROPELLER INC., DUPAGE AIRPORT, WEST CHICAGO, ILL 60185. 312/584-8787. PROPELLERS — VW, Continental, etc. Choice
of hardwoods. Nelson G. Keith, P. O. Box 118, Uniontown, Kansas 66779. 316/7564747.
"180", "200", "250", "260" & "300" range
are received in trade. All have complete log, standard factory accessories, with Lord Mounts, bolts & nuts as removed at engine change. Most have many good operating hours remaining for experimental aircraft and quality airboat usage. We may have one for you. Purchasers are afforded opportunity to acquire new overhaul parts at 30% discount. Also, we provide access to propellers, Cessna, Beech and Piper parts, as well as many other items for homebuilders at significant discounts. Norm can be of good service. 901/365-6611. Norm Bender, Inc., Box 30343, Memphis, Tennessee 38130. LYCOMING — 180 HP, 0-360-A1A, 140 SMOH
with accessories except generator, $2600. Also Hartzell c/s prop and governor, $600. Engine mount for Starduster Too, $70.00. Barry Halsted, 843 Artwood Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30307. 404/378-7813. LYCOMING 125 HP GPU — dual ignition,
carburetor, oil cooler, one mag, no log, $500.00. G. Girard, P. 0. Box 415, Station K., Montreal, Quebec, H1M 3L3.
WHEELS — Custom made aircraft wheels, complete with brakes and bearings. 500x5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110. per pr. 500x4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110. per pr. 700x4 (will take 800x4 tire) .. .$110. per pr. Master cylinders, $20. per pair with wheel order. $23. per pair without. Alfred H. Rosenhan, 810 E. 6400 South. Salt Lake City, Utah 84107.
FIRESTONE * SHINN wheels & brake parts. 1" brake lining kit, $6.60, 1" brake shoes $8.25 each, brake dust covers $3.85 each, all for model 6C assy's. Mfg. Firestone & Shinn wheel & brake parts. WHEELERDEALER, P. 0. Box 421, Harbor City, Calif. 90710. T-18 BUILDERS — Extrusions; sheet metal and hardware; instrument panel; gas tank; gas cap; landing gear; engine mount and ring; aluminum windshield frame; horizontal spar tube assembly; Cleveland 500x5 wheels and brakes; axle stub; Pitot-static tube; wing ribs; Maule tailwheel. Write for catalog. MERRILL W. JENKINS CO., 2413
Moreton St., Torrance, Calif. 90505.
Hang Gliding PLANS AND INSTRUCTIONS — Plans for
the original Quicksilver (monoplane) and Flexi-Flier (rogallo), Guide to Rogallo Flight, and catalog, $10.00. Information kit, $1.00. Eipper-Formance, Inc., P. 0. Box 246-E, Lomita, California 90717.
HANG GLIDING — Designing/Building/Flying handbook. 200 pages. New edition. $5.95 postpaid. Dan Poynter, Box 4232-A, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. HIGH PERFORMANCE APD-1 — Soar like a
LARGE STOCK of new and used light aircraft and engine parts. Lots of parts for homebuilders. The home of flight tested aircraft parts. Nagel Aircraft Sales, Torrance Airport, Torrance, Calif. 90505. SPORT AVIATION BINDER — Now holds 12 plus. U. S. $4.25, Canada $4.50, postpaid. EAA No. 79, Box 917, Spokane, Wash. 99210. DRAG WIRES, FLYING WIRES, BEARINGS,
ETC. Per AN standards for homebuilts. Send stamped addressed envelope for illustrated list. A. Wheels, P. O. Box 174, Ambler, Pa. 19002.
bird, new design concept. Stressed 6 G's. Info pack $2.00. APD Flight Systems, 23
Clarendon Drive, Binghamton, New York
GEE BEE CANOPIES — T-18 Canopies and windshields fit T-18, Mustang II, Sidewinder, Turner Super T-40A, CA-65. Pazmany
13901.
Books MODERN AIRCRAFT RE-COVERING — Com-
plete manual with 50 illustrations on recovering with Grade "A" cotton or Cecon-
RANGER — 175 HP, pickled, 515/733-2589. P. O. Box 44, Story City, Iowa 50248.
ite. $2.00 postpaid. Airtex Products, Box 177, Morrisville, Pa. 19067.
VW CONVERSION booklet: H.P.. ignition
Books for Aircraft Designers, Builders. Outof-print and current. List 25c. John Roby,
wiring diagram, step by step instructions.
Miscellaneous
PL-2 Canopies, V, and 7/10 scale P-51's. $170.00 each. Large single place bubble 60"x24"x16" high; small single place bubble - 50"x24'x14" high - $100.00 each. New
Pitts Bubble — $95.00. All canopies untrimmed and in green, gray or clear. "Shipping crate - $30.00" FOB Seattle. Gee Bee, 18415-2nd Ave., So. Seattle. Wash. 98148.
Glen Breitsprecher.
Dynel, fiber-glass, resins, polyurethane foam. Complete supplies. Catalog 25c. Kick-Shaw,
$7.00 pp. VERTEX MAGNETO, inserts into distributor hole. List $237.50. EAA $199.00 pp. TACHOMETER, electric, 3", 5000 RPM, magneto actuated INSTRUMENTS: engine
3703T Nassau, San Diego, California 92115.
Inc., 3527 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, TN 37415.
