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/178050
E A A A ir Ve n t ur e O s h ko s h 2 013 stores. The goal of the project is to give the opportunity to potential builders to build a complete aircraft (engine included) well below $20,000; $15,000 is the target. The company is working on technology that will allow novice builders to point a smartphone camera at an aircraft part and have it display build and assembly information for the part on the screen. Supporters can see the Indiegogo campaign at http://igg.me/at/MakerPlane. GreenWing International Taking Orders for eSpyder Icon President Kirk Hawkins announced that FAA approved its weight increase request. Icon Aircraft Icon Aircraft, developer of the amphibious A5 LSA, announced that the FAA granted its exemption request for a gross weight increase to accommodate safety features, including a spin-resistant airframe (SRA). The exemption allows the A5's takeoff weight to rise as high as 1,680 pounds, 250 pounds (114 kg) above the 1,430-pound limit for amphibious LSA. The FAA determined "a grant of exemption is in the public interest" for the increase of the A5 maximum takeoff weight. "The FAA believes it achieved an acceptable balance between enabling innovation and regulating safety in the regulations covering the certification and operation of light-sport aircraft." The FAA also noted that it hadn't considered the weight of SRA technology compliant with 14 CFR Part 23 spin-resistance standards in establishing the MTOW for LSA. The A5, introduced at EAA AirVenture 2008, initially was designed to meet mandated weight limits for LSA. During development the company decided to make the airframe spin-resistant to maximize safety. That objective required increasing the wing size and consequently the empennage, changes that put the aircraft's weight over the LSA amphib limit. The initial production A5 will weigh 1,510 pounds, according to Icon. www.IconAircraft.com 24 Vol.2 No.9 / Sep tember 2013 GreenWing International (GWI) started taking orders for the eSpyder electric, single-seat aircraft at Oshkosh. The eSpyder initially will be sold as an experimental amateurbuilt kit in the United States and as a completed aircraft in Europe, where it has achieved German DULV certification. The eSpyder offers pilots the opportunity to experience clean, quiet, affordable electric flying. Pricing will be 34,990 euros for the completed singleseater in Europe, and $39,990 for the experimental kit in the United States. Initial deliveries are planned for the fourth quarter of 2013, and GWI is currently limiting the number of sales positions to 25 aircraft in the European Union and 25 kits in the United States. GreenWing feels it is important to focus first on delivering outstanding customer service to the early customers of the electric aircraft and wants to focus on those customers before taking a larger number of orders. GWI pilots have been routinely achieving flights of more than an hour in the two planes that were flown several times at AirVenture. The typical cost per hour for electrical power in the United States is $1.60 and around 3 euro in Europe due to higher energy prices. The eSpyder noise level is around 51 decibels, far below any gas-powered airplane. Yuneec's eSpyder E280 single-seat ultralight debuted at AERO 2012 last year, and it's now back in 2013 in a modernized version with better aerodynamic protection for the pilot and engine parts. GWI claims it is the world's first certificated electric airplane, with German DULV certification awarded in February 2013. The eSpyder provides practical, affordable recreational flying with clean, quiet electric power. It combines a proven airframe design (the former Flightstar Spyder) with the Yuneec 24-kilowatt electric power system that can lift a 220-pound payload at an initial climb rate of 600 fpm. Maximum speed is 56 mph, with an economical cruise