EAA SportAir Canada 2018 Offerings

March 2018

We are again offering instructional courses this spring to support building, flying, and maintaining Canadian amateur-built aircraft. Please take the time to browse these courses and see if they could be of benefit to your recreational flying and building aspirations.

April 28-29, 2018, High River, Alberta:

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Sheet Metal & RV Assembly

Are you thinking of starting a sheet metal aircraft project? Most aircraft builders started out just like you — not knowing the difference between a squeezer and Cleco, or how to adjust a rivet gun, much less actually use one. All aircraft building projects employ at least some sheet metal techniques.

Here’s the opportunity to learn, in an intensive two-day workshop session that will guide you through the process — step by step — and give you the confidence to successfully start and more importantly finish your dream machine.

It’s a small investment that will pay off in many ways. We’ll teach you the ins and outs of sheet metal construction, specific to any number of sheet metal aircraft kits. You’ll get extensive hands-on practice with the guidance of an experienced instructor who will mentor you through the process. You will save time and money by getting it right the first time with the knowledge gained from this workshop experience.

During the two-day session we’ll cover setting up your workshop, tools required, building steps, material basics, fasteners, riveting and assembly, and aircraft hardware.

Composite Construction
The composite construction course will present basic composite building techniques. This two-day course is an intensive hands-on workshop discussing tools needed, safety aspects of composites, moldless construction to include hot-wiring, bonding methods for composite kit planes, etc. A large amount of time will be spent learning the basics of composite construction. This course is very in-depth in its scope. A high degree of confidence in the composite area will be gained by the end of the two-day period.

How to Test-Fly Your Homebuilt
This course should be of prime interest to any owner/builder or second owner who wants a better way to learn their aircraft’s operating parameters, other than the “Oops, don’t want to do that again” approach. Participants will be able to build a definitive flight-test program and POH for their amateur-built aircraft.

The course was developed for us by a highly respected senior Canadian test pilot to help put together a realistic, valid test program. With these tools you will be able to determine numbers and flight characteristics for your plane in a safe and logical process. With this course, you will be able to set up test sequences and develop test cards that will make sense to you, and help you build confidence when flying your aircraft. Learn your plane through proper testing, don’t find out its limits by accident, and use your fly-off period to get the numbers and handling characteristics that will build confidence in flying your machine.

Annual Inspection of Your Homebuilt
What does it take to keep your aircraft airworthy? What do you have to do to stay legal? What do you do and look for when performing an annual inspection? These are the questions we answer in this intense two-day course.

There are too many examples of the “fill the tires/change the oil/cut the filter/clean the plugs/wipe the cowling” annual inspections and sign-offs out there. This is scary, and in some instances, do the owners know there is much more involved in maintaining and preserving their aircraft?

In this course, you will be presented with the requirements as stated in the CARs, but more importantly, you will be given the knowledge and background to look at and determine what wear points are in your aircraft. Through lecture and example you will learn the “hints” your airframe is giving you to its actual condition, and know the actions required to keep your aircraft in its best shape. A part of airworthiness is a proper paper trail, and this is also covered in the course.

This course is obviously very valuable to second owner/purchasers, but builders can learn much about failure modes in the many components used in all aircraft. The course applies to all types of airframes: metal, fabric, and composite.

Saturday, April 28, 2018, High River Alberta:

What’s Involved in Homebuilding Your Aircraft 
The goal of this seminar is to take you through the entire building process, discuss the relevant Canadian rules, and dispel some of the common misconceptions involved in building your own aircraft. This seminar is invaluable for anyone desiring to build an airplane, either kit or plansbuilt. Time is allotted for questions and answers.