LIGHT AIRPLANE DESIGN — 80 pages, 61
PRICES SLASHED! DON'T TAKE CHANCES
and fuel. For price sheets contact BAC, 78 E. Stewart Avenue. Lansdowne. Pennsylvania 19050
math, $8.00 LIGHT AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION — for the amateur builder. Sheet me-
Propellers PROPELLERS, Custom wood, epoxy dynel, finish. R. Mende, Rt. 2, Quitman. Ark. 72131. 501/589-2672. 86 SEPTEMBER 1975
figures, 16 photos, 18 tables. Step-by-step guide for amateur designers. No difficult tal, fiber-glass, plexiglass, molds, tools, jigs. 311 illustrations, 92 pages. $9.00. PL-4 CONSTRUCTION MANUAL — 104 pages. 394 figures, Team-mate of CONSTRUCTION
book. A "must" for amateur builders. Construction tips, VW engine installation instructions, Pop-Riveting technique $10.00. PAZMANY AIRCRAFT CORP., P O Box 80051S, San Diego, CA. 92138.
on uncertified surplus or used wheels and brakes! 500x5 or 600x6 1975 Production
Cleveland wheels and brakes, brake brackets NOW ONLY $125.00 plus $6.50 postage. Wheel dust covers $7.50 set. M. B. C. with
parking brake $35.00 pair. Bonanza type $35 pair. 500x5 or 600x6 Cessna axles $19.50 each. 1975 600x6/6 tires $17.00.
Also conversion kits for Cessna, Beech, Stinson, Swift, etc. Stamped envelope for free list. Hardwick Aircraft, 1612 Chico, South El Monte, Calif. 91733.
T-18 BUILDERS — Save time and material. Buy material marked per matched hole tooling We have 90% of all material, hardware, parts and assemblies. Write for catalog. Ken Knowles Sport Aircraft. 27902 Al-
varez Drive. Palos Verdes Peninsula. California 90274. T-18 MACHINED PARTS — 67 parts exactly per Thorps drawings including canopy latch. Send for list. Dewberry Industries. 4751 Hwy. 280 So.. Birmingham, Ala. 35243. VP-1 MOLDED FIBER-GLASS ENGINE COWL-
ING — Upper and lower shell, excellent cooling. $50.00 postpaid. Dick Ertel. PR #7. Quincy, Illinois 62301 ALUMINUM kits: Mustang I. Mustang II, T18. Davis DA-2A. Sonerai. drills, reamers.
Gerdes wheels and brakes. Send large selfaddressed envelope stamped to: SMITH SUPPLY COMPANY, Route 4. Brown Deer
Lane. Janesville. Wisconsin 53545. COOT BUILDERS! The finest in machined parts, fittings. All parts now available — many in stock. Also custom work Forney
Precision. Inc.. Box 75. Cambra. Pennsylvania 18611. WITTMAN TYPE GEAR LEGS — for Tailwind. Sidewinder. Davis. Daphne. RV-3, and oth-
ers. Expertly machined and polished from 6150 steel. Write H. C. Lange. R. #1. Merrill. Wis. 54452. CANADIAN KR-2 ENTHUSIASTS — Why pay
more
Eliminate importation problems
Write, phone or visit your ONE STOP KR-2 CENTER, for KR-2 plans and building needs
Wood, foam, epoxy, dynel, professional parts — we have them all. Free price list. CANADIAN RAND AVIATION. Hangar #2. Toronto Island Airport. Toronto M5V 1A1. Ontario, Canada. 416/366-4253.
WHEEL PANTS — Lightweight. 500 x 5. as used on Sonerai, $35.00 pr. Split racing type - $45.00 pr
12" aluminum spinners and
backplates - $25.00 "F I & F V formed aluminum landing gears, 5" Azusa wheels and brakes, plexiglass canopys, fiber-glass nose bowls for WV's. Cassutt canopy caps, etc POSA INJECTOR CARBS — The answer tor carb problems As used on Sonerai 29. 32.
35. 37 mm models available $50.00. Why pay more? Include engine type and HP. RIVETS — Cherry commercial 'pop type"
rivets 120° flush or standard protruding head. '/.' stainless steel. $2300/1000: '/•" aluminum, $10.50/1000 G28 Hand Rivet Tool for above plus 120° dimple die $21 00. Send $1 00 for Sonerai information Monnett
Experimental Aircraft, Inc., 410 Adams, Elgin, Illinois 60120.
"WOOD/FOAM AIRCRAFT CONSTRUCTION WITH FLYTE BOND EPOXY". CANADIAN
AEROMARINE SERVICES. Hangar #2. To-
ronto Island Airport. Toronto M5V 1A1, Ontario. Canada 416/366-4253 AN HARDWARE ft FITTINGS — Send 50c
for catalog - refundable first purchase. HB AIRCRAFT STANDARD PARTS. BOX 4358. FLINT. MICHIGAN 48504. 313/239-2992
FLUSH GAS CAP with mounting ring. May be riveted, welded or molded to your tank. A quality product machined from solid aluminum $17.95 postage paid. Free brochure AVIATION PRODUCTS, INC. 114 Bryant. Ojai. California 93023. CONTROL CABLES fabricated with AN ter-
minals. $2.95 per end for swaging and hydraulic proof testing. Components at competitive prices. Free brochure. AVIATION PRODUCTS. INC.. 114 Bryant. Ojai. California 93023. LIGHTWEIGHT STEERABLE TAILWHEELS for
homebuilts. 4" or 6" diameter wheels. I'/T or 1Vi" flat, or H" round spring mounting. $27.95 postage paid. Free brochure. AVIATION PRODUCTS INC.. 114 Bryant, Ojai, California 93023.
