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EDITORIAL
The Impossible Turn Revisited
Do what you've been trained to do
Throughout the years, I’ve read seemingly countless articles in
various magazines concerning “the impossible turn.” For those not
familiar with the phrase, it refers to turning back to the runway
behind you in the event of an engine failure. The concept is simple,
unless you have sufficient altitude, your rate of descent is too great
for your rate of turn, and simple math will tell you that you’ll hit
the ground before completing the turn. Quick example: A 500
feet/minute rate of descent coupled with a "standard rate"
turn (2 minutes to complete a 360-degree turn) means that you need at
least 500 feet of distance between you and the ground to complete a
180-degree turn. So unless you have a minimum 500 feet above ground
level (AGL), and considering altitude loss for winds, and runway
realignment, the turn is "impossible." Read
more
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Experimenter Improves with
Your Help
The best stories come from you, and we implore you to share your
building experiences with your fellow readers. We need your help in
providing content for each issue of Experimenter. Please
consider submitting an article, especially the next time you feel
compelled to write a report to your e-mail group, type newsletter, or
EAA chapter newsletter. Help us build up a stockpile so we can do a
better job bringing you Experimenter each month. And please
remember to take our survey
when you are done with this issue of Experimenter.
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PAUL'S PICK
Airline Transport System Still Needs Sport Aviation
The issue of airport expansion had been a long ignored problem in
1989 when Paul Poberezny and other sport aviation advocates were invited
to Washington, D.C., to present the GA perspective to Department of
Transportation and FAA representatives as they prepared to examine
airline access and the need for new airports. EAA advocated for
continued access by GA since it was this sector that would train the
people who would power the airline world. The problem is even more acute
today as GA access continues to be squeezed and the pilot population
shrinks each day. Read
Paul's Pick
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TALES FROM THE DAR SIDE
Operating Limitations - The Devil Could Be in the Details
As promised in last month's column, this month I'm going to explore
some details of amateur-built aircraft operating limitations and point
out some of the potential "gotchas" that you need to look for while
operating it. There are lots of variations in operating limitations, so
you need to be careful not to assume the limitations issued to your
aircraft are identical to other similar aircraft you’re familiar with.
Let’s work our way through a typical set of operating limitations in
detail. Read
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CX4
Evolution and Growth
Bill Stinson's CX4 was the first customer-built CX4 to fly in 2007.
Since that time, the worldwide body of CX4 builders has grown
dramatically; kits and major assemblies are now available, and the
visibility of the airplane around the country is taking off. We now take
a deeper look at some of the milestones in bringing this design to the
homebuilding community.
Read
more
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CONTACT!
Magazine Celebrates 100th Issue
Last year CONTACT! Magazine celebrated its 100th issue. This
year we celebrate our 20th year as a nonprofit corporation fulfilling an
educational and a philanthropic
mission by serving the experimental aviation community. To commemorate
these milestones we've placed four recent issues of CONTACT! Magazine
online as a free gift to all who are interested in experimental aviation
at its finest. Read more
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HOW TO
Building
an Intake System
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that if care isn't
used when bending ridged tubing, you'll kink or otherwise restrict the
flow through the tube. This goes for custom intake runners as well as
exhaust headers, which is the topic of this month's How To. Read
more
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WHAT
OUR MEMBERS ARE BUILDING
Singapore
Skyranger Swift
We've finally completed building our plane after close to 500
man-hours. We believe that many could have completed it in a much
shorter time frame, but this being our first build and with our limited
experience, we consulted our MA on any doubts and made sure that it was
correctly done the first time. Read
more
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MYSTERY
PLANE
This
month's Mystery Plane is a plans-built VW-powered low-wing cantilever
monoplane that comes from France. The structure is fabric-covered wood.
Three variants have appeared over the course of about 27 years: The
original single seat flew in 1962, the more powerful "Super"
version in 1985, and the larger two seat in 1989. The wing is built
around a single spar and has constant chord to mid span, with
semielliptical outer panels. Read
more
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Zodiac
CH 601 XL Fix Meets 51 Percent Rule
The FAA says an upgrade kit (6-ZU) offered by Zenith Aircraft
Company to address concerns about the design of the Zodiac CH 601 XL
meets the requirements of the 51 percent rule. The kit was offered in
2009 after several accidents involving structural failures in a number
of aircraft. Zenith noted in a statement that the string of accidents
had no one root cause but was a combination of design and operational
factors. Read
more
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Start
Making Plans for International Learn to Fly Day May 21
Last May, EAA members, chapters, and other aviation groups and
enthusiasts introduced the wonder of flight to more than 40,000 people
at 450 local events during the first International Learn to Fly Day.
