Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/126719
A L o s t a n d F o un d H o m e b uil t with the restoration. So, operating on the premise "Ask and you shall receive," we initially invited four aviationrelated vendors to "co-sponsor" our efforts with this restoration. The results were nothing short of amazing! Wondrous things happen within the aviation community, and in a very short time all four vendors responded positively to our invitation. Based on their responses, we expanded the co-sponsorship list, which has grown to a total of 22! Lots of Folks Had Flown It While doing research on this aircraft, Margarita Pazmany showed me an original logbook for this aircraft that lists the names of many aviation notables including Budd Davisson, Don Downie, Don Dwiggins, Walt Mooney, Peter Lert, Peter Garrison, and Mitch Garner, each of whom had flown this aircraft in the 1970s. Te fuselage ready for painting. Aside from having the unique opportunity to work with Greg's "let's get 'er done" attitude in actually accomplishing a restoration on such a historical aircraft, I found that everyone who learned about what Greg and I were doing were as excited as us and would volunteer to help in any way possible. This participation is a testament to just how great America, EAA, the aviation community, and everyday folks are when the "cause" is something as unique, infectious, and downright symbolic as this Pazmany PL-4A. Greg and I are humbled to have had the great opportunity to restore this aircraft and to have been associated with the many co-sponsors and individuals who have all helped us in our efforts. Te restored PL-4A few again for the frst time on December 17, 2012, a ftting date for a frst fight. I made an initial flight in the PL-4A on December 17, 2012, climbing to about 25 feet above the runway for about 200 feet, then landing due to an oil leak in the right valve cover. It wasn't until much later that the significance of the date dawned on me. It was the same day another Wright, Wilbur, had taken to the air 109 years earlier. P.S. Once, I tried to reserve some motel rooms for AirVenture Oshkosh for my brother and me. When I asked to reserve some rooms in the name of the Wright brothers, the desk clerk quickly advised he didn't have time for that kind of foolishness. He didn't realize I wasn't kidding. Plans for the airplane are still available. They are professional-quality aerospace construction drawings, not the kind you'd expect for a homebuilt. Visit www.AircraftSpruce.com. 16 Vol.2 No.5 / May 2013 A new 65-hp Great Plains engine now powers the aircraf. Its a 1915-cc VW conversion with a 1.6-to-1 belted cogged-belt reduction unit.