da 32805 or call 1-305-422-6595. BUBBLE CANOPIES — 15x44x11. 20x33x13 $50.18x46x12-$60 20x46x14-$70 23x46x15
- $80 20x60x14 - $90. 23x60x16 - $100 2/3 P-51, tandem 23x70x16 - $150 34x70x21 •
$200 Tandem drape 23x55x17. open both ends, $100. Emeraude windshield and side panels - $120. Others not listed. Prices include crating Excellent optics Custom work, partial canopies, windshields. Send stamped self-addressed envelope for complete info BOUWENS AEROSPACE. Twing Road. LeRoy. NY 14482. 716/967-8215 SPOKED WHEELS WITH BRAKES — Com-
plete set of plans, with parts sourcing information. 16" - 18" rim size, 1'/t' axle, use on one or two place aircraft, price $4.50
kit material to your specification, laminated spars made to your requirements. Epoxy, aerolite glue, balsa, ash. Kits for Pietenpol. Cavalier, Minicab. Taylor Mono. Fly Baby. etc. Catalogue $1.00. WESTERN AIRCRAFT SUPPLIES. 623 Markerville Rd.. N.E.. Calgary, Alberta. T2E 5X1. Canada. Bus. Ph. 403/261-3046
bending brake drawing PRE-FORMED LEADING EDGES. Available,
complete formed aluminum leading edge and trailing edge kits. Steen Skybolt - $157.; Pitts Standard - $128.50; Pitts Symmetrical $131.50; Starduster II - $221.00; EAA Biplane
- $131 50; Acro Sport - $139. Kits made to order. Shipped FOB Lyons. Wisconsin Check must accompany order. WAG-AERO. Box 181, Lyons. Wisconsin 53148. KR-I-II/W.A.R. BUILDERS — Polyurethane 3510 Langdale Drive, High Point, NC 27260. 919/869-3969. WILL CONSTRUCT your aircraft or any com-
ponent part of your specifications and to any stage of completion desired All welding and work accomplished by certified mechanics We specialize in W.W. 1 aircraft. W. R. Petrone. Dayton Park Road. Ames. Iowa 50010. 232-5363. ABANDONING PROJECT — landing struts;
instruments, wheels, tires, small parts, etc. Send SSAE for list and cheap prices. Donald Wall. 5595 University Avenue. San Diego. Calif. 92105. AXLES - AZUSA WHEELS 1 BRAKES — %"
steel axles for Azusa wheels. $42.50 pr. with nuts. Full assemblies including cables and actuating levers Prop hubs and extensions for VW. 2074 cc VW engines ready to fly, $1875.00 fob. Bob Hoover. 1875 Monte Vista. Vista. Calif 92083 714/724-1513.
postpaid. R & B Aircraft Company. R.D. #3. Box 446. Flemington. NJ 08822.
NEW BD4 fiber-glass wing panels, late stock,
CANADIANS — Hardware, instruments, steel
NEW STAINLESS CABLES, ft" - 7 x 19 - 15
sheet tubing: Birch plywood: props, engines: Aerolite glue. Lincoln cloth fabric Price list available Leavens Bros.. P. 0. Box 1000. Malton, Ontario, Canada. STITS covering materials in stock: polyfiber yardage, polybrush. polyspray. tapes, etc Write for information Call orders collect
half price 213/883-0381 ft. long with AN667 swaged one end $4.50
pp. New Goodyear 600 x 6 outside wheel halves. $25.00 pp. Bearing and race sets for Goodyear 600 x 6 wheels. $12.00 pp. C-4 adjustable cockpit lights, $1495 pp. Many other hard to find items Send SAE with your needs. Fred Griffith. 13040 Gridley Street. Sylmar. Calif 91342
EAA Discount We will also recover your
plane for you Sugarbush Stits. Box 68, Waitslield. Vermont 05673. 802/496-2290.
T-18 C foldable wing builders, write for catalog of parts and material. Ken Knowles Sport Aircraft. Inc.. 27902 Alvarez Drive.
PITTS SPECIAL UPPER WING — 80% com-
plete, drag wires, tip bows installed, plus lower wing spars and all ribs. Plus extras. $450.00. Call or write. Robert Lindberg,
2021 Grove Avenue, Waukegan, Illinois 60085 312/336-2098 or 746-3265
Palos Verdes Penn, California 90274 CUSTOM EMBROIDERED EMBLEMS, your
design, low minimum, information booklet. Write Emblems. Dept. 66, Littleton. New Hampshire 03561.
PROPELLERS to TAILWHEELS — Instruments
Engines, Accessories. Parts. Sparkplugs. Helmets. Manuals Tires, wheels, brakes, etc Bass. R. D. 1. Toms River. New Jersey,
WOODWORKING — homebuilts and antiques, complete wings or any part Rebuilding or repairing AIRCRAFT WOODWORK, Rt 4, 6254 Highway 36. Burlington, Wisconsin 53105 414/763-3036.
ALUMINUM OUR SPECIALTY — Product LIn*
July Sport Aviation. Catalog .Soc rafundabl*. BJG Aircraft Supply, 40 Countrytld* Drtv*. SL P*t*r», Mo. 63376.
