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EDITORIAL
LSA Might Not Be the Only Solution to an AWOL Medical Certificate
A year or two before the sport pilot, light-sport aircraft rule became
a reality, I wrote an editorial titled "Why Wait for LSA?"
Long before the rule became a reality, it was apparent to many that
the lack of a medical requirement would mean that those who could no
longer pass a third class exam (or never could to begin with) would
still be able to legally pilot an aircraft, but they had to wait until
the rule was final. Knowing that there was a way to legally fly
powered aircraft with minimal training and with a self-endorsed
medical, even if a medical was denied, surrendered, or revoked, I
wrote the following with the hope that those who had been waiting or
had given up could start flying right away. Even though this is an
older article, it still applies to anyone who has lost their medical
or thinks that sport pilot is the only option. Read
more
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Experimenter
editor Pat Panzera preparing for a checkride in a Schweizer 2-33 at the Central
California Soaring Club. |
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PAUL'S PICK
EAA Promotes Freedom of Aircraft Expression
With the recent news of Burt Rutan retiring in the coming months, Paul
looks back to the moment when Burt, his brother, Dick, and Jeana Yeager
were the faces of the successful global flight of the Voyager. Burt
Joined EAA in 1965 and Paul notes that, over its history, EAA has
supported of all phases of aviation. In particular, EAA has promoted the
freedom of expression in the design and construction of light aircraft
as well as the use of aircraft for personal recreation and
transportation. Read
Paul's column
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TALES FROM THE DAR SIDE
ELSA or Amateur-Built - Part Deux
Last month's column generated a lot of good conversation and some good
questions, so this month I will attempt to clarify a few things and also
pass along an update. I'll start with the update. One of the first calls
I got when last month's issue of Experimenter went out was from Ken
Scott of Van's Aircraft. He called to let me know that my information
was already out of date! He was referring specifically to my comment
regarding certification of the RV-12 as amateur-built. Ken informed me
that Van's had just completed that process and had received the letter
from the FAA stating that the RV-12 kit does indeed qualify for
amateur-built certification and that it would be added to the list in
the near future. Read
more
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Bass Akwards
Or, Turn the Other Cheek
Ground loop. An ugly word no matter how you define it and
perhaps the dominant fear among those without conventional gear time
wishing to keep it so. The blame of course is on the single (little)
wheel at the rear of the plane not being on the nose. But maybe it’s
not the location of the wheel that’s at fault as much as it is the
function of the wheel – that being directional control. That begs the
question, could a taildragger configuration be tamed if the mains were
steerable? Read
more
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Operation Rubidoux
Sundown XVIII – Victory!
Flabob open house
Russ Erb is the Newsletter Editor of EAA Chapter 1000 (Edwards Air Force
Base, California). His writing style is very entertaining as is his
perspective of EAA Chapter One's open house on-goings that took place on
the last Saturday of September at the historic Flabob Airport in
Rubidoux, California. Read
more
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Sloshkosh 2010
As mentioned in previous issues of Experimenter, we're certainly
interested in rotary wing articles and will publish them as we receive
them. Once
again we're treated to an article by Stuart Fields (Stu), editor and
co-publisher of Experimental Helo, a bimonthly magazine dedicated
to all experimental and personal helicopters. In this issue, Stu
recounts his abbreviated visit to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010 with his
eye on everything helo. Read
more
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My COPPERSTATE
Experience
Hello, my name is Alex
Panzera. I'm only 10, and this is my first article. So I'm new to this,
but here goes. A month ago, my Papa (the editor of this newsletter), my
uncle Tony, and I went to Casa Grande, Arizona, for the COPPERSTATE
Fly-In. COPPERSTATE is the fourth largest fly-in in the United States,
and the place is completely run by volunteers. Last year was my first
visit - it was amazing! But this year I decided to be a volunteer, and I
learned it's really important that they have plenty of volunteers there.