Mark your calendars and start making plans for the second annual event,
set for Saturday, May 21, 2011. Read
more
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Rebuilding the XP-82 Twin Mustang
Not long ago, Tom Reilly, EAA 802376/Warbirds 552913, and his warbird
restoration group got started on a restoration that, when finished, will
resurrect one of the rarest airplanes in the world: the Merlin-powered
North American P-82 (Twin Mustang) prototype, the only one of an
estimated 60 built planned to fly. Reilly had his eye on a P-82 he
immediately fell in love with when he toured Walter Soplata's extensive
collection of warbirds. By the time he acquired the funds it had been
sold - twice. Reilly was sure his dream of owning a Twin Mustang was
over. Read
more
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Nominations
Sought for Bingelis, Spirit of Flight Awards
Is there an extraordinary tech counselor in your chapter? Or a pilot
whose accomplishments and dedication to aeronautics have "flown
under the radar"? They may be appropriate recipients for two awards
presented annually at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh - the Tony Bingelis Award
and the Spirit of Flight Award, and nominations for each award are
currently being sought before the February 1 deadline. Read
more
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EAA
No. 2 Carl Schultz Dies
Served as EAA's first vice-president
Carl E. Schultz, EAA 2, who helped found the EAA, serving as the
organization's first vice-president, died on December 25. Born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1918, Carl spent his entire life devoted to
airplanes, flying, sawmills, his family, and, most of all, his
"bride," Pearl. Schultz soloed in 1937 and earned his airframe
and powerplant certificate around the same time. Aside from a brief
stint as a co-pilot for BF Goodrich in the 1940s, Carl's mastery of
metal and mechanics served him well throughout his professional career
as an aircraft mechanic and later in the research engineering
departments of several major small engine manufacturers. Read
more
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Carl Schultz (right) with EAA Chapter 18 Technical Counselor and former
EAA Board Member Ron Scott.
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Q&A
Got a
question? Send it to us at Experimenter@eaa.org.
Whether you're building, restoring, or just an
enthusiast. we want to know what has you
stumped.
Q. I just read
an article regarding factory-built special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA).
The article mentioned that S-LSA can be converted to experimental
light-sport aircraft (E-LSA). Is this true?
A. Yes, there is
a provision in the regulation that allows the owner of an S-LSA to
convert the aircraft to E-LSA. Specifically, 14 CFR 21.191(i)(3) states
that an experimental airworthiness certificate may be issued to an
aircraft that "has been previously issued a special
airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category under §21.190."
Read more Q&As
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AVIATION GLOSSARY
Confused
by a strange aeronautical term? EAA's online
Aviation Glossary can help.
MONOCOQUE -
Type of fuselage design with little or no internal bracing other than
bulkheads, where the outer skin bears the main stresses; usually round
or oval in cross section. Additional classifications are (1)
semimonocoque, where the skin is reinforced by longerons or bulkheads,
but with no diagonal web members, and (2) reinforced shell, in which the
skin is supported by a complete framework or structural members. French:
monocoque, single shell.
More
glossary terms
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Sport
Aviation, September 1999
The Super Sport Cruiser
By Jack Cox
From the "what
ever happened to" category, the KIS Cruiser showed all the promise
in the world - a superperforming four-place composite kit, costing as
little as many two-place kits on the market at the time and
outperforming virtually every single-engine four-place production
aircraft of its time. Read
the article
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Carter PAV Makes First Vertical Takeoff
The Carter Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) prototype accomplished its
first vertical takeoff this month (January) as it wraps up the first
phase of flight testing. Combining the best attributes of an airplane,
helicopter, and gyrocopter, Carter Aviation Technologies founder Jay
Carter is attempting to create a vehicle that can go fast, with VTOL
capabilities, and be easy to fly. This week's testing focused on
computer automation, which Carter told EAA Radio's Fareed Guyot should
allow someone with a driver's license and a little training to just
point the craft in the direction they want to go. Listen
to the interview
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Thin, Light, Strong, and Energy Dense
The
2010 Nobel Prize in Physics went to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov,
who extracted graphene from a piece of graphite when they stuck a piece
of adhesive tape to it and peeled away a single atom-thick layer of the
thinnest, strongest material in the world. Could this be the next
building material for aircraft? Read
the article
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How to Identify a Lycoming Engine
From time to time, some of us need to research the specifications of
a variant in the Lycoming family of aircraft piston engines. This table
spells out the subtle and significant differences from one model to
another, and within the same model. Read
the table
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Cold or Warm Weather, Carb Ice Can Ruin
Your Day
to
attempt a restart and execute a forced landing. To avoid people on the
ground, the pilot tried a sharp bank, and the plane spun in from 80
feet. The impact destroyed the airframe and severely injured the pilot
and his passenger. The cause was carb ice, on a warm summer day. Read
more
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HOMEBUILDER GALLERY OF
THE MONTH
Ebneter's E-1
Arnold Ebneter was wrapping up his bachelor's degree in aeronautical
engineering at Texas A&M University in 1958 and he needed a final
project, so he decided to design an airplane that would set a speed
record over a long distance. His paper wowed the faculty, but it took 52
years to build and then attempt the record. You can read Ebneter's story
in the January issue of Sport Aviation. View
Arnold's personal build photos
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WEBINARS
Aerodrome of Democracy: How
Canada Trained Allied Pilots
One of the greatest military and industrial achievements of the
World War II took place in Canada. The British Commonwealth Air Training
Plan (BCATP) was a massive exercise in planning, construction, and
community involvement that, in a few short years, trained hundreds of
thousands of airmen from Canada, the British Commonwealth, and the
United States.
All webinars begin at 7 p.m. CDT. To find
out more about upcoming EAA Webinars and to register, visit the webinars
page.
EAA gratefully acknowledges the
support of Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Co. for its generous
sponsorship of the webinar programs.
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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 - I
Fold
SeaRey just announced a folding-wing version of its amphibian, which
joins a long line of designs that sought compact functionality, such as
the Spezio Tuholer, Stits Playmate, Kitfox, Zenair CH 701, and the
Glasair Sportsman.
Q.
Given the opportunity, would
your next project or acquisition involve a folding-wing design?
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SURVEY
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review and rate
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