Gerdes Products. SKIN CLAMPS — for half the price of Clecos. COOT BUILDERS — My husband is so busy
building beautiful new airplane that he never got around to editing the several hundred pages of COOT notes, comments, and instructions. So, I got busy and with some help now have all of this material edited, organized, cataloged and beautifully printed. Copies are available for $6.00 — Send your check to Mr*. Molt Taylor, Box 1171, Longview. Washington 96632.
Vi dia. - kit to make 50 clamps, $11.75. 100/ $21.95. Postpaid. Data .25c. Swanson Tool. 4018 S. 272nd St., Kent, Wash. 98031
SILVER WINGS — Offers membership to every pilot who soloed 25 years before application. National Convention. Ramada Inn. Arlington, Texas. September 11-13 For only $5 annually, you receive full membership kit plus official newspaper. Send stamp for sample Box 1228. Harrisburg. Pa. 17108.
KR-2, KR-1 SLING SEAT — $8.00 — Installa-
tion kit - $5 00. Two seats and two kits needed for KR-2. Add $1.00 per seat ship-
WOOD AIRCRAFT BUILDERS — We supply
brochure(s). Free with orders: 4 - 7 ft steel
foam and dynel Best deal. Sport Craft. HOMEBUILDERS — are you looking for the following - vac pumps, prop governors, fuel injected systems, blowers, cranks Check with us first. Air Engines. Ltd . 1325 W Washington. Bldg A-6. Orlando, Flori-
FLYTE BOND EPOXY — A new. low viscosity,
high strength, epoxy. Specially formulated for use in wood/foam/dynel aircraft structures. Does not soften polystyrene foam, or become bnttle on polyurethane foam Low toxicity. Use this one material as glue, filler, coating, laminating resin and strengthening filler material. Does not shrink, craze, delaminate or crack. Water, gasoline and chemical proof, it is also impermeable to water vapor and so prevents dimensional changes in wood with changing humidity Prevents wood rot $3200 Gal Send for booklet
DANDY DIMPLE DIE., 172 Boniface. Kitchener. Ontario. Canada: stocks aircraft "OneSided/Hand" rivet dimple dies. 3/32". 7/64", 1/8" (100°. 120°); "lightening-hole" flanging dies, cutters: (12 - sizes including "Zenith"): monel "Pop" rivets, guns Free
ping. James Bates, Box 45146, San Diego. California 92145.
KR-1 KR-2 NEWSLETTER — Swap ideas, parts,
etc. with builders everywhere. Pipeline to Rand-Robinson 'skunk-works' 6 mo $2.50.
1 yr, $4.50. Ernest Koppe. 6141 Choctaw Drive. Westminster. California 92683.
OSHKOSH PHOTOGRAPHS — aerial photos of
Wittman Field, slides and prints of airshows and aircraft - write for free brochure George Snellen, 3411 Michael Drive, New Carlisle. Ohio 45344.
NEW MUFFLERS — for the following Lycoming engines. 0235. 0-290D. 0-290 GPU. 0320 and IO-320. For $225.00 SL-Marketing Assoc. Inc., P. O. Box 32406, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73132. SPORT AVIATION 87
TAPE RECORDINGS — 200 1972 through
PLANS
1975 Oshkosh forums. Special interest and chapter programs. Also that FANTASTIC FRIDAY Oshkosh Tower, SASE or
10c for list. David Yeoman, R. 1, Toddville, Iowa 52341.
RIVETS-BULB CHERRYLOCK — Universal,
countersunk and unisink heads. Approved by F.F.A. Hand Guns and Air Tools. POP RIVETS, aluminum closed-end, Monel, Threaded, ANCHOR NUT PLATES, 6/32, 8/32, 10/32 threads. Write for FREE infor-
mation. Fastener Products Co., 615 W. Col fax. Palatine, III. 60067.
Plans of aircraft advertised In SPORT AVIATION must have satisfied the FAA
minimum requirements of the Experimental Amateur-built Category and must have been operated a minimum of SO hours when using a FAA certified engine or 75 hours with a non-certified engine and should have satisfactorily demonstrated Its advertised qualities. The FAA Operation Limitation must have been amended to permit flight outside the test flight area.
SHOESTRING — Formula One Racer, sportplane plans available. 3-view, photos, specs., $3.00. Condor Aero, Inc., P. O. Box 762, Vero Beach, Fla. 32960. AIR SKIMMER — $10.00 buys the hull plans for this single place homebuilt Navy Sea-
plane Rest of plans as you build or complete set of original plans $65.00. JET Plans, 1800 Carmelo Dr. E. Carmichael, CA. 95608
FLOAT PLANS — Metal. Designed by Stanley Dzik. Information packet. $1 00 U.S. Bill or Money Order. Plans, four sheets, NOW $2500. U. S. or Money Order. Post paid. L. Landermann, 39 Poplar St., Ste-
Rose, Laval, Que., Canada COUGAR 1 — 12 sheets, black line, full size wing ribs, folding wing modification, $20.00.
Parachutes
Order from Leonard Eaves, 3818 N W. 36.
CLOSING OUT SALE — All chutes 10% to
20% off. Surplus, seats, backs and Pioneer thin backs. Midwest Parachute, Novi, Michigan 48050.
