The Spirit of Aviation ® | www.eaa.org
Vol.66 No.3 | March 2017
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Off the Beaten Flight Path 6 cool flying jobs
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Safety First A look look at the annua annuall E-AB accident report
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JACK J. PELTON PELTON COMMENTARY / OPEN / OPEN COCKPIT
Women in Aviation It’s time to remember and celebrate all they have contributed BY JACK J. PELTON
I’ve jumped on a recently popular bandwagon I LEST YOU THINK I’ve
can tell you that I have appreciated and benefited greatly my entire life from the accomplishments and contributions of women in aviation. You see, one extremely important woman was making her own aviation history before I was even born. In 1944, my dad was in the U.S. U.S. Army Air Forces along with thousands of other Americans. He was shipped out of his native California to a base in Malden, Missouri. My mom, again like thousands of other wartime brides, followed her husband to his new assignment. Mom threw herself into support of the war effort and became as excited about aviation as the airmen around her. So much so that she jumped at the chance to take flying lessons in an Interstate Cadet on the base. By the time I came along, the most important woman in my life at that time had already become a part of women in aviation history. history. That women could fly and excel in any aspect of aviation was never new to me. It was just there. But that hasn’t always been true. And that’s one of the reasons March has been established as Women’s History Month. Since our shared passion is all things aviation that makes March, to me, Women Women in Aviation History Month. At EAA we have — as has all of the country — become more and more aware of the too often neglected historical achievements of women. At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh we are making progress every year including women in their rightful place in the story we tell of aviation innovation and progress. In 2017, EAA WomenVenture will celebrate 10 years of inspiring and empowering women at our annual convention to pursue their dreams in aviation. And EAA’s annual Women Soar You Soar So ar program for high school-aged girls is going into its 12th year of engaging and inspiring young women interested in aviation careers by connecting them with female mentors working in the industry. The most successful and concentrated celebration of the history of women in aviation takes place, naturally enough, at the annual International Women in Aviation Conference that is in Orlando, Florida, from March 2 to 4 this year. Women in Aviation International (WAI) has been growing steadily since it was founded in 1990 by EAA board member Dr. Peggy Chabrian. WAI’s goals and objectives are really the same as ours at EAA, which is to bring together people who are passionate about all aspects of aviation. EAA was founded to focus on personal and recreational flying, and WAI to concentrate on attracting and supporting the efforts of women in all areas of aviation, and even space travel. Both organizations welcome men and women from all corners of the country and globe. Bringing together people with the same interest builds strength of purpose and more importantly shows others that a person who looks like them, thinks like them, and has had similar life experiences can succeed in aviation. As a young engineer at Douglas Aircraft I heard the stories of the innovations of aerodynamicist Yvonne Yvonne Brill in the late 1940s. Her work was key in establishing Douglas as a leader in the airline aircraft industry. industry. It took time, but the rest of the country finally recognized her groundbreaking work when she received the National Medal of Technology in 2010.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK
The recent hit movie Hidden Figures Figures tells the story of how a brilliant group of female mathematicians performed the difficult and essential calculations to describe orbital dynamics and were thus the foundation of our space program. And they did it with their minds before computers were capable of such complicated tasks. And just last year Elaine Harmon, one of the pioneering female pilots who flew during World War II in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery alongside our country’s greatest aviation heroes after passing away at age 95. It’s been slow, and often too late, but we are making progress. Women are being recognized for their role. And that is driving those of us in aviation to encourage the next generation to succeed where they sometimes felt excluded. I know “mentoring” is the correct term for what we all need to do to encourage women to become part of the aviation activities we love, but I prefer a more succinct phrase — You go girl!
www.eaa.org 1
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Vol.66 No.3 | March 2017
EAA PUBLICATIONS
Founder: Paul H. Poberezny Publisher: Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO & Chairman of the Board Vice President President of Communities Communities and Member Programs: Rick Larsen Director of Publications/Editor in Chief: Jim Busha Executive Editor: Kelly Nelson Senior Editor: Hal Bryan Senior Copy Editor: Colleen Walsh Holliday-Greenley Assistant Editor: Katie Holliday-Greenley
Staff Writer: Megan Esau Graphic Designer: Brandon Jacobs Photographer: Erin Brueggen Digital Managing Editor: Sara Nisler Print/Mail Manager: Randy Halberg Contributing Writers: Jonathan Arney, Budd Davisson, Steven Ells, Steve Krog, Dave Matheny, J. Mac McClellan, Lauran Paine Jr., Charlie Precourt, Robert Rossier, Jeff Skiles, Beth E. Stanton, Ron Wanttaja
ADVERTISING
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Need to change your address or have other membership questions, call 800-564-6322 (800-JOIN EAA) or e-mail
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EAA® and SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and AERONAUTICA™ are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc . The use of these trademarks and se rvice marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc. is strictly prohibited.
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Vol.66 No.3 | March 2017
FEATURES
54 Medical Reform Is Real BasicMed rule published in January, to take effect in May
58 Beaver Tales The Marco family’s de Havilland DHC-2
By Jim Busha
66 Cool Flying Jobs Not your average day in the cockpit
By Beth E. Stanton
72 Phenomenon How Mark Holt puts his good fortune to great use
By Hal Bryan
80 Skyotë Simplified John Roberts and his high-tech approach to a 40-year-old design
By Budd Davisson
88 Amateur-built Amateur -built Accident Accident Report 2016
By Ron Wanttaja
ON THE COVER AND THIS PAGE:
The Marco family's
de Havilland Beaver. Photos by Ed Hicks
For more on many of the topics in this issue, visit visi t www.EAA.org/sportaviation. To view and submit aviation events, visit visi t www.EAA.org/calendar.
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March 2017
A PUBLICATION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
DEPARTMENTS COMMENTARY 01
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Open Cockpit Jack J. Pelton
06
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Letters to the Editor
20
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The Classic Instructor Steve Krog
24
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Left Seat J. Mac McClellan
28
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The Workbench Steven Ells
32
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Light Flight Dave Matheny
38
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Flight Test Charlie Precourt
42
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Plane Talk Lauran Paine Jr.
46
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Stick & Rudder Robert N. Rossier
50
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Contrails Jeff Skiles
NEWS & INFO 10
Advocacy & Safety | Governmental Issues
12
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Flightline Industry News
16
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Innovation Cutting Edge Developments
18
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120 | 121 |
Flyby FlyMart Classified Ads
MEMBER CENTRAL 95
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96
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101 | 102 | 124 |
Member Central What Our Members Are Building/Restoring Gone West Members and Chapters In Action EAA’s Attic
EXPERIMENTER 106 |
Technically Speaking Carol and Brian Carpenter
110 |
Ultralight World Jonathan Arney
114 |
Shop Talk Shop Consumables
118 |
Hints for Homebuilders Mobile Welding Table, Centering Round Stock, Pilot Hole Size
www.eaa.org
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LETTERS LET TERS TO THE EDITOR
In Support of the NTSB Jeff Skiles’ column (Contrails, “Sully,” December 2016) regarding the “Miracle on the Hudson.” His recollection of the event and the investigation are noteworthy, noteworthy, but I believe his representation of the NTSB investigation needs to be clarified and corrected. As a GA pilot, former member of the U.S. U.S. Navy, Navy, a McDonnell Douglas and Boeing aircraft accident investigator, investigator, as well as a party to many NTSB investigations, I believe Skiles’ comments need to be addressed by someone who has sat on the other side of the long green table. Mr. Skiles’ criticism of the NTSB began by stating, “While these ‘parties’ are assisting the investigation, investigation, they are also representing their own corporate interests, which is why it is critically important to get an advocate for the pilots on these committees.” The parties are invited by the NTSB t o participate because they have the technical expertise that the NTSB does not. They do not “represent” their own corporate interests in a nefarious sense. Advocates for a particular pilot or company are not permitted — only experts. Skiles continued, “My interview, which took place separately from Sully and not together as is depicted in the movie, was three hours long. I hadn’t slept in three days by that point, and I was denied the most basic right of any charged felon — legal assistance and representation. I sat at a conference table surrounded by eight or nine members from the NTSB investigation committees. There was no adversarial tone in their questioning as was depicted in the movie, there was no condescension, but there didn’t need to be; it is a very intimidating process.” Skiles apparently misunderstands the fundamental nature of the NTSB inquiry — it is a safety investigation, not a criminal investigation — therefore, legal counsel is not permitted. The investigation is a search for all of the facts relevant to the accident. The NTSB was given this authority by Congress to inquire into all aspects of the pilots’ lives that impacted the accident. The NTSB did a thorough job in this case and complimented the pilots in their report. Skiles added, “In actual fact the NTSB investigators were completely respectful, but there is no denying that it is an adversarial situation. For a year we were left to worry about our future careers as the investigation ground on. Powerful Powerful forces central to the investigation were arrayed against us — airlines, aircraft manufacturers, engine manufacturers — any one of whom would consider it a success if it shifted even a small portion of the liability onto another party. party. The pilots are always a ripe target.” All of the dedicated men and women of the NTSB, FAA, other federal and foreign agencies, and companies that I have observed in nearly 30 years of aircraft accident investigation investigation have conducted themselves with the utmost professionalism. There is no adversarial role for the investigators to play. If investigators were to be adversarial, we would not get the cooperation of the people involved. The job we perform as investigators is very hard, sometimes dangerous, and carried out without prejudice toward the outcome. The factual findings we make contribute immensely to the improvement of aviation safety worldwide. I READ WITH INTEREST
Looking Back at RotorWay thank you for the historical look at a great homebuilt helicopter company (“RotorWay Turns 50,” January 2017). Us rotorheads are a small part of the EAA community, community, so we treasure the exposure when we can get it. I grew up in a RotorWay RotorWay family, and B.J. Schramm, along with my father and other RotorWay owners, are a big part of why I became an engineer with dreams of owning a helicopter company. B.J. was a big dreamer, and I’m thankful that he had a part in making me into the helicopter enthusiast I am today. I JUST WANTED TO
_ Stephanie Bell, EAA 1138198 Grapevine, Texas
Talking Crosswinds “Crazy Angles” (Stick and Rudder, January 2017) was not only accurate but enjoyable to read. One point stuck out in my mind from the 1960s and the FAA. The term “slip” could never be used in the practice of landing in a crosswind; same control input but different objective. Time marches on, and perhaps the FAA should have not been afraid of pilots’ skill being so lame as to slip into the ground with the loss of altitude instead of simply landing with the upwind wheel touching first! ROBERT ROSSIER’S ARTICLE
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Rob Mixon, EAA 110647
Jeff Edwards, EAA Lifetime 396867
Jupiter, Florida
Chesterfield, Missouri
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March 2017
LETTERS LET TERS TO THE EDITOR
Swift Fuels STC
Celebrating Celebrating Mistakes in the January Sport Aviation by Lauran Paine titled “Mistakes.” I spent 33 years working on high-end, complex office equipment that required troubleshooting on every service call. The most important thing I learned about troubleshooting was that you have to fully understand what is “normal” operation of whatever you are troubleshooting. troubleshooting. Without knowing what “normal” operation operation is, you are simply stumbling through the process and hope to find something. The final test on a training course was to repair a piece of equipment with five failures. You simply start from “power on” and work through the system until you find a “not normal” event, repair it, and continue on to the next “not normal” event. The process continues until all is “normal” again. This process works on anything you troubleshoot. If you don’t know “normal,” you’d best call someone who does. I was once asked to look at an inoperative clock in a C-172 that was blowing fuses. A quick look under the panel found a 12-volt lead firmly attached to one of the mount bolts. “Not normal” as it was a mechanical clock. I removed the wire fixing the blown fuse and wound the clock. I informed the owner the repair was complete, but he would have to bring it back to the shop every seven days for follow-up. I ENJOYED THE ARTICLE
call your attention to an article in the January issue of Sport Aviation (“Swift’s 94UL,” 94UL,” Workbench) about Swift UL94 fuel. Steve Ells erroneously implied that the STC used to approve various airframes for Swift ’s UL94 belongs to Swift. That is incorrect. [The STC] is held by Petersen Aviation Inc. While it is true t hat the STC is ordered through the Swift website, the STC is held by and is put together and shipped out by Petersen Aviation Inc. I WOULD LIKE TO
_ Todd L. Petersen, President, Petersen Aviation Inc. Minden, Nebraska
Transcontinental Transcontinental Transposition Transposition this route (“Transcontinental (“Transcontinental Air Transport,” Contrails, January) several times, I noticed a slight error: Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Winslow, Arizona, have been transposed on this chart. HAVING FLOWN PART OF
_ Tony Wodishek, EAA 306485 Pueblo, Colorado
_ Larry Flesner, EAA 356226 Carterville, Illinois I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED Lauran Paine Jr.’s article (Plane Talk, “Mistakes,” “Mistakes,” January 2017) and have to say I recognized the Guillow’s Super Cub immediately; my son and I had built that same kit about 35 years ago. Having worked a number of years in the business of fixing various things, I could really identify with those mistakes and all the suggestions — been there, done that for sure! I have a nearly identical list, though I add two more: 1) Never overlook the obvious. 2) If all else fails ... you know the rest. Keep it up; enjoy reading every issue cover-to-cover!
_ Walt Buskey , EAA 1177980 Etna, New Hampshire
Tony — Several sharp-eyed readers pointed this out, but you were the first. We regret the error and appreciate everyone who took the time to point out our mistake. — Editor
Correction issue the feature story “Remembering the Beginnings” by Budd Davisson featured a sidebar titled “How Do They Fly?” The sidebar references the pilots who flew the planes at EAA AirVenture 2016 and shares insights on the handling characteristics characteristics of the individual aircraft. Chris Bulko was quoted for both the Fokker D.VIII and Spad VII. While he has flown both aircraft, he did not fly the Fokker D.VIII at Oshkosh. That honor went to builder Brian Coughlin. In that same article, comments regarding the Golden Age Air Museum’s Sopwith Pup were attributed to Paul Dougherty but were made by D. Michael Damiani. Air to air photos of the Golden Age Triplane and Pup were taken by Stephen Chapis. We regret any confusion th is may have caused. IN THE FEBRUARY ����
SUBMISSIONS
LETTERS INTENDED for publication should be e-mailed t o
[email protected]
or addressed to EAA/Letter to the Editor, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI, 54903. Please include your EAA number, city, and state. All letters are subject to editing. Unpublished letters will not be returned.
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March 2017
ADVOCACY ADVOCACY AND SAFETY GOVERNMENTAL ISSUES
Advancin Advancing g the Parts Appro pproval val Process the EAA Way BY SEAN ELLIOTT, EAA VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVOCACY AND SAFETY
bringing down the cost of flying. The opportunity: Finding a way to approve certain avionics successful in the homebuilt community for use in type-certificated aircraft. The process: Using EAA’s EAA’s long-established method of building relationships, consensus, and solutions to create a path forward. Last April, when EAA, Dynon, and the FAA worked together to unveil the first supplemental type certificate that would allow typecertificated aircraft to use the EFIS-D10A/D100, it was a breakthrough. It emerged from hours of discussion with the FAA to find the right pathway. That success also brought other companies forward who wanted to use the commercial parts approach through the STC process. However, However, it became apparent that the commercial parts process was not the best method for replicating the success of the Dynon STC. More than 60 years ago, EAA There were some headwinds inside and outside government that resisted making this Founder Paul H. Poberezny process a standard procedure. EAA had b roken some glass with an in novative, disruptive had to figure out a way for concept, but more thinking was needed to create a process for repeating that success. his fledgling organization to After months of informal discussion, a proposed new compliance pathway for parts make progress against some of manufacturer approval (PMA) for manufacturing of low-risk, safety-enhancing the government red tape that equipment emerged during a January 17 held back grassroots flying. He meeting in Oshkosh that included EAA, top FAA officials, and aviation industry members. developed a brilliant formula: In next month’s Sport Aviation, you’ll read more about the possibilities that could Build relationships relationships with key emerge through this process, called tiered PMA, for low-risk, safety-enhancing afterplayers, share ideas, and seek market products. As important as the “what happened” is a common goal to advance the “how” and “why” it happened. The answers to those questions define how EAA sport aviation. approaches its work with government and the aviation community when it comes to regulatory matters. The “how” built on the success following the STC announcement last April. What worked? What didn’t? And what may or may not work in the future? There was plenty of in put in response to all of THE GOAL:
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March 2017
those questions — everything from well-forwell-formulated proposals to wild notions. Many of those responses started with, “What if...” They were part of numerous conversations going with those who had an investment in a positive outcome. Eventually all the ideas and chatter were narrowed to a few key thoughts. Then it was time to bring the stakeholders together. together. The hard work of many months was rewarded with an idea that was ready to roll almost immediately. immediately. We’ll see prototypes for tiered PMA later this year, and a new permanent policy as early as next year. The “why” it happened this way speaks to what EAA’s culture is all about and the spirit of aviation. More than 60 years ago, EAA Founder Paul H. Poberezny had to figure out a way for his fledgling organization to make progress against some of the government red tape that held back grassroots flying. He developed a brilliant formula: Build relationships with key players, share ideas, and seek a common goal to advance sport aviation. We can agree that government and the federal bureaucracy have become many times more complex since the 1950s. The formula that Paul developed is still magnificently effective, even though there are federal departments and pathways that the original FAA never imagined when the agency was born six decades ago. A peopleto-people approach works. There are times when EAA will be assertive and even forceful to make a point or move forward on an issue. Much of our advocacy and regulatory work, however, depends on day-by-day effort with people who are an unnamed but important part of the process. Building relationships and bridging gaps remains the best path to longterm success toward our goals.
CUTTING THROUGH REPAIRMAN CERTIFICATE RED TAPE AFTER BEING CONTACTED by a member struggling to obtain his amateur-built repairman repairman certificate, EAA’s EAA’s government advocacy team was able to work with an FAA flight standards district office (FSDO) to clarify regulations and ensure that the member’s application was approved.
In accordance with FAA Order 8900.1, to be eligible for a repairman certificate an amateur-built aircraft owner must prove either that they were the original builder of the aircraft or that they have the expertise to sufficiently perform condition inspections for safe aircraft operation. The EAA member
had difficulty with an inconsistent interpretation of the FAA order and its meaning. To obtain a repairman certificate, a person must apply directly through an FAA FSDO. Members with any questions on the process can contact EAA’s EAA’s government advocacy team for guidance.
MAINTAINING VIABILITY AND SAFETY OF WARBIRD OPERATIONS EAA’S SEAN ELLIOTT, EAA vice president of
DYNON STC AIRCRAFT LIST EXPANDS MORE THAN TWO DOZEN aircraft models are now eligible to use the affordable Dynon flight displays approved for type-certificated aircraft through EAA’s EAA’s first STC, in partnership with Dynon and the FAA. This adds to the more than two dozen aircraft already eligible through the EAA Accessible Safety STC program introduced last April. The expansion of the approved model list (AML) for the Dynon EFIS-D10A and Dynon EFIS-D100 models now includes a number of Beechcraft, Grumman, Maule, and Mooney aircraft. The number of Cessna and Piper aircraft models allowed to use the STC have also increased.
advocacy and safety, who himself is a specialty examiner for t he B-17, B-17, represented the association at a specialty examiner conference in Texas in late January. Specialized examiners fill a need to ensure that experienced and well-trained pilots are available to operate some of the most int eresting and challenging aircraft. Decades ago, EAA was instrumental in creating specialty examiner programs to support the unique needs of the warbird and experimental jet communities and continues to support these crucial efforts to keep these special aircraft flying safely. There are currently nearly 30 designees under t his program, and the FAA’s FAA’s continued support shows a dedication to ensuring these unique aircraft are flying for many years to come.
For more information on these stories and others, visit www.EAA.org/Advocacy .
EAA EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR SANTA MONICA AIRPORT
FAA and the city of Santa Monica announced that they reached a settlement on the future of the long-embattled Santa Monica Municipal Airport. The city, which has relentlessly pursued closing the airport, even in violation of the federal grant assurances with which they must comply, announced that it will close the airport in 2028. Meanwhile, Santa Monica Airport’s runway will be shortened. “We were surprised at the announcement of the settlement between the FAA and the ON JANUARY ��, THE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM
CHARPENTI ER, WILLIAM SHO RT
city of Santa Monica regarding its airport,” said EAA CEO and Chairman Jack J. Pelton.
“It is certainly a disappointing development, first concerning the immediate ability to shorten the runway, runway, and the ultimate ability to close the airport in 2028.” Though an amicable resolution was reached between the FAA and the city of Santa Monica, the users, businesses, and employees who depend on the airport continue to be shut out of the discussions about its future. As those stakeholders continue to explore options to keep the historical and vital airport open, EAA will continue to support their efforts.
www.eaa.org
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FLIGHTLINE INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY NEWS
Historic Flights, Great Aviator Aviators, s, Latest Innovations Featured at AirVenture 2017 Each day has unique highlights and themes
HISTORIC AVIATION ACHIEVEMENTS, legendary pilots, and
groundbreakgroundbreaking innovations will all be featured as some of the themes of EAA AirVenture AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 on July 24-30 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The events create a weeklong series of highlights for the 65th annual EAA fly-in convention. The fly-in annually draws an attendance of more than 500,000 people and 10,000 airplanes. Among the themes scheduled for each day are: • Monday Monday,, July 24: Opening 24: Opening day and a t ribute to legendary aviator Bob Hoover, Hoover, who died in October 2016. • Tuesday, Tuesday, July July 25: Innovations 25: Innovations Day, featuring the latest creations and inventions in the sky, plus a 25th anniversary celebration of the EAA Young Eagles program, which has flown more than 2 million young people since 1992. • Wednesday, ednesday, July 26: 26: Honoring the 75th anniversary of the famed Doolittle Raiders mission over Japan and the annual WomenVentur WomenVenture e activities that encourage aviation participation by women of all ages.
• Thursday, Thursday, July July 27: Commemorating 27: Commemorating the 90th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s historic solo flight from New York York to Paris, and a look to the world’s future in space. • Friday Friday,, July 28: An 28: An Apollo space program reunion and EAA’s EAA’s annual Salute t o Veterans Veterans Day. Day. • Saturday, Saturday, July 29: Bomber 29: Bomber Day, which welcomes a parade of bomber aircraft from throughout military histor y, plus an observance of the 8th Air Force’s 75th ann iversary. iversary. • Sunday Sunday,, July 30: Fox 30: Fox Valley Day, a thankyou to the Oshkosh region for the support of The World’s World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration held in Oshkosh since 1970, as well as what is known as the “world’s greatest aircraft departure show.” “EAA AirVenture AirVenture Oshkosh is known as a full week of unmatched activities, unique airplanes, and unforgettable moments, but these themes create unique highlights for each one of the seven days,” said Rick Larsen, EAA vice president of communities and member programs, who coordinates AirVenture AirVenture features and attractions. “No place brings all this together in the same way as we do at Oshkosh.” More details on these AirVenture theme days, as well as additional features and attractions, will be announced as they are finalized.
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March 2017
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK
PAUL AND AUDREY POBEREZNY HOME PURCHASED BY AIRCRAFT SPRUCE Company recently closed on the purchase of the longtime home of Paul and Audrey Poberezny, Poberezny, located just s outh of the EAA Aviation Center and the Ai rVenture grounds. It marks an excellent transition for the property, as Aircraft Spruce officials plan to use the home as a tribute to EAA’s founding family. The house was Paul and Audrey’s home beginning in 1991, when they restored a century-old farmhouse that had fallen into disrepair. disrepair. The property also includes Paul’s Paul’s personal office and workshop, as well as many artifacts and photos from the family’s aviation and EAA history. The eventual goal is to make the house available for tours and special events. AIRCRAFT SPRUCE AND SPECIALTY SPECIALTY
In announcing the purchase, Aircraft Spruce officials noted that the company and the Poberezny family maintained a close relationship for more than 50 years and that they were excited to have the opportunity to preserve the historic home and make it available for future use.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AT HEADQUARTERS is seeking a chapter manager to join the team in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The position has responsibility for maximizing the value of EAA’s chapter resources by ensuring proactive and progressive strategies,
THE EAA C HAPT ERS OFF ICE
Over the next several months, work will take place to update some of the nonpublic living areas in the house prior to opening it for tours and functions. EAA officials worked with Aircraft Spruce in recommending local contractors to ensure that the culture established by the Poberezny Poberezny family is maintained. Following Following completion of that work, the home will be available for scheduled events through EAA, likely beginning later in 2017. EAA appreciates the commitment of Aircraft Spruce and the Irwin family to preserving this home and the unmatched history associated with it. More details on the public availability of the facilities will be announced as they are finalized.
BELITE AIRCRAFT ANNOUNCES NEW DESIGN
programs, and policies are in place that align with the organization’s mission and culture. If you are interested, in this or other career opportunities at opportunities at EAA headquarters, please apply today at www.EAA.org/careers.
EAA ANNOUNCES SPORT PILOT ACADEMY SCHOLARSHIPS EAA WILL AWARD THREE SCHOLARSHIPS to
cover tuition and on-site costs to attend the August 2017 session of the EAA Sport Pilot Academy in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The various Sport Pilot Academy Scholarships will be presented during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017. 2017. The EAA Sport Pilot Academy helps aspiring pilots obtain t heir sport pilot certificate during a three-week training program while staying on the EAA grounds. Applicants must be a former Young Eagles participant. For more information on the academy visit www.EAA.or g/sportpilotacadem www.EAA.or g/sportpilotacademy. y. The applications for the individual scholarships open March 1 a t www.EAA.org/scholarships. Application materials must be received by May 1.
IAC L. PAUL SOUCY AWARD RECIPIENT ANNOUNCED has selected 21-year-old Nick Meyer, EAA 1044695, IAC 436047, 436047, as the 2016 recipient of the L. Paul Soucy Trophy. The award was started by Soucy, one of the first members of the IAC and an original member of it s board of directors, to recognize skilled pilots competing on the aerobatic circuit. Meyer scored
THE INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC AEROBATIC CLUB
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF
FOCAL POINT PHOTOGRAPHPY
an average of 85.44 percentage points as a Primary power competitor during the 2016 season and flew in the U.S. U.S. National Aerobatic Championships. The trophy will be presented to Meyer during the IAC Gathering dinner on Friday, Friday, July 28, at the Nature Center at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017.
BELITE AIRCRAFT HAS ANNOUNCED the creation of its first two-place experimental design. The Belite Pipper will offer side-byside seating, a quick build time, good short-field performance, and rugged landing gear. The company says it will be available in taildragger or tricycle configuration and offers up to a 65-hp engine. The airframe and completion kit will include everything but the engine, firewall forward package, instruments, and fuel tanks. Kits can be reserved through Belite Aircraft in the United States or through its European distributor Metal Seagulls. The first flight is expected to take place in March.
www.eaa.org 13 13
FLIGHTLINE INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY NEWS
ZENAIR AVIATION SAFETY ADVISORY ZENAIR HAS ISSUED a safety advisory affecting all CH series aircraft, including the Zodiac and STOL models, and all Canadian advanced ultralight CH series aircraft. The advisory requires the inspection of the horizontal stabilizer rear and front attachment assemblies and the
replacement of parts that do not match airframe blueprints or have been drilled or assembled incorrectly. The advisory was issued following the fatal crash of a Zodiac CH 601A that was deemed to be the result of an improperly assembled horizontal stabilizer attachment.
Briefly Noted are working together on an engineering, development, and production collaboration that will put SolAero’s solar cells on Bye’s solarsolarelectric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), called StratoAirNet. The initial proof of concept is nearing completion on the medium-altitude UAV, and whole wing solar cell tests will be conducted on the 15-meter wingspan prototype. BYE AEROSPACE AND SOLAERO
EAA ON THE ROAD
ready to begin testing new software as part of the development of the Graflight Flat 8 diesel engine. The software will provide pilots with real-time systems analysis and predictive maintenance. Testing will include ground-based tests on a pedestal that will be driven to an altitude of 14,000 feet and testing inside an altitude chamber followed by testing of the software in flight. EPS ANNOUNCED IT IS
Oshkosh this year? Catch up with EAA at a trade show stop near you. Here’s where we’ll be stopping this year. • WAI, WAI, Lake Lake Buena Buena Vista, Vista, Florida Florida,, March 2-4 • Sun ’n ’n Fun, Fun, Lakel Lakeland, and, Florida, Florida, April 4-9 • AOPA AOPA Fly-In, Fly-In, Camarillo Camarillo,, California, California, April 28-29
CAN’T MAKE IT TO
• InterDrone InterDrone,, Las Vegas, Vegas, Nevada, Nevada, September 6-8 • AOPA AOPA Fly-In, Fly-In, Norma Norman, n, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, September 8-9 • AOPA AOPA Fly-In, Fly-In, Groton, Groton, Connectic Connecticut, ut, October 6-7 • AOPA AOPA Fly-In, Fly-In, Tampa Tampa,, Florida, Florida, October 27-28 Please note, trade show schedules are subject to change without notice.
PIONEERING FEMALE PILOT DIES AT ��� DORIS LOCKNESS, a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II, died February 8 at the age of 106. As a WASP, Doris was one of the first women allowed to fly military aircraft, and her career in aviation went on to span six decades during which she earned ratings
for seaplanes, gyroplanes, and hot air balloons, a commercial helicopter certificate, and a flight instructor certificate. Over the years Doris was awarded several honors including induction into t he Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2002.