Read
more
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WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE
BUILDING
Perseverance Pays Off
EAA Staff-built Sonex Makes First Flight
Sunday, November 28, saw the realization of an eight-year dream
at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh as a new airplane, N208GD, taxied
out to Runway 22 and took to the skies for the first time. The airplane,
an AeroVee-powered Sonex aircraft, is the result of an idea hatched in
2002 that several staff members working at EAA, the cradle of homebuilt
aviation, should work together to build an airplane. Read
the story and see the video | View
the photo gallery
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MYSTERY
PLANE
With the announcement of the approaching retirement
of Burt Rutan, it seemed fitting that this month's Mystery Plane
would be one of his lesser-known designs. This petite, single-place,
fiberglass "X-Fighter" is the brainchild of Burt, with the
collaborative efforts of Gene Sheehan and Tom Jewett. Controversy ensued
and was played out in the pages of Sport Aviation as to who should be
credited for the design, but ultimately the teamwork of Sheehan and
Jewett brought the design to market in the late '70s and early '80s,
with the "Outstanding New Design" award won at EAA Oshkosh
1978. Read
more
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Electric Waiex
Achieves First Flight
A proof-of-concept electric-powered Waiex aircraft achieved its
first flight today (December 3) at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin. Piloted by Sonex Founder John Monnett, N270DC made an
intentional short hop on Runway 27 to break ground-effect and analyze
in-flight system performance as the next step in testing. The uneventful
flight was the culmination of four years of development for the Sonex
Aircraft, LLC, E-Flight Initiative. Read
more
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From Light Plane World: Rod Hightower
Meets With EAA Ultralight Council
The EAA Ultralight Council headed by Carla Larsh had a full day of
meetings on October 30 at the EAA Aviation Center, including almost two
hours with EAA President Rod Hightower. Each fall, the council reviews
EAA programs and activities that pertain to ultralights and light planes
such as EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, ultralight chapters, publications, and
government affairs to name just a few. The council members came away
from the meeting with the feeling that Rod wants to help us solve some
of our biggest problems. Read
more | Read
November’s Light Plane World
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AVIATION GLOSSARY
Confused
by a strange aeronautical term? EAA's online
Aviation Glossary can help.
ROCKWELL SCALE "HRC" -
The Rockwell scale is a hardness scale based on the indentation hardness
of a material. The Rockwell test determines the hardness by measuring
the depth of penetration of an indenter under a large load compared to
the penetration made by a preload. There are different scales, which are
denoted by a single letter, that use different loads or indenters. The
result, which is a dimensionless number, is noted by HRX where X is the
scale letter.
There are several alternative scales,
the most commonly used being the "B" and "C" scales.
Both express hardness as an arbitrary dimensionless number.
More
glossary terms
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Sport Aviation, May
1983
Turbocharging: Why, How and the Revmaster System
By Herbert L. Gillespie
In the May 1983 issue of Sport
Aviation, Herbert L. Gillespie (EAA 70419) details the theories and
nuances Revmaster Aviation
put into designing and implementing the successful use of a turbocharger
with their 2100-cc VW conversion. Read
the article
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AROUND THE WEB
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 Jump
Takeoff Gyros - Dick DeGraw's Homemade Masterpieces 'Gyrhino'
Normally a gyroplane needs some ground
roll before it can leave the ground. Although the CarterCopter has been
doing it for years, the technology has reached the homebuilder level
according to AeroTV. Watch
the video
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 High
Speed Beach Inspection
Late last month, Reno racer Kevin
Eldredge paid a visit to Chame, Panama, to test-fly the new twin-turbo
720-cubic-inch engine installation in Nemesis NXT kit #7 built by its
owner, Ron Simard. The first part of the video shows a little fun after
the initial shakedown. Second half is of Ron's first flights. Watch
the video
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 Mustang
II First Flight for Denmark-based Builder
On October 26, 2010, at Ringsted
Aerodrome, Denmark (EKRS), a beautifully crafted homebuilt Mustang II
built and piloted by Knud Aanaes made its first flight. Watch
the video
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Sport Air Racing League Crowns 2010
Season Champions
There are only a few opportunities for the average aircraft owner to
participate in racing his or her own aircraft. The EAA AirVenture Cup
provides one such opportunity for experimental-aircraft owners to put
their project to the test, but its only once a year. EAA Radio's Fareed
Guyot talks with Mike Thompson about the Sport
Air Racing League, which since 2006 has been slowly building a
year-round racing circuit for both experimental- and production-category
aircraft. Listen
to the interview
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HOMEBUILDER GALLERY OF
THE MONTH
Mystery Plane Air-to-Air
Nathan Peck has known the homebuilt he owns since he was a small boy,
when the project was started by his father and a friend. The original
builders never finished phase one flight testing, but Nathan eventually
did in his senior year in high school. Decades later, through many
aviation domicile and career moves, the bird still holds a special
place, even with VariEze and GP-4 builds underway. View
the gallery (Photos Courtesy: Steve
Schulte)
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WEBINARS:
BECOME AN A&P! WATCH THIS WEBINAR!
Learn how to document your aircraft building and/or repair experience
for the purpose of satisfying the practical experience requirements to
earn your airframe & powerplant certificate.
All webinars begin at 7 p.m. CDT. To find
out more about upcoming EAA Webinars and to register, visit the webinars
page.
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FROM
THE EAA HOMEBUILDING COMMUNITY
The
Homebuilders Corner message forum at Oshkosh365
is as active as ever. Have a look at the list
below and follow the links to read the actual
questions and discussion topics.
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Can
You Help?
Interesting
Discussions
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POLL
Q.
Will your first/next homebuilt be a taildragger or a tricycle gear?
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members of EAA invite YOU to become part of the
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