Oklahoma City, Okla. FOKKER TRIPLANE DR-1 — Full size info kit, $3.00, Plans $50.00. Redfern Replica, W. W. Redfern, Rt. #1, Athol, Idaho 83801. EAA BIPLANE P-2 — A fine sport plane for the
amateur builder, 85-150 HP, cruise 105-140 mph. Fully aerobatic. This rugged singleplace biplane has spruce wings, steel tube fuselage, very detailed shop drawings, plus
Services BUILDING OR DESIGNING your own aircraft
and in need of sound advice? For FREE detailed information about this engineering mail service send a self addressed stamped envelope to: AMTECH SERVICES
to EAA members. $37.50 non-members (includes one year's EAA membership). Experimental Aircraft Association. P 0. Box 229, Hales Corners, Wis 53130 WITTMAN TAILWIND W-8 — Two-place,
RD 8, Mansfield, Ohio 44904
Wood Testing Device; plans, detailed instructions - $17.38; description June 1970 Sport Aviation.
BILL "AVI"
full size wing rib and jig drawing $27.00
ATOR — Aviation Insurance
Specialist. Representing large established companies. Competitive rates. Fast, Claim Service. Speciality Homebuilts and Antique Aircraft. 211 South Fayette, Jacksonville Illinois 62650. 217/245-9668 BD-5 BUILDERS Don't give up now. Kiblers Turbocharged Honda - Engines - 5K is out-
performing the two stroker Get started on structure and flight control mods you need anyhow. Send 20~c SSAE.
side-by-side. 85-135 HP Cruise (with 0200 Cont.) over ISO mph at 5,000 ft. at 70% power Construction plans and photos $125.00. Brochure $1 00. S. J. Wittman, Box 276. Oshkosh. Wis. 54901. CA-65 — Two place sport plane with retractable landing gear. Plans - $110.00. Brochure - $3 00 A. Cvjetkovic, Box 323, Newbury Park. Calif. 91320. SMITH DSA-1 "Mlnlplane" Plans. 17 ft. Biplane Excellent drawings, $25.00. Mrs. Frank Smith, 3502 Sunny Hills Drive, Norco, California 91760. AIRCAMPER, GN-1 — Complete plans for 65
KR1, KR2 The missing "HOW TO" plus Design
Review Safety Update Index upon receipt of 20c SSAE. (Even the gopher digs at least two ways out of his home.) Gillespie Aero Services, Dept. K, 404 S. Reese Place. Burbank, California 91506.
to 85 HP, 2-place Parasol, all wood and fabric construction. Rib drawing and major fittings full size. $25.00 postpaid. Cutaway and photos, $1.00. John W. Grega, 355 Grand Blvd., Bedford. Ohio 44146.
VW
TAKE THf GUESS WORK OUT Or PROP. SELECTION a BLADES — 3 RLADES NE
MANUFACTURED
'
SUPER-DIAMANT - retract, tri-gear: $125.
SUPER-EMERAUDE- 2 seater. all-wood: $75. BERYL - fully aerobatic, \endem seater: $80. COUGAR - all vvood r a c e r : $75. - TOURBILLON - fully aerobatic, all-wood single seater: $60. - EDELWEISS - all-metal, retrac. tri-gear, 2 seater: $125. - 4 seater: $175.00 - Specs. 3-view, photos, $2 per airplane to E. Littner. P. O. Box 272, SaintLaurent. H4L 4V6, Quebec, Canada. RAND KR-1 PLANS — $25.00. The VW pow-
ered Styrofoam retractable. Ken Rand, 6171 Cornell Drive, Huntington Beach, Calif. 92647 SESA REPLICA — 85% scale WW I Biplane Scout featured December 1970 SPORT AVIATION. Sport plane performance with
antique appearance. Brochure, specs, and photos; $3.00. 30 sheets 22"x34" complete construction prints and instruction booklet $60.00. REPLICA PLANS, 953 Kirkmond
Crescent, Richmond, B. C., Canada HEADWIND B — The original VW powered
airplane with over a decade of success. Excellent plans, $2500. info, $2.00. Stewart Aircraft Corporation, 11420 Rt. 165. Salem, Ohio 44460. LITTLE TOOT PLANS — Reduced to book form, sixteen sheets 11" x 17", $25.00. Full
size blue prints, $75.00. Illustrated brochure, $2.00. Meyer Aircraft, 5706 Abby, Corpus Christi, Texas 78413. R. L. 3 MONSOON, low wing 2 seats all wood construction Brochure $3.00. plans $75.00 Wood kits available. WESTERN AIRCRAFT
SUPPLIES, 623 Markerville Rd., N.E., Calgary, Alberta, T2E 5X1, Canada. Bus. Ph. 403/261-3046.
BG-6, BG-7, BG-12D and BG-12/16 plans from $35 to $95.00. Information packages: BG-6 and BG-7. $1.00; BG-12D, BG-12/16, $1.00. Both for $1.75. Sailplane Corporation of America, El Mirage, Rt. Box 101, Adelanto, Calif. 92301.
