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/149316
M a k in g D o W h e n t h e K i t D o e s n ' t A r r i ve much on your own with no factory support, there are bound to be things that need changing once you think you're finished. He said, "Experimental airplanes are called 'experimental' because in some cases, like with the Auriga, you're truly experimenting and will do a lot of tinkering to get things the way you want them. That's just part of the game. "Initially, I had cooling problems; so I changed and redesigned the radiators, and then the temps were too low. And there was the propeller reduction unit change and the heavy wing. Also, I was disappointed in the speed. I was hoping for 172 knots but got only 150 at about 13 gallons per hour. That's one area I'm working on right now. "The good news, however, is that it handles loads really well and has a big CG range, so it's not critical in that area. Fully loaded, it'll use about 2,300 feet of runway to get off and likes to have just a little flap out on takeoff. When I'm landing, I come over the threshold at 75 knots and full flaps. Even then, it likes to float in ground effect. In the air, it's just a little pitch sensitive, which I think I can tame. The ailerons, however, are fine. Not too light, not too heavy." Victor calls his creation Odin's Wind. The tail number N234VV is in remembrance of his father, who whenever Victor did something wrong would shake his head and say, "Victor, Victor." Like we said at the onset, Victor's Auriga project suffered some of the most crippling setbacks a kit aircraft can suffer, e.g. a major part of the kit not being available. Still, in true homebuilder fashion, he once again proved that determination is the single most important ingredient in completing such a project. However, when obstacles that big have to be overcome, project progress slows significantly. Victor summed it up when he said, "If I'd had a child born when I started on the project, the child would have graduated college and made me a grandpa by now." As with grandchildren, which are also worth the wait, Victor seems more than satisfied with what he has created. Of course, with grandchildren, there is a minimum of tinkering, but that's what builders such as Victor like most about their mechanical creations: They are never truly done creating. Budd Davisson is an aeronautical engineer, has flown more than 300 different aircraft types, and published four books and more than 4,000 articles. He is editor-in-chief of Flight Journal magazine and a flight instructor primarily in Pitts/tailwheel aircraft. Visit him at www.Airbum.com. From the fuselage stripe up, everything in and on the fuselage was designed and molded by the builder's group that formed when it was obvious they weren't going to be receiving their kit parts from the former company. 26 Vol.2 No.8 /August 201 3 Photography by Budd Davisson