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
20 Vol.3 No.2 / Februar y 2014 RETURN OF A HOMEBUILT LEGEND IT IS OFTEN SAID, and widely believed, that the beauty of art is in the eye of the beholder. Hence the classic debate about "What is art?" However, once in a while an artist will render his medium in such a way and to such a degree that his work is universally recognized as "art," regardless of how it is defi ned or who is viewing it. Such is the craftsmanship of Jim Lloyd Butler (1919-2008). Like so many artists before him, he has left us sculptures that chal- lenge the eye to fi nd defects, and he set standards that will forever be judged as among the highest ever set. This is especially so, because the sculpture is an airplane and the medium is aluminum. The name Jim Lloyd Butler is normally only known within the ranks of hardcore homebuilders who have more than a little gray in their hair. That's because his sculptures predate the last generation or two of EAA homebuilders. He was one of the few to ever gain champion status at the EAA's national convention three times, fi rst at Rockford (Illinois), in 1964, then again two years running—'73 and '74—at Oshkosh with a dif erent airplane. (More recently, Paul Muhle has shared that honor as well.) Unfortunately, though, even those who know Butler's name haven't seen one of his signature Midget Mustangs (MMs) for many years. That changed this year, when Lewis Shaw, EAA Lifetime 54176, a confi rmed practitioner of all pos- sible types of sport aviation from Dallas, Texas, arrived at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 and put his newly restored Jim But- ler '64 grand champion on display. For many newcomers to sport aviation, it was dif cult for them to believe the airplane was aluminum and not composites. Such fl awless surfaces are not normally associated with aluminum. However, "fl awless" is the most common adjective applied to Butler's work. And owner/restorer Lew Shaw knows that. Lew said, "Building a Midget Mustang from scratch, without kits, was and is simply a heroic effort that few of us can accomplish, and today few have the time or the determination to do it to the level Butler did. Not to mention the skill. And he did it all by himself. Every bit of it. There was no community of builders for the Midget. No chat groups. Further, it should be mentioned that at the time, complete plans for the airplane didn't really exist. Photography by Phil High Put on its nose at some point, the Midget Mustang's original landing gear was replaced by Shaw with Grove gear legs, which are gun-drilled and airfoiled. There is no fi ller or fi berglass in this photo: it is all formed aluminum. E A A E X P _ F e b 1 4 . i n d d 2 0 EAAEXP_Feb14.indd 20 2 / 3 / 1 4 3 : 1 6 P M 2/3/14 3:16 PM