RED BULL AIR RACE ANNOUNCES ���� SCHEDULE
Race World Championship kicked off February 10-11 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with the 75th race in the competition’s history. The next race will be held April 15-16 in San Diego, California, followed by events in Japan, Hungary, and its first trip to Russia with a stop in Kazan July 22-23. The final race will be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
THE RED B ULL AIR
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March 2017
October 14-15. Tickets are available online and a full, fu ll, up-to-date schedule can be found at www.EAA.org/extras.
EPIK AVIATION INNOVATIONS has developed a product to make oil changes cleaner and easier. The Oil Filter Bib fits over the filter and adapter and creates a seal to prevent old oil from leaking out. The bibs are disposable, oil resistant, and can withstand high engine temperatures. FLIGHT RESOURCE ANNOUNCED the approval of an STC for its “ultra performance” MT propeller for the Aviat Husky. Husky. The new propeller is quieter, runs smoother, smoother, and uses a n ew paint process to reduce erosion. The propellers are currently in stock and available for immediate shipment. THE SPORT AIR RACING LEAGUE announced
its 2017 schedule with dates scheduled across the United States from March through November. The first event begins with arrivals at Spartanburg, South Carolina, on March 31. Entries are open but will close clos e March 20. Go to www.EAA.org/extras to enter or for a full schedule.
For more information information and direct lin links ks to Flightline stories, visit visit www.EAA.org/extras .
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF AP IMAGES/RED BU LL CONTENT POOL
Life is a sport. We We are the utility. utility. Be unstoppabl unstoppable. e. Undeniably athletic, the perormance-oriented 2017 Edge Sport provides exceptional road-handling capability with a uniquely sporttuned, 4-wheel independent suspension. Standard all-wheel drive (AWD) delivers precise handling and maximized traction, while adaptive steering steering dynamically dynamically adjusts adjusts the steering steering response response o the ront wheels based based on how ast ast the vehicle is moving. moving. Edge Sport comes equipped with a powerul 2.7L 2.7L EcoBoost® V6 engine with active grille shutters, delivering 315 horsepower 1 and 350 lb.-f. o o torque1 , both best-in-class. best-in-class. 2 Control its twin-turbocharged, direct-injection direct-injection power via your fingertips, thanks to racing-style racing-style paddle shifers. shifers. Plus, driver-assist driver-assist technologies 3 help heighten its prowess – and yours.
Edge Sport. Dressed Dressed and always always ready to play! play! The Privilege of Partnership EAA members are are eligible or special pricing on Ford Motor Company Company vehicles through through Ford’s Partner Partner Recognition Program. Program. To To learn more about this exclusive exclusive opportunity or or EAA members to to save on a new Ford vehicle, please visi t www.eaa.org/ford. 1
Horsepower Horsepower and torque ratings ratings achieved with with 93-octane uel. 2Class is Midsize Utilities, non-diesel, based on Ford segmentation. 3 Available Available eatures.
INNOVATION CUTTING�EDGE DEVELOPMENTS
Practical Solar Solar power pioneer proves it’s possible BY BETH E. STANTON
Stay up to date with Solar Flight at EAA.org/Extras.
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March 2017
ERIC RAYMOND HAS BEEN SOARING across America and Europe in solar-powered solar-powered aircraft for years. “There were some interesting solarpowered aircraft before me,” me,” Eric said. “But all of t hese airplanes went straight to the museum. My planes are meant to fly and fly and fly. fly. And different people are going t o fly them. And they are going to fly places when it’s windy and raining. None of those things were done before.” before.” Eric envisioned taking solar aviation experiments into the realm of a practical sporting machine. When he and his wife, Irena, flew his two-seat solar-powered Sunseeker Duo over the Swiss Alps in 2015, it was a culmination of nearly 40 years of designing, building, and flying solar-powered solar-powered aircraft. At age 18, Eric started hang gliding, then began building and setting records in gliders. When he saw the human-powered Musculair 2 at Expo 86 in Vancouver, Canada, he immediately saw the potential for a solar-powered version. Depending upon a towplane limited the appeal of gliders for Eric. He wanted a self-launching glider, but thought the noise and vibration of a gas
engine compromised the experience. He decided to explore solar electric options. Eric is not a “clean sheet” designer and bases his projects on proven designs already flying, such as the Musculair 2 or the Stemme S10. With improvements, even the NiCad batteries available were good enough for takeoff and climb to altitude. The design criteria for all his aircraft are batteries for takeoff and climb only, with solar panels capable of four hours of level flight during the day. Level flight could be maintained on direct solar power, or the motor could be turned off for soaring flight. In the meantime, batteries recharge from the solar panels, taking up to 90 minutes if they are empty.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF
SOLAR FLIGHT
Eric founded Solar Flight in 1986 and test flew the Sunseeker I in 1989. Although he had been designing and building ultralight sailplanes and rigid-wing hang gliders, the Sunseeker I was registered as an experimental homebuilt. In 1990, he made the first solar-powered airplane crossing of the United States in Sunseeker I, flying from California to North Carolina, landing near where the Wright brothers first flew. After extensive redesign, he flew Sunseeker II across Europe and made the first solar-powered crossing of the Alps in 2009. 2009.
“What it achieves better bet ter than any airplane that I’ve ever flown is that it captures the sense of freedom and hope and awe and wonder that aviation is supposed to have.” - Eric Lentz-G Lentz-Gauthier authier 2016 U.S. Unlimited aerobatic glider champion and Sunseeker I pilot
Flying single-seat craft for years, Eric wanted the ability to train others and share the flying experience (and workload) with a partner. Solar Flight’s third solar airplane, the Sunseeker Duo cruises on solar power with two people on board. He included unique features like an in-flight adjustable water ballast tank and windows that open for ventilation and view. The battery in the fuselage stores energy gathered from solar cells on the wing and tail surfaces. SunPower Corporation in California manufactured the 1,510 solar cells that generate 4.5 kW or about 6 hp, which is ample power for level flight and slight climb. Eric and Irena’s 2015 tour of the Swiss Alps required a lot of uphill climbing. Taking off from the Italian flatlands with the motor at full throttle, they climbed to 7,000 feet. They then shut the motor off and soared for an hour and a half as the battery recharged. Eventually, they got to 21,000 feet with this stair-step approach. Irena was the second pilot to solo the Sunseeker Duo. “The Duo is exactly what my wife and I want to fly,” fly,” said Eric. “She still st ill flies some gliders, but I’m so spoiled with the electric self-launch that I don’t fly gliders that much anymore.” anymore.” The couple appears to have more fun with their star-powered glider than should be legally possible. They get great pleasure from their aircraft and fly every chance they get. They have brought along family members and friends to experience the magic of soaring on silent solar s olar power. In 2014 in the Po Valley Valley in Italy, Italy, for the first time, two solar-powered planes flew in formati on: Irena in the Sunseeker Duo, with Eric following in the Sunseeker II. Over the course of his career, career, Eric has worked with luminaries such as Dr. Paul MacCready and Günther Rochelt and Rochelt and collaborated on projects such as Solar Impulse and the CAFE Foundation Green Flight Challenge. When technology expands the realm of possibilities, Eric expands his vision of the next flying machine he can build. He recently developed a plan for a six-seat solar-electric transporter. “In parts of the world, there is a real need for aircraft that can fly people and supplies between villages without needing the kind of support conventional aircraft require. If you can move a doctor or some supplies or an injured person 100 miles, that’s really a long way
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF SOLAR FLIGHT
With a wingspan of 72 feet and empty weight of approximately 617 pounds, the Sunseeker Duo has more than 1,500 solar cells and is able to cruise on solar power with two people on board.
in Africa.” Eric believes that a hybrid approach using efficient, small gas engines is an int ermediate step to pure electric aircraft. He sees solar-powered solar-powered aviation as paralleling early aircraft development, but with electricity as propulsion. “You “You need more power to fly than you can get from the solar panel. Every electric- and solar-powered solar-powered airplane right now is significantly better than what came before. There is still tremendous room for improvement.” improvement.” Counter to everyone telling him it wasn’t possible, Eric Counter Raymond has created a line of airplanes that are truly revolutionary,” revolutionary,” said Eric Lentz- Gauthier, Gauthier, the 2016 U.S. U.S. Unlimited aerobatic glider champion and a Sunseeker I pilot. “He has a beautifully refined machine that has proven itself with continuous real-world operaoperation. What it achieves better than any airplane that I’ve ever flown is that it captures the sense of freedom and hope and awe and wonder that aviation is supposed to have.” “
Beth E. Stanton, EAA 1076326, is a competition aerobatic pilot and president of
Northern California Chapter 38 of the International Aerobatic Aerobatic Club. She can be reached at
[email protected] .
www.eaa.org
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FLYBY FEATURED PHOTO
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March 2017
WHAT
Bob Carlton performing his night air show routine in the SubSonex Microjet. WHERE
Sun ’n Fun International Fly-in and Expo, Lakeland, Florida PHOTOGRAPHER
Jerry Cummings, EAA 9013445
FLYBY WORTHY? Calling all photographers: Do you have a photo that you think should be showcased in Sport Aviation? We want to see it! Send your your best photo to
[email protected] along along with details on what is pictured, where the photo was taken, and who took it.
www.eaa.org
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STEVE KROG COMMENTARY / THE / THE CLASSIC INSTRUCTOR
New Standards Could you pass a private pilot checkride today? BY STEVE KROG
HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN since
you took — and passed — your private pilot (or sport pilot) checkride? Two years ago? Five, 10, 20 or more years ago? Could you pass a checkride now given today’s requirements? For years, if not decades, the checkride requirements for the private pilot certificate were fairly standard. Basic aerodynamics, weather, weather, FAA regulations, and weight and balance were covered during the oral portion. The flight portion of the checkride involved performing various maneuvers, ground reference, and a couple of takeoffs and landings in different configurations. If the minimum requirements were met as outlined by the FAA Practical Test Test Standards, a certificate was issued. It wasn’t until the late 1980s that the FAA upped the ante a bit in the name of safety and required all active pilots, regardless of ratings held, to undergo a flight review every two years. This has certainly been helpful in achieving and maintaining a level of safety among all of us, especially among those of us who fly for recreation. It is not a “pass/fail” activity but rather a review. Private pilot checkride requirements changed in June of 2016 when the FAA issued the new Airman Certification Standards (ACS) that are to be used by all examiners. This 107-page 107-page document stipulates how and what the examiner is to look for and satisfy on each checkride. For example: example: When a student is asked to demonstrate a short-field landing, the examiner has a 37-item checkchecklist to determine if the student thinks through and then performs the maneuver satisfactorily. The bottom line to meet the minimum requirements is this: Touch down smoothly at an appropriate airspeed; and touch down within the available runway, at or within 200 feet beyond the specified point, threshold markings or runway numbers, with no side drift, minimum float, and with the airplane’s longitudinal axis aligned with and over the runway centerline.
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ILLUSTRATION BY BRANDON JACOBS
Do you, when doing some pleasure flying, ever practice a short-field landing? And, if so, could you meet the minimum requirements as stated above? It might be beneficial to attempt one or two in the near future to improve your proficiency. Using the new ACS guidelines, examiners are required to use scenario-based simulated situations when conducting checkrides. I use several different designated examiners; all seem to be very thorough and fair. fair. One of the scenarios used is in the performance of the cross-country phase of the checkride.
Fuel Injected Rotax Engine Engine >> High Payload Engineering >> Top German Engineering
Today, with the many tools available to us, one might plan a medium cross-country flight by checking weather on television, or online, then punch in the destination airport on the iPad and launch. When was the last time you looked at a sectional chart, actually drew a pencil line, and followed along during the flight? It has become a lost art.
>>
Some of the maneuvers you may have been required to perform when you too tookk you yourr chec checkri kride de may ha have ve undergone some changes. The essentials for a student today require significantly more planning for the cross-country checkride flight. According to the outline in the Airman Certification Standards, there are 37 weather-related items that must be checked followed by 35 more items involving the actual flight planning. As a flight instructor, I’m not opposed to the detailed planning involved as it instills a base from which to build when the student becomes a certificated pilot. You may already be doing many of the countless required items listed without realizing it, as they have become second nature.
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SUN ‘n FUN
International Fly-In Expo April, 4 th – 9th , 2017, Lakeland, Florida Booth LP-035
remos.com
www.eaa.org
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STEVE KROG
With the flight-planning flight-planning satisfactorily completed and reviewed, the examiners I use generally begin with the cross-country portion of the checkride. checkride. How does the student arrange his or her map and planning sheet for easy access? What action does the student take to exit the traffic pattern and get established on course? Does the student note the actual takeoff time? Then the fun begins. Generally, Generally, after the student has established the course line, leveled off at the desired altitude, and adjusted the power setting, the examiner will tell the student, “The weather has changed, and we need to fly to the nearest alternate airport. Where is it? What heading are you going to fly? How far away is it, and how long will it take you? Oh, and your cellphone and iPad are in the back so you’ll have to make the calculations in your head.” If asked, could you perform those requested functions today? Once the student has again satisfactorily demonstrated the ability to change course and calculate time and distance to the alternate airport, the second phase of the scenario is introduced. The examiner will quietly state via the intercom, “Your oil pressure is dropping, and the oil temperature is rising rapidly. What are you going to do?” What would you do? The correct action, provided the engine is still running smoothly, as expected by the examiner is to immediately turn to and proceed to the nearest airport maintaining your altitude. Do not touch the throttle. If the engine is still running, leave it alone. A running but sick engine will quit a lot sooner if power changes are attempted. Assume it is already trashed and concern yourself with preventing injury to you and any passengers, then you can take action to save the airplane. When you have determined that you can safely reach the airport, then and only then adjust the power and establish a rapid or emergency descent to landing. Hard slips, use of flaps, or a combination of both may be used to demonstrate the emergency descent. Again, there are 28 items the examiner is looking at when observing your emergency descent. All can be found in the Airman Certification Standards. Recently, I had a student take (and pass) his private pilot checkride in a Piper Cherokee 140. Prior to the flight, the examiner had discussed all aspects of the actual flight with the student. However, when it
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came time for the “low oil, high oil temperature” scenario, the student casually looked over at the gauges and stated, “No, I don’t have low oil pressure or a high oil temp.” Both were in the green so he continued on his cross-country course. A minute later the examiner repeated his statement, and the student again checked and said everything was fine. Finally, the examiner stated very clearly that this was a “simulated” situation and asked the student to demonstrate his actions should this have been an actual occurrence. During the post-flight review, we all had a good laugh about this experience. The ACS does not specify how much altitude needs to be lost when demonstrating an emergency descent. Here at the flight school we usually use 1,000 feet for practice.
Recognize and recover promptly after a fully developed stall occurs. Prior to the ACS, both power-on and power–off power–off stalls could be demonstrated in either of two methods, depending on the request of the examiner — the imminent stall versus the full stall. The imminent stall was defined as when the buffet is first felt or recognized but before the full stall break occurs. There is no mention of imminent stalls in the new guidelines. Most of us, when practicing stalls, pay little attention to heading and bank angle. Rather we establish a stall configuration, allow the full stall to occur, and then initiate a safe recovery. recovery. The next time you practice a stall or two, try holding your heading within 10 degrees.
Before the summer flying season arrives, take a few minutes, download the ACS, and scan through the various maneuvers and requirements. requiremen ts. Then do a little lit tle practice flying. Some of the maneuvers you may have been required to perform when you took your checkride may have undergone some changes. Many of you had to demonstrate an accelerated stall but these are no longer required. There are two types of stalls that are now required: the power-off and the power-on stall. The ACS specifies the following steps for the power-off stall. Establish a stabilized descent in the approach or landing configuration. Transition smoothly to a pitch attitude that will induce a stall. Maintain a specified heading within 10 degrees, if in straight flight, and maintain a specified angle of bank not to exceed 20 degrees and staying within 10 degrees, if in turning flight, while inducing the stall. Recognize and recover promptly after a full stall has occurred. The procedure for the power-on stall has also changed. Set power to no less than 65 percent available power. Transition smoothly from the takeoff and departure attitude to the pitch attitude that will induce a stall. Maintain specified heading, within 10 degrees, if in straight flight, and maintain a specified angle of bank not to exceed 20 degrees and staying within 10 degrees, if in turning flight, while inducing the stall.
Spins, yet again, are not a required maneuver. maneuver. Spin awareness is a requirement, however. I am from the old school of thought. How does one know how you will react should a spin occur if you’ve never been in a spin? One can talk about spins and watch spin videos all day, but if one accidentally experiences a spin, calm thought and input are usually not the first reaction. I make it a point for all my students to experience a spin or two from inside the airplane. Usually after one or two spin entries and recoveries, the student relaxes and can easily perform a safe entry and recovery with a minimal loss of altitude. Before the summer flying season arrives, take a few minutes, download the ACS, and scan through the various maneuvers and requirements. Then do a little practice flying. The FAA Private Private Pilot — Airplane Airman Airman downloaded Certification Certification Standards can be downloaded by going to www.EAA.org/Extras. Stay current, maintain proficiency, proficiency, and fly safely. Steve Krog, EAA 173799, has been flying for more than four decades and giving tailwheel instruction for nearly as long. In 2006 he launched Cub Air Flight, a flight-training school using tailwheel aircraft for all primary training.
J. MAC MCCLELLAN MCCLELLAN COMMENTARY / LEFT / LEFT SEAT
Checklist Items That Really Matter Everything on the list is somewhat important, but a few deserve double-checks BY J. MAC MCCLELLAN
may THE CHECKLIST CHECKLIST may
be the single most important safety device in any cockpit. We can all think of pilots, perhaps even friends, who have come to grief because the airplane wasn’t configured correctly to fly. But when you look at the checklist included in the pilot’s operating handbook (POH) you see that it takes up several pages even for a basic piston single. Every item on that list matters at least some, but clearly not all checks carry equal weight in terms of safety. That’s particularly true for the moments during and shortly after takeoff when there is little or no time to correct for a missed step on the list. I believe it was pilots moving from the piston era into the new jet age that coined the term “killer items” that are the most critical and final checklist to use before takeoff. At least those are t he pilots I first heard the term from, so I’m giving t hem credit.
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On the short checklist of killer items in jets are flaps, flaps, trim, and spoilers. spoilers. If those items are not checked and set correctly, a takeoff disaster is likely — thus the welldeserved “killer” description. Is there a list of killer items in the piston airplanes most of us fly? I thin k so. But what are those critical items? So we’re ready to take the runway on a typical day for personal flying. The conditions are at least basic VFR, and we have confirmed that there is sufficient runway for a safe departure. What checklist items would pose an immediate and critical safety threat during or shortly after takeoff? Here’s my list.
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FUEL
This one seems obvious. But failure to properly check what is necessary to ensure a reliable fuel supply to the engine stands out as a significant cause of accidents during takeoff and initial climb. The fuel check begins before we ever board the airplane. Confirming in some absolute way that adequate fuel is in the tanks is the first step. In my airplane, because of the wing ’s dihedral, you can’t see the fuel level under the cap except when the tank is totally filled. But there are mechanical “sight” gauges in the wing that show partial fuel; there are, of course, the normal electrical fuel gauges in the panel, and there are the fuel records from the FBO and previous flights. If all agree, that’s how I am confident the fuel I believe is in the tanks is really there. In many airplanes you can see the fuel level below the filler port. Often you can use a dipstick to measure the level of fuel. Use whatever means available to be certain there is fuel onboard. The other critical preflight fuel issue, and one that is very prominent in accident statistics, is fuel contamination. Most often the contaminant is water in the fuel. I know that condensation from the air trapped in a partially filled tank can drop a small amount of water into the fuel, but that’s not the big issue. The real problem is leaking filler caps when the airplane has sat out in the rain. Keeping the O-rings in the fuel caps fresh and in good shape is the best defense against rainwater entering the tank. The fuel can also be cont aminated by debris from within the tanks and fuel system itself. The walls of the tank, or sealants inside the tank, can sometimes break down and dump debris into the fuel that could plug the lines or filters. We are blessed in this country to have a competent and careful network of FBOs, so contaminated fuel delivered from a truck or storage tank is rare. But it does happen very occasionally. Finally, Finally, there is the possibility that the wrong fuel could have been pumped into your tanks. The big risk is jet fuel in an avgas airplane. The jet fuel lowers the octane of the avgas already in the tank, but not usually enough to keep the engine from starting. The reduced octane could cause detonation
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Failure Failu re to properly check what is necessary necessar y to ensure a reliable fuel supply to the engine stands out as a significant cause of accidents during takeoff and initial climb. in the cylinders at takeoff power so the engine running on a partial load of jet fuel operates long enough to get you off the ground, but not high enough to return to the runway before the engine self-destructs. There are restrictors in avgas tank filler ports that should keep the larger jet fuel nozzle from fitting in. And that works nearly all of the time. But not every time. Even the great Bob Hoover survived a crash in his piston Commander that had been misfueled with Jet A. The defense against all forms of contamination is draining the tank sumps and examining the sample for water or debris and the proper fuel dye color. Our noses can usually find the odor of jet fuel so sniff carefully. The other killer fuel item is not properly positioning the fuel selector or setting the fuel pumps correctly. Those items surely deserve a second look when lining up for takeoff. DOORS
A door popping open shortly after t akeoff has caused far too many accidents. Sometimes it’s the latching mechanism that breaks allowing the door to open, but much more often the pilot failed to check and be certain the door was latched properly. Nearly all airplanes, and certainly any standard category airplanes I can think of, can continue to fly with a cabin door open. But the open door may disrupt airflow enough to create turbulence over the control surfaces and cause some odd sensations in
the cockpit controls. Or the open door may degrade performance, particularly climb rate, a little. But the big risk is the surprise and distraction of the noise and wind blast the door popping open creates for the pilot. In many airplanes it’s not possible to close and latch an open door in flight. And even if it is possible, the effort of fiddling with and pulling on the door can be so distracting from the basic flying task, particularly close to the ground after takeoff, that the risk is obvious. If a door does pop open, the drill is to continue flying the airplane and return to land in a safe manner. Loose items may be sucked out, passengers will probably panic, but if we as pilots remain focused on flying, a safe return to the runway is certain. The same may not be true for all baggage or other access doors. Most of these doors are not designed to the same standards as a cabin entry door and could possibly break off. Baggage doors, particularly on the nose, could break off and damage the tail. And you can imagine the risk if suitcases and other heavy items start falling out into the slipstream from an open baggage door. The defense against an open door is, of course, to double-check the latch security before takeoff. This is so obvious that it doesn’t seem to be worth notin g, except pilots have forgotten or skipped over that checklist step too often. Many business jet manufacturers have gone so far as to wire the unlatched door cockpit warning to a key lock on each baggage door or hinged access hatch. If the pilot doesn’t walk around the
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BONNIE KRATZ
airplane and use a key to lock each door, door, the warning message won’t extinguish. It isn’t the actual key lock that secures the doors, but the idea is that if the pilot has to take the time to insert and twist a key, key, he is also looking at the primary latches to be sure they are secure. Doors have earned their spot on the list of killer items. FLIGHT CONTROL SWEEP
Checking the free, full, and proper movement of the flight controls before takeoff is so fundamental it’s hard to believe we even need a checklist item for that. But every year accidents, often fatal, happen because a pilot attempts to take off with controls locked or blocked in some way. way. The issue is common enough that Beech recently sent a mandatory service bulletin to all of its airplane owners demanding
FLAPS AND TRIM
Jets and other heavy airplanes may simply be unflyable if the flaps and t rim are not set correctly. correctly. That’s not true for most piston airplanes, but the surprise of mis-set flaps or trim could be challenging. With either flaps or trim not in their normal position for takeoff the airplane can hop into the air at an unexpectedly low airspeed. And the push or pull forces on the elevator can take a pilot by surprise and put the airplane in an unusual attitude. And some relatively low-power airplanes with big and effective flaps — the Cessna 150 comes to mind — may not be able to climb at all with full flaps extended. Flaps and trim in piston airplanes don’t deserve the true killer item status they have in jets, but they are on my short list of items to double-check before every takeoff.
Have a checklist — even if it’s a mnemonic device — and use it every time. But be sure to double- and even triple-check the killer k iller items. that the airplane be inspected for unapproved control locks and that those items be replaced by the approved lock. Certified control locks in standard airplanes use some sort of placard to cover up the engine controls, or the mag switch or some other essential cockpit control when the control lock is in place. That seems like it would surely prevent a pilot from attempting a takeoff with the controls locked. But the record isn’t perfect even though the design of the lock seems foolproof. Few vintage airplanes have specific control lock devices so many owners make their own locks. In my Cessna 140 I used padded boards and a bolt with a wing nut to clamp the ailerons to the flaps so neither could move while parked in the wind. The same on the rudder. They were big and easy to see on a preflight, but … Even with all control locks removed it is remotely possible something in the control system failed and the controls are not moving freely and fully. fully. The pre-takeoff flight control check is absolutely essential to ward off a potential killer.
THE OTHE OTHER R STUFF STUFF
Depending on conditions a few other checklist items can rise to killer status. For example, example, for takeoff on an IFR flight into low clouds and visibility the gyro instruments rise to the top of the list because you won’t last long in the clouds without them. If icing is possible, then pitot heat and engine ice protection is absolutely essential. And at a busy airport checking to be sure you are following the proper taxi route, not entering a runway without clearance or a careful scan, and lining up on the proper runway are all crucial. I’m sure you can think of a few others of a critical nature under certain conditions. So have a checklist — even if it’s a mnemonic device — and use it every time. But be sure to double- and even triple-check the killer items. They could get lost in the long list of stuff that’s important but not immediately critical for a safe departure. J. Mac Mac McClellan McClellan, EAA 747337, has been a pilot for more
than 40 years, holds an ATP certificate, and owns a Beechcraft Baron.
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27
STEVE ELLS COMMENTARY / THE / THE WORKBENCH
The All-Important First Start BY STEVE ELLS
IF ANY OF THE ��� SMALL DETAILS that are part of a
complete engine installation are overlooked, or neglected, or if the engine is not run correctly during the first few minutes of operation, a new engine installation can quickly go from an “it ’s flying time” to an “it’s crying time” experience. The cooling requirements of common light airplane engines are specified in cubic feet of air per minute and by the pressure differential (measured in inches of water) between the ram air at the cylinders and the exit air after the cylinders. Engine cooling baffles and baffle seals must be in tip-top shape prior to the first engine break-in break-in flight. THE PRE�OIL
Engines must be pre-oiled prior to the first start. Pre-oiling is not a subject that’s open for debate. I’ve adapted a brake bleeder pressure tank from an auto parts store for this task. I heat up 4 quarts of mineral oil to 150 degrees, pour it in, and pressurize the tank to 50 psi. Connecting the pre-oil tank to the engine at the oil pressure fitting on the engine works well. An airport local has built his out of 4-inch diameter Schedule 40 PVC irrigation tubing. He glued a cap on one end of an 18-inch-long section of tubing then screwed a plug on the other end after installing pressure and outlet valve fittings. Schedule 40 tubing is rated for 220 psi and 140 degrees F.
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March 2017
If no pre-oiler is available, Lycoming Lycoming Service Instruction 1241 recommends removing one spark plug from each cylinder, filling the oil tank with non-compounded (mineral) oil, and using the starter to spin the propeller. Limit continuous starter operation to 10 to 15 seconds, then allow the starter to cool and give it two or more 10-15 10-15 second runs. At some point the oil pressure needle on the cockpit gauge will come off the peg and start to climb. When you see oil pressure in the cockpit, the filter is full of oil, and a layer of oil has been pumped into the main and rod bearings. If you want to add some extra insurance when using the starter-driven version of pre-oiling, heat the oil before you pour it in the engine oil sump — the oil will flow more completely throughout the engine. Paragraphs Paragraphs VIII and IX of Continental Motors SB15-6 vary from the above procedures because it discourages the use of the starter to spin the engine for pre-oiling and because it recommends spraying oil into each cylinder prior to the first start.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF STEVE ELLS
THE FIRST START
Even though all reputable engine builders run their engines on a test stand for at least an hour before the engine is shipped, these runs do not break in an engine. This process is termed a run-in, and it’s conducted so that the builder can be assured that the engine is ready to ship. It’s part of a standard acceptance test. The first ground run after the pre-oil must be done correctly. Start the engine and run it at 1200 rpm until the oil pressure starts to come off the peg — then increase the rpm to 1800 to relieve the mechanical pressure on the camshaft lobes and lifters. Limit the first run to three minutes. Don’t touch the mixture and don’t touch the prop lever. Move the magneto switch to the left and right positions (momentarily hold in each position). You You should see a small rpm drop-off, but if the rpm drops like a rock when the switch is in either the left or right position, let the engine die and fix the discrepancy before the engine is restarted. Turning the magneto back to both could cause an exhaust-system damaging after-fire due to excess fuel in the cylinders when the spark plugs fire. Near the end of the three-
Engines must be pre-oiled prior to the first start. Pre-oiling is not a subject that’s open for debate. DON’T RUN IT UP PRIOR TO TAKEOFF
Try to plan the first flight during the cool part of the day, and try to use the longest runway on the airport. Since cylinder cooling is almost nonexistent when the airplane is moving at less than 40 mph, ground run-ups should be avoided. Do not cycle the prop — leave the prop control full forward (high rpm) for at least 10 minutes after takeoff. Cycling the propeller creates a low rpm-high combustion pressure situation that may delay or limit ring seating. These procedures are designed to help the pilot manage the heat of combustion and control cylinder wall temperatures during the first few hours of engine operation. If heat control procedures are not followed, it’s likely that the wear between the combustion rings and the cylinder walls that is critical to begin the break-in process will be lessened. If the heat at the cylinder walls is not controlled, the surface irregularities (they’re there on purpose) can b ecome “glazed,” “glazed,” meaning filled with oxidized oil. If this is allowed to happen the break-in process stops and the rings simply glide across the smooth, slick surface. The result is an ineffective ringto-cylinder wall seal. Glazing is characterized by high oil consumption. If the engine ground running is excessive, the airplane is not flown in a manner that assures adequate cylinder cooling, or the baffles and baffle seals have been neglected, the rings may be very slow to seat. If this results in excessive oil consumption, the only remedy is to remove the cylinders, break the glaze, and start over.