ADJUSTABLE PITCH PROPELLERS
GEAR DRIVE
DIAMANT — 3-4 seater. Til wood: $100 —
V W
V BE1-T
DKIVE
MORSE CHAIN D«IVi
EL GRINGO
Stalls under 40. Top speed is 150 I.A.S. V.W. Power. Steel tubing airframe and wing spars. Quick removable wings. Adjustable seat and elevator trim. New techniques in Foam, Dynel, and Epoxy. Plans, Photos and Instructions, $50.00. New to market. Electric Hot Wire Foam Cutting Unit. For a fast and professional
AIRCRAFT INTERCOM
job, makes cutting and conturing remarkably easy, $45.00. C. B. ENTERPRISES
2022 N. Acoma
by Shorty Hirsekorn -
NO ENGINE MODIFACTION REQUIRED SELF STARTER EQUIPPED ALL ENGINES WILD THEM YOURSELF FROM SCALE PLANS OR IUY THEM COMPLETE READY TO INSTALL SCALE PLANS • KITS Of MAT . PARTS, i CASTINGS
FOR INDIVIDUAL ITIM SEND (3.00 FOR INFO FOR ALL ITEMS SfND U.K FOR INFO. PACKET PHOTOS LAYOUTS SPECS DATA PBICES SEND tl 00 E X T R A OUTSIDE L- S A — INFO PACKET PRICE RtfUNDAILE —
88 SEPTEMBER 1975
VW- BELT DRIVES START AS LOW ASSI9900 Ready To Install
GYRODYNAMIC SYSTEMS
105 Rosamond Houston, TX 77022
Hobbs, NM 88240
* Fiberglass Hull
Assem. * Window Kit * Tail Kit
* Engine Pylon Kit * Many other parts Send $2.00 for info Pack.
Use with standard aircraft mikes and 600 ohm headphones. 12 V. Four new models to choose from: Model 301-use w/o radio and hand mike, $39.95; Model 302-usew/o radio & boom mike, $44.95; Model 303-use with radio & hand mike, $49.95; Model 304-use with radio & boom mike, $54.95. Post paid. Satisfaction guaranteed. Mass,
res. add 3% tax MX C O R P O R A T I O N
Box 47, N. Chelmsford, Ma. 01863
(formerly Max Meredith Assoc.)
SONERAI I 4 II PLACE PLANS — VW pow-
ered, all metal, folding wing, self-trailering I - $50.00. II - $75.00 II includes builders manual. Components and kits available Send $1.00 for information. Monnett Experimental Aircraft. Inc., 410 Adams. Elgin. Illinois 60120 BABY LAKES — Champagne performance on a beer pocketbook! Cutaway drawing and full reports, $3 00 Complies with NASAD "AA" quality standards Dealer for Great Lakes Sport Trainers and parts. Send $3.00 for special info packet. Barney Oldfield Aircraft Company. P O. Box 5974,
Cleveland. Ohio 44101 SPEZIO "TUHOLER" — two place, open cockpit, low folding wing Full size rib
drawings, very detailed plans. Info pack
WICHAWK BIPLANE — Can be built 2 place
side by side. 2 place tandem or 3 pla-e 3 view drawings with complete specifications and performance data, assembly and weight and balance information with list of drawings. $5.00. Javelin Aircraft Co., Inc., 9175 East Douglas, Wichita, Kansas 67207. VARIVIGGEN — Outstanding New Design - Oshkosh '74. 2-plus-2 utility, superb maneuverability Tech Report. $10.00. plans and tech report. $5300 VARIEZE "Outstanding New Design" - Oshkosh '75. Holds world's closed course distance
record in its weight class 2-place, unmatched economy, fastest VW powered homebuilt, can also use Continental engines New glass composite structure. Info package $5.00 Rutan Aircraft Factory. Box 656, Mojave. CA 93501
- $3.00 Plans - $75.00. William Edwards.
25 Madison Avenue. Northhampton, Mass 01060.
DYKE DELTA JDII — Wings fold - towable at
max speed limit, 4-place airplane that will
ANDERSON KINGFISHER SPORT AMPHIBI-
pay for itself by hangar rent saved. 4-place. retractable gear, cruise 175 on 180 Lye., 5-
AN — Flight proven, simple and economical. Wooden construction. Piper Cub wings PLANS $150, information brochure $300. Present builders note new address. Earl
view info sheet. $3.00. Detailed plans $125.00 Jennie Dyke. 2840 Old Yellow
W. Anderson. P O Box 422. Raymond, Maine
UNUSED PLANS — A c r o Sport plans and construction manual. $40.00. Kevin H Morgan. 5619 Blue Bonnet. Alexandria,
04071
JL-4 — 4-place, wood and foam construction, to 260 hp. STOL, retractable, information, $4.00. Jim Londo, Rt. 3. Box 83. Arlington. Washington 98223. 1912 BELLANCA REPLICA — single place, sticks and wire monoplane Many fittings and details full size 2 x 3 poster mcl Plans. $40.00 Michael Murphy, 4923 W 99 Street, Oak Lawn. Illinois 60453.
Springs Road. Fairborn. Ohio 45324
LA 71301
Brand new unused plans — T-18 with newsletters, $110.00; Skybolt. $35.00. Bell. 136 Cromwell Drive. Depew. New York 14043. 716/681-5482
WANTED Will purchase P & W R1340 and R985 engines.
Also Ham Std 2D30 and 12D40 propellers. Mid-Continent, Drawer L. Hayti. Missouri 63851 314/359-0500
ANY BD-4 builders in the southern California area to join our active club 213/3350941
COOT A PROJECT wanted — near Ontario. Send details to Steve Flannery. 479 Connaught St.. Kitchener. Ontario N2C 1C6. WANTED — Unused Thorp T-18 plans Tom Henthorn. 1718 E Ash. Enid. OK 73701. Wanted — A 1500 skies with rigging or without for 7AC Champ; low or 0 SMOH A65-8 Cont. engine with logs; tail wheel; W. J Pond, 11 Veniot Avenue, Oromocto. N.B.. Canada. 506/357-6415.
