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/254584
EAA Experimenter 15 He also said that he was pleased with the company's cus- tomer service. Craig received a manual with photos, but the inevitable questions would arise as he built. He said that American Legend answered the phone promptly and always had the answers he needed. Craig was also impressed with the structural design of the Texas Sport. The original Piper Cub had at least one ac- cident where the cabin was crushed from the top. The Texas Sport had been beefed up structurally to improve its safety. American Legend had put a cage over the cabin, including a bracing bar over the seats. Craig said that the bar is strong enough to handle pull-ups, and it provides a good grab bar for getting in and out of the airplane. By the way, unlike the original Cub and Super Cub, the Texas Sport has two doors. Craig explained his choice of the 100-hp Continental O-200D. "We had a Continental TSIOF-550-E1B for the Lan- cair, and we'd built a relationship with Continental." This re- lationship carried over to the new engine. "The support was so great during the Lancair installation, I had to buy another Continental." The O-200D is very lightweight and had been chosen by Cessna for the Skycatcher. Craig gave Continental some lead time when he ordered the engine and was pleased that it arrived before he needed it. Although Craig liked the airplane's design and kit con- struction, he made a few cosmetic changes to the airplane. "Cosmetic, mostly, but it's as stock as possible," he said. Craig also researched finishing materials and reduced the weight of primer and paint. He used the weight savings to put in an autopilot and upscale avionics—a Garmin G3X and a TruTrak GX autopilot. Craig, who is also a pilot, chose these specific brands because they would improve the flying experience and because Garmin and TruTrak were having a package deal at AirVenture. The only tricky part of the build was the engine cowling. The airplane was originally designed for a 65-hp engine, but Craig 's 100-hp engine was a little bigger. Getting the cowling to fit well and be straight was one of the build challenges. Craig ended up buying the cowling from Ameri- can Legend. Excellent attention to detail result in the Gainzas' Pirate Cub being named a Kit Champion at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013. E A A E X P _ F e b 1 4 . i n d d 1 5 EAAEXP_Feb14.indd 15 2 / 3 / 1 4 3 : 1 5 P M 2/3/14 3:15 PM