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THE FIRST FLIGHT
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After turning onto the runway, slowly increase the rpm to the normal magneto check speed for your airplane and switch from both to left, back to both, and then to right. As long as there’s no backfiring or a serious rpm drop off, you’re good to go.
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STEVE ELLS
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Don’t push the throttle all the way in until the airspeed needle has gone through 40 mph. After 40, gradually (taking three or four seconds) push the throttle all the way in. Scan the engine instruments for any abnormalities. Make a note of the EGT number on one cylinder or the EGT needle position on the instrument face after full power is applied; you’ll need that number later. Pilots flying the first flight on a Continental fuelinjected engine will need to check to see where the fuel flow is during full-power operation. Per engine break-in instructions from RAM Aircraft, a company that specializes in high-quality rebuilds of
After cli climbi mbing ng to a saf safee altit altitude ude (n (not ot so high that 75 percent power is unattainable), level out and pull the power back to 75 percent.
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March 2017
fuel-injected Continental engines, if the fuel flow is more than 1 gph (6 pounds) off target from the values specified in Continental SID97-3G, SID97-3G, pull the power back and abort the takeoff. Make the proper adjustments before taking off. Fuel flows that are too low will cause high temperatures. During climb, select a gradual climb profile to maximize cooling airflow. airflow. Leave the cowl flaps open and mixture rich. Recommendations vary slightly among manufacturers about when to reduce power. power. Both Lycoming and Continental Motors say this should occur during climb. ECI and RAM say to reduce to climb power by reducing the manifold pressure as soon as practical (RAM says takeoff manifold pressure should be limited to 30 inches), but don’t pull the propeller off the high pitch stop until after 10 minutes of flight. After climbing to a safe altitude (not so high that 75 percent power is unattainable), level out and pull the power back to 75
The critical time in the break-in of a new engine starts start s the moment the engine is uncrated and doesn’t end until the second hour of flight. percent. The mixture should not be leaned more than 125 degrees rich of peak. RAM suggests doing this by noting the takeoff EGT indication, and leaning back to the same indication during level cruise flight. Lycoming Lycoming recommends that the break-in flight be completed by increasing power to full rated for an additional 30 minutes before returning to land. During descent, gradually reduce power to achieve a 300 to 500 foot per minute descent. Do not push the mixture to full rich — gradually richen as necessary to maintain the same EGT that was noted during 75 percent power cruise flight.
Lycoming and TCM recommend that break-in break-in will b e best accomplished if power settings are maintained between 65 and 75 percent for t he first 50 hours of flight. The critical time in the break-in break-in of a new engine starts the moment the engine is uncrated and doesn’t end until the second hour of flight. If it’s done right, good things happen — if any steps are n eglected, you’ll pay and pay and pay. Steven Ells,
EAA 883967, is an A&P mechanic, commercial
pilot, and freelance writer. He flies a Piper Comanche and lives in Paso Robles, California.
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31
DAVE MATHENY COMMENTARY / LIGHT / LIGHT FLIGHT
Tightly Wrapped Little changes can have big consequences BY DAVE MATHENY
about one minute after takeoff. The engine had been happily producing its usual 2400 rpm at full-throttle climb, but then abruptly went to idle. “What was that all about?” I said into the intercom — a purely rhetorical question, no answer required. I was already turning back to the airport. My wife, Jean, and I were taking our new 1946 Ercoupe 415C from Red Wing airport (RGK) to a fly-in 100 miles away — or we been, but suddenly the only option was just to land somehad been, where. As I started a descending left turn, I pulled on carb heat, then switched hands so I could pump the primer with my left hand as I took the yoke in my right, keeping a slight forward pressure on to keep airspeed up. The engine surged for a moment, then went to idle again. I was trying the primer because an A&P, A&P, decades ago, had t alked about flying 60 miles in a Beech Musketeer by pumping the primer constantly. I had less than a mile to go t o get back to the airport, and anything was worth trying.
THE PROBLEM PROBLEM APPEARED APPEARED
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March 2017
I was intensely aware right then that if you lose the engine on takeoff, the rule is to never attempt to turn back, to put it down somewhere straight ahead. Good rule, and it should be followed wherever possible. But you need a decent place to put it down. Ahead, one mile to the west of Runway 27, 27, is a collection of industrial-park structures, clumps of trees, and assorted buildings that are not very kind to airplanes. My friend, Don “Pappy” Hinz, had to put a P-51 down there in 2004 and was killed when he hit a tree. Pappy, who had flown fighters off aircraft carriers, was a superb pilot. Keeping the nose down and pumping, I got another momentary surge out of the engine before it went to idle again.
ILLUSTRATION BY DAVE MATHENY
The one thing I had to do was to keep airspeed up. Ercoupes are resistant to stallin st alling, g, but if you hold the yokee back yok back lo long ng eno enoug ugh h and and get the spe speed ed lo low w enou enough gh,, ther theree won won’t ’t be tha thatt stall stall bre break ak tha thatt you you get in mos mostt airplanes, airplan es, and it won’t spin, spin, but the Ercoupe can develop a hellacious sink rate. You can hit the ground flat and really hard, smashing the airplane and putting the occupants in the hospital. LET’S JUST NOT GO THERE
I kept up the turn, constantly aware that I was violating the holy “never turn back” rule. With continued slight forward pressure on the yoke (I had previously trimmed for a 70 mph climb), and easing back around toward the airport, I glanced over my shoulder. I had the altitude — maybe 400 feet — to make it. The one thing I had to do was to keep airspeed up. Ercoupes are resistant to stalling, but if you hold the yoke back long enough and get the speed low enough, there won’t be that stall break that you get in most airplanes, and it won’t spin, but the Ercoupe can develop a hellacious sink rate. You can hit the ground flat and really hard, smashing the airplane and putting the occupants in the hospital. Keep it flying, always. Nose down and airspeed up. The very moderate left turn put us over some equally unappealing forced-landing terrain, meandering channels of the Mississippi River, beautiful to look at when you’re not faced with having to land among
them. I absolutely did not want to go down there, and I had a moment of regret about the decision to turn back, but I was committed. “Tell me the airspeeds,” I asked Jean, who read them out. “Ninety,” “Ninety,” she said. F ine! The Ercoupe’s best lift-over-drag airspeed is 70, so 90 meant I had money in the bank. Continuing the shallow turn and nursing it back toward the runway, runway, I could see that we would probably make it, if only to dry land, although by now I was not more than 200 feet above the surface. And there was nobody else in the pattern, and nobody waiting to take off. I kept pumping the primer and the engine surged once, then went to idle again. No matter, matter, airspeed was everything now. now. Nose down, still easing through the turn. “Eighty,” she said. It had gone from possible to probable. The only real choice left was whether to use the 5,010-foot hard-surface hard-surface runway or the grass strip that parallels it. I chose the runway. runway.
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DAVE MATHENY
“Eighty.” “Eighty.” Still! So we would make it. I stopped pumping and closed the throttle and glided over to line up with the runway, runway, of which there was only about a third left. I believe I set down at about the point where I became airborne. The landing went well, but we quickly ran out of runway. runway. Over the years I have probably written half a dozen times that it is much better to roll slowly off the far end of any runway than to fly, or plunge, rapidly into the near end. I found myself laughing with relief, and thinking, “Hey, practicing what I’ve always preached!” as I rolled onto the grass, weaving between the approach lights. There was still enough power to taxi, so I got back on the taxiway, taxiway, headed west. A mile ahead down the
continuously pumped from them to a header tank above the engine and forward of the instrument panel. From there it flows by gravity to the carburetor. A clear vertical tube is mounted on top of the header tank, right ahead of the win dscreen, where the pilot can constantly monitor a float that rides in it. If the header-tank level starts to fall, you are warned that you have only a few gallons left, either because the wing tanks are empty or the pump has failed. It ’s pretty much foolproof, as long as you don’t play the fool and do something unprecedented with it. We’ll come back to “fool” and “unprecedented” after another little digression. In recent weeks, the seal at the base of the sight gauge had been less and less effective, allowing a tiny amount of fuel to emerge and
I finally went after the problem with fanatical intensity, and by the time I was done, I had sealed the base of the cap in a way that would have made the embalmers who wrapped King going every which way, but it was thorough.
ILLUSTRATION BY DAVE MATHENY
So, after the forced landing, when Rob lifted his gaze up to the top of the cowling, he beheld my elaborate tape job. He peeled it back, and there was a huge hiss. Suddenly everything was clear. I had unwittingly caused fuel starvation by preventing air from entering the t ank to replace the outgoing fuel. So, I had played the fool and done something unprecedented. With the tape removed, I took the Ercoupe up solo for a trip around the field and the engine ran flawlessly. flawlessly. THE IMPOSS IMPOSSIBLE IBLE TURN
When I made my decision to t urn back, it was one of, “I’m pretty sure I can do this.” It was not, “OMG! OMG! Gotta get back no matter what.” It felt right. I had some altitude, at least 400 feet, and I was still fairly close to the runway, less than a mile. The typical 3-degree glide path works out to a little less than 300 feet in one mile — not that anybody’s doing such an arithmetical calculation in this situation. It’s all based on what looks and feels workable. I noted afterward that a 90-degree right turn would have put me over some pretty decent forced-landing terrain that would not have included any water, water, but I couldn’t see to my right very well, and t he left turn always seems more natural to anyone sitting in the left seat to begin with. The acronym TLAR has appeared in aviation lately. lately. It means “that looks about right.” It’s what a pilot should be able to judge
based on appearances alone, without reference to instruments. I was certainly using it in this case, although it wasn’t pure TLAR because I had copilot Jean’s welcome help in announcing the airspeeds. (If I had been solo, a few glances at t he airspeed indicator would also have served, but this way I was able to stay heads-up the whole way.) There was a moment or two when I looked at the river’s channels and little islands with loathing, but as the turn continued it became clear that it could be done, and that I would not have to try to “stretch” the glide, which is one reason why so many turnbacks end badly. badly. I kept a slight forward pressure on the yoke, not wanting the distraction of messing around with pitch trim, and in any case that constant feedback of forward pressure was my guarantee that I was not asking the airplane for more than it could give. (We could call that TFAR, for “that feels about right.”) Maintaining airspeed, and therefore control, is everything. I had not had a forced landing in 30 years, not since the unreliable engines and powertrains of early ultralights. I racked up 24 forced landings during that wild ride, but the hardware got a lot better. All those forced landings of the early years made an indelible mark on my psyche. I never fully trust any engine t o keep running. It sounds almost like a joke, but I’ve been more or less expecting to lose any engine at any time since then. I only take the engine for granted when I don’t really need it any more, as when crossing the threshold on landing.
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www.eaa.org 35 35
DAVE MATHENY
A number of years ago I spent an afternoon at a seldom-used grass strip simulating takeoff engine failures in my Quicksilver GT400 by taking off and then pulling power to idle and turning back. As I recall, I started at about 300 feet for the simulated engine failure and worked my way down to about 150 before deciding that it was getting risky. To that can be added the more than 50 times I have deliberately shut the engine down at 1,000 feet over an airfield with nobody else around, circling down to land while listening to the wind whistling over the airframe. But that, I emphasize, was in featherweight aircraft. I wrote about those experiments back then, and an angry reader wrote to tell me that I should never suggest to pilots that the impossible turn was anything but impossible. Well, its success or failure depends mainly on three things: altitude when it happens (so that you have the necessary height to do a 180); how ugly the terrain in front of you is (so you have little choice but to turn back); and your ability to maintain the discipline of keeping your nose low and airspeed up (so you won’t enter a loss-of-control condition). Most of my forced landings back in the bad old days were from a height and position where I could turn easily and land safely. None were a disaster; a few were annoyingly inconvenient. I would not expect my 1, 280-pound-at-gross 280-pound-at-gross Ercoupe to make a turn back to the departure runway starting from less than 400 feet. The Ercoupe’s glide ratio is said to be about 10-to-1 at 70
mph (that being V Y than that, I will expect to have to land pretty much straight ahead, steering to avoid whatever has to be avoided. THE WRAP�U WRAP�UP P
as being the result of a simple though perfectly avoidable choice, such as letting one tank run dry when there was still fuel available in another. Pilots over the past century have found enough ways to cause their engines to stop. There is nothing to be said in favor of pioneering a new way. Dave Matheny , EAA 184186, is a private pilot and an FAA ground instructor. He has been flying light aircraft, including ultralights, for 34 years. He can be reached at
[email protected].
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CHARLIE PRECOURT COMMENTARY / FLIGHT / FLIGHT TEST
A Funn Funny y Story Story About About Checkl Checklist istss “Doesn’t he know how to fly this thing?” BY CHARLIE PRECOURT
I was planning a trip in my Piper JetPROP when my wife asked if I could drop off her friend Michelle in Atlanta. I thought sure, why not. I was headed t o Huntsville, Alabama, and then to Orlando, and Atlanta was right on the way. way. We met at the hangar, hangar, and after loading the bags I pulled out the checklist and gave Michelle a briefing not unlike what a passenger would get on an airliner — here’s the oxygen and how to use it should we lose pressurization, here’s the emergency exit, etc. — plus a few more instructions on how to lock and unlock the door, use the headset volume, adjust the seat, and things unique to being in the cockpit instead of in the cabin of an airliner. We got settled in, and I pulled out the checklist again for prestart items, and Michelle sat watching patiently. We started up, and I pulled out the checklist for pre-taxi checks, then after taxiing to the end of the runway, out comes the checklist again for the engine runup and pre-takeoff checks. All the while I was also verbalizing what I was doing to keep Michelle comfortable. She hadn’t ever flown in a private plane before. A FEW MONTHS AGO
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March 2017
I used the checklist as always for climb, level-off, descent, landing, and shutdown. Our flights to Huntsville and Atlanta were uneventful, and she seemed to really enjoy her first experience with general aviation. I dropped her off at Atlanta’s DeKalbPeachtree Airport and went on my way. A week or so later after my wife got to talk to Michelle at work about her experience, she got a funny reaction. She said, “You know it was great, but he kept pulling out that book to tell him what to do, and all I could think was, ‘Doesn’t he know how to fly this thing?’” My wife laughed and said, “Michelle, that’s how it’s supposed to be, and if you ever get in a little plane and the pilot doesn’t use one, my advice is to get out!”
ILLUSTRATION BY GARY COX
So I learned I had one more item for my passenger brief checkmy own checklist that preserves the manufacturer’s items but list: tell passengers what checklists are for and how we use them! also captures only the specifics of my particular airframe and But her reaction also got me thinking about the philosophy of eliminates those “not applicable” items. Building my own checkchecklists and the variety of ways to use them to our advantage. I list also helps with establishing a flow or routine for managing fly my airplane almost 30 hours a month, so I could easily argue my specific cockpit. that I have the checklist memorized and don’t really need to pull it Checklists are normally built in a “challenge — response” fashion. out, except perhaps for emergency procedures. But I still use it This means an item is listed first and the action follows, as in “landreligiously, and here are some of ing gear — down.” down.” This allows my thoughts about why and how two people to use a checklist I use it. When you are inevitably distracted with real-world together. When my wife flies One advantage of the checkwith me she will read the “challist is it maintains a routine. lenge item” (landing gear) and I challenges,, referring back to the checklist once challenges When you are inevitably diswill then “respond” by lowering things are squared away allows you to sync things tracted with real-world the gear and verbalizing “down” challenges, referring back to the when I see three green lights. back up for the next phase of flight. checklist once things are When I’m alone I just “challenge squared away allows you to and respond” myself. But chalsync things back up for the next lenge and response one item at a phase of flight. One challenge I’ve seen in general aviation airtime is just one way to use a checklist. The technique can be approcraft is many of the manufacturers provide a generic checklist for priate for certain situations, but n ot always. For example, example, gear and the model, even though individual airframes will get modified flap retraction immediately after takeoff should not be done headover time creating differences in configuration, avionics, options, down in a checklist. Instead, these should be done from memory, etc. The worst is when a checklist will say, “For “For serial numbers X, and when the dynamic phase is over, over, refer back to the checklist to do this” but “for serial numbers Y, do that.” So I’ve always built ensure all items are complete.
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Some steps in a checklist, particularly for emergency procedures,, have to be performed from procedures from memory. If you look at the checklist for your specific aircraft, you’ll likely notice nuances in the way the steps are sequenced. The best sequences follow a logical flow and avoid bouncing around the cockpit. A good flow also tends to cluster steps around specific subsystems rather than bouncing back and forth between systems in a random manner. Sometimes the sequence is simply designed for ease of flow, but sometimes the sequence is critical. Getting the throttle and prop control sequence correct for setting manifold pressure and rpm is one of the first critical learnings for transition to complex aircraft. But the sequence for turning on taxi, position, and beacon lights is obviously not critical. Some steps in a checklist, particularly for emergency procedures, have to be performed from memory. memory. In military aircraft we called these boldface items. The Cirrus checklist underlines those steps that are considered memory items. For these items, there is little to no time to be pulling out the checklist and reading it. Engine failure at low altitude is an obvious example. They are also items that we rarely perform, if ever. So when the surprise happens you’ll need to be able to respond accurately from memory. memory. For these checklists, frequent self-tests, like writing them out on a piece of paper, is a great insurance plan. All of these techniques — challenge and response, memory sequences up to points of no return, and straight memorization of time-critical steps — are important to proper use of your checklist. Your Your checklist should not cont ain techniques or other information better suited to the text in the POH, but only those items that will ensure you keep up with the configuration of your systems throughout the phases of flight — and that your passengers see you really can fly the thing !
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Running sequences from memory and referring back to the checklist is a useful technique but requires logical break points. When I’m solo I will do this for my pre-start checks, but only up to the point of hitting the start button. That action, hitting the start button, is a “point of no return” in the flow. A point of no return is a step that you can’t easily undo, in some instances you can’t undo at all. If you miss something prior to that step, it could be a bad day. In my JetPROP there are two batteries that can be selected individually or both together. Engine start on only one will lead to a hot start, so the battery must be set to “both” before hitting the start button. So when I run pre-start checks from memory, I stop at that “point of no return” to read back through all the items before I take that next step. It is a great idea to look through your checklist and identify those points of no return in your procedures and establish them as break points for checklist review in your own flow.
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LAURAN PAINE JR. COMMENTARY / PLANE TALK
Paige and Justin
Youthful Wisdom Inspiration from younger generations BY LAURAN PAINE JR.
of passion, friendship, generosity, and giving that runs through experimental aviation. And there are often a lot of chance occurrences that, later, have profound profound effects. This is a story that includes all of the above. Richard Graves is an Oregon boy. Okay, he’s not really a boy — he’s in his 70s — but sitting in his hangar and listening to him talk, bright-eyed and animated, about his RV-12, RV-12, enthusiasm-wise he is still a boy. He was born in Vernonia, Oregon. Richard grew up and made his living in construction, putting up many buildings in the Portland, Oregon, area. Richard’s father was a tool salesman who was also a pilot but put his flying on hold, as many do, to raise a family of five kids. Later, he was able to get back to flying. Richard got the flying bug soloing a Cessna 150 in 1979. He rented and flew — solo — for many years. Then his flying languished until, in 2003, he started lessons again. He started again because his father’s flying career was coming to a close due to macular degeneration, degeneration, and Richard wanted to be able to take his father flying. His father flew until 2004; he was 87. Richard earned his private certificate in 2006, and he and his father were flying again. That made his father very happy. As Richard’s father aged, the flying became less frequent again until a chance meeting in 2011 with Jerry VanGrunsven. (Yes, (Yes, there’s a VanGrunsven VanGrunsven behind every tree in Oregon; they’re legendary and universally well-liked.) Jerry, who has an RV-12 (imagine that!), said to Richard, “Let’s go for a ride.” So Jerry and Richard strapped in. Jerry said, “You make the takeoff.” Richard said, “I haven’t flown in
THERE IS A TAPESTRY TAPESTRY
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quite a while.” Jerry said, “That’s just an excuse.” (Jerry has a way with words.) Richard made the takeoff, they flew around, and then he made the landing. “I didn’t want to say I hadn’t landed in a long time. Jerry woulda said the same ‘excuse’ thing to me,” he said. Suffice it to say, that flight in the delightful and versatile RV-12 RV-12 put Richard’s mind right back into aviation. Then he got the building bug and purchased empennage and wings kits for t he RV-12. Then this: Richard was reading the building instructions where they told him to be sure and smooth all the aluminum edges. Then he thought, “There’s gotta be 11 thousand pieces in here. I’ll never get all that done.” done.” He pushed the boxes of parts to the back of the garage. And there they sat. Richard’s father passed away in 2012, and Jerry came to the funeral. The following year, year, Jerry had a gathering at his home for the Teen Flight kids he had been mentoring and asked Richard about his RV-12 project. Richard mumbled something about it still being in boxes in the back of the garage.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF LAURAN PAINE JR.
“C’mere. I have two people I want you to meet,” Jerry said. Enter Justin and Paige, two teenage Teen Flight members who learned in Teen Flight II and mentored other teens in Teen Flight III. Jerry asked Justin and Paige, “You guys need money for college, right?” They both nodded yes. Then Jerry said to Ri chard, “Hire them to teach you and help you build i t.” And a match was made. The two teenagers would help jump-start the project and teach the old guy (I can say that because I am one, too) to build his airplane. The underlying message here, of course, is never underestimate youth. And so it began, working with everyone’s varied schedules, Justin and Paige began helping Richard build the RV-12 in his garage — all the while teaching him the finer points of building. I had briefly met Justin and Paige at Teen Flight II. I know Justin best because I’ve seen him the most at various events. Paige has since moved to another city, but
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I still remember her as petite but mighty. I remember Justin at Teen Flight II holdin g a pneumatic rivet puller, standing by the in-progress RV-12 RV-12 and saying, “This is a really neat assembl y.” He wasn’t just talking about a part; he was talking about the whole airplane. The work began and continued in Richard’s garage, garage, including installation of the engine. The first engine start was January 2015. “I wanted to cry,” Richard said. (Building is a satisfying and emotional journey.) journey.) Then came the big move to the airairport (7S3) and hangar — always a little nerve-wracking — for final assembly. Total build time was one year and nin e months. Airworthiness was granted in February 2015. Not long after that, the day for the first flight came. Dick and Jerry VanGrunsven flew in for the occasion. Jerry flew chase. Justin did the initial flight and all the structured flight acceptance criteria flying. Justin, at the time, was a private pilot with a lit tle more than 100 hours of flight time.
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I saw your eyebrows shoot up when you read “a private pilot with a little over 100 hours.” Let me tell you a little more about this kid. Both he and Paige won flight-training scholarships from EAA Chapter 105 in Portland. Justin earned his private certificate in 2013. Summers, he worked as an intern in the engineering department at Van’s Aircraft. He has since earned his commercial and instrument ratings. At AirVenture 2016 he was chosen to fly trail in an RV-12 RV-12 for a featured flyover of RV-6s. He won Chapter 105’s Poker Richard’s finished RV-12. Run in 2015. Homeschooled, he is now 19 years old and studying mechanical engineering at Oregon State University. He and his brother taught each other calculus; he is in what is called advanced placement. I asked him what he wants to do. He said, “Be a test pilot.” Figures! Just thinkin’ out loud here, but if there ever was a kid that should be chosen for flight training by the Oregon Air National Guard unit flying F-15s, this is the kid! Oh, and did I mention he’s unfailingly polite? He is. I don’t worry about him getting a big head reading this. He’s not that kind of kid. He doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about himself; he thinks about flying. Back to Richard and his now flying RV-12. Now you see why he is so enthusiastic: The great kids he hired have rubbed off on him. His stop/start aviation career is born again. He flew the RV-12 RV-12 for 50 hours before finally flying it to Synergy Air in Eugene, Oregon, for paint. Justin designed the paint scheme, and Richard had it painted purple and gold, his high school colors. Richard received his RV-12 transition training from Mike Seager, Seager, starting it on his 70th birthday. And then he flew to Oshkosh, the punctuation mark on his homebuilding aviation journey. journey. What’s he doing now? He’s He’s flying Young Young Eagles and mentoring his grandson and others at Teen Flight V. Still visiting Richard in his hangar with his RV-12, I asked him, “Was it all worth it?” You know his answer: “Oh my, yes! The people, the friendships, the process, the satisfaction — unbelievable.” And he was right back in his “boy mode,” eyes lit up and animated. “Oh my, yes,” he said again while slapping both hands to his knees. And all that is just one more of the beauties of experimental aviation. The journey so often leads to yet more beauty. beauty. Lauran Paine Jr. , EAA 582274, is a retired military pilot and retired airline pilot. He
built and flies an RV-8 and has owned a Stearman and a Champ. Learn more about Lauran at his website, website, www.ThunderBumper.com.
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ROBERT N. ROSSIER COMMENTARY / STICK / STICK AND RUDDER
Flying on Borrowed Time Where fuel management fails BY ROBERT N. ROSSIER
ONE OF THE MOST ALARMING SITUATIONS a
pilot can face is an engine failure, yet one of the most common, if not the most common cause of engine failures – fuel starvation – is entirely preventable. So how is it that we as pilots allow such situations to occur? What are we forgetting or missing that puts us squarely in jeopardy? How are we fouling up our fuel management? The most recent Nall safety report, published in August 2016, sheds a little bit of light on the situation. It puts fuel managementrelated accidents into three discrete buckets. The first and largest (61 percent of the accidents) is flight planning, which they define as “inaccurate estimation of fuel requirements or failure to monitor fuel consumption in flight that caused complete fuel exhaustion.” Typical errors include reading t he aircraft performance charts wrong, or forgetting to account for headwinds. These are easy
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mistakes to make, and can leave us in the lurch. Also included in this category are errors such as not sticking the fuel tank to verify how much fuel we have on board. Not knowing how much fuel we have — or simply guessing or estimating — leaves us blind and clueless. Other factors can also mess with our fuel management plans. Unexpected or unknown weather conditions can cause us to reroute our trip on the fly, fly, perhaps causing us to eat into our fuel reserves. Likewise, an unexpected runway closure or localized weather condition can force us to add an extra leg to
ILLUSTRATION BY BRANDON JACOBS
our flight just when we thought we had made it to our final destination. The second bucket is systems operation, which holds about a third of the fuel-management accidents, and here again there are numerous roads to ruin. Selecting the wrong tank for takeoff or landing can set us up for a low-altitude emergency that’s difficult to resolve. Forgetting to switch fuel tanks can set us up for a harrowing surprise. In some aircraft, such as the twin-engine Cessna 310, selecting the wrong fuel tank at the wrong time can send fuel somewhere we didn’t expect, or actually cause us to dump fuel overboard. Setting the power or mixture incorrectly means our performance and fuel burn will not match the plan, setting us up for a puzzling situation to sort out later in flight. The third and smallest bucket (less than 10 percent of all fuel-management accidents) is fuel contamination, which would include failure to identify and remove water from the fuel tanks, or
The good news is that fuel-management accidents have been decreasing over the past decade. But sadly, such situations continue to occur. putting the wrong type of fuel in the tank to begin with. The good news is that fuel-management accidents have been decreasing over the past decade. But sadly, such situations continue to occur. FUEL QUANTITY UNKNOWN
Consider the case of the lone private pilot who was flying a Bellanca Bellan ca 17-30A in January 2016 when he slammed into trees and terrain following a loss of e ngine power. According to the NTSB report, the pilot had planned a roughly 30-minute flight from McKinney, Texas Texas (T31), north to Lake Murray State Park Airport (1F1) in Overbrook, Oklahoma, and then doubling back south to Sherman
Municipal Airport (SWI) in Texas for fuel. The pilot estimated he had an hour of fuel on board, but his mistake was not verifying that assumption. According to the NTSB report, he did not visually check the fuel levels. Twenty minutes after departure, the Bellanca’s engine began to surge, and the pilot pointed the nose directly for Lake Murray State Park Airport. The engine continued surging for about 45 seconds, and then quit completely. The pilot then turned on the fuel boost pump and switched tanks, but was unable to restore engine power. Winds at the time were 160 at 7 knots, but the pilot decided to circle for a landing on Runway 14 rather than make a straight-in landing on Runway 32 with a quartering tailwind.
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The aircraft crashed 300 feet north of the end of Runway 14. The post-crash investigation found a half-gallon of fuel in the right wing tank and zero in the left. Clearly the pilot did not have adequate fuel for the planned flight, which he might have learned if he had taken the time to stick the tanks. Fortunately, Fortunately, the pilot was uninjured.
gauge was about an hour into the flight, when the right fuel gauge was “on empty” and the left fuel gauge indicated it was just below the ‘full’ mark.” Such indications might have raised an eyebrow for pilots flying a Cessna 152; however, however, the pilot stated that such indications were normal for that particular airplane, which he had apparently flown numerous times.
