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/323139
12 Vol.3 No.6 / June 2014 A STAR WAS BORN 20 YEARS AGO IN 1992 THE PEOPLE at Stoddard-Hamilton, makers of the Glasair line of airplane kits, were riding high. They were the kings of "fast glass," but as everyone knows, the crown rests uneasily on the head of any king. Lancair and others were closing in on them, and insurance companies were pressuring them to of er extensive transition training courses or make their planes less challenging to fl y. As a response to these pressures, Stoddard-Hamilton concluded it needed a plane that most pilots could handle, not just a fast few. What it needed was a Cessna 172, only better. A separate company with many of the same players—Arlington Aircraft Development Inc.—took up the challenge. Arlington would design the plane, and Stoddard-Hamilton would produce and sell it. The Arlington team consisted of Ted, Tom, and Mike Setzer, with Tom doing most of the detailed design work. Engineer Bud Nelson and fabricator Dick Anderson also joined the team. Tom Hamilton, a founder of Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft who had since moved on, came back in his spare time to help with the development of the concept, and outside engineer Paul Robertson made important design recommendations, including the strakes and vortex generators that would help to make the GlaStar fl y so well at low speeds. Unlike so many other airplane designs, this one did not start with a pretty picture. It started with a set of parameters to be met—design goals that would shape the ultimate appearance of the fi nished product. The plane needed to hold two people of good size in comfort; it needed to fl y well and land slowly, plus cruise at a good speed and hold plenty of baggage. In addition to performing well, it needed to be economical to operate. This requirement pushed the design team toward the Continen- tal IO-240 engine, which was later swept aside by customer demand. Lastly, but certainly not least, safety was a major con- cern, so great ef ort went into making the new plane stall- and spin-resistant. Out of this process emerged the GlaStar. Its outward re- semblance to a Cessna could hardly be called accidental, but it embodied features Cessna never even thought of embracing— Former KITPLANES editor Marc Cook works on the wing of his new Sportsman at Glasair's Two-Weeks-To-Taxi program. Glasair recently introduced Super Cub-style "tough terrain" gear for the Sportsman. This will greatly enhance the Sportsman's off-airport capabilities. Photography courtesy of Dave Prizio E A A E X P _ J u n e 1 4 . i n d d 1 2 EAAEXP_June14.indd 12 6 / 3 / 1 4 8 : 3 7 A M 6/3/14 8:37 AM