Soaring SOARING magazine comes with SSA Associate membership, only $12/yr Or, send 51 50 for sample copy plus literature. Soaring Society of America. Box 66071-X. Los Angeles, Calif 90066 A SPECIAL OFFER — Guide to Sailplanmg
'How to Get Started in Soaring", 64 pages $1 00 postpage paid Schweizer A i r c r a f t Corp , 36 Airport Road, Elmira. New York 14902.
OAVIS DA-2A
336 sq. ft of detailed drawings Information $2.00
Drawings $110.00
Plans available soon for the DA-5 Information $3.00
CUSTOM BINDERS
For both A / C $4.00
Both designed for a reliable A/C engine Box 207,
LEEON DAVIS Stanton, TX 79782
$4.25 ca. or 3 for
$11.95 DRAGON
SKIN
Fiberglass wing and fuselage skins
Sheets up to 4 x 8 in four thicknesses. Also molded leading edge materials Send $1.00 for sample and specifications.
Now you can keep all of your issues of SPORT AVIATION together and in perfect
condition for easy reference. Designed in beautiful royal blue vinyl with gold letters, each binder has metal spines for
THE A M E R I C A COMPANY
1S21 Breezeland, Oconomowoc, Wis. 53066
Is this the shape of things to
STEEN SKYBOLT
come in the TEENIE TWO?
holding twelve issues of SPORT AVIATION
or EAA "how to" publications. Copies may be easily inserted or removed.
WADSWORTH AVIATION
The Ultimate Biplane!
P. 0. Box 281
Box 181
C. Y. PARKER Dragoon, AZ 85609 602 586-3836
Lapel, Indiana 46051
Indiana residents add 4% sales tax. Postpaid in USA.
JET ENGINE ll ir REVOLUTIONARY! All who see it marvel at its POWER. SIMPLICITY. Plans now available for the 4 aileron symetrical 2 place aerobatic trainer and competition bipe. 24' span suitable for 125 r>D to 260 hp engine. Extreme ease of construct on with excellent drawings. Flight tested and stressed for unlimited aerobatic competition. Fuselage and wing kits
available. Color photo and info, pack, $200. Drawings. $5000.
STEEN AERO LAB 15623 DeGaulle Cir. - Brighton, Colo. 80601
303/659-7182
PUSH-BUTTON STARTING'
100%Throttleable CONTROL! • SAFE' RELIABLE! Clean Eihaust! LIGHTWEIGHT. Never wears out! •
PRIMARY GLIDER • HFT. WINGSPAN-EASY W BUILDEASY TO FLY-BUILD NOW FOK NEXT SEASOHEXCELLENT PROJECT FOR CLUBS {MANUAL ARTS CLASSTWO DETAILED 24X36 SHEETS- >I2.00
RON SANDS. RDI-341,MERTZTOWN.PA.I9539.
POWER your Glider. Small Plane.
Ice-Sled. Boil. GoKirt Test Stand Etc • EAST TO >UIU) CONSTRUCTION PUNS 1511 THRUST JET W! 510. PUWS SIMM 40 IB THRUST Sit 00 * lO-ll J19 » Foi Complete INFORMATION PlcUgi.
.nc ucng 06 1 Technical Haidtjoo* iiilust'aleci Graprts '.-•\t" C:maar>s:ns*iltiothe' Jets ana a BOOK on Uses loimjlion BrKhurei i C>llloal. Plus Four BilO I Photot
EHMEG ENGINEERING CO. 18518-4 SO. BROADWAY. GARDENA. CAL. 90248
USHTCOVIUR WORLD" Tool ISuaalr Catalog Tffii————I j Tool! & Supplies f
P.O. BOX 160 (Dept.R), NEW YORK 11040
NEW HYDE PARK. L . I . . Phooe: (516)328-0666
SPORT AVIATION 89
STOLP STARDUSTER CORP. 4301 TWINING RIVERSIDE. CA. 92509
(714)
686-7943
A RADIO CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ONLY p $34.95 \ \
ACRODUSTER 1
aeronautical paraphernalia
RATE OF ROLL —240"/SEC.
BROCHURE $5.00 COMPLETE KIT - $5500.00
We have purchased a limited quantity of a single channel pulse proportional super MET system from a well known manu-
facturer. These were made to sell for
STARDUSTER TOO PLANS $75.00 BROCHURE $2.00
$80.00. This is a fine system for that .020 or .049 powered R/C plane or glider. Comes wires up & ready to go. Not recommended for cars or boats. Batteries are S2.90 extra.
NAVY FLIGH- JACKET—fine goatskin, bi-swing
back, hi' collar. A2 Flight Jacket—leather. quilted lining, knit cuffs, leather collar, both in brown only 38-46, Navy $76.95, A2 $69.95. 48-50 add $8.00
SEND SOC FOR C A T A L O G S H E E T S K. B R O C H U R E S ON ALL P H A S E S OF MODEL BUILDING I N C L U D I N T R A D I O C O N T R O L . C H A R G E C A R D S ACCEPTED.