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Even when we start with full fuel tanks, we can miss the mark by a wide margin if we don’t know how long that fuel can keep us in the air. air. Such may have been the case with the commercial-rated pilot (and CFI) of a Cessna 152 who was forced to make an off-field landing when the engine lost power. power. The pilot in this case did check the fuel tanks and verified they were full (24.6 gallons usable of 26 total). The plan was to fly from the Northeast Florida Regional Airport (SGJ) in St. Augustine, Florida, to Gwinnett County Airport Briscoe Field (LZU) in Lawrenceville, Georgia. About 3.5 hours into his planned 275-mile flight bucking a 20-knot headwind, the engine lost power. power. The pilot pulled on the carb heat, which seemed to help, and called ATC for a diversion to Madison, Georgia. But the engine soon began to run rough again, and then lost power completely. completely. The pilot trimmed for best glide speed and attempted a restart, but to no avail. Realizing he would not make the airport, the pilot opted for an off-field landing on a road. Unfortunately, Unfortunately, the left wing struck a telephone pole in the process, causing substantial damage to the aircraft and seriously injuring the pilot and his passenger. The report reveals that the pilot had not been monitoring the fuel gauges, noting that “The last time he saw the fuel
Fuel indications aside, time alone should have told the pilot he was in trouble. As the NTSB report points out, the pilot’s operating handbook (POH) for the aircraft states it has a 3.1-hour endurance at cruise power. power. Having been in the air for 3.5 hours, fuel exhaustion should have been expected. Had the pilot been watching the clock, he may have realized he was flying on borrowed time. A MATTER OF TIME
Oftentimes good fuel management boils down to a simple matter of time. That means taking the time to verify how much fuel we have. It also means keeping track of time: timing when we need to switch fuel tanks, and keeping track of the time we’ve been in the air. And then there’s the reserve fuel time to consider. The FARs tell us we need to have a 30-minute cruise-power fuel reserve for daytime VFR flights, and 45 minutes at night. For IFR flights, we need to be more conservative, adding enough fuel to a 45-minute reserve to fly to an alternate if the weather forecasts call for low ceilings and visibility. visibility. But it’s up to us to decide if those minimums really are enough and what strategies to employ in our planning and monitoring. The last place we want to find ourselves is flying on borrowed time. Robert N. Rossier , EAA 472091, has been flying for
more than 30 years and has worked as a flight instructor, commercial pilot, chief pilot, and FAA flight check airman.
“I’d been looking or a new truck or about three months. I was trying to find the eatures I wanted at the right price and talked to my local Ford dealer, Keller Ford in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Being an EAA member, I wanted to know how I could take advantage o Ford’s Partner Recognition Program discount pricing. Afer learning the details, it didn’t take me long to make my decision
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JEFF SKILES COMMENTARY / CONTRAILS / CONTRAILS
The Traffic Pattern Pay attention to what happens every time BY JEFF SKILES
of writers in this magazine who write about flying technique sharing from their wellspring of experience and knowledge. I can’t say that I have Steve Krog’s teaching skills or Robert N. Rossier’s ability to analyze and explain flight maneuvers, but I do have a few thousand hours as a flight instructor in my logbook and have developed some observations regarding common pilot tendencies. Flying an airplane puts one in a dynamic, fast-changing environment with countless variables that almost always must be assessed and addressed in short order. I think this is shown in no greater degree than in the traffic pattern, where I see the same tendencies
THERE ARE A NUMBER NUMBER
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over and over in both students and myself. Understanding them can help us all compensate and be better pilots. A good, safe landing is not an accident; it follows a carefully crafted pattern that is designed to place the airplane on the correct glide path, in the right configuration, and at the proper speed when crossing the numbers, thus minimizing the uncertainty of a novel, new flying experience every time we land.
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Many pilots I fly with prefer an arcing oval pattern reminiscent of a dog track. The crosswind and base leg are conspicuously missing, and the pilot is constantly working the throttle to adjust the glide path. The aircraft is alternately high or low. Often both within a disturbingly short period of time. The approach speed reflects a similar scarcity of discipline, and the landing generally displays the fruits of this lack of consistency.
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My day job is flying an airliner, and in airline flying we take great pains to make every approach and landing identical to the last. In fact, we try to make everything in between as similar as possible as well. There is a bright line between the right way and the wrong way, and consistency is prized. A big part of consistency is recognizing those things in our environment that happen every time. Foot stomper here, every time! There’s a lot happening in the traffic pattern that must be clearly understood so let’s go once around for practice.
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WHERE’S THE WIND
We’re We’re about to take the runway, and the before-takeoff checklist is complete. Let’s pause here to refresh our memory about where exactly the wind is coming from. Its most likely some sort
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of crosswind. What does that mean for the position of our ailerons and for t he strength of any weathervane tendency, which we must compensate for with extra rudder. rudder. What’s that mean for our drift after liftoff? We add in the throttle and accelerate down the runway. Most aircraft have clockwise turning propellers, and the nose of the aircraft will veer to the left every time. Why not add in some right rudder — right now — to keep the airplane on the centerline rather than waiting until we get off to the left before compensating. Generally, correcting now now takes half as much thought and effort as reacting later. later. If you’re in a tailwheel aircraft like my Cessna 185, when the tail wheel leaves the ground you will lose its stabilizing effect, and the nose of the aircraft will veer further left, every time! So, as the stick goes forward simultaneously give it some additional right rudder.
me cruising along on downwind at precisely the top of the white arc. Your airplane airplane will have a different configuration, but it will be consistent. If you’re in a carbureted airplane, pull on the carb heat at midfield. This will give a few seconds to melt that ice out at high exhaust temperature before reducing power. I’m no mechanic by any means, but I was taught this practice, and it sounds logical to me. The more common technique I observe seems to be to apply the carb heat at or after power reduction.
Planning for what happens every time allows us to free up brain
power for what is different and unique in our environment.
LET IT FLY
When you feel that lightness to the wings, let it fly. Some forget this and barrel down the runway at high speed risking a loss of control incident. This is particularly dangerdangerous if you’re weaving back and forth to regain the centerline because you haven’t heeded the previous two paragraphs. paragraphs. An airplane was meant to fly; let it do so. Once in the air, crab a few degrees into the wind to stay over the runway. runway. The idea of a pattern is to maintain a rectangular ground track; planning for wind is part of that. For instance, as you turn to crosswind think about what heading you are going to roll out on. If you took off on Runway 27 and are making a left pattern, a heading of 180 will only allow you to be blown downwind. The wind will likely be stronger at altitude too, so let’s try 190 for starters. You can fine-tune later as you judge your ground track visually. DOWNWIND LEG
As you level out on downwind at pattern altitude the aircraft will accelerate every time. Pull the throttle back to something reasonable. Don’t accelerate to cruise when you will only have to decelerate 15 seconds later. My 185 is an early model and has a ridiculously low maximum flap speed of 110 mph. I leave 10 degrees of flap down after take-off and immediately throttle back to 17 inches of manifold pressure as I level out. This leaves
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HOLD YOUR PITCH ATTITUDE
When you’re about to come opposite the numbers on downwind, begin pulling your power back to approach settings. You’ll notice I said coming up on the numbers, not after the numbers are behind your wing. And here is where the most common failure to heed the every time rule happens. As the student, your eyes usually are focused like a laser beam on the tachometer as you try and set a precise amount of power. As the instructor, my eyes are focused on the horizon watching the nose fall as the airplane seeks trim speed because it happens — what? Every time! Is it important that you have precisely 1500 rpm instead of 1550? Not really. But it is important that you keep the airplane in level flight. Your eyes should be outside the airplane like mine to aid you in holding the airplane level while you slow and add flaps. Periodically glance at the tachometer to set engine power. “SET IT � AND FORGET IT!”
And about that power, power, as Ron Popeil used to say while hawking the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie Oven on late night TV, “Set it — and forget it”! No throttle jockeying! You may have to make an adjustment later, but ideally the power should stay at its present setting
until closing the throttle in the flare. As you come around the pattern, the flap settings and speeds will be unique to your aircraft so I’ll let you figure that out on your own. When the runway is 45 degrees behind your shoulder, and you’re turning base, remember once again where the wind is coming and add in a crab t o keep the ground track perpendicular to the runway. THE PA PATTERN TTERN IS IS RECTAN RECTANGULA GULAR R
Here’s Here’s where the second most common pattern failing occurs. For some reason our brains tell us to turn and line up with the runway early, early, and we tend to make sort of a 45-degree entry to final. This tendency seems particularly common when the airplane is high on approach, which only shortens the distance to landing and compounds the problem. Usually the failure to recognize what happens every time leaves us high and fast on approach. So, reduce power, slow, and/or slip, and let the airplane descend to a normal glide path, then return the power back to approach setting. What I just said is important. There aren’t several different acceptable glide paths; there’s only one. Slip or slow to descend to the proper glide path, or if you’re low, add power and level out until returning to the proper glide path, then adjust power and continue the approach n ormally. ormally. ON SPEED, ON GLIDE PATH
All of this will have the aircraft crossing the numbers in position to land. If it didn’t work out so well this time around, and it doesn’t always work out for me either, decide what you’re going to do differently next time. Usually adjusting when you turn base leg will solve any descent profile problems. Much of this can be thought through in your mind and cemented in your muscle memory before you ever even get to the airport. We all only have so much bandwidth, and for most of us it shrinks with every passing year. Planning for what happens every brain rain power for time allows us to free up b what is different and unique in our environment. Flying a consistent pattern is an important step in making a good, safe, and consistent landing. Jeff Skiles, EAA Lifetime 336120, can be reached at
Jeff
[email protected] .
GETS IT DONE
IS REAL BASICMED RULE PUBLISHED IN JANUARY JANUARY,, TO TAKE EFFECT IN MAY
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GETS IT DONE
WHAT AND WHERE CAN I FLY?
YEARS OF EFFOR EFFORTT BY EAA AND AND AOPA AOPA
• Aircraf Aircraftt not more than 6,000 pounds pounds max takeoff weight.
culminated in January when the FAA published its updated regulations, known as BasicMed, which will implement the aeromedical reform law passed last July. July. The regulations will take effect on May 1, 2017. 2017. Because it is final, the rule was not released for a typical public comment period. The FAA also published an advisory circular, circular, AC 68-1, describing the rule’s implementation. The details of the rule are laid out in the sidebars, but what it boils down to is this: As long as you’ve had an FAA medical within the last 10 years, you can fly recreationally using a valid driver’s license in lieu of a medical certificate. To To stay legal, you’ll need to take a free online medical education course every two years, and see any state-licensed doctor every four years. That doctor will have to run through and sign a checklist that you’ll keep in your logbook until your next visit is due. “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, as the provisions of aeromedical reform become something that pilots can now use,” said Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO and chairman. “EAA and AOPA worked worked to make t his a reality through legislation in July, July, and since then the most common question from our members has been, ‘When will the rule come out?’ We now have the text and will work to educate members, pilots, and physicians about the specifics in the regulations.” During EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), the author of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 legislation that evolved into the aeromedical reform law we have today, praised EAA’s advocacy efforts. “I am grateful for the strong and consisten t voice of EAA members who shared why third-class medical reform is necessary,” necessary,” he said. “I want to thank Jack Pelton, CEO and chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association, and his team for their leadership and support from the beginning and all t heir work to educate my colleagues in Congress on issues that affect pilots.”
• Within the United States, at less than 250 knots and at or below 18,000 feet MSL, VFR or IFR, day or night.
• No more than five five passengers. passengers. • For recreation, not for compensation or hire, though flight instruction is allowed.
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO? • Hold a valid U.S. driver’s driver’s license. • Carry your driver’s driver’s license with you when you fly. • Have a medical certificate issued by the FAA at any point after July 15, 2006. • Answer questions questions on the Compre Comprehensi hensive ve Medical Examination Checklist (CMEC). • See any state-licensed state-licensed physician once every four years, and have him or her complete the CMEC. • Complete a free online medical course every two years.
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AUGUST 2014 FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announces at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh that more than 16,000 comments were received regarding the EAA/AOPA petition and a rule would be released for public comment by fall 2014.
JUNE 2015 Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas) offer a third-class medical certification reform amendment to a Senate transportation bill.
FEBRUARY 2015 JULY 2015 At AirVenture, Huerta announces that the EAA/AOPA petition is still awaiting final action from the Department of Transportation to advance to the rulemaking process. process. EAA also fires back at the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) regarding a letter opposing aeromedical reform, which ALPA sent to all senators.
FEBRUARY 2016 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania) introduces the House version of an FAA reauthorization bill that includes medical reform language similar to that contained in GAPPA. The bill passes out of committee but never makes it to a floor vote.
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) introduces the Pilot’s Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 i n the U.S. Senate, which includes third-class medical reform language similar to the previous GAPPA bill and more extensive than that requested in the 2012 EAA/AOPA petition for exemption.
JULY 2016 APRIL 2016 Inhofe includes Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 provisions in the Senate’s FAA reauthorization bill, which passes the Senate 95-3.
With FAA authorization set to expire, the House and Senate agree to a 14-month authorization extension with some broadly agreed-to policy implementation,, i ncluding medical implementation reforms contained within the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2.
DECEMBER 2015 The U.S. Senate passes the Pil ot’ ot’ss Bill of Rights 2 on a bipartisan vote after extensive negotiation with Commerce, Science, and Tran Transportation sportation Committee members and Senate leaders over third-class medical certification reform. The bill is sent to the House.
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GETS IT DONE
GETS IT DONE
SIMPLICITY
SAVINGS
Thanks to third-class medical reform, many pilots who have h eld a valid medical certificate in the past 10 years will never have to see an AME or hassle with FAA paperwork again.
By removing the need for constant medical and special issuance renewals, third-class medical reform saves pilots significant time and expense.
GETS IT DONE ADVOCACY SAFETY
Third-class medical refor m will allow pilots to treat underlying medical conditions with their personal physicians and continue to fly the type of aircraft in which they are most experienced.
EAA could not have pushed medical reform through Congress without your continued support. Thousands of EAA man hours and ongoing relationship building went into getting this done. Your membership, and our community, makes a difference.
THE COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL EXAMINA EXAMINATION TION CHECKLIST (CMEC) The CMEC will have two parts: questions to be answered by the pilot in advance of the exam and a list of items for your doctor, doctor, any state-licensed physician, to include in the examination. The questions will include basic identifying information like name and address, date of birth, a short medical history and list of current medications, and information about whether you’ve ever had an FAA medical certificate denied, suspended, or revoked. The list of items for the doctor to cover in the examination are now part of the third-class medical exam and are typical to those found in any routine physical. These items include:
• Abdom Abdomen en and viscera viscera • An Anus us • Sk Skin in • Genit Genitourin ourinary ary system • Upper and lower extremities extremities • Spine, other musculoskeletal • Body marks, marks, scars, tattoos • Lym Lymphati phatics cs • Neur Neurologi ologicc • Psyc Psychiatr hiatric ic • Gener General al systemic systemic • Hea Hearin ringg • Vi Visio sionn • Blood pressure pressure and and pulse
• Head, face, face, neck, scalp scalp • Nose, sinuses, sinuses, mouth, throat • Ears and and eardrums eardrums • Ey Eyes es • Lungs and chest chest • He Hear artt • Vas Vascula cularr system
And anything else the physician in his or her medical judgment considers necessary. necessary. The doctor will have to indicate that he or she has made the necessary checks, and both the pilot and doctor will need to sign the form. Then you put the form in a safe place and get back to flying.
Additionally, many EAA members have reached out to share their enthusiasm. Steve Engelking, EAA 244968, of Longmont, Colorado, wrote, “Thank you so much to Jim Inhofe for getting this through Congress and passed into law. Three cheers for this heroic effort!” Stewart Barnes, EAA 761379, of Anchorage, Alaska, is also celebrating BasicMed, calling it “Simpler, cheaper, more efficient.” He went on to say that, “The FAA third-class and [special issuance] never did anything to make me safer, healthier, or a better pilot. It had zero value yet it cost me money and my doctor’s time to jump through the hoops. Not anymore!” January’s publication finalized the highly anticipated measure that was signed into law in July of 2016 as part of an FAA funding bill. That was the ultimate success of a long effort by EAA and AOPA to bring significant aeromedical reform to pilots flying recreationally and eliminate the time and expense burdens on those holding third-class medical certificates. The law guaranteed that pilots who held a valid third-class medical certificate during the period after July 15, 2006, will be eligible to fly under the new rules. New pilots and pilots whose most recent medical expired prior to July 15, 2006, will be required to get a one-time third-class exam from an FAA-designated aviation medical examiner. The FAA was required to implement the law within 180 days of its signing, a deadline that it met with one day to spare. Despite the release of the regulations as a final rule, EAA is reviewing the language carefully to ensure it fully reflects the language and intent of the law. Aeromedical reform has been a top advocacy priority of EAA members for a number of years, and led to EAA and AOPA initially petitioning the FAA for changes in the third-class medical certification process. The goal was to reduce the unnecessary regulatory and expense barriers that pushed aviators out of recreational flying and kept prospective pilots from entering the aviation community. EAA has updated its online FAQs and will continue to update them to provide the latest information on aeromedical reform. EAA is also working with its aeromedical and legal advisory councils to provide resources that will help members and their personal doctors understand the provisions of the new regulations.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS
eav ea v er TALES
THE MARCO FAMIL FAMILY’S Y’S DE HAVILLAND DHC�� BY JIM BUSHA
the de Havilland Beaver, Beaver, a high-wing monoplane powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine originally designed as an all-metal seaplane, is one of the most significant aircraft of our day. Whether on wheels, floats, skis, or amphibs, the Beaver fills a universal need as a sturdy, rugged, and reliable airplane. So, it’s no wonder Dave Marco, EAA 267503, and his son, Michael, EAA 1005184, of Atlantic Beach, Florida, enjoyed flying them so much they had to have their own. MOST AVIATION HISTORIANS AGREE
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MARCO FAMILY AIR AFFAI R
ith aviation DNA flowing through the Marco family like like hot hot oil throu through gh a radial engine, the practice of flying for business and pleasure has spanned spanned generations. generations. “My grandfather Seymour Marco flew B-24 Liberators in World World War II and then instructed in structed in them stateside,” said Michael. “He used his wartime flight experience to carry over into the general aviation arena when he founded the Marco family company, Marco Ophthalmic. His mantra of ‘get anywhere at almost any time’ was solidified with airplanes as he used them to assist customers as quickly as possible. So naturally that tradition has carried on today with almost everyone in our family earning their wings and becoming a pilot.” But using an airplane for business, currently a Cessna Citation CJ2+, is only a small fraction of the flying that occupies the Marco household. Truth be told, Dave is an old airplane guy. His current stable of flying machines contains an award-winning award-winning North American P-51 Mustang, a highly polished Lockheed Model 12A, an American Champion Super Decathlon that Michael uses to get his aerobatic fix in, and the family favorite, “load everything including the kitchen sink” family flying recreational vehicle of the skies, a 1953 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver. HISTORY OF SERIAL NO. ���
Built in 1953, this de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver (serial No. 577) was delivered as a seaplane on December 30, 1953, to Maritime Central Airways in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. “It wore the markings of CF-HGU in a typical early days bush flying color scheme of bright yellow and high visibilit y blue paint,” said Michael. “This aircraft had an extensive commercial life in upper Canada, and after approximately 18,000 18,000 flying hours it was badly damaged when it hit a stump on takeoff while operating on skis from a snow-covered field. The Beaver flipped over and caught fire destroying most of the airplane.” airplane.” Sold as scrap in 1995 the aircraft was completely remanufactured remanufactured and restored by the Canadian company AvTech, AvTech, which specialized in rebuilding and “zero timing” wrecked aircraft.
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“AvTech ‘zero timed’ the entire airframe, and it was sold as a brand new Beaver to the Luhrs Yachts company here in St. Augustine, Florida, along with a factory-built DHC-2 Mk.III turbine-powered Beaver,” said Michael. “Refitted with Wipaire 6100 amphibious floats and re-registered as N300EL, Luhrs used the Beaver as an executive transport shuttling executives to remote parts of North America to meet with customers.” customers.” Due to downsizing, Luhrs decided to sell the radial engin e Beaver in mid-1998 to a buyer who lived just down the road. Dave’s dream finally came true as he christened his new airplane with a registration of N450DM. “The Beaver quickly became the family airplane as we used it for all kinds of adventures: camping, fishing, hunting, and anything else fun we could think of,” said Michael. “Although I was only around 8 years old at the time there wasn’t a single weekend that I don’t remember climbing up onto the big floats and helping my dad load gear into the roomy fuselage and float compartments. It was our version of the family RV. I remember early on being enthralled by the sound of that R-985 radial engine and the immense size of the Beaver, and it’s the big reason why I couldn’t wait to learn how to fly.”
AIRCRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Airplane type and model: N-number: Top speed: Cruise speed: Landing speed: Takeoff roll: Rate of climb at gross: Range at 65 percent, estimated:
de Havillan Havillandd Canada DHC-2 Beaver Mk.I N450DM 155 knots 100 knots 75 knots 1,500 feet (seaplane configuration) 800 fpm 450 nm with 30-minute reserve
Empty weight: Gross weight: Useful load: Fuel capacity: Wingspan: Wing area: Height: Length: Engine: Horsepower: Propeller:
4,050 pounds (with Wipaire 6100 amphibious floats) 5,370 pounds 1,320 pounds (four people, baggage, three hours’ fuel plus reserves) 138 U.S. gallons (three fuselage tanks, two wingtip tanks) 48 feet 250 square feet 10 feet, 5 inches 32 feet, 9 inches (with floats) Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior 450 at sea level Hartzell B3R30-4 three-blade (Kenmore STC)
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Michael immersed himself in backcountry Beaver flying as a pilot with Talkeetna Air Taxi in Alaska.
Fast-forward Fast-forward nine years. Growing up flying side by side with his father and after earning his pilot certificate and floatplane rating, Dave agreed to stand on the sidelines and allowed Michael to fly the Beaver solo. “Because of the Beaver, Beaver, I was able to obtain my commercial land and sea ratings,” said Michael. “That experience allowed me to really immerse myself in the backcountry lore of Beaver flying when I was selected to fly them with Talkeetna Air Taxi in Alaska for the summer supplying the base camp at Mount McKinley. I had an amazing time flying their Beavers on skis — with zero Florida ski flying experience no less!” BEAVER LORE
Flying in and out of both snow and ice strips from 3,000- to 8,000-foot elevations, and having to regularly fly through mountain passes as high as 12,000 feet, Michael’s primary role was to bring in or fly out the mountain climbers on the Alaska Range, along with offering that experience to curious tourists who wanted a glimpse into life in the Alaska Range.
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“We also flew in food, rescue equipment and personnel, park rangers, base-camp managers, and military personnel as well,” well,” said Michael. “During tourist season we also flew passengers on glacier landings to see Mount McKinley. “What this new environment did for me was expose me to the side of the Beaver that I had only heard about — some of it I thought was folklore. Previously, Previously, in Florida, I flew on floats mainly t o have fun and rarely did I fly with more than three or four people and hardly any baggage. But in Alaska when we took off we operated at 5,600 pounds, right at gross weight on every flight. Stuffed inside the piston Beaver were six to eight people and all their associated gear they brought with them. Then we would t ake them up to 12,000 feet. To say the Beaver is an amazing hauler is an understatement. It is capable of almost anything thrown at it — getting in and out of these little snow strips up at altitude fully loaded was no problem at all. That environment truly displays the performance realm of the Beaver and convinced me even more what an amazing airplane it was.”
For Michael, the one quirk in the Beaver that stands out with this 1940s design is the instrument panel layout. “In my opinion the original layout was not centered on ergonomics or safety,” said Michael. “Most aircraft panels today are set up in an IFR T or A shape where it’s easy to fly IFR or it’s easy to find the fuel selector. Not so in the Beaver: There are knobs, gadgets, switches that seem to be placed all over the place for n o reason.” Several examples include the location of the oil shut-off valve, which is in the far reaches of the right-hand corner of the cockpit, and then the fuel gauges and selector. “There are three belly tanks in the Beaver, Beaver, and they are labeled front, middle, and rear on the gauge, but they are shown in a triangular diagram with the rear tank at the top, the middle tank is on the bottom right, and the front tank is the bottom left of the triangle,” Michael said. “It’s very confusing until you get used to the setup. On top of that, the fuel selector knob is labeled differently: front, center, and rear. The center is at the top of the triangle. But that’s not what is depicted on the gauge. On the gauge it’s
shown in the middle, and on the selector it’s the center. There are countless stories of pilots selecting the wrong tank in the Beaver, oblivious, and they run out of gas thinking they have selected the fullest tank when in fact they selected the tank full of air.” air.” Back in Florida, the Marco Beaver continued to rack up the hours. “Although just a ‘drop in the bucket’ to this Beaver’s commercial flying life, this airplane has provided years of outdoor enjoyment for our family,” said Dave. “In 2014 we had reached the 1,650 TBO on the Pratt & Whitney R-985 and decided it was time to do a full restoration on the airplane.” airplane.” RESTORATION
Dave knew that there would be no way he could tackle this project himself and still run the day-to-day operations of his company. company. He wanted someone who knew the Beaver in and out and who could address any issues that might creep up during a major restoration and rebuild. “My wife and I had a blast transporting the airplane from its home in North Florida to South St. Paul Minnesota, home of Wipaire, due to their knowledge of Beavers and, of course, the Wipline model of floats,” said Dave. “In typical Beaver fashion, we were never more than 1,500 feet above the ground the whole way up there. Our primary goal was greater engine power, along with weight savings while maintaining an original de Havilland look and feel — void of glass cockpit, autopilot, or fancy and heavy leather interior, all not b ecoming of a Beaver.” Beaver.” The four-man crew at Wipaire headed up by Curt Sneddeker and Pete Zimmerman worked full time for six months and went to town on the Beaver as all components were rebuilt or replaced, such as the b irdcage, engine mount, electrical system, control cables, and control surfaces. “Since we are operating several months per year in hot weather around North Florida, we are very conscientious of weight and engine power. A major goal of the restoration was to make the already light aircraft even lighter,” said Dave. “We removed all older, non-essential materials — with the largest savings coming from wiring, electrical, and interior. Surprisingly, Surprisingly, one of the heaviest items we removed and replaced was the interior.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MARCO FAMILY
Wipaire spent six months rebuilding and replacing all components of the Marco’s Beaver, with the goal of making the plane lighter.
Ours was very original so we spent a lot of time reverting it back to what a Beaver should be — a vinyl interior, nothing fancy, easy to spray off or vacuum out even with a wet dog jumping inside. We used very lightweight coverings on the seats with no cushion or soundproofing inside. Roof covers and carpeting rounded out the original Beaver look inside.” All new glass — including front windshield, pilot’s windows, and two passenger windows, one on each side of the passenger door — was installed. Another one of the major components of the restoration was the replacement of the R-985 engine. “Covington Engines did a custom job for us, porting, polishing, and balancing the engine while the blower was fitted for minimum clearance and polished,” said Dave. “They utilized new steel barrels with increased compression ratios resulting in the higher power output that we were after. after. This has made a huge difference in performance, especially with the new three-blade Hartzell propeller we installed. It is definitely quieter and smoother, smoother, but several old-time Beaver pilots will remark that they don’t perform as well as the original blades. Personally I like the three-blade version and think it gives us the performance we need.” The cockpit also received attention. “Avionics include a Garmin 430, which is lightweight, redundant, and capable that includes WAAS/ADS-B with uplink. Nothing was added that was not necessary for safe flight. All instruments were overhauled and refaced or replaced,” said Dave.
“We also ended up rearranging both t he panel and the fuel system so it removes those confusing quirks.” With 135 gallons of fuel on b oard when it’s completely full — two wing tanks with 21.5 gallons in each tip and 97 gallons of fuel in the belly divided among three belly tanks — the Beaver has plenty of range. With five fuel tanks the Beaver gives the pilot conservatively five hours with a 30-minute reserve on board. “Burn rate is around 25 gallons an hour with the help of our nine-cylinder engine monitor and fuel flow gauge and lean assist,” said Michael. “We are seeing between 22-23 gallons per hour at 1800 rpm and 28 inches of manifold pressure in cruise.” The floats on the Beaver were a 1980s model so those were overhauled as well. According to Michael, their Beaver was one of the only ones out there on Wipline floats with no gear voice indicator system onboard. “We “We had the lights — blue for water, green for grass — but n o voice system,” said Michael. “Because we operate quite frequently on both water and grass/hard surface we decided to have that feature installed as well.” When it came time for paint Dave was adamant that the final look stayed with t he traditions of the de Havilland line of aircraft. “Even though it is a minor part of any restoration, we spent an enormous amount of time with Scheme Designers developing an ‘original but slightly updated’ paint scheme that would complement the de Havilland design,” said Dave. “What we ended up with keeps it true to its roots in my mind.”
