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/271000
EAA Experimenter 21 But invariably everyone makes it through that period to the other side where aviation is waiting for them. In Mike's case, that also included starting his own machining company in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, that specializes in making molds for the plastics industry. Mike said, "I fi nally got back into fl ying again and decided to build a Lancair IV-P. So my fi rst homebuilding experience was with high-performance types. We ran that Lancair all over the country and of to Tortola (British Virgin Islands) and many times to Vancouver, British Columbia. Then I helped a friend, Rob Logan, build a Legacy. We fi nished it and test-fl ew it, and he's been fl ying the airplane for 12 years. After Rob's airplane, I helped Aaron and Bernie May fi nish their Legacy. I test-fl ew that and then fl ew it with Bernie while he was trying to sell it. It was at that point that I faced up to the fact that it was time I have my own airplane." Inasmuch as Mike had spent almost all of his most recent fl ight time in airplanes that cruised well more than 200 mph, he wasn't about to build a Pietenpol. If he was going to own an airplane, it had to be capable of carrying him across country at much higher than normal speeds. "It also had to be something that I could totally scratchbuild to keep the cost down," he said. "I could build almost anything with all the tools I had in my business, but I didn't want to drop a huge amount of money right up front for a kit. That's one of the reasons I almost immediately homed in on George Pereira's GP-4. It was the design that got the most performance out of the least horsepower. Plus, I really liked its looks. Being all wood, I knew it was going to be a longer build, if nothing else because wood airplanes always have a higher parts count; and in the GP-4, that is especially true. The GP-4's tapered wing adds to its performance and parts count, but it also was really attractive to me. I can't stand Hershey bar wings. But because this wing is tapered in both directions, that means there are no 90-degree intersections in its structure and virtually every part is unique. There are no duplicates. For instance, you can't stack up some plywood and band-saw dozens of ribs out at Photography by Jim Raeder Designer George Pereira wanted to build the fastest airplane he could using the 200 hp IO-360-A1A. Mike modifi ed the fuselage sides subtly using thin layers of foam to give the airplane's sides a more rounded appearance. E A A E X P _ M a r 1 4 . i n d d 2 1 EAAEXP_Mar14.indd 21 3 / 3 / 1 4 1 0 : 3 1 A M 3/3/14 10:31 AM