Stanton
Hobby Shop Ino. 4734
NORTH
MILWAUKEE
$43.95, with only radio adaptors $27.95
helmet only $23.95
AVENUE
STARLET
C.HiCAGO. ILLINOIS 6063O
PLANS $50.00 BROCHURE $2.00
PHONE 3 1 2 / 2 8 3 - 6 4 4 6
AIRFOILS NOW
LEATHER FLYING HELMETS—newly made. Available with radio gear—receivers, harness and carbon boom mike $58.95, w/out boom mike
FROM EAA
510—finest made. Curved triplex lenses, soft leather lined. Light weight head band $18.95. extra smoked lens $7.00, extra clear lens $5.00
VSTAR PLANS $50.00 B R O C H U R E $2.00
917—wide vision curved laminated glass, light weight strap $13.95, extra strap $2.50, extra clear lens S5.00
T H E O R Y OF WING SECTIONS
ACRODUSTER TOO
By
2-SEATER
Ira H. Abbott and Albert E. Von Doenhoff
PLANS $75.00 BROCHURE $2.00
The best single volume study available on subsonic wing sections. 693 pages include theory, airfoil ordinates, etc.
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ing specific laws that deal with aircraft functions. The
By
DAVID H. SCOTT, EAA 1004 1346 Connecticut Ave., Suite 915 Washington, D.C. 20036
INDEPENDENCE (Editor's Note: This in the text of the speech that was given by David H. Scott, EAA Washington Representative, at thf 23rd annual EAA Convention and Fly-In at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.) This report is being prepared on the Fourth of July, the 199th anniversary of the independence of the United States of America. The theme of independence, therefore, is not only timely for our country and its traditions and institutions but also more specifically for the activity which is so close to our hearts, sport aviation. Each year that I have spoken to you at this annual meeting it has always been gratifying to report that we in sport aviation continue to enjoy a great measure of independence and freedom. We still fly pretty much where and when we please. You have only to hear Harold Best-Devereaux speak of the restrictions on sport flying in England and the Continent to realize how privileged we still are in this country. But in our sense of gratitude we can pridefully acknowledge that this is in the traditions of our country and therefore not an unusual privilege for a comparative few. Of course in recent years we have seen changes in our privilege of being able to fly anywhere we please. We have lived with restricted areas for years and in the past two years the terminal control areas have barred us unless we are equipped with expensive and elaborate communications and navigation equipment. Most of us cannot afford this electronic gear and many of our aircraft are not suitable to carry it. So in effect we are barred from certain areas of airspace. The one bright side of the TCA situation is that these areas do serve to point out where the large high speed air carrier jets are operating at low altitudes. I venture to say there isn't any light plane pilot that doesn't wish to remain well clear of these high performance aircraft with their wake turbulence problems. And it goes without saying that a mid-air between a private aircraft and a crowded air carrier aircraft would be not only a disaster for the unfortunate people aboard but would create a frightful problem for the continued freedom of general and sport aviation. Although at this moment we still fly with great independence there are signs of future threats to this freedom. Great concern has been expressed in recent years in preserving the quality of our environment. From such has sprung an entirely new movement, mostly government initiated, which plans restrictions on the quality and use of the equipment we have always taken for granted. This has affected the design and use of the vehicles we need for all types of land, air and sea transportation as well as the accessories we use in the home and in industry. With specific reference to sport aviation we have government sponsored proposals for restrictions on noise and exhaust emissions for light aircraft. If rigidly enforced these could be a crippling factor towards the continued use of sport aircraft. Also in recent years we have seen Congress getting into the control of details of aircraft operations by writ-
ELT legislation is a perfect example of this. This law
established a precedent in which Congress has attempted to constrict the Federal Aviation Administration's prerogative to control aircraft operations. We may well see more of this type of legislation. Another threat on the horizon to sport and general aviation is the question of fuel supplies and cost. This
is a difficult problem and should be understood by every one who flies.
Our problem in aviation is that for the foreseeable future all aircraft must rely exclusively on petroleum products for their fuel. Unlike other users of energy such as industry or the home we cannot convert to other forms of fuel such as coal or ga.s or atomic energy. Perhaps some day this will be possible but certainly not before the end
of this century. So we are stuck with petroleum products for the source of all our fuel. Complicating our problem is the fact that we must import some 25^ to 35'/i of our petroleum needs from abroad. This is a precarious position for our country to be in. With major supplies coming from the Middle East these sources could be cut off by unfriendly nations in the area. Another threat is the growing Soviet strength
in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. Their rapidly increasing naval forces are reaching the position
where they could sever these sea lanes and deny this country vital supplies of petroleum from the Middle
East. The United States Government has recognized this peril to our supply of petroleum products from abroad and
has taken steps to meet this situation. Efforts to increase domestic supplies of petroleum are being made and those who can use other fuels other than petroleum are being urged to do so.
The most immediate solution for the problem is to cut down on the use of petroleum products. There are only two ways the government can do this — both of which are distasteful to consumers. One is to increase the price so as to discourage people from using gasoline except for the most essential uses. The other is by allocation or rationing which is equally bad because it brings with it complicated government controls and the attendant bureaucracy. I think we will have to face up to the fact that we will have to be very frugal in our use of fuel
during the coming years. And this is not a pleasant prospect because we must fly periodically in order to maintain our proficiency and remain safe pilots. While we are talking about independence we certainly should say something about the Federal Aviation Administration. It is rather significant that its address in Washington is 800 Independence Avenue. Unfortunately, since the creation of the Department of Transportation in 1966 it has not been independent and aviation has suffered as a result. The DOT was created for the purpose of coordinating all forms of transportation. No one has been able to interpret what that means. About the kindest thing we can say on this subject is that coordination of transportation modes must be done at the local level and not at the federal level. In any event the DOT after nine years has not been able to accomplish the mission they were set up to do. All that has been done is
the creation of a new level of bureaucracy over the FAA and other transportation departments. These senior (Continued on Page 83)