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T
he result is a curvier version of an original Beaver paint job with the bottom painted blue, white on the t op, and a light stripe running from cowling to tail. “As far as I am concerned t he entire team that worked with Curt Sneddeker at Wipaire did an incredible job,” said Dave. “They are definitely the ones who deserve the Gold Lindy we were awarded at EAA Oshkosh 2016. Curt did a wonderful job managing the entire project for us, from coordinating everything from teardown and float overhaul, to the weight increase and painting. Every step of the way he was feeding us info, giving us updates, and soliciting our advice on how we wanted to proceed.” With the restoration completed in late 2014, the father and son team flew their pride and joy home t o Florida. “After the restoration, it was a brand new airplane,” said Dave. “With the new Covington Engines R-985 up front it felt like there was a lot more power associated with the allowable 36.5 inches of MAP. MAP. The airplane became a real climber and could not wait to get off the ground. Along with t his, we saved just over 40 pounds during the restoration so it was a lighter airplane. We also added Wipaire’s aileron flow accelerators on the leading edges of the outb oard wing panels. This really helped the slow-speed aileron effectiveness. Overall, I was really surprised at how much better the Beaver perperformed compared to the pre-restoration flights. It was almost like a totally different airplane.” airplane.” BEAVER FLYING
The panel was completely reconfigured to remove some confusing quirks, and the vinyl interior was crafted with adventure in mind.
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The de Havilland Beaver is one of the most capable bushplanes ever built. At the time it was designed there was (and still is) a huge need for the ability to have a single airplane that could haul anyone/anything in and out of almost anywhere. To achieve this, the de Havilland engineers implemented a few unique designs into the B eaver. eaver. “The most notable is the flap system,” system,” said Michael. “The flaps have a tremendous amount of travel; fully extended they go down to 60 degrees, which is pure drag and enables t he Beaver to descend quickly at very slow speeds. Along with this, the design incorporates
droop ailerons, which droop at a 25 percent rate of the flap setting, so at 60 degrees of flaps you have 15 degrees of droop aileron per wing. This is a lot. It provides a massive amount of additional lift and slow speed capability. capability. But it also hinders aileron authority at slow speed. So much so, that with any flap setting greater than ‘takeoff’ setting, if you were to roll in full aileron, there would be no up aileron at all. The only thing initiating a bank is the down-turned aileron on the outside wing. This causes way more adverse yaw, yaw, and a tendency to get uncoordinated at slow speeds compared to other aircraft. Any Beaver pilot will tell you that the Beaver is a ‘rudder airplane,’ airplane,’ and this is a big reason why. why. It is crucial to maintain proper coordination especially with flaps while at slow speeds and low to the ground, which is where 90 percent of your flight is while you’re in a Beaver.” The Marcos admit they don’t use their Beaver for extreme bush operations all the time, but they are reassured in knowing that the available power and capability are there. “Stalls are nonevents,” said Michael. “It’s a very forgiving airplane to fly both in the seaplane and tailwheel configuration. With a steerable tail wheel and toe brakes, it doesn’t get much easier than that on landing or takeoff. On the water it ’s a different story; it totally depends on the type of floats you have. We have thoroughly enjoyed our Wipline 6100s. They’re a bit oversized for the airplane and provide great buoyancy, buoyancy, but most importantly they have big water rudders which are very tight and help greatly with confined space maneuvering.”
EAA AND SEAPLANE PILOTS ASSOCIATION SHARE PASSION FOR FLIGHT
EAA and the Seaplane Pilots Association (SPA) recently signed a memorandum of understanding that expands the organizations’ organizations’ joint efforts to bring the possibilities of flight to more people. “There is a common passion for flight that connects SPA and EAA, with our organizations sharing a significant number of members,” said Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO and chairman. “This memo of understanding sets the stage of the next step of cooperation between between our associations, as we must work together to sustain and grow interest in all forms of aviation.” The Seaplane Pilots Association’s primary focus is to promote safe seaplane operations and protect our privilege to share our nation’s waterways waterwa ys with recreational, governmental, and commercial operators. The agreement outlines specific areas where EAA and SPA will work together, including support of mutual membership goals, collaborating on advocacy issues, and joint opportunities to promote both organizations to the public. It also encompasses EAA’s continued support of seaplane base operations during the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh fly-in. EAA and SPA will create a joint working group to explore possibilities for joint activities and programs that could inspire youth and adults to get involved in flying, especially seaplane flying. The agreement also provides for increased visibility of each organization in the other’s outreach and communications channels. For more information information on the Seaplane Pilots Association visit visit www.SeaplanePilotsAssociation.org.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
ED HICKS
Michael said, for safety reasons, during operation from land it’s a good idea to let the aircraft accelerate to 60 knots to rotate, then pitch for 75 knots for best climb. There is a one-minute limitation at 2300 rpm for the engines, so once the plane is airborne the power has to be brought back. “For a seaplane it’s basically the same procedure,” he said. “As soon as you’ve completed a runup and you’re clear of any obstructions, the power is moved forward to the same power settings, the stick is held aft until you see the second of two nose rises as you get closer to getting on the step. Once the nose rises for the second time, the yoke can be moved forward to neutral, and very little effort is required to get the airplane to hop up onto the step. A lot of other seaplanes have a long ‘plowing’ period and require some horsing around to get it on the step; the Beaver rarely requires this. Once on the step, and in the ‘sweet spot,’ the Beaver will accelerate nicely, and typically we’re off the water in 30 seconds at the most. The Beaver is a surprisingly very dry airplane compared to other seaplanes; the prop has better clearance over the water than most floatplanes so prop erosion isn’t as big of an issue comparatively. And even while plowing, or on the step, the Beaver has a giant rudder, so it’s very responsive on the water during takeoff and landing.” According to Michael, landings have a bit more going on t han takeoff. You You have to be wary of power management with the radial engine; one of the most common things to watch out for is the shock cooling effect.
“In the Beaver there is so much airflow over the engine that even just putting the flaps down can induce shock cooling, due to the associated pitch change from applying flaps,” flaps,” Michael said. “Along with this, fast reduction in power and applying carb heat can also cause shock cooling pretty easily. Once you’ve got the nice easy smooth power reductions and flap application down pat its easy. easy. We fly the pattern at about 90 knots, and an approach at 75 knots initially, initially, slowing to 55-60 knots just before touchdown. On the water, it’s about the same, and I prefer to use a glassy water technique with power kept in most of the time; it helps with keeping the airplane on the step after landing to prevent long, slow water taxis.” Dave and Michael agree that flying the Beaver is very special, especially when they fly into an inaccessible body of water that you can only get to by seaplane. “In only 30-45 minutes you can be out of sight and sound of civilization — that’s my favorite part of flying the Beaver, especially when I get to show others some of the unseen places that only very few will ever experience,” experience,” Michael said. “The Beaver has a certain romance to it that all bushplanes aspire to be: the classic quintessential backcountry airplane. That’s the great thing about flying an airplane like this b ecause you just never know what new and unknown unknown adventure is just around the corner.” Jim Busha Busha, EAA 119684, is an avid pilot and longtime con-
tributor to EAA publications. He is EAA director of publications and editor of Warbirds and and Vintage Airplane magazines, and the owner of a 1943 Aeronca L-3 and Stinson L-5.
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COOL FLYING
NOT YOUR AVERAGE DAY IN THE COCKPIT
BY BETH E. STANTON
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MEET SOME PILOTS who are not content with the usual. They crave a challenge and are driven by the need to push their boundaries and seek new adventures. Every day greets them with new circumstances and people to learn from and serve. For these pilots, the extraordinary is ordinary as they fly in places and ways most of us can’t fathom. It took hard work and risks to get here. They fly in remarkably different ways, yet have achieved one common goal: making a living doing what they love.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK
firefightin firefi ghting g
AIR TRACTOR
“AS A KID, I knew I wanted want ed to have a job where I
spent my day flying cool airplanes,” said Mike Rhodes, Air Tractor production and R&D test pilot and firefighter. “I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of flying, and there are always places I can improve. Landing on a beautiful remote lake, scooping 800 gallons in 10 seconds, hauling it through the mountains, and dropping it on a wildfire is pretty fun.” Air Tractor manufactures the 802F Initial Attack Firefighter and the 802F Fire Boss amphibious scooper aerial firefighting aircraft. One has a tail wheel; the other is on floats. The amphibious Fire Boss is used in areas with close proximity to a scoopable water source and can make 20-40 trips between the fire and the water. water. A scoop, located in the keel of the float, pipes water from the floats to the fuselage and into the 800-gallon hopper. hopper. The Fire Boss is built at the Air Tractor factory in Texas, Texas, then retrofitted with amphibious floats designed by Wipaire. The tailwheel firefighter is loaded with retardant at a tanker base and delivers it to a fire. The agriculture and firefighting versions of Air Tractor 802s are nearly the same, with the exception of the equipment on the belly. belly. Fire gate computer-controlled hydraulic clamshell doors replace the sprayers, and the hopper tank in front of the cockpit holds water or fire retardant rather than spray chemicals. Air Tractor 802s are nimble tools in the aerial firefighting toolbox. With airspeeds approaching 200 mph, they are quick to dispatch and arrive at a fire. They are maneuverable in tight mountainous geography and can turn around in places that other tankers can’t get into. They are relatively low cost to operate compared with helicopters and large multiengine aerial tankers. When fighting fires, weather, weathe r, terrain, and traffic avoidance are constant challenges. Close proximity to the ground and making drops at 100 feet or less near the treetops requires constant focus. “Fires burn when it’s hot and windy, which are terrible flying conditions,” Mike said. “You’re “You’re flying in busy b usy airspace with half h alf a dozen other aircraft, using five different radios and communicating with five people at the same time.” The stakes are high. “We need to make accurate drops,” Mike said. “Our job can keep someone’s house from burning. We’re not just throwing water out; we are being ordered to drop it with pinpoint accuracy.” accuracy.” Steve Bailey is one of four Fire Boss instructors in the country, try, who spends fire season working in Minnesota, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska firefighting in the Fire Boss. “As you push the nose over going down the terrain, you try to time the release and acceleration to be on speed and on t arget where the guys want it,” Steve said. Flying through the smoke, he uses infrared to hunt for hot spots. “I enjoy trying to be precise. No two drops, or scoops, are the same.” What Steve loves most about his job is contributing to a meaningful purpose. “It’s important for me to have an objective and provide a service. Helping the men and women on the ground doing the real work is a good feeling. The air assets are tools; the folks on t he ground put fires out.”
Check out the digital edition of EAA Sport Aviation for a video about Matt Chapman. TRACTO R
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF AIR
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glacier pilot
ALASKA
to be an airline or corporate pilot. I need to have a job that challenges me me mentally and skills-wise, skills-wise,”” explained Patrick Dugan, EAA 775442. Flying Porters in Papua, Indonesia, exposed him to a type of flying that resonated with him. Upon returning home, he saw an online ad for K2 Aviation in Talkeetna, Alaska. 2017 marks his fifth season flying there. Patrick, a CFI, holds single-engine land and sea, and multiengine ratings. Additional training with K2 consisted of five hours in make and model, area of operation familiarization, and landing on glaciers. He flies a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 DHC -2 Beaver, Beaver, DHC-3T Turbine Otter, Cessna 185 (all on wheel skis), and a Cherokee Six. He loves flying the “quintessential bushplane” Beaver. Patrick said, “There is nothing like the sound of a radial engine coughing to life in the morning.” Patrick is a K2 training instructor and also transports mountain climbers to base camps and skiers, sn owboarders, and sightseers to glaciers. “Everybody is there to climb, fly, fly, and see Denali,” he said. He lands on glacier strips scattered throughout the Alaska, Chugach, Talkeetna, Ta lkeetna, and Tordrillo mountain ranges. Glacier ice is rough, full of crevasses, and constantly shifting. Planes land on the accumulated snow of the glacial cirques. The strips are typically one way in and out with no go-around option. Pilots land uphill to allow a shorter stop distance and take off downhill, gettin g help from gravity to accelerate. Certain light conditions cause the snow snow,, sky, and “I’M NOT CUT OUT
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background to blend together making it difficult to see where the ground starts. Three or four colorful plastic kiddie sleds stuck vertically in the snow identify the strip location, delineate takeoff and landing lanes, and act as a makeshift visual approach slope indicator. indicator. “I’m not going to say that it’s not dangerous. The best thing you learn when flying in Alaska is when to say ‘no.’ When I started, the owner told me that she doesn’t pay us to fly; she pays us to turn around. If you’re smart, that sticks with you,” Patrick said before explaining the considerations for safe landing. “Do I have two ways in and out? What are the weather weather,, temperature, and dew point spread? Do I have visible moisture? Is there a tailwind on final? Can I see the sleds or tracks?” Snow conditions can change on an hourly basis in a single day. He continued, “You have to be tactical and smart when you’ve got two of the three biggest mountains in North America 8 miles apart and you’re flying between them.” Since roads service only about 10 percent of the state, airplanes are a utilitarian part of everyday life in Alaska. “Everyone is a pilot,” Patrick said. “That diminutive person sitting next to you likely has more knowledge, skills, and abilities than you do. A person with a big ego up there is not going to last long.” Patrick lives half the year in Los Angeles, California, and looks forward to going back to Talkeetna every year. year. “Alaska is one of the most spectacular spect acular places on the th e planet. Getting to share that with people never gets old.”
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PATRICK DUGAN
works,” Jody said, “We’re using science to do the job.”
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF JODY FISCHER
There are two types of summer seeding to help increase rainfall and/or minimize hail: VFR base and IFR cloud t op. “Out in front and underneath the cloud it’s really dark and ominous-looking,” ominous-looking,” Jody said. “On top, you’re up along the edge of the bright white cloud. It ’s super bright. Sometimes sunglasses aren’t enough, and you’re still squinting.” Winter seeding is flying IFR in the soup, monitoring aircraft icing. Pilots fly a racetrack pattern waiting for waves of moisture. Once super-cooled liquid water begins going over the airplane, they begin seeding. Pilots fly a Cessna 340 and King Air C90 that are equipped for known icing in the winter and a Seneca II in the summer. There are no modifications to the planes except for the seeding flare racks. Ejectable and burn-in-place flares containing silver iodide are mounted on the belly and wings. The cardboard flares burn up within the clouds in 30 seconds. Pilots require a commercial certificate with multiengine and instrument ratings and also fly as first officer for one season to master the techniques and meteorology necessary for safe and efficient operation. Jody has worked at Weather Modification for 17 years and now trains pilots how to fly around the weather safely. “It’s exciting to get up there in the bright sun and battle the thunderstorm,” he said. “That’s the most fun .”
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GRAND CANYON
served lunch and champagne. The ever-shift-
helicopte helic opterr pilot first time in the Grand Canyon,” Brandon Edeal said. “You’re giving these two things wrapped up in one package. There is this aha moment when they get into the helicopter and experience one of the great natural wonders of the world. It’s almost too much for them to take in.” Taking off from Boulder City, Nevada, Brandon flies his passengers over the largest man-made lake in the western hemisphere, Lake Mead, then S-turns over the Hoover Dam. Entering the Grand Canyon from the west, they fly south of the Colorado River. Landing on the floor of the canyon 4,000 feet below the rim, passengers sit at a picnic table and are
calls with position reports are critical for safety and separation. During peak season there can be up to 100 helicopters operating in and around the canyon. “It’s a high-traffic area, but it’s safe and structured,” Brandon said. “Being around that many moving helicopters and seeing how smoothly they flow in and out of there every day is amazing.” Brandon served in the t he U.S. Army as a Black Hawk crew chief. After the th e Army, Army, he earned his commercial helicopter and CFI certificates, as well as CFII, advanced ground instructor and A&P ratings. For him, every day flying in the canyon is an exciting challenge with different weather conditions and people. He’s observed that many people are afraid of being in a helicopter. “It is so awesome to see the change from fear to excitement once we transition from hover into flight,” he said. “I get to share the aviation experience with people who have never been in a helicopter before. There is no other feeling like it. This is what I’ve worked all these years to do. Getting paid to do something I would do for nothing is awesome. awesome.””
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID TINGEY
barnstorm barn storming ing
VINTAGE VINT AGE BIPLANE BIPLANE tour; it’s a flight experience,” said Rob Lock, describing flying passengers in his New Standard D-25 opencockpit biplane. At 600 feet off the ground, he re-creates the enchantment of the golden age of flight. Flying shallow, then steeper bank turns, he follows with a lazy-eight. Flying low and slow, his passengers peer over the side at 50 mph, wind whipping their faces. Rob found pieces of two New Standard D-25 biplanes in 1990. To his knowledge, there were only two New Standards still flying, which made them very rare, but more important was their size. At 6 foot 10, Rob wanted an open-cockpit biplane with more legroom than the Stearman he was flying. Designed specifically for barnstorming, the D-25 was capable of carrying four passengers in the large front cockpit. After retiring from professional basketball in 1996, Rob went to Sun ’n Fun and saw an airworthy
“IT’S NOT A SIGHTSEEING
New Standard D-25 that was busy hauling rides. The planets had aligned. It was time for him to restore the New Standards and go into the barnstorming business. The movie The Great Waldo Pepper told the story of exactly what Rob imagined doing. He watched it 10 times. Tongue-in-cheek, he decided to take on the persona of Waldo Wright, a mythical third Wright bother, and named his enterpri se Waldo Wright’s Wright’s Flying Service. Some people thought he was crazy to take on such an outlandish project. For four years, he poured his time, talent, and resources into his dream. “There was no other choice but for it to work,” he said. Rob has been in the barnstorming business now for 17 years. He also offers a popular hands-on flight lesson in his World War II Stearman trainer. Due to the cost of insurance and operating the airplanes, he flies year-round, based at Gilbert Field and Kermit Week’s Week’s Fantasy of Flight in Florida in winter and the Air Zoo in Michigan in the summer. “I often hear, ‘That is the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life,’” Rob said. “That is huge. I mean, how many professions are there that
can evoke that type of reaction? I’m able to use my biplanes to create a memory and experience that will last a lifetime.” Rob has commercial and A&P/IA certificates. His latest project is restoring a Travel Travel Air E-4000 on a set of vintage EDO floats that he aims to have flying by the end of 2017. 2017. The total rebuild has proven quite a challenge. No one has flown an open-cockpit biplane on floats as part of a commercial operation in the United States in decades. “It’s not like you can go watch and see how someone else is doing it. But to me, that is where the fun is,” Rob said. “The thrill of making something from … close to nothing has been an amazing life achievement for me. The New Standards have opened doors and given me the opportunity to meet some pretty incredible people. They have also fulfilled my childhood dream of becoming a professional pilot and having a very cool aviation job. Who knows where I would be right now had I not been on the lookout for a biplane big enough that I could fit in. Sometimes, fate has it all planned out for you. All you have to do is listen.” Beth E. Stanton, EAA 1076326, is a competition aero-
batic pilot and president of Northern California Chapter 38 of the International Aerobatic Club. She can be reached at
[email protected].
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ROB LOCK
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM GLOWASKI
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ormally, business jets really don’t belong in ormally, Sport Aviation. Aviation. They’re useful, to be sure, and, to most of us, indisputably vital to our economy. They can be fun to fly fly,, but they ’re not flown for fun. It’s safe to say that many EAA members will never fly or fly in one, and most will never own one. It’s tempting to say, then, that Mark Holt, EAA 426333, is not like most EAA members, but that wouldn’t be true. He’s actually a lot like pretty much every other EAA member: resourceful, generous, easygoing, quick to laugh, and utterly and incurably passionate about flying. He just happens to have the resources that most of us could only dream of, and he devotes those resources not only to flying and having fun, but to the noble pursuits of supporting and inspiring wounded veterans. His jet, on the other hand, is is unlike unlike any other business jet on the ramp. Most Most airplanes like this are meant for just that — serious business — and, let’s face it, serious usually means boring. N100FZ, Mark’s 2010 Embraer Phenom 100, better known as the the Millennium Millennium Phenom,, is anything but. When it was parked on Boeing Centennial Phenom Plaza at AirVenture Oshkosh 2016, its sci-fi livery caused more than a few double takes, and always seemed to draw a crowd.
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At first glance, Mark looks like he should be out working on an oil rig somewhere with a steel girder thrown over one shoulder for no apparent reason. He’s a bear of a man with a ruddy complexion and a dash of gray in an otherwise ginger beard. It’s only on the second and subsequent glances that you spot the slight, wry smile and hear the big hearty laugh that tells you that, if you like airplanes, you’ve got a friend for life. And it ’s not until you see his airplane — or at least his Star Wars-themed Wars -themed flight jacket — that you realize that he’s also a big nerd, in all of the best possible ways. Mark was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1955, and credits his dad for his love of aviation. “My father was in aircraft lease and finance. He had a real fondness for aviation. Growing up, I was always around airplanes,” he said. “Life went on and I … kind of got away from aviation, but my dad never did.” In 1960, Mark’s parents put him in the back of the family Cessna 170 and took him
CLEAR LAKE, IOWA To many, the Mason City Airport (KMCW) in Clear Lake, Iowa, is tragically famous as the s ite of the crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P.. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, along with J.P pilot Roger Peterson. The accident happened on February 3, 1959, when the three musicians were on tour. Holly had hired Peterson to fly them to their next stop in Minnesota in a Beech Bonanza, which crashed shortly after takeoff at night in bad weather. Singer Don McLean later immortalized the event in his song “American Pie,” referring to it as “the day the music died.” Today,, the Mason City Airport is a very different Today place. It’s got a clean, c lean, modern FBO, two large asphalt runways in excellent condition, plus some very usable grass, and it’s home to nearly 70 airplanes with more hangars under construction. Simply put, it’s one of “those” airports, where everybody knows everybody (and borrows their stuff), everyone’s hangar is open, and there’s always a buzz of activity, with EAA Chapter 94 hosting multiple events throughout the year. The activity crescendos on the third Thursday of every month when the grills come out and the airport tenants host a fly-in barbecue, serving hundreds of people who fly in in all types of airplanes, and many more who drive in from the surrounding communities. The music may have died in Clear Lake, but general aviation aviation is alive and well.
on a fateful flying picnic to what was then the Winnebago County Airport in Oshkosh, a trip he’s never forgotten. “Every time I smell 100LL … and that one distinct aroma that every airplane has of that vintage, I instantly go back to that flight,” he said. This trip also sticks out in his mind because, in preparation, he bought his first pair of aviator sunglasses. “I thought I was cool!” Mark also spent some time visiting with a well-known airport manager in Oshkosh. “Steve Wittman was applying for a loan for … the Tailwind, and my father was the only guy that believed in him enough to loan him the money, and they became good friends,” he recalled, before downplaying the name-drop. “That and 5 bucks gets me a cup of coffee anywhere.” The family moved to a farm in Postville, Iowa, in the ’60s to raise horses. There was a chemical depot nearby, and one day, a rail car sprung a leak and a fog of anhydrous ammonia roiled over the Holts’ pastures, wiping out an apple orchard and killing a few horses. The family was devastated, but they packed up and, using their insurance settlement, moved to
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM
GLOWASKI, ERIN BRUEGG EN
Mark’s hangar is the ultimate pilot cave, decorated with memorabilia and set dressing that evoke his passion for all types of flight, as well well as as his love love of of adventu adventure. re.
Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1968. Mark’s dad refocused his business to produce ingredients for animal feed and, in this period, started flying a Rockwell Commander and then a Cessna 310Q. “I flew with him on business trips,” Mark said. “He would go out and call on customers, so I got to observe using a private plane for business travel.” In 1973, the year before he graduated from high school, Mark felt the call to serve his country and took a deferred enlistment in the U.S. Coast Guard. By the time he graduated in 1974, the USCG had begun downsizing, and as Mark describes it, he wasn’t necessarily fit for duty anyway. “I was WTF, way too fat,” he remembered with a laugh, “I just said … I’m going to go on to school, and ended up getting married and having a family.” Mark followed his father’s footsteps into the animal feed business, eventually working for a U.S.-based U.S.-based agricultural division of Danish bioscience company Chr. Hansen. Mark was working with a product that was used in the creation of silage, grass, or other green fodder that is stored in airtight conditions and used as feed during the winter when cattle and other ruminants can’t graze. This was at a time when many farmers in the United States were starting to move away from the tall traditional silos and using low and flat silage bunkers instead. “And they were mismanaging the heck out of ’em,” Mark recalled. “We made a …
product that helped silage ferment, [but] it couldn’t stop gross mismanagement. You had all these factors; it had to be done right.” As farmers were struggling to learn to properly manage their silage bunkers, Mark’s company would send scientists out to customers’ farms to tell them what they were doing wrong. As you might expect, this didn’t always go over very well. “All they would do is piss off the farmer, and we’d end up in … litigation over something, and I finally said, ‘Look, no more scientists making the original call; we’ll take care of it,’” Mark recounted. “And by ‘we’ I meant me.” Company policy dictated that someone needed be on-site no more than 48 hours, preferably within 24 hours, after a farmer called for help. One day in 1992, while he was working with a farmer in Nebraska, a call came in that meant he had to be in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the next day. “I drove … home Thursday night, got in … at 11 o’clock, got up at 4 in the morning, and drove to Green Bay,” he said. “I swore I was getting my pilot’s license.” He bought a learnto-fly kit from Cessna and hit the books. He hooked up with Lemoyne Ellingson, an exnaval aviator who’d trained the Navy’s first jet pilots while serving with JTU-1 in Pensacola, Florida. Lem had a Cessna 172 based on a grass strip in Northwood, Iowa, and Mark started training with him right away. away. He has especially fond memories of those days.
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“I’ll never forget the morning, it was the morning I soloed, riding my motorcycle on a beautiful day … no wind, sunny, and I thought how lucky am I?” he said. “[I] get to ride a Harley-Davidson, Harley-Davidson, which is analogous to flying on the ground, and I’m going to go hop in an airplane and fly this morning. I just felt like the luckiest person in the world.” He used his company’s tuition reimbursement program to get his ratings, and before long, he was flying to those all-important farm service calls. The airplane didn’t just get him there faster; it influenced his relationship with his customers as well. “You “You land an airplane airplan e in a guy’s guy ’s hayfield,” he said, “have him hop in the right seat, give him your camera, put the strap around his neck, let him open the window, and take pictures of his farm; by the time you land that airplane you guys are best friends.” Mark bought a Piper Archer and from that moment on knew that aviation was going to be key to his success in business. In 1998, he sold nearly everything, took out two mortgages on his house, bought the feed-drying plant his father had started from their family trust, and launched his own business to produce all-natural animal health products. Varied Industries, eventually known as ViCOR, was born. When Mark was trying to sell to potential customers, he discovered something interesting, and powerful: If he could get them to come and tour his factory, factory, most of them would buy from him. Of those who came for a tour, a
staggering 90 percent became customers. By this time, his Archer had turned into a Cessna 310, and Mark started using that to transport potential customers. This was obviously considerably faster than driving, and, in many cases, because he could go direct to and from smaller airports, it was faster than flying commercial. The 310 eventually gave way to a Piper Saratoga, but its low service ceiling made it a poor choice for flying in potential icing conditions, so Mark traded up to a Piper Malibu. “I loved it,” he said, “but … [after] the second go-around on cylinders on that engine, I said ‘screw it.’” Mark was ready for a turbine, so he bought a Daher-Socata TBM 700 and put 1,500 hours on it flying all around North America in short order. order. After one flight, however, a friend of his gave him some food for thought.
VETERANS AIRLIFT COMMAND
The Veterans Airlift Command (VAC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides free air transportation to wounded veterans and their families. The aircraft owners and pilots are volunteers, and the organization relies on private donations and corporate sponsorships to support their mission. Founder Walt Fricke was injured flying a helicopter during the Vietnam War when he was just 19 and spent seven months in a hospital in Kentucky. Kentucky. He didn’t really start recovering until his parents and fiancée flew in to be by his side, and that experience stuck with him. Nearly 40 years later, he founded the VAC in 2006, and since that time more than 2,000 pilots have flown thousands of wounded veterans on missions of compassion and mercy. Mark’s STOL 182 is not your average Skylane.
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“One day, we landed here, and we had a bunch of … farmers in it,” he said. “My banker … came walking over, and he saw one [big] guy after another getting out of that airplane. And he looked at me and goes, ‘Flew that airplane over Lake Michigan, huh? Single engine? If you’re going to haul that many customers, you need two motors. I’m just sayin’.’” sayin’.’”
SPECS
AIRCRAFT MAKE & MODEL:
2010 Embraer EMB-500 Phenom 100 LENGTH: 42 feet, 1 inch WINGSPAN:
40 feet, 4 inches
HEIGHT: 14 feet, 3 inches MAXIMUM TAKEOFF WEIGHT: EMPTY WEIGHT:
10,582 pounds
7,132 pounds
FUEL CAPACITY: 2,804 pounds SEATS:
6 (2 crew, 4 passengers)
POWERPLANT MAKE & MODEL:
2 Pratt & Whitney PW6 17F-E THRUST: 1,730 pounds per engine CRUISE SPEED/FUEL CONSUMPTION:
405 KTAS, 668 pounds per hour
That’s when he bought the Phenom. For the next few years, the jet was the backbone of the business, moving employees around, transporting Mark to meetings and conferences, and, of course, bringing in customers for those all-important plant tours. At this point, the most daring thing about the airplane’s appearance was a bold green stripe down the fuselage that broke up the otherwise all-white livery. He also made good use of his hangar, which, with its kitchen and full bar, conference table, and creative adventurous-expedition-themed set dressing — imagine a pilot cave built by Disney Imagineers — proved perfect for entertaining and closing deals. In 2014, citing long-term human health concerns, the FDA announced a voluntary ban on the routine use of antibiotics in livestock, except where necessary for the animal’s health under the care of a veterinarian. At the time, it was anticipated that ban would become mandatory by 2018. Mark’s company ViCOR, with its line of all-natural animal health products, which had grown to 80 employees and had customers in 75 countries, suddenly became very popular. popular. Mark was inundated with offers to sell, but it was the Church & Dwight Company Inc., owners of Arm & Hammer, among other brands, who made him the one he just
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM
GLOWASKI, ERIN BRUEGG EN
couldn’t refuse. But there was one asset they didn’t want: the jet. “I didn’t want to give it up,” up,” he said. “I loved flying that jet.” So Mark started looking around for other business opportunities, some way to justify owning the Phenom, when a friend of his called him out. “He said, ‘Mark, do you really want to get another job? You won the lottery! Why don’t you just … enjoy your life?’” Mark recounted. “So I bought a farm, like a moron.” More importantly, however, he kept the jet and started looking seriously at how to use it. That’s when he met Walt Fricke, EAA 9010853, T-28 pilot for the Trojan Horsemen aerobatic team and the chairman, CEO, and founder of the Veterans Veterans Airlift Command. When Walt told him about the VAC’s mission to provide transportation for injured or disabled veterans, Mark’s response was characteristically short and to the point: “Well that’s cool!” He knew that he wanted to be part of it, and that he didn’t want to do it in just any boring old jet. He started thinking about paint schemes, and initially decided on doing a black and gray “digital” camouflage, inspired by a Navy F/A-18 he’d seen recently. Then, based on a recommendation from Wipaire, he reached out to John Stahr, EAA 714251, of Artistic Aviation in Eugene, Oregon.
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John, a wizard with an airbrush, didn’t ask him what color he wanted or anything along those lines. Instead, he asked Mark to tell him how he feels when flying the Phenom. “I feel like I just left the starship Enterprise up in orbit, and I’m descending to the planet’s surface in a shuttle,” Mark responded. responded. From there, the two men launched into a pop-culture brainstorming session about their mutual appreciation of Star Trek and Star Wars. They exchanged ideas, then, with the help of Ken Kaminski Flying Colors Aviation in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the airplane was prepped for paint. John spent the next 10 days lying on his back on a scaffold working his magic. Mark refused to look at the work in progress. “That’s like going in and watching somebody get t heir liver replaced,” replaced,” he said. “Hope to see you when you get out!” When it was finally time for the unveiling, Mark’s initial two-word response was as emphatically enthusiastic as it is unprintable. The airplane was truly transformed, covered in details and an inside joke or two from nose to tail, and all of it airbrushed by hand. The Phenom now had laser cannons and faux damage from phaser blasts. There are exhaust ports on the wings, and the fuel filler cap calls for either Jet A or dilithium crystals. The engine nacelles offer a glimpse of the matter/antimatter reaction taking place in the airplane’s dual warp cores. Every surface is covered with conduit and access panels and fasteners artistically rendered with a depth that makes it nearly impossible to figure out what’s real and what’s paint. The vertical stabilizer features an X-wing on one side and the Millennium Falcon Falcon on the other, though both spacecraft have a Phenom cockpit grafted on.
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The entry door proudly displays the seal of Star Trek’s United Federation of Planets above a warning placard that reads “Caution: Airlock Engaged.” Engaged.” Under the cockpit window on the left side, the name “Han Red Solo Cup” is stenciled, a nod not only to Star Wars’ Han Solo, but also to Mark’s workplace nickname of “Red Leader,” not to mention the post-flight drinkware of choice in his hangar. Sharp eyes will also spot a flux capacitor that looks like it was plucked straight out of the DeLorean from Back to the Future Future. Mark didn’t forget his initial idea of a militaryinspired livery, either, either, as the airplane also sports “star and bar” insignias as well as D-Day invasion stripes. Mark’s friend Doug Rozendaal, after his first look at the unconventional new paint job, said, “I can’t believe believe you did this. I can believe you did it, but I can’t believe anybody would do this!” Doug admits he was skeptical at first, but says that Mark pulled it off and now calls the design “spectacular.”
ABLE FLIGHT
Able Flight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded in 2006 by Charles Stites. As stated on its website, Able Flight’s mission is “… to offer people with disabilities a unique way to challenge themselves through flight and aviation career training, and by doing so, gain greater self-confidence and self-reliance.” Each year,, it awards full-ride scholarships for multiple year students to travel to a partner university in Indiana or Ohio where they attend an accelerated sport pilot training program. program. In addition, it offers multiple other aviation aviation-related -related scholarships to people with disabilities. When not flying veterans veterans in the Phenom, Mark splashes around the country in his beautiful 1957 de Havilland Beaver. Beaver.
The one thing that Mark didn’t anticipate was the impact of the striking new scheme on his flight times. “I thought it would make the plane faster,” faster,” he said, facetiously, “[but] it added an hour to every fuel stop!” Mark says the airplane has been a hit wherever he takes it, especially at its debut appearance at Oshkosh in 2016, 56 years after that first visit in the family 170. With that, the airplane was truly mission ready. Mark’s first flight for the VAC happened a month later, when he transported a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant and his daughter home to Wisconsin from Greenville, Texas. The Marine’s spine was shattered, and he suffered a traumatic brain injury when an enemy combatant detonated an IED under the mine-clearing vehicle he was driving. When they got to their destination, Mark’s passenger mentioned in passing that he’d always wanted to learn to fly, but didn’t man with Able Flight, and he’s expected to begin flight training with a full scholarship soon, if he hasn’t already. already. Mark doesn’t just fly the Phenom these
“The idea that I can throw a fishing pole in the Beaver … I get in it, I listen to it pop to life, and I just feel like I’m a bush pilot in the Alaskan wilderness,” he said, a tad wistfully. Mark’s love of flying stems from the things it enables him to do. “I think what really excites me about aviation is the possibilities that it opens up; it ’s all about adventure and experience,” experience,” he said. “It’s just the idea that I can do it, so I do. It opens up a whole new world for me.” me.” Of course, one of those things it’s enabled him to do is to support those who serve his country in ways he couldn’t have imagined when he chose college over the Coast Guard 40 years ago. “I always felt like I left something on the table when I didn’t go into the military,” military,” he said, “so I view VAC as my way of serving those who have served us.”
Mark’s dedication to the VAC cause continues to grow, and at the time of this writing, he’s already scheduled multiple additional missions. He’s also hoping to expand his efforts and fly in support of disabled kids, making plans to fly with them at air shows and offer other opportunities t o inspire the youngest among us. So, if you should happen to see the Millennium Phenom Phenom out and about, cruising at warp speed, know that Mark’s not just hauling spice on the Kessel run; he’s transporting a very important passenger, passenger, flying him or her (back) to a better future. 638979, is a total nerd. He’s also Hal Bryan, EAA Lifetime 638979, senior editor for EAA digital and print content and publications, co-author of two books, and a lifelong pilot and aviation geek. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at halbryan or e-mail him at at
[email protected] .
Helmets are provided for passenger use at no extra charge.
floats and a 2004 Cessna 182. True to form,
it for desert flying adventures, local hops, As for the Beaver, Beaver, Mark embraces the romance of flying a classic floatplane into a remote lake to do a little fishing.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM
GLOWASKI, ERIN BRUEGGEN
www.eaa.org 79 79
F E A T U R E
SKY S
I
M
P
L
TE I
F
I
E
D
JOHN ROBERTS AND HIS HIGH�TECH APPROACH TO A ���YEAR�OLD ���YEAR�OLD DESIGN
BY BUDD DAVISSON
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March 2017
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TYSON RIN INGER
The Skyotë is most often compared to the Bücker Jungmiester in the way it does precise aerobatics.
www.eaa.org 8 811
THIS IS MORE THAN A TALE OF NEW MEETING OLD.
The landing gear was reportedly designed to give vintage looks and John modified it to give tunability.
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IN FACT, IT IS THE TALE of a man with
very new age skills and experience coming face to face with a truly old-fashioned machine that, strangely enough, embodies otherworldly complexity. complexity. The short version is that he beats that complexity into submission with electronic digits. The even shorter story is that you can’t stop a man like John Roberts, EAA 371145, who is really passionate about a specific flying machine. He’s going to make it happen, no matter what. Oh, and one other thing: He not only made it happen with his own airplane, but he developed a concept that will make a difficult-to-build airplane doable for mere mortals, and in the process helps support a children’s home. The dimensions of this particular tale keep growing and growing. Theoretically, John is retired. Never mind that he puts in more time working now than most people do in the prime of their careers. That’s just his nature. And the Pete Bartoe-designed Skyotë kicked that natural “do things” bent into high gear. However, However, first we have to defin e the Skyotë. (Pronounced Sky-yo-tee, accent on the “yo” if you’re from the West, Sky-yotay, tay, accent on the “tay” if from t he far Southwest, or Sky-yoat if you’re from the East. Or something like that. It’s hard to remember which.) The Skyotë is one of those designs that has flittered around the edges of t he homebuilt community since the 1970s, when Bartoe, a professional engineer, introduced it. From a public relations point of view, the airplane was an instant success, garnering several magazine covers, lots of stories, and some very complimentary pilot reports. However, from a building point of view, it went nowhere fast, and engineer/builder John, of Clover, South Carolina, can tell you why. “I ordered a set of plans from Pete Bartoe, and when I received them, I immediately understood why there were only 12 registered Skyotës after nearly 40 years. Whew! Ta Talk lk about dense,” he said. “These plans are quite a challenge for even experienced blueprint readers. It seems that the more important the information is, the deeper it is buried. However, However, I also realized that the Skyotë was an exquisite airplane, and I wanted one!”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TYSON RIN INGER
John Roberts wanted to build the airplane so badly that he digitized all of the plans for the Skyotë and developed CAD/CAM programs for suppliers to quickly manufacture parts that had previously been difficult for homebuilders to build.
John had just finished an RV-7 and had an empty workshop, which is a temptation too strong for many builders to resist. “While looking for my next project, project , I stumbled across across the Skyotë PIREP on www. John said. “Further “ Further research AirBum.com, AirBum.com,” ” John led me to www.Skyote.org, Mike Kukulski’s excellent Skyotë resource site. I soon realized that the Skyotë was a very special airplane. Professionally designed, +9 g , -6 g , aerobatic, and light-sport pilot eligible. Great early flying reports from Davisson and Hoover made it that much more tempting. Not only that, but it looked great in pictures. Still, no one I knew had ever seen one! I wanted one.” Do we see a recurring theme here? He wanted one. But, he went at it differently than most homebuilders do. Rather than cleaning off the bench and ordering in a ton of tubing and sheet metal of various types, he listened to his prior experience and let it guide him. In his case, it was his experience and personal way of attacking projects that took him down the fabled path less traveled.
Remembering how he first evaluated the project he said, “It was obvious that building a Skyotë using traditional saw, sand, drill methods would be a monumental fabrication project. The Skyotë requires the fabrication of more than 600 flat stock components using 11 different material thicknesses and three different material types. However, I also knew that the use of CAD and water-jet cutting of flat sheet components could save many hundreds of hours of tedious fabrication while yielding quality and accuracy not achievable by manual methods.” Learning to use computer-aided design (CAD) was a bucket list item for John that he’d missed out on when it first began gaining popularity, but the Skyotë project offered a reason to learn. “I have actually become somewhat competent with 3-D CAD,” CAD,” he said. “The exquisite, but elusive, design hidden in the prickly plans has been magically revealed, and components for the full airframe are readily available. available. What was once a massive fabrication job for the Skyotë builder is now a reasonable assembly project.” project.”
These plans are quite a challenge for even experienced blueprint readers. It seems that the more important the information is, the deeper it is buried. However, I also realized that the Skyotë was an exquisite airplane, and I wanted one!
John’s plan was to create models and components for two aircraft — one for himself and one for his friend Glenn Bridges — but after Glenn’s plane flew, he began thinking b igger. igger.
www.eaa.org 83 83
“I [began] to consider requests to make parts available for other Skyotë builders,” he said. “There is a certain strain of engineers/ designers who feel compelled and take pride in working exceptionally hard to simplify and systematize things to make it easier for the next guy. In spite of my attempts to resist, this lifelong compulsion prevailed, so here we are in the middle of some kind of hybrid business model combining the past and the future. Maybe such a model can breathe life into the Skyotë, which is a really exceptional airplane.” airplane.” John decided to allow the CAD files used to make components for his plane to be used by the shops to make components for other builders. “These components, however, are available only to owners of legitimate, original, unused, registered Skyotë plans, which are available from Pete Bartoe via Aircraft Spruce. CAD files are not shared with b uilders, but I do provide a 100-plus or minus page plans supplement,” he said. “For Skyotë builders, the price of admission to have the use of my work is a direct contribution of 5 percent of the component cost to a very worthy cause: The Epworth Children’s Home of Columbia, South Carolina. I have been involved with Epworth for many years and can attest to the life-changing services provided to children and families.” Although an interest in aviation had always been part of John’s life, he didn’t seriously get into it until in his early 40s. He, like so many others at that stage of life, was busy raising a family and growing a business. Eventually learning to fly, he worked a series of airplanes (a Cheetah and several A36 Bonanzas) into his business. When he looked over the fence that separates sport aviation from the more serious cross-country type, he found himself the owner of a Waco YMF and a series of homebuilts including the RV-7A RV-7A he built along with a friend, Les Kanna, which was the precursor to the Skyotë. There is little to no doubt that the way he looked at the Skyotë was very much affected
by his professional background. To a certain extent he appears to have viewed the airplane as a challenge to take what he knew how to do in manufacturing and apply the principles to homebuilding. “The concept of developing matched hole parts through CAD/CAM was really fascinating to me,” he said. “We hadn’t made very many Skyotë components when I started assembling things. I wanted to start putting parts together because I was interested and excited to see if it all ‘ worked.’ worked.’ Of course, the beauty of modeling components in 3-D CAD is that they can all be test fit in virtual model space; virtual model space is great, but I wanted to see them in real-world ‘workshop space.’” As part of the project, he had given his CAD data for the fuselage to Don VanRaay of VR3 Engineering, which produces the precut, pre-fit tubing kits for a number of rag and tube airplanes. The fuselage for the Skyotë is much more complicated than expected because no corners were cut in designing it to be as light as possible. To this end, Bartoe utilized the same structural concepts the designers of the Bücker series of aerobatic biplanes did: They took full advantage of the fact that two smaller tubes can be arranged in such a way that they are lighter than a single bigger tube doing the same job. This saves weight at the cost of increasing the parts count of t he fuselage considerably and means far more tubing joints to be properly dressed and welded than a “normal” biplane of that size would require. The VR3 tubing is CNC cut to exact dimensions so the tubes literally click together. “Within the first year I had developed a 3-D jig for the VR3 fuselage tub es, and Dale Doane of Doane Precision Frames had TIG welded my fuselage,” John said. “Dale has subsequently developed precision tooling for the 4130 tubular fuselage, landing gear, and tail feathers. I had also developed waterjet-cut wing spar drill jigs and had fabricated a complete set of spars. These provided the perfect real-world test bed for all of the fittings, tabs, and brackets that
Top to bottom:
Wood or metal propellers can be used. The Skyotë can use engines in the 85-115 hp range. Fold-down doors give access to the form-fitting cockpit Dozens of flying wires (tie rods) give a clean, but light structure.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY TYSON RIN INGER
would ultimately be attached to the fuselage and spars. I had about 80 percent of the waterjet-cut components on hand by the end of the first year. year. Those were custom cut by Jonathon Pritchard of Pritchard Technologies Technologies to my DXF CAD files. The remaining challenge was to develop methods to accurately bend many of the components so that they remained ‘matched hole’ after bending. With the help of 3-D CAD and my RV-7 building partner, Les Kanna, I now have purpose-built bending tooling and provide the bending service for those who want it after buying the flat parts from Pritchard.” The outrigger landing gear is reputed to have been designed by Bartoe simply because he liked t he old-timey appearance. And it does have a certain “look” to it . The design calls for a traditional bungee cord shock system in the vertical tub es, but John wanted to have a “tunable” shock system with improved reliability. reliability. So, he designed a shock strut that uses urethane die stripper donuts in compression. The design allows for adjustable spring rate, preload, and ride height, none of which were available in the plans design. Right now, John said, the deck angle is 14 degrees, which is steeper than we see today but not an unusual angle for something designed to look very 1930ish. Part of this angle comes from the Grove 600-6 wheels that are stopped by Grove brakes with bolt-on axles. The tiny airframe makes the 600-6 tires look bigger than usual, all in keeping with its historical look. The wings of the Skyotë are not what is normally expected on a biplane: the structure is entirely aluminum with a lit tle 4130 steel mixed in (tip bows, etc.). The construction is more or less traditional for aluminum wings, but the 7.19-degree sweepback (note the accuracy Bartoe designed to) complicates every joint. According to John, “The Skyotë uses a fabricated five-piece aluminum main spar in which the web is sandwiched between upper and lower/front and rear 90-degee aluminum angle caps. The aft three-piece
SPECIFICATIONS
(As measured on N88NX) LENGTH: 16 feet, 3 inches WINGSPAN: 20 feet HEIGHT: 6 feet, 8 inches WING AREA: 123 square feet CABIN WIDTH: 20-1/4 inches CABIN LENGTH: 39 inches seat back to rudders, 25 inches seat back to panel MAXIMUM GROSS WEIGHT: 975 pounds EMPTY WEIGHT: 656 pounds (full electric with starter and alternator) USEFUL LOAD: 319 pounds FUEL CAPACITY: 15 gallons (No. 88), 12 gallons (per plans) SEATS: 1 POWERPLANT MAKE & MODEL: Continental O-200 HORSEPOWER: 110 PROPELLER: Sensenich 72-inch diameter by 42-inch pitch (climb prop) CRUISE SPEED: 90 knots ENDURANCE AT �� PERCENT ESTIMATED: 2 hours, 15 minutes ENDURANCE AT �� PERCENT ESTIMATED: 3 hours TOP SPEED �V NE �: 137 knots LANDING SPEED: 50 knots TAKEOFF ROLL: 300 feet RATE OF CLIMB AT GROSS: 1,200 fpm Plans are available at www.AircraftSpruce.com.
spar has a web, with upper and lower 90-degree caps on only the aft side. For No. No. 88, I made CAD models locating holes in the spars to create waterjet-cut steel drill jigs that run full length on each panel. All five spar parts were sandwiched between the jig plates, and then every hole in each spar assembly was drilled in one session.” Top to bottom: The 600-6 tires look big on such a tiny airframe.
The airplane is perfect for fun flying. The flying wire/landing gear attach points are strong, light, easy to inspect and delightfully funky.
www.eaa.org 8 85 5
John said Pritchard now offers a “TechBuilt” spar with the holes waterjet cut in each component making the drill jigs u nnece ssary. “The waterjet-cut spar fittings match up and Cleco to the spars ready for drilling up
to final size,” he said. “The NACA 2412 (modified) ribs come preformed from Pete Bartoe via Aircraft Spruce. They are formed by Usher Precision in Forest Grove, Oregon, which forms ribs for a number of kit companies.”
The wings and fuselage use Ceconite and Stewart Systems’ waterborne paint/adhesive system, but the ailerons use Oratex iron-on covering and Stewart’s paint. When it came to the engine, John initially installed a Jabiru six-cylinder model but became concerned about cylinder head cooling, so he changed over to a Jack Moore Moore (Waxhaw, North Carolina) custom-built O-200 that uses C-85 pistons and a C-90 cam. He reports it to be smooth with very little oil consumption, runs cool, and looks good poking out from behind the handformed aluminum nose bowl. John’s good friend Bob Cabaniss made the first flight at Rock Hill Airport in South Carolina in March of 2016. Then John took over. “Since Skyotë No. 88 had already been around the patch a few times before my first flight, I already knew that she had good manners, so there was no fear of the unknown,” John said. “I knew every component, nut, bolt, screw, fitting, wire, goof-up, slip-up, doover in the airplane. Also, since I designed it to fit me, I was very comfortable in the cockpit. Taxiing out, it all felt weirdly familiar, like it felt a thousand times before in my dreams.” John said the Skyotë “bordered on being a group project” and credited his friends who helped along the way, like Les and Glenn, as well as the craftsmen-like “metal-working wizard” Johnathon Pritchard and Dale who contributed their work to the build. “I can’t possibly recognize all who contributed to the success of this effort and befriended me along the way,” John said adding Mike Kulkulski, Tom Dubrouillet, Bob Cabaniss, and Dave Novak to the list of contributors. He also thanked his wife, Julia, for “not divorcing me over ‘just one more airplane.’” The Skyotë, 40 years an orphan, looks as if it may be changing its status: there’s a high probability that more than a few reading this would like a cute-as-a-bug, fully aerobatic biplane that is LSA-compliant and features both professional engineering and terrific handling. But take note: The line forms on my right. Budd Davisson is an aeronautical engineer, has flown
more than 300 different types, and has published four books and more than 4,000 articles. He is editor-in-chief ofFlight of Flight magazine and a flight instructor primarily in Pitts/ Journal magazine tailwheel aircraft. aircraft. Visit him on www.AirBum.com.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY TYSON
RININ GER
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The Spirit of Aviation is on the move. Check us out at these upcoming events: South by Southwest Austin, Austi n, TX T X • March 10-1 10-12 2
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More events to be announced! Visit EAA.org/Mobile for the complete schedule. Tour schedule subject to change without notification.
A M A T E U R - B U I L T A C C I D E N T R E P O R T : 2 0 1 6 88
March 2017
BY RON WANTTAJA
TH THE EXPERIMENTAL TA L AM AMATE AT EUR-BUILT (E-AB) accident rate during the year 2015 turned out t o be almost identical to 2014. Figure 1 (Page 90) shows the annual number of accidents for the past 10 years. Fatal accidents dropped by a bit in 2015, but as can be seen in the plot, the amount of variation is pretty typical. Certainly, Certainly, the trend is headed s lightly downward over the full 18 years of my E-AB accident database. The homebuilt world has seen a 20 percent drop in accidents since 1998, but since the overall U.S. accident rate dropped by 35 percent over the same period, there’s no cause for celebration.
CAUSES Figure 2 (Page 90) shows the distribution of accident causes in 2015. These include: • Pilot miscontr miscontrol: ol: 38.1 38.1 percent. percent. These are are accidents accidents due to errors in basic airmanship: losing control on takeoff or landing, stalling, etc. • Pilot judgeme judgement: nt: 15.9 percent percent.. This includes includes fuel exhausti exhaustion/ on/ starvation, continued VFR into IFR conditions, buzzing, etc. • Mechanica Mechanicall failure: 13.6 13.6 percent. percent. Accidents Accidents precipitated precipitated by mechanical failure, where the failure cannot be attributed to errors in construction or design. • Undetermin Undetermined ed engine failures: failures: 13.0 13.0 percent. percent. Cases where where the engine quit, but the NTSB was unable to determine whether it was a mechanical or pilot-related cause. • Builder error error (2.3 percent) and maintainer error error (4.0 (4.0 perpercent). Cases where errors in construction or maintenance triggered the accident. • Other: 13.1 13.1 percent. Combination of other, other, occasional occasional accident causes.
The results for 2015 correspond fairly closely to previous years, with the exception of builder error. Typically, each year sees an average of 10 accidents attributable to errors made during construction. 2015 saw only four cases. A good trend; let’s hope it continues. The rate of undetermined engine failures is higher than a t ypical year: 13 percent versus about 9.5 percent. However, over a quarter of the 2015 accident investigations hadn’t been completed by press time. In many cases, the NTSB factual data is sufficient to attribute a specific cause, but in some cases, only the bare fact of a loss of engine power is known. It’s likely some of the current undetermined cases will fall into another category once the NTSB final reports are released. These undetermined cases aren’t always mechanical issues with the engine itself, as they could be due to fuel or carburetor heat management issues.
COMPARISON: BUILDER FLOWN VERSUS VER SUS SUB SUBSEQ SEQUEN UENTT OWNER OW NERSS In 2012, the NTSB released a landmark study on E-AB safety. NTSB analysts identified the safety record of purchased homebuilts (those owned by someone other than the original builder) as a particular concern: “The NTSB concludes that purchasers of used E-AB aircraft face particular challenges in transitioning to the unfamiliar E-AB aircraft. Like builders of new E-AB aircraft, they must learn to manage the unique handling characteristics of their aircraft, but they must also learn the systems, structure, and equipment without the firsthand knowledge afforded to the builder.” builder.” Let’s compare the accident rate for builder-flown builder-flown and purchaser-flown purchaser-flown E-AB aircraft. We’ll We’ll look at all E-AB accidents in the 1998-2015 time frame.
www.eaa.org 89 89
EAB ACCIDENTS & FATAL ACCIDENTS
FIGURE 1
2005-2015
TOTAL ACCIDENTS
24 0 21 9 20 8
233
21 2
FATAL FATAL ACCIDEN TS
20 0 188
17 7
18 4 15 1 71 54
52
55
49
55
51
47
56
39
30 2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
FIGURE 2 OTHER
13.1%
MAINTAINER MAINTAINER ERROR BUILDER ERROR
UNDETERMINED
4.0% 2.3% 13.0%
LOSS OF POWER
MAJOR CAUSES OF E-AB A CCIDENTS
38.1%
PILOT MISCONTROL
IN 2015 13.6%
15.9%
MECHANICAL FAILURE PILOT JUDGEMENT
FLIGHT HOURS
FIGURE 3
12 BUILDER
11
PURCHASER
10 9 S T N E D I C C A F O E G A T N E C R E P
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
0
50
100
15 0 FLIGHT HOURS
90
PROCESS
21 2
March 2017
200
250
The basic source of the data is the downloadable NTSB accident databases. The accidents flagged by the NTSB as “homebuilt” are cross-referenced with the FAA registration database to determine the actual certification status of the aircraft. The “purpose of flight” entry in the accident database is used to weed out air show, racing, and other uses not typical of personal E-AB opera tions. tion s. The acci accidents dents not flagge flagged d as “homebuilt” are also checked to detect common homebuilt types. Those certificated in categories other than E-AB are eliminated, as are foreign-registered aircraft, or accidents occurring in other coun tries, trie s, wher where e the the NTSB NTSB does not provide cause data. Most unregis tered airc aircraft raft are als also o elimin eliminated ated,, as they are usua usually lly ultra ultraligh lights. ts. How However ever,, the 201 20155 data data did incl include ude two airc aircraft raft that were comm common on E-AB E-AB type typess that that would not qualify under Part 103. These were included. Totals presented are about 10 percent lower than the official tally. After the E-AB aircraft have been identified, the NTSB data is examined to determine the cause of the accident. accident. The NTSB NTSB narrative narrative report is used to determine the first major event (the “initiator”) of each accident. This conclusion may differ from the NTSB’s final “probable cause” ruling. For example, if the engine fails and the pilot stalls during an attempted forced landing, NTSB probable cause will be pilot error. As amateur-built aircraft have a greater tendency toward mechanical issues, tracking the initiators rather than NTSB probable cause results in better understanding of hardware problems. The initiators are tracked in 51 separate categories. Where more than one facto factorr is invo involved lved,, these these subsidiaryy factors are also recorded. subsidiar The accidents are maintained in a database currently covering 18 years (1998 to 2015, inclusive).
BUILDER FLOWN OR PURCHASER FLOWN? I use three basic criteria for deciding whether an accident aircraft was owned by the builder or a subsequent owner at the time of the accident: • Manufac Manufacture turer’s r’s name name on the FAA FAA regisregistration versus the owner’s name in the NTSB report. If the plane is listed as a “Jones RV-6” and the owner’s name is Smith, it’s likely a purchased airplane. • Pilot’s Pilot’s total total time in type type versus versus the the airaircraft total time. If the aircraft has 500 hours and the pilot just 10 hours in type, obviously it’s a purchased homebuilt. • NTSB narrativ narrative e data. data. Sometime Sometimess the NTSB report indicates whether the pilot had purchased the airplane or held the repairman certificate. None of the criteria were compatible with full automation. For instance, the FAA registration may list “Fred Q. Jones” as the builder, but the NTSB report may say that the owner was “FQJ Enterprises.” Similarly, the recording tach on an aircraft may include ground test time that the builder’s flight logbook doesn’t include. So it takes some manual consideration. The process is
certainly not perfect. But with 3,700 accidents to work with, we’ve got some leeway. The results were interesting. Only about 350 could not be resolved under the above rules, the rest fell into one or more of the above categories. Even more fascinating, the built versus purchased split came out almost even. About 1,700 accidents were classified as builderflown under my criteria, compared to about 1,600 for buyer-flown.
PILOT EXPERIENCE Figure 3 shows the basis for the NTSB’s concern. It shows what percentage of the total accidents occur with a given pilot time in type. The accident rate for purchased homebuilts is almost 40 percent higher in the first five hours! The predominant error for both cases is pilot miscontrol: errors in basic airmanship. In the first five hours, more than half (52 percent) of the purchased homebuilt cases are pilot miscontrol, versus 44 percent of the builder-flown accidents. Overall, about 37 percent of builderowned E-AB accidents are due to lapses in the pilots’ stick and rudder skills. Undershoots, overshoots, loss of directional control on takeoff and landing, and stalling too low to recover.
PILOT MISCONTROL ACCIDENTS
FIGURE 4
25 %
S T N E D I C C A L O R T N O C S I M T O L I P F O E G A T N E C R E P
20 %
BUILDER
% 5 . 2 2
% 9 . 0 2
% 7 . 3 2
BUYER
% 7 . 0 2
15 % % 9 . 4 1
% 6 . 5 1
% 3 . 3 % 1 6 . 1 1
10 %
5% % 5 . 4
% 6 . 8
% 4 . % 8 2 . 7
% 9 . 6
% 8 . 5
0 S ta l l
Winds
Ta k e o f f Directional Control
Landing Directional Control
Misjudged Approach
Bad Flare or Bounce
Systems Management
Looking at the pilot miscontrol data in depth, though, stalling isn’t the issue. As Figure 4 shows, the main areas where purchaser-flown homebuilts differ from builder-flown accidents relate to loss of control of the aircraft during takeoff and landings, especially when crosswinds/gusty winds are involved. Curiously, Curiously, the rate of systems mismanagement accidents is higher for the builders. These include failures to lower landing gear, improper flap or propeller settings, working the mixture or carburetor heat at the wrong times, and a smorgasbord of hitting the wrong switches. To some extent, this could be explained by the builders improving the human factors on their aircraft as experience is gained. The “bugs” are out by the time someone purchases the airplane.
OTHER FACTORS When a single factor like pilot miscontrol is so high, it can tend to overwhelm the others and make it more difficult to detect the differences. We’ll get around that by looking at these other factors as a percentage of the total non-miscontrol cases. Figure 5 (Page 92) shows the results. Much of it is expected. The fact that builder error occurs more often in the builder-owned cases is primarily because the airplanes are brand new. new. In the first five hours, mechanical issues of all sorts are involved in about a third of the builder-owned aircraft versus 25 percent of the purchased ones. Overall, almost twice as many builder-error accidents occur during the time the builder owns the aircraft than with later owners. From the accident data, the median purchased homebuilt has about 250 hours on it, which means most are past their teething pains by the time the second owner takes over. over. Mechanical failure of the engines is another standout for the builder-owned category. This is, again, probably related to problems occurring relatively early in a homebuilt’s life. They may not be directly attributable to builder error, but it’s likely something in the installation wasn’t compatible with longevity. Purchaser-flown E-ABs stand out in accidents related to the pilot’s judgement: fuel exhaustion, fuel starvation, and maneuvering at low altitude.
www.eaa.org 91 91
Fuel exhaustion involves running completely out of gas, and fuel starvation is when the aircraft had fuel, but the pilot was unable to configure the fuel system to feed it to the engine. Seems logical that the builder of the airplane would have a better understanding of consumption and fuel system control.
NON-PILOT MISCONTR OL ACCIDENTS
FIGURE 5
BUILDER
10.7 %
Builder Error
6.9 %
BUYER
6.7 %
Maintenance Error
8.4 % 14.8 %
Undetermined Loss of Power
16.5 % 12.3 %
Engine Mechanical
7.0 % 5.8 %
Fuel System
5.6 % 3.3 %
Landing Gear/Breaks
5.1 % 7.1 %
Other Mechanical
7.8 % 4.5 %
Fuel Exhaustion
8.0 % 1.6 %
Fuel Starvation
3.1 % 2.2 %
VFR to IF R
2.1 % 5.5 %
Manuevering at low alt
10.0 %
SUMMARY How many homebuilts are no longer owned by the original builder? It’s not easy to tell. A rough check indicates that of the 28,079 homebuilts registered in January 2016, about 11,128 of their manufacturers’ names match the owners’ names. That’s about 40 percent. However, this rough process doesn’t take into account the variations seen in both the manufacturer and the owner’s names. It’s likely a bit higher. In any case, we do know it ’s an active market out there. Annually, Annually, about 2,000 E-AB aircraft change hands. That’s 2,000 pilots facing a new challenge every year. Probably the hardest thing for E-AB purchasers to understand is that they ’re not in the Part 23 world, anymore. The planes we learned to fly in, all the Cessnas and Pipers and Mooneys we fly until our first homebuilt, handle basically the same. Maybe one is lighter on t he controls, but they all behave in the same predicable fashion, dictated by Part 23 and its predecessors. Not so in the E -AB world. They can behave quite differently from production aircraft, and all too often, that bites recent purchasers. When you received your private ticket years ago, your instructor probably told you that you now had a “license to learn.” Homebuilts are the pop quiz your CFI never anticipated. Buying or building, get a checkout before your first flight. Ron Wanttaja, EAA 275698, is the author of two avia-
2.9 %
Inadquate Preflight
The saddest statistic is that of maneuvering at low altitude — buzzing, low passes to the runway with abrupt pullups, flying up box canyons. About 5 percent of these accidents occur in the first five hours of ownership of purchased homebuilts. In two of those cases, the new owner tried to perform low-level aer aer-obatics in his or her brand new airplane.
tion books, Kit Airplane Construction and Airplane
3.4 %
Ownership , as well as two young adult historical novels
0
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
1 6%
and numerous magazine articles. He owns a 1982 Bowers Fly Baby and maintains a webpage for devotees of the
PERCENTAGE PERCENTAGE OF NON-PILOT MISCONTROL ACCIDENTS
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March 2017
design at at www.BowersFlyBaby.com.
© 2016 2016 Experimental Aircraft Associat ion, Inc.
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What Our Members Are Building/Res Building/Restoring toring • 101 Gone West • 102
Members/Chapters Members/Chap ters in Action
Celebrating 500 Hints This March EAA will have amassed 500 Hints for Homebuilders videos in its online collection. The Hints for Homebuilders video series was introduced in 2008, and nine years later is still filming new tips from experienced homebuilders on an array of building subjects, from composite and tube-and-fabric construction to electrical and hardware hints. Hints videos are a great way to pick up different skills throughout your build process, and even repeat builders can find handy ways to improve their tried-and-true tr ied-and-true methods. Learn more m ore at www.EAA.org/homebuilding.
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR MEMBERSHIP? Want to change your address or need other assistance? EAA’s Membership Services staff is available to assist you Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Central time). Call 800-5646322 (800-JOIN (80 0-JOIN-EAA), -EAA), e-mail membership@ eaa.org , or visit visit www.EAA.org/membership. To see the benefits EAA members enjoy, visit www.EAA.org/memberbenefits.
www.eaa.org 9 95 5
MEMBERCENTRAL WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE BUIL DING/RESTORING
Summer Breeze Florida Breezy
began back in 2008 with my first trip to MY BREEZY JOURNEY began AirVenture AirVenture with a fresh A&P certificate at age 22. As soon as I saw the Breezys giving rides on the flightline I knew I had to experience the thrill. I waited in line each day as long as I could but was never able to get to the front. After returning from that trip I spent all my free time trying to find the bits and pieces I would need to build my own. A few years later, a friend called and mentioned he may have a partially completed fuselage he would be willing to trade for work on his Breezy in south Florida. I immediately took him up on the offer, offer, but little did I know it would be a few more years before I could actually start building. My mechanical experience began with parents who let me t ake everything apart and not necessarily put it back together, but my aviation mechanical knowledge is largely from the talented crew at American Aero Services and the constant guidance and patience from some of the most talented mechanics and restoration experts in the count ry. ry.
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When the opportunity arose to be a crew chief for the Collings Foundation bomber tour, I began my nearly three-year tour turning wrenches and flying some of t he rarest aircraft in the world, and in the process met friends who would help define my aviation career. Mark Henley of the AeroShell T-6 team kindly let me fly his Breezy so I could decide if I had the guts to finish my own; after all, I’d heard that the width of a Breezy seat is inversely proportional to the altitude flown. Sure enough, it was one of the most exhilarating flights of my life. After passing the torch for the duties of crew chief on to the next volunteer, I began the process of assessing the Breezy project and fitting the parts I had and determining
MEMBERCENTRAL
what I would need. Since I had no drawings I went to Aircraft Spruce and called the number listed. Mrs. Unger picked up the phone, and when I asked to speak t o Carl Unger, Unger, her only response was, “Is this about the Breezy drawings?” After a brief conversation and the check going in the mail, I was the proud owner of authentic Carl Unger drawings. The tubing in the fuselage needed some repairs and the front and rear seats needed to be fabricated, so work began with a rolling frame and purchase of a worn-out Continental O-200. After tearing down the engine and shipping the associated parts out for inspection and machining, I could concentrate on the big picture: I needed wings. I began the long search for decent Pipertype wings on all the aviation classifieds and auction houses but quickly realized that the wings I could afford would need complete rework and covering. After calculating the cost, I decided I might as well build wings from scratch so I could trust what I would be flying under. D&E Aircraft is right down the road, so I purchased a Super Cub-type wing kit with aluminum spars and ribs. The wings went
together incredibly well, and about six months later I was ready to attempt my first Poly-Fiber covering. I now have incredible respect for the show-winning show-winning finishes that appear at Oshkosh every year. With seven coats of Aero-Thane, I hope I never have to do any repairs! The first flight went well except for a weak radio, but the thrill came back immediately. ately. Once the radio was figured out I could actually hear the tower asking where the rest of my airplane was. After the required 40 hours of flight testing, it was time to start giving rides as the Breezy was meant t o. I had given 75 rides in the aircraft after flight testing when it was time to leave for Oshkosh. Everyone thought I was a bit crazy, but it would be my flight of passage. A Breezy is meant to give everyone the thrill of aviation and ignite the spark of homebuilding. The original designers intended it to be that way. Traveling 1,000 miles over three days to see 10,000 friends I’ve never met turned out to be the most memorable event of my life to date. Whitney Coyle, EAA 736036; New Smyrna Beach, Florida E-mail: E-mail:
[email protected]
AIRCRAFT SUBMISSIONS Share your craftsmanship with EAA Sport Aviation readers worldwide! Send us a photo and description of your project and we’ll consider using it in “What Our Members Are Building/Restoring.” Please include your name, address, and EAA number. We reserve the right to edit descriptions. For guidelines on how to get the best photo of aircraft, visit www.EAA.org/sportaviation. Mail: EAA Publications, Aircraft Projects, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 E-mail::
[email protected] E-mail
www.eaa.org
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MEMBERCENTRAL WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE BUIL DING/RESTORING
CALIFORNIA VAN’S RV�� four-month, and five-day construction period, RV-6 serial No. 20133 took to the air for the first time on September 2, 2016, in Visalia, California. N581BL has VFR steam gauges, a Garmin 295, and a Tetra II EGT/CHT — all of which are brand new. We added an Advanced Flight Systems AOA indicator and a JPI Fuel Scan FS-450. It has a Hartzell constantspeed prop, an IO-360-Exp from Ly-Con, a Rod Bower fuel-injection system, a Light Speed Plasma III in place of the right FINALLY! AFTER A ���YEAR,
magneto, and a Vetterman exhaust. We also added a Flyboy Accessories Supertracks canopy track extension that makes it so much easier to use the baggage area and get on and off the wing by using the rails as handholds. My thanks to the previous five owners/ builders: Joseph Demercurio, Gary Rudolf, Ralph Bookout, Rod Bower, and John Lichty. During the 13 months that I have owned N581BL, I have had unlimited access to the generosity and assistance of my hangar mate John Mason along with Ty Sundstom, Rod
Bower, and John Lichty. Also, thanks to Ken Tunnell of Ly-Con Ly-Con for his assistance during the initial engine startup. Lastly and most importantly, a very special thanks to my longtime friend, David Howe, for his expertise, incredible skills, and absolutely unlimited and unselfish help, guidance, time, and direction. Without him, I would have never been able to take it on its first flight.
First came an extensive condition inspection followed by the purchase and flight home. All went well, and the first flight proved to me the merit of the design. A 250 nm one-leg flight home using a tad more than 6 gallons of fuel was impressive, especially given a 10-gallon total capacity! After getting it home my “tinkering” began in earnest, eventually becoming a six-month “inspection,” which included a new engine and a weight-reduction program. The original VW engine was removed, and a newly completed Great Plains engine was purchased outright. I also replaced all the hoses, lines, and much of the wiring in 994SP’s simple electrical system. To keep it in line with the original model, minimum frills for maximum performance was my goal.
The end result was a new 32-pound lower empty weight, a dialed in CG, and an extremely smooth and strong running powerplant. The flight characteristics are in a word, stellar. stellar. Sport aerobatics on a budget is an understatement, but the best part for me is the simplicity. I’m enjoying this little airplane as much or more than any I have flown or owned in the past.
Denny Grundy , EAA 583239; Trabuco Canyon, California E-mail: E-mail:
[email protected]
TEXAS SONERAI RV I faced a dilemma: I needed a low-cost, high bang-forthe-buck personal plane that could perform sport aerobatics, operate off my grass strip, and fit in my garage. It needed to be a proven design with an accessible parts trail and fun! The answer came in the form of the Sonerai II. I began searching and found arguably one of the nicest examples ever built. As it turned out, N994SP had been crafted by a dedicated, meticulous builder named Scott over a 10-year period. He’d established a website and was a forward-thinking ambassador for the type. Sadly, two years ago he succumbed to a terminal illness, and his gorgeous S2L was sold. I traveled to look it over, and when I saw the little blue machine languishing in his hangar, hangar, I knew 994SP needed to be in my garage. AFTER SELLING MY SECOND
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Rob Ray , EAA 344216; Sanger, Texas E-mail: E-mail:
[email protected]
MEMBERCENTRAL
ARIZONA CESSNA ��� 1988. It was flying, but the panel, seats, interior, carpet, and headliner all needed attention, and it had no radios. My friend Ray Nevins redid the door and side panel; Jim Walden of Walden Aviation removed the engine and had Lycon of Mesa, Arizona, major the engine; and I stripped the interior. I also rewired the plane, had the instruments rebuilt, and installed a new headliner, carpet, tail wheel, and exhaust. And then, after a litt le more than four years, it was flying again. I BOUGHT ����C IN
Shortly after, it finally got a transponder and comm radio. Then in 2003 I had a Garmin GNS 430 and an audio panel put in and used it to get my instrument rating. In 2005, Brian Wolfe disassembled the plane, did a lot of sheet metal work and new rigging, and painted the plane. Finally, in March of 2013 the seats were done in Las Cruces, New Mexico, by Exclusive Air. After 25 years, 2584C was complete. In November of 2013 I received a letter from Harold Lee who had owned the plane
in the ’70s. He’d removed the data plate back then and had just found it and enclosed it in the letter, putting the final touch on 2584C. The plane has always taken me wherever I’ve needed to go, and in 2016 it took us to Oshkosh. It is a good airplane and a joy to fly. I thank all the individuals who have brought this airplane to its present shape. Gene Moreman,
EAA Lifetime 626101; Willcox, Arizona
E-mail: E-mail:
[email protected]
FLORIDA VAN’S RV��A an eight-year effort, completed in 2012. I was in a quandary about what airplane to build. At our EAA Chapter 66 breakfast, I got a ride in an RV-8; after that I was sold on RVs and ordered the tail assembly in March of 2004. Sam James was my tech counselor and made some positive recommendations and several inspections. Going was slow and steady with the construction in my garage and the storage of the wings and fuselage in our dining and living rooms. Many thanks to my wife, Anne, for her patience and understanding. Tom Irlbeck mentored me through the entire project and assisted with the flyoff. Vic Babyak Babyak and his wife, wife, Carol, helped me install the wings and weigh the plane. Ray Romeu, Ned Rose, and Larry McClure BUILDING OUR RV��A WAS
helped with many final details. Last but not least, my son Alex helped with bucking rivets, hanging the engine and prop, and moving it to Punta Gorda for final assembly. assembly. We selected a Lycoming O-360 as the powerplant, with 180 hp. First flight was on
December 30, 2012, and I’ve never looked back. After 300 hours and four years the plane was painted in 2016. Tom Tom Kracmer acmer ,
EAA 739359; Fort Myers, Florida
E-mail: E-mail:
[email protected]
www.eaa.org 9 99 9
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Summer Camp Unforgettable aviation memories and new friends await young people ages 12-19 at the EAA Air Academy, a series of weeklong summer camps designed to introduce young people to the world of flight. Campers are engaged through a variety of fun, hands-on activities and real flight experiences while staying at the EAA EA A Air Academy Lodge in Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Register for a 2017 EAA Air Academy Camp today!
Air Academy For more information, dates, da tes, or to register, visit 426-6817.. EAA.org/AirAcademy or call 920- 426-6817
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MEMBERCENTRAL
Gone West Not alone into the sunset but into into the company of friends who have have gone before them. ALABAMA
Alton Graham (EAA 9094), Elberta ARIZONA
James Gastineau (EAA 1079302), Glendale Kenneth Milentz (EAA 152351), Payson John Thompson (EAA 48083), Tucson Rev. O. Ray Williams (EAA 853676), Yuma
Michael Dimiceli (EAA 685046), Lena R. “Jeff” Huber (EAA 494697), Chicago Edward Moricoli (EAA 1055412), Woodstock James O’Brien (EAA 98749), Dixon Henry Schwemlein (EAA 1133576), Mendota INDIANA
Lafayette Ralph Benning (EAA 700521), West Lafayette Bob McCammon (EAA 474431), Sullivan
CALIFORNIA
Andy Andersen (EAA 370372), Riverside Robert Baker (EAA 862733), Dana Point Robert Critchlow (EAA 519248), Lancaster Les Fiscus (EAA 573776), Orland Rodolfo Isaad (EAA 1037906), Northridge Jack Keller (EAA 882883), Pacific Palisades Ann Kruse (EAA 1013562), Chula Vista Richard Mann (EAA 547597), Novato Lawrence Moore (EAA 1028662), Lodi Roger Olson (EAA 52365), Arbuckle Lester Reinig (EAA 150846), Boonville Ken Steward (EAA 759325), Daly City
OKLAHOMA IOWA
Gene Chase (EAA 10522), Tulsa
John Siembieda (EAA 113668), Des Moines PENNSYLVANIA KANSAS
David Swanson (EAA 878426), Overland Park
Kay Basiago (EAA 1019187), State College Robert Greenall Sr. (EAA 1085279), Tamaqua George Heimbach (EAA 1169445), Bethlehem
KENTUCKY
Frank Gray (EAA 129257), Benton Raymond Thompson (EAA 47532), Louisville John Trump (EAA 1103800), Lexington
TENNESSEE
Buiel Chafin (EAA 203322), Collierville TEXAS
MASSACHUSETTS
Robert Epperly (EAA 439022), Worthington COLORADO
Michael Craven (EAA 676405), Elbert Jim Grumbles (EAA 38298), Loveland Barry Hicks (EAA 328504), Grand Junction
OHIO
Roger Bullock (EAA 132077), Bellbrook Myron “Joe” Gerber (EAA 90841), Norwalk George Kramer (EAA 157664), North Lima Vernon Lawson Lawson (EAA 528327), Tipp City William Newnham (EAA 240142), Gahanna Dean Putnam (EAA 133866), Canton Paul Zielazienski (EAA 1105563), Elyria
MINNESOTA
Don Bartley (EAA 305696), Austin
Gregory Barber (EAA 116218), Farmersville Pat Burgess (EAA 1105999), Mineola Capt. Eugene Cernan (EAA 456102), Houston Joe Floyd (EAA 117040), Dallas Henry Graeber (EAA 788684), Boerne Marvin Jensen (EAA 420767), Granbury
MISSISSIPPI
Kenneth Terrio (EAA 395911), Higganum
Fred Gossett (EAA 1138583), Scooba Mickey Whittenburg (EAA 415), Kiln
FLORIDA
MISSOURI
Steven Kassan (EAA 116161), Ocala John O’Connell (EAA 150610), Leesburg David Peterson (EAA 278017), Polk City Edwin Shearer (EAA 453641), O’Brien Larry “Carl” Smith (EAA 368390), Davenport Robert Larry Tilton (EAA 1040394), Dunedin
Fredric Fish (EAA 765302), Dexter
CONNECTICUT
Donald Brock (EAA 200759), West Valley City Glenn Smith (EAA 601105), Eagle Mountain WASHINGTON
Howard Alexander (EAA 33411), Spokane MONTANA
Mark Melotz (EAA 1105482), Missoula NEBRASKA
James Snyder (EAA 212975), Sutherland GEORGIA
Jeffrey Bowns (EAA 1227173), McDonough Joseph Irvin (EAA 262916), Flowery Branch William Neville (EAA 304644), Portal Lynnford Zinkel (EAA 777933), Loganville
UTAH
NEW JERSEY
John Nusbaumer (EAA 1117611), Newport
WISCONSIN
William Bordeleau (EAA 39), Germantown D. Henrich (EAA 287216), Portage Lowell “Buzz” Holcomb (EAA 312988), Mazomanie Peter Holzhauer (EAA 121033), Brookfield David Peterson (EAA 546482), Bristol Daniel Williams (EAA 479978), Whitewater
NEW MEXICO
AUSTRALIA
James May (EAA 149541), Albuquerque
Ron Hartwich (EAA 1019730), Hamilton, Victoria
IDAHO
Richard Inman (EAA 708035), Juliaetta
NEW YORK
CANADA
Thomas Mitchell (EAA 45149), Elba
Jack Hatkoski (EAA 158801), Dwight, Ontario Richard Pulley (EAA 15285), Brampton, Ontario
ILLINOIS
Randy Cagnoni (EAA 214479), Rockton Gilbert Dailey (EAA 240842), Rantoul Jim Delaney (EAA 228004), Winthrop Harbor
NORTH CAROLINA
William Struck (EAA 1134292), New Bern Raymond Whitt (EAA 179600), Gastonia
IRELAND
Joseph Collins (EAA 694626), County Tipperary
www.eaa.org 1 101 01
MEMBERCENTRAL MEMBERS/CHAPTERS IN ACTION
Chapter 534 Flies Aviat Aviation ion Ex Explor plorers ers BY TED LUEBBERS, EAA ������
EAA CHAPTER ��� AVIATION EXPLORERS got to fly in
airplanes on January 21, 2017, 2017, at the t he Leesburg International Airport in Leesburg, Florida. Chapter 534, the sponsor of Aviation Explorer Post 534, provided two airplanes and pilots to conduct Young Eagles orientation flights for them. They were also given more intense instruction on compass and situational awareness as well as the proper approach procedures to the airport prior to their flight. They then had a better understanding where they were while flying and how to return to the airport properly. properly. While in the air, each had an opportunity to take control of the plane under the watchful eye of the EAA pilot. This is the second year that EAA Chapter 534 has sponsored an Aviation Explorer Post, and it has grown from five members a
year ago to eight members currently. Along with the support of the EAA chapter members, the post enjoys the strong support of the parents. The chapter has been conducting a ground school course for the young people, and they periodically get to fly with the chapter’s pilots. The majority of the young explorers have have indicated their desire to one day become private pilots, and Chapter 534 is doing all it can to help them realize that dream.
EAA MEMBER FLIES PLANE POWERED BY PLASTIC WASTE JEREMY ROWSELL, EAA �������, took
a step toward creating a new type of alternative jet fuel with the first flight of his Van’s RV-9A powered by a fuel containing 10 percent recycled plastic. The flight, dubbed On Wings of Waste, traversed the 500 miles between
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Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, capping the four-year project. Rowsell worked with Plastic Energy to create the fuel he used through a process called thermal anaerobic conversion, which melts the plastics and therefore doesn’t
release the toxic emissions created by burning. According to the On Wings of Waste website, the goal of the project is to raise awareness and encourage others to get involved in reducing our carbon footprint, reducing waste, and cutting energy costs.
MEMBERCENTRAL
AIRPORT RENAMED TO HONOR EAA MEMBER BY MARIE A. FASANO, EAA ������
of THE PILOTS AND GREATER GREATER COMMUNITY of Payson, Arizona, wanted to find a way to honor Rich Henry, EAA 553213, for his lifelong contributions to aviation in the area, so they set out t o rename the airport. Rich’s love affair with Payson started at age 10 when his family first visited the area. In 1966, he became a pilot, and would fly into Payson, and when he and his family moved to the community, community, living at the airport was his goal. In 1977, Rich got permission from the Payson Airport Board to start Payson Air . It included a flight school, an airplane maintenance business, and a charter and scenic flight service. His responsibilities included keeping the airport open 24/7, 24/7, clearing the runway of sn ow, ow, and providing security. An old green school bus and a shed held his mechanic shop. Since that time, Rich has been an integral part of the development of Payson Municipal Airport, especially from 1977 to 1992, when he and his wife lived in a trailer at the airport. Rich said, “We were always available to pilots flying into Payson. At night I would keep the UNICOM by my bed and talk to pilots who were lost or having difficulty.” difficulty.” During his time in Payson, he taught people to fly, gave flight reviews to hundreds of pilots, and worked as an A&P/IA on more than 3,000 airplanes, increasing the number of pilots in Payson and bringing pilots and planes to the town. In 1978, Rich and his wife, Doris, opened The Crosswinds restaurant at the airport, using an old trailer. They put in a portable toilet, cut openings in the trailer for windows, and put in a septic tank. Rich brought a 1,000-gallon water tank and pressurized it to deliver water to t he restaurant. With Rich’s encouragement, local businesses and Payson pilots donated supplies and labor to build concrete steps on the west side of the restaurant down to the tie-down area on the ramp. In 1983, Rich was instrumental in starting the nonprofit Payson Pilots Association to offer education for pilots. For many years he was the first in line,
with his Cessna 210, to give free flights to youngsters through the Young Eagles program. If the day turned too windy, Rich offered any child waiting the chance to make an appointment to fly another day. He always said, “If the families took the time to come to the airport, sometimes from many miles away, then I want to make sure the kids got a flight.” In 1990, Rich was formally selected as airport manager and finally received a salary from the town. For the previous 13 years, although he was the manager of the airport, he made his living from his airplane maintenance, instruction, fueling, and running the restaurant. Although he can no longer fly for medical reasons, Rich continues to work on airplanes in his hangar home at 89 years of age. Several local pilots, including Bob Pearson; Paul Pitkin, EAA 108174; and Marie Fasano, EAA 635640, put forth Rich’s name to the town council. In addition, they gathered hundreds of signatures from townspeople and pilots on a petition. The town council quickly agreed, and now the airport is officially known as Payson Municipal Airport — Rich Henry Field.
www.eaa.org 103 103
MEMBERCENTRAL MEMBERS/CHAPTERS IN ACTION
WORLD WAR I AIRPLANE COMES COM ES HOME FOR RESTORATION RE STORATION IN THE EARLY ����s, when Don Funke, EAA 652318, and a group of friends were discussing the history of aviation in their hometown of Ithaca, New York, they could only have dreamed that 15 years later they would be close to completing the restoration of a World War War I airplane. That airplane airplan e is a ThomasMorse S-4B Scout that the group hopes to have flying by the 100th anniversary of serial No. A-4358’s first flight in summer 2018.
Going back more than 100 years gives a picture of the beginnings of vibrant aviation activity in the town of Ithaca. Two brothers, William and Oliver Thomas, moved to the area in 1914 with dreams of manufacturing airplanes. In 1917 they partnered with the Morse Chain Company to form the ThomasMorse Aircraft Corporation. After successfully fulfilling an order for 100 B-model Scouts, the government put in another large order for the improved C model. In all, more than 600 World War I trainers left the factory in Ithaca, making the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation the largest supplier of World War I aircraft in the U.S. behind Glenn Curtiss. Don and his friends then realized all three manufacturing plants used by ThomasMorse were still standing and in nearly the same condition as they were 100 years ago. He said finding that encouraged them to take the project seriously. They formed a nonprofit called the Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation to support the project and set out to find an airplane. This search presented a special set of challenges, though. Don and his
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friends had no money saved and no airplane to trade should they find the rare piece of history they were looking for. “Realistically, we were dreaming,” said Don, who is now director of restoration for the project. “But it doesn’t cost anything to dream.” The group found that there were only 12 Scouts left, half in museums and half under private ownership. Through what Don calls divine intervention, the San Diego Air and Space Museum had just recently removed A-4358 from its museum because its age was beginning to show. show. The Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation was able to acquire the airplane, affectionately nicknamed Tommy, and brought it back home to be restored. What was already a special restoration was made even more so when the organization found out it would be able to use the original three Thomas-Morse factories as space to work on the restoration. “For the most part a lot of it was done in the main plant, which has since closed,” Don said. “But we spent almost three years there restoring the airplane that we acquired, using some of the same tools and materials and machinery to restore an airplane that was built there in the same floor space 100 years later.” The Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport has also been a great supporter of the project, providing Tommy’s restoration crew with a heated shop. Much of Tommy’s restoration is now complete. Volunteers for the project, including some members of EAA Chapter 811, recently finished covering the wings, and the original Le Rhône rotary engine has already been hung. The foundation is working with the FAA to get Tommy certified as an exhibition experimental. Don said he expects that groundwork will begin in late 2017 and that Tommy will be ready to fly on its 100th birthday in 2018. To follow the remain remainder der of Tommy’s resto restoration, follow the links at EAA.org/ EAA.org/extr extras as.
WELCOME, NEW LIFETIME MEMBERS Cheryl Aldridge (EAA 1229548), El Paso, Texas Roy Aldridge (EAA 1229547), El Paso, Texas Kenneth Buechel (EAA 191824), Chilton, Wisconsin Alan Cornyn (EAA 480462), Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada Debi Cornyn (EAA 585308), Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada Michael Crowder (EAA 643415), Cary, North Carolina Donnie Davis (EAA 851442), Owasso, Oklahoma Timothy Davis (EAA 1227436), Windermere, Florida Brand Fortner (EAA 1228298), Durham, North Carolina Steven Houck (EAA 1229262), Fairbanks, Alaska Jennifer Jacob (EAA 556718), Rutland, Vermont John Jeffery (EAA 537443), Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada Faith Meitl (EAA 1227407), Oberlin, Kansas Stephen Murley (EAA 349005), Boerne, Texas Doug Range (EAA 651064), Burrton, Kansas Judy Range (EAA 1084695), Burrton, Kansas Jacob Shavit (EAA 692044), New York, New York Joseph Shirley (EAA 1228530), Loveland, Ohio Parker Stockdale (EAA 1227395), Fort Lauderdale, Florida
WELCOME, NEW CHAPTERS EAA’s local chapters are about people, bringing together individuals interested in learning more about aviation as well as sharing their own knowledge. To find a local chapter and get involved in grassroots recreational aviation in aviation in your own backyard, see see EAA.org/chapters. IAC 777 (restart)
Las Vegas, Nevada Tommy Suell
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Warbirds Squadron 39
Williamson, Georgia Steve Seal
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF
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Grand Prize: 2017 Prize: 2017 Ford Mustang GT Convertible and the winner’s choice of a flight with aerobatic pilot and Young Eagles Chairman, Sean D. Tuck Tucker er or lunch with US Airways Flight #1549 First Officer and former Young Eagles Chairman Jeff Skiles, during AirVenture 2018.
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EXPERIMENTER TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Bing 64 Carburetor Part 3: Idle circuit BY CAROL AND BRIAN CARPENTER
IN PART � OF THIS ARTICLE , we talked about the starting carburetor
(choke) system. We can run the engine at lower rpm settings only on the choke system, but as soon as we reset the choke system to the off position, the engine is now running on the idle circuit only. We We often use this as a troubleshooting exercise. If the engine runs with the choke partially on but dies as the choke is placed in the off position, it is an indication that the idle circuit is the culprit. It is absolutely essential that the idle circuit be set up and functioning properly. properly. We use the idle circuit on every flight, and it is a surprisingly important system within the carburetor. Aside from the practical aspects of having a properly operating idle circuit, there are many correlations with the idle circuit malfunctioning and other engine problems, ranging from increased maintenance to engine stoppage and even engine failure.
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With the slide (piston) completely closed, the vacuum present at the main fuel outlet is not sufficient to draw the fuel up from the main jet, through the mixing tube and needle jet, and into the diffuser and throat of the carburetor. At low power settings we need to supplement the fuel-air system with an auxiliary fuel-air system consisting of an idling air jet, idle jet, bypass, idle outlet bore, and an idle mixture screw. (Figure 1) The idling air jet is located on the inlet face of the carburetor and restricts the volume of air that can enter the idle mixture circuit. Manufactured from brass, it is pressed into the body of the carburetor and is normally not considered a replaceable component. The orifice size is approximately 0.020 inch in diameter. An orifice this small is easily plugged with contamination, which is one reason it is located inside of the air cleaner. cleaner. The idle jet is made from brass. (Figure 2) The jet size used on the Rotax 912 idle jet is a number 35 that designates the orifice size as 0.35 mm. The jet is inset into the body of the carburetor inverted with the head of the jet facing down into the float bowl. This draws fuel through the jet orifice into the body of the jet. The body of the idle jet consists of eight eight radially drilled drilled holes in the body. This acts as a fuel atomization chamber that mixes the incoming air from the idle air jet with the fuel from the float bowl. This mixture is excessively rich and will be used to supplement the air that is coming through the carburetor, past the throttle valve. The idle mixture screw (Figure 3) is also manufactured from brass. The idle mixture
ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF CAROL AND BRIAN CARPENTER
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
Mike Berg, Eleva, WI
Figure 2
Figure 3
screw works in conjunction with the idle outlet bore to create an adjustable needle valve. The fuel and air transitioning through the idle mixture screw and idle outlet bore have already been mixed. Allowing more of this already excessively rich mixture into the carburetor will result in an enrichened fuel-air ratio at idle. If you came up through the ultralight ranks, operating a two-stroke engine, you may be familiar with the idiom we used to remember which direction to turn the idle mixture screw: “in” richen, lean “out.” “out.” This works for the Bing 54 slide carburetors used on the Rotax two-stroke engines. However, However, the Bing 64 constant velocity (CV) carburetors are exactly the opposite. To enrichen the mixture we need to screw the idle mixture screw “out” or counterclockwise, and “in” or clockwise to lean out the mixture. (Figure 4) The bypass is located at the six o’clock position in the throttle body just under the throttle valve. These are two very small (approximately 0.020 0.020 inch) holes, nearly invisible, located coincidently just at the position where the throttle valve makes contact with the body of the carburetor. These holes work in conjunction with the idle outlet bore. The venturi effect created by the position of the throttle valve in relation to these two holes will vary the pressure within the bypass and internal passageways helping to regulate the mixture at the very lowest of throttle settings. (Figure 5) During overhaul, failure to ensure that all of these passageways are open and free from contamination will inevitably result in an engine that idles poorly. poorly.
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EXPERIMENTER TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Troubleshooting the idle circuit and its effectiveness occurs from idle up to about 25 percent throttle setting. (Figure 6) This also shows that the jet needle and the needle jet have some effect down as low as 15 percent throttle setting. If the engine is running poorly at idle, but improves as the throttle is advanced past the 15 percent throttle setting and then runs properly from 25 percent up through the mid-range and beyond, this would be an indication that the problem is related directly to something within the idle circuit. An engine that will not run at idle but will run with the application of choke is an indication the idle circuit is running lean. The most common, and probable, cause is that the idle jet has a blockage. It is not uncommon for old fuel t o evaporate leaving a film or obstruction in the orifice for the idle jet. Remember that the idle jet used on the Rotax 912 is 0.35 mm — that is about the thickness of a business card — and becomes blocked very easily. Replacing the jet wi th a ne w jet, or even cleaning clean ing t he old jet is the eas iest wa y to tro ubles hoot. But remember, if the idle jet has be come blocked with debris, the more important question is what caused the blockage and why and how did it occur. Most of the time when we find “junk” in the idle jet, we are
Figure 5
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concerned with how it got there. The standard procedure would normally include flushing the fuel tanks, replacing fuel lines, and replacing or cleaning the fuel filter. If contamination is present, and you simply clean the jet without addressing the root cause of the problem, it is likely to re-contaminate in short order. If the engine is running rich at idle, there are several culprits that may be contributing to t he problem. However, However, there are only two areas that usually affect a rich mixture at idle only: improperly adjusted idle mixture screw or blocked idle air jet. If the engine is running rich at throttle settings other than idle, it probably has nothing to do with the idle mixture screw or the idle air jet. The i dle air jet can be inspected visually for contamination, or by blowing compressed air through the idle jet. This i s normally nor mally d one wi th th e carbucarb uretor disassembled and on the workbench. The adjustment of the idle mixture screw can be set to the settings specified in the Bing manual, or if you have a Rotax engine, the Rotax maintenance manual also specifies the settings for your particular engine. For most engines using t he CV carburetor, the setting for the idle mixture screw is 1.5 turns out. This means that you screw in the idle mixture screw until it makes contact with the carburetor body, then turn out or “counterclockwise” 1.5 turns. If you find that you need to adjust
Figure 6
March 2017
it different from the book settings for it to operate correctly, there is probably something else that is as kew. kew. Keep in mind that there are literally thousands of Rotax engines operating with stock jet settings. They all work perfectly. We We have never seen a Rotax engine that needs to be set up differently than the recommended settings. The engines are identical. As such there is no reason that one engine would need special settings. If you find a condition where it appears that you need a different setup from stock, it is usually a symptom of a larger problem. The engines work as a symphony of different subsystems, all working in harmony with each other. The subsystems within the engine and carburetor cannot be isolated from the bigger picture. For example, doing carburetor synchronization on the engine without first ensuring the idle mixture screws have been properly adjusted is a waste of time. Making adjustments to one subsystem has an effect on all other systems. The good news is, once you understand the subsystems within the carburetor, it is really quite easy and simple to keep them operatin g correctly. Carol and Brian Carpenter , EAA 678959 and 299858, owners of Rainbow Aviation Services, have co-authored two aviation books and team teach the Light Sport Repairman Workshops. Brian is a CFII, DAR, A&P/IA, and the designer of the EMG-6 (an electric motorglider). Carol is an SPI, PP, LSRM, and FAAST representative.
ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY OF
CAROL AND BRIAN CARPENTER
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The Tukan trike passes over the field with my hands stretched out in the breeze.
A Humbl Humbling ing Ex Experi perienc ence e Weight shifting for a fixed-wing pilot BY JONATHAN ARNEY
Ultralight Chapter 95 has a fly-in weekend at Long Acre Farms in western New York. This is one of our major chapter events of the year, and it attracts ultralight and light-sport pilots from all over western and central cen tral New York. York. The airport we fly into is a turf strip that is privately owned by Long Acre Farms, and the event coincides with the opening of the Long Acre Amazing Maize Maze EACH YEAR IN AUGUST,
The Ultralight Chapter 95 fly-in attracts ultralight and light-sport aircraft of many kinds.
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and Corn Roast. It draws lots of people to see a corn maze, the farm animals, fresh corn on the cob, and aircraft of all kinds. The pilots entertain themselves with flying activities such as the bomb drop, toilet paper cutting, spot landings, and a poker run. One activity that was particularly popular among the pilots in 2016 was the exchange of rides, and I took advantage of the opportunity to take my first ride in a trike. Now, Now, I considered myself to be a pretty good pilot. I soloed back in 1963, flew lots of different single engine land aircraft, a couple of ultralights, and a sailplane. So, I thought I was well-prepared to hop into a trike and fly it. Easy! Heck, it didn’t look much different from a paper airplane, and I was also a good paper airplane flier! But the experience was more humbling than I expected.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF JONATHAN ARNEY
David Engle, EAA 675909, was my pilot in command, and he was very kind and encouraging as he introduced me to his Tukan trike and the operation of the controls. He described the features of the trike and the Rotax 503 that powers it. Then he led me through the preflight checklist. Finally, he described again the operation of the controls, fit me into a helmet, and strapped me into the rear seat. I felt prepared. I understood all about weight-shift control. I was enthusiastic and ready to fly. David taxied out and went through the preflight, and we took off. I was startled by how quickly the Tukan trike left the ground, but other than that, it seemed pretty straightforward. David climbed to pattern altitude and t ook me around the field, always describing what he was doing and asking me if I was okay. After a few minutes of letting me become accustomed to the flight, he took the trike up to 3,000 feet and demonstrated some maneuvers. Turns to the left and right, figure eights, turns about a point, etc. Then he announced it was time for some stalls. So, he eased the trike to a higher and higher angle of attack, and it reached a point where it simply mushed. It never “broke” the stall the way my fixed-wing experience taught me to expect. Wow, Wow, this trike was sure a nice-flying machine. Easy to fly! Then I had a chance to take the controls. The first mistake I made was to pull back on t he bar. Suddenly I was in a dive, and I responded by pulling back more! After David shoved the bar forward and got us level again, he gave the bar b ack to me. Okay, Okay, I remembered he had told me to push forward to go up and back to go down. (Strictly, to push to decrease airspeed and to pull back to increase airspeed.) Okay, Okay, I knew that, but my muscles clearly hadn’t learned the lesson. Embarrassing! Next came turns. When David said to go left, I pushed the bar left, and when he said go right, I pushed right. Of course, the trike actually went the opposite way. Push left to go right, and push right to go left. Egad! I knew that, too, but I didn’t do that. My muscle memory was having a bad senior moment.
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Well-briefed and strapped in, we are ready for my first trike flight.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF JONATHAN ARNEY
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EXPERIMENTER ULTRALIGHT WORLD
No matter how many different aircraft you have flown, you need to ride with an instructor anytime you want to learn to t o fly an unfamiliar aircraft. This is important especially when that new aircraft is of a different type.
Trikes are great, but it’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks.
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David reminded me to think of my body as the “stick,” but that didn’t help much. After several tries and carefully keeping my mind on it, I did manage to do some successful turns to a heading. But it sure was an embarrassing experience. It took concentrated thought to turn the trike the correct way – something I do without any thought at all in my Kolb. What a humbling experience. But the humiliation wasn’t over yet. David demonstrated the wonderfully short landing and roll-out characteristics of his trike. Then he told me to put my feet on the pedals and taxi back to the tie- down area. “No sweat,” sweat,” I told myself and confidently began my taxi roll. I pushed on the right pedal to go right, but the trike veered left. Egad! I then recalled David pointing out how the front wheel steering link was set. Like the up, down, left, right controls, the front wheel was also set up for “wrong way” steering. One final humbling experience for the overconfident Kolb pilot. I learned an important lesson from this trike ride. No matter how many different aircraft you have flown, you need to ride with an instructor anytime you want to learn to fly an unfamiliar aircraft. This is important especially when that new aircraft is of a different type. What all this boils down to is that muscle memory isn’t the same as conscious memory. For example, I know how to play the piano, but I can’t play the piano. I know that all you do is push the keys down in the order specified by the sheet music and music happens. But knowing in my conscious brain doesn’t immediately translate to being able to play the piano. That takes practice and instruction. The same is true with a new airplane. It takes an instructor to work with you to make sure you are safe to go solo. For me, this was especially true in making t he transition from my fixed-wing aircraft to the trike. David, ever the wise and patient instructor, knew exactly what I’d been through and said I actually did okay for a firsttime trike pilot. He encouraged me to continue with trike instruction. One of these days I just might do that, but for the moment I’ve decided to stick with the wings that are bolted on and the controls that move in directions I have grown accustomed to. Jonathan Jonathan Arney , EAA 776256, soloed in 1963 when he was a junior in high school. He is a private pilot with SEL, glider, and instrument instrument ratings. He has served as an officer with Ultralight Chapter 95 for more than a decade and has served for two years on the
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EAA Ultralight & Light-Sport Aircraft Council. He owns an E-LSA Kolb FireStar and a 1946 Aeronca Chief, which he has flown to Oshkosh from his home in Rochester, New York.
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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF JONATHAN
ARNEY
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EXPERIMENTER SHOP TALK
Shop Consumables Buy for the future, not just the present BY BUDD DAVISSON
so often conspires against builders of all flavors and has us running short of seemingly minor bits of sometimes-unrelated stuff that stops our progress cold. This invariably happens just when we’re psyched because we’re about to make major progress on a project. Most often it’s late on Saturday afternoon, and we can’t find t he exact 10-32 screw that will allow us to yell, “Hey, “Hey, this is finally finished!” This is the very definition of frustration. There is, however, a way to avoid this. One solution is to purposely overbuy on consumables. My attitude on buying shop consumables has become, “If I need one, I’ll probably need it again in the future. So, I’ll buy two. Plus, I probably won’t be able to find it when I need it so I’ll buy three.” three.” IT’S AMAZING HOW FATE
DEFINE YOUR NEEDS
So, what kind of stuff are we talking about and how much is enough? I’m positive everyone reading this has a different definition of shop consumables based on what kind of projects they’re working on. I’m just as certain that everyone who is building an airplane is also continually working on other projects. I know very few builders who aren’t builders to the core and may be working on cars, boats, or whatever parallel to their airplane project. So, most of us have a continuing, ever-widening need for shop stuff. In my case, I’m generally working wood and steel, so my stuff leans in that direction. Others may include composites, aluminum, etc. On the hardware side of my stuff-acquisition program, I simplified it to a certain extent in that aircraft hardware is used on my hot rod projects as well as my aircraft work. So, I’m heavy in aircraft hardware, hardware, but I’m also well-stocked in hardware store grade 5 nuts and bolts.
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AVOIDING THE “I CAN’T FIND IT SYNDROME”
For a long time, when I needed something, I knew I had it, but I didn’t always know where it was. As I’ve gotten older, however, however, some sort of rudimentary organizational logic has worked its way to the surface, crude though it may be. Like so many others, I’m of the “out of sight, out of mind” mindset. So, my stuff organization involves keeping everything in sight and in a given area that never changes. That area may later turn out to be not the best place for it, but if it’s moved, it’ll never be seen again. Every builder should have a system that works for them that will probably be wildly different than mine and certainly will be better. Also, given that my shop space is very limited, storage methods have to take advantage of nooks, crannies, the ceiling, and spaces under tools. KITS ARE MORE PREDICTABLE
The upside to building something like an RV is that the stuff required list has been vetted many times over. That, however, does not eliminate the need to buy more consumables than you think you’ll need. Especially if you’re a hardcore builder and have other projects under way.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BUDD DAVIDSON
A SHOPPING LIST
What is listed below is n ot aimed at building any specific thing. It just lists materials that are n ice to have around for last-minute needs.
NUTS AND BOLTS
RIVETS
Every project has demands for certain types of screws and bolts, so what is listed here is aimed at the broad spectrum most projects need. It should be pointed out that Aircraft Spruce and others have various types of screw and bolt kits that are good values, when priced against buying piecemeal. So, look at those th ose closely. Also, and this is important, all of this doesn’t have to be purchased at one on e time. Buy, when needed or when convenient, but overbuy each time. It may take several years to get up to this level.
Rivets are super cheap, take up almost no space, and are easy to shorten. So, unless you’re building an aluminum airplane, where specific sizes and numbers are known, and you only have rivets around for the occasional rivet job, a tenth of a pound each of various sizes and types is all that is needed. For reference, there are 4,100 AN426AD-3-4 (3/32-inch diameter 1/4-inch long) rivets in a pound ($32). So, 400 (0.1 pound) would be $3.20. If only having them for occasional use is the goal, 400 rivets is a lot of rivets. Also, because they are so easily shortened with the right tool, if you aren’t building an RV or something similar, similar, you don’t need many sizes. The normal rivet cutter won’t cut rivets shorter than about 3/16 inch so buy a few short ones (3/16 inch) and a bunch of longer ones (1/2 inch) with the intent of cutting the long ones to size the few times they are needed. The selection could include 3/32-inch and 1/8-inch rivets, both flat and rounded heads.
•
A typical inventory level might be: 50 each size and length, stainless, truss head, AN526C machine screws in numbers 6, 8, and 10 sizes starting at 3/8-inch long up to 5/8inch long. Twenty percent can be countersunk heads.
• 20 each size, size, stainless machine machine screws 1-inch long, which can be shortened for special uses.
think (0.058 wall will accept the next size tubing down). The same thing applies to 4130 flat stock: I always keep a foot-square piece of the normal thicknesses around. Don’t be tempted by the grab bags of mixed tubing being s old. It’s usually bigger and heavier than you’ll use. ODDBALL CLECOS
When buying Clecos, always include a half-dozen or more of the edge-grip variety and a few of the big, honkin’ 3/16-inch ones. A half-dozen of those are super handy for holding bolted pieces together. DRILL BITS
Buy lots of bits t o include No. 30, No. 40, 40, 3/32-inch, 1/8-inch, 1/4-inch, and, if you’re doing any threading, the sizes appropriate for the screw size you’re tapping holes for. Knowing how to sharpen bits is handy, but it’s a skill I can’t seem to master. master. ANGLE HEAD GRINDER DISCS
• 20 each, AN3 bolts, 5/8-inch long to 1.5 inches long. • 20 each, AN4 bolts, 5/8-inch long to 1.5 inches long. • Enough Enough washers washers for two each of the bolts. • Enough nuts for for one each of the bolts. • Nyloc Nyloc nuts for half of the the bolts. Storage for this kind of hardware is important. There are all sorts of little filing drawer drawer cabinets available available for storing this many bolts and screws. They, however, take up space. Multiple layers of the inexpensive multi-pocket plastic tray affairs work well and are available everywhere, including your local hardware store. The filing organization doesn’t have to be terribly complex. Just sort them by diameter and keep the sizes in the labeled bags they came in.
SPECIALTY FIXED NUTS
If you don’t have an angle head grinder (4 inches or 4-1/2 inches), get one. They’re indispensable! Then lay in a supply of cut-off discs and flapper sanding discs. You’ll suddenly wonder how you ever lived without it.
Even if not building an airplane, it’s hard to appreciate the applications and utility of the various types of easy-to-use specialty nut variations. This includes the slip-over, U-types of Tinnermans that let you use PK screws (essentially sheet metal screws) and Monadnock that use machine screws. The typical U-type Tinnerman is about 25 cents each where the Monadnocks run $1-$2, so you can’t inventory many of those, but when they are needed, nothing works better. Riveted nut plates run about 45 cents each so having 10 or so of those in the three usual sizes (6, 8, 10) always on hand isn’t too expensive.
There’s nothing handier than having rolls of 1-inch wide “shop roll” abrasive cloth at hand. Get it in multiple grits. There are 50 yards in a roll, so you won’t buy it very often. If you only dip into your oversupply of consumables once or twice, the aggravation they avoid will make you glad you made the investment. Trust me!
SCRAP/SHORT LENGTHS OF TUBING
Budd Davisson is an aeronautical engineer, has
This may be something unique to the stuff I do, but I don’t think so: Having lots of short lengths (18-24 inches) of all of the small diameter 4130 tubing always laying around is handier than you’d
flown more than 300 different types, and has pub-
SHOP ROLL ABRASIVE CLOTH
lished four books and more than 4,000 articles. He is editor-in-chief editor-in-chief of Flight Journal magazine and a flight instructor primarily in Pitts/tailwheel aircraft. Visit him on www.AirBum.com.
www.eaa.org 115 115
World’ss Greatest World’ Greatest Aviation Celebration ® | July July 24-31 | EAA.org/Tradition
EXPERIMENTER HINTS FOR HOMEBUILDERS
BILL OF MATERIALS Two 18-foot lengths of square tubing will be enough to make the table with some left over (note that 24 feet is a standard length, and your supplier may not sell partial lengths). You’ll also need one 8-foot length of 1-by-1 angle and a 2-by-2 foot piece of 1/8-inch plate in addition to the tabletop. Depending on where you source your materials, this welding table can be built for less than $400. MATERIALS NEEDED Tabletop: One Tabletop: One 30-by-48-by-3/16 inch plate or sheet
Mobile Welding Table BY STEVE GLAESER, EAA ������; NORTH VERSAILLES, PENNSYLVANIA
Frame verticals: Four 30-inch long 2-by-2by-1/8 inch square tube Frame horizontals (long): Four 40-inch long 2-by-2-by-1/8 2-by-2-by-1/8 inch square tubes Frame horizontals (short): Six 18-inch long 2-by-2-by-1/8 2-by-2-by-1/8 inch square tubes Gas bottle shelf: One 8-by-22-by-1/8 plate or sheet (shelf bottom) O
that involves fabricating small weldWHEN YOU HAVE A PROJECT that
G OT A
HINT? Want your own
EAA Sport Aviation contributor hat? We’ll send you one if you submit a hint that we run in this column. Send your tips to
[email protected].
[email protected].
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March 2017
ments, the benefits of a welding table become clear. If shop space is at a premium, then a mobile welding table may be the solution. The table can be customized to fit your specific needs, and building it can provide valuable welding practice. This mobile welding table brings the welder, welder, tools, and even gas bottles along for the ride. Inspired by a few internet searches, the table includes a three-drawer “intermediate” tool chest for my welding tools and shelves for the welder and two gas bottles. For mobility, mobility, the table rides on three (not four) casters, one swivel and two fixed (my garage floor is nowhere near flat or level). The tabletop is 30 inches by 48 inches and is supported by a 2-by-2 inch square tube frame. The top is just over 37 inches high and overhangs the frame by 4 inches on three sides. The height and overhang allow me to sit or stand comfortably when welding (consider this when determining your table height). The tool chest is supported by a structure made from 1-by-1-by-1/8 angle that is welded to the frame; self-tapping screws screws keep the tool chest in place. The gas bottles sit on a shelf made from 1/8-inch sheet supported with 1-by-1-by-1/8 angle (top side) and gussets (bottom side). The casters are fastened to pieces of 1/8-inch plate welded to the frame (nuts are welded to the pieces of plate), and the welder sits on a chipboard shelf. How stable is the table? With the fixed casters placed at the corners near the welding gas bottles and the swivel caster placed in the middle of the opposite side, this table does not have any tipping tendencies. The swivel caster has the only brake and is enough to keep the table from wandering away while you are trying to work.
O
O
One 6-by-22-by-1/8 6-by-22-by-1/8 plate or sheet (shelf side) Two 10-inch long 1-by-1-by-1/8 angles (shelf supports)
Tool chest support: Two 18-inch long 1-by-1-by-1/8 angles (horizontals) O
O
O
Two 12-inch long 1-by-1-by-1/8 angles (verticals) Lower shelf: One 22-by-44 plywood or chipboard (any thickness will work)
Misc. items: Intermediate Intermediate tool chest O
O
Two 4-inch casters (fixed)
O
One 4-inch caster (swivel with brake)
O
O
Self-tapping screws (tool chest attachment) as required 1/4-20 fasteners (caster attachment) as required
Lowering barriers to
MODERN AVIONIC AVIONICS S EAA is offering the Accessible Safety STC for type-certified aircraft. Qualifying aircraft can fly with the modern EFIS-D10A or EFIS-D100.
Centering Round Stock BY TRACY BUTTLES; EAA ������; KAUKAUNA, WISCONSIN
center a piece of round stock in the drill press. Use a small steel ruler and balance it on the stock to be drilled. Run the point of your drill bit down to just touch the ruler. ruler. Adjust the stock to balance the ruler. USE THIS TRICK TO
To see if your aircraft qualifies or for more information, visit
EAA.org/AccessibleSafety
Save on purchases at Aircraft Spruce with the EAA Cash Rewards Visa Signature ® Card! Enjoy these benefits:
> Up to 10% off eligible net purchases with Aircraft Spruce & Specialty 1 > $10 Cash Rewards Bonus after your first purchase 2 Plus, a portion of every card purchase will be contributed to E AA at no additional cost to you. EAA Visa Cardmembers have already helped contribute over $750,000 to projects like the museum and y outh programs. Apply today at at EA A.org/Visa A.org/Visa..
Pilot Hole Size BY TRACY BUTTLES; EAA ������; KAUKAUNA, WISCONSIN
of material is much easier if you use a small pilot hole. The easiest way to find t he smallest and most efficient pilot hole size is to use calipers to measure the thickness of the web of the drill bit and use that dimension. DRILLING A THICK PIECE
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF TRACY BUTT LES
Account must be open and in good standing to earn and redeem rewards and benefits. Upon approval, please refer to your Rewards Program Rules for additional information. 1. So Some me restrictions may apply. Visit Visit www.aircraftspruce.com/eaaDiscountGuide. html for for a list of discounts. 2. Subject to credit approval. To earn the Cash Rewards
Bonus, purchase must be made within 90 days of account open date. Please allow 6-8 weeks after qualifying purchase is made for account to be credited. The creditor and issuer of the Experimental Aircraft Association Card is U.S. Bank National Association, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. © 2016 U.S. Bank National Association
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Vero Beach, FL and Long Beach, CA* March 2-5 B17 flights also available at Long Beach location
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Visit eaa.org/fordmarch or call 1-877-952-5395 to reserve your flight.
Master the Art of Instrument Navigation If you’re ready to take your flying to the next level, then it’s time to join the IMC Club.
Join a community of pilots willing to share experience, promote safety, and help improve your IMC flying skills.
Monthly chapter meetings present you with engaging flight scenarios and real-world decision making situations.
Visit EAA.org/IMC to join or start an IMC Club in your area.
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March 2017
Improve your proficiency and safety through education, experience, and mentorship.
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AT YOUR SERVICE: ADVERTISE RS IN THIS ISSUE
SPORT AVIATION
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WEBSITE
45, 94 www.youngeagles.org
AD INDE INDEX X
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AeroShell
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Evolution Aircraft Company
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OBC
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Ford Motor Company
ASA
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GRT Avionics
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B & C Specialty Products
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HTP America Inc
103
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Better Aircraft Fabric
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Boeing
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John Deere
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California Power Systems
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39
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For more information from EAA Sport Aviation ’s ’s advertisers, please phone or visit them on the web, and mention that you saw their ad in EAA Sport Aviation Visit Visit www.EAA.org f or or a listing of this month’s advertisers. .
Copyright © 2017 by the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. All rights reserved. EAA SPORT AVIATION (USPS 511-720; ISSN 0038-7835; 0038-7835; CPC#40612608) is owned exclusively by the Experimental Aircraft Assn., Inc. and is published monthly at the EAA Aviation Headquarters, 3000 Poberezny Rd., Oshkosh, WI 54902. Periodical Postage paid at Oshkosh, WI 54901 and other post offices. [U.S. membership rates are $40.00.] EAA STATEMENT OF POLICY – Material published in EAA SPORT AVIATION is contributed by EAA members and other interested persons. Opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Association, Inc. Accuracy of the material is the sole responsibility of the contributor. contributor. ADVERTISING – EAA does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through our advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EAA SPORT AVIATION, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.
www.eaa.org 123 123
EAA’S ATTIC
Historic Headgear to EAA’s EAA’s collection, this helmet was donated to the museum by NASA legend Gene Kranz, EAA Lifetime 429257, when he spoke at EAA’s Wright Brothers Memorial Banquet in December 2016. This P-3 type helmet was used by the U.S U.S.. Air Force beginning in 1953 and was nearly identical to the earlier P-1A/B P1A/B hard shell designs used by the Air Force, except for the addition ONE OF THE MOST RECENT ADDITIONS
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March 2017
of a permanent visor for windblast protection. Kranz wore it during the Korean War, when he flew F-86 Sabres as part of the 69th Fighter Bomber Squadron. The raised torch and lightning bolt marking on the back of the helmet was the insignia for his group.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN BRUEGGEN
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July 24 - 30 Buy your AirVenture AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 tickets tickets today! Visit Visit EAA.org/Tickets
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