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
30 Vol.3 No.6 / June 2014 WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE BUILDING JIM SMITH, EAA 61535, of Yankton, South Dakota, started build- ing this Christina Mini-Coupe in 1973 and fi rst fl ew it in the fall of 2013. Yes, that's right; the project was a part of his life for 40 years, with spans of a couple of years where nothing was done on it because of various health issues and surgeries. Jim admits he kept the project on a "back burner" for much of the time, but he never forgot about it. He started out building the spars in his basement, and then moved the project with him to a house on a farm. The aircraft is outfi tted with just basic instruments. It's powered by a VW engine and has a 13-gallon fuel tank. The only change he made to the plans was that he swapped out the original solid gear for a spring gear from a Sonerai II. Jim wanted to copy the paint scheme of the old Army trainers, so the aircraft is painted in Ford blue and Construction yellow. Persistence paid of for Jim, and he's happy with the way the airplane fl ies, but he said that building isn't necessarily for everyone. "If you don't like to build things, I would recommend getting a second job and buying a ready-to-fl y airplane," he said. Christina Mini-Coupe KEN BEANLANDS, EAA 662964, of Beaver Bank, Nova Scotia, was a Cessna 180 floatplane pilot for more than 20 years. However, when he retired, he could no longer justify the high operating cost of the 180. His son, who had already completed his first homebuilt said, "Dad, do you want to fly or own a 180?" When Ken replied, "I want to fly," his son's advice was to build an airplane. Ken said, "I was famil- iar with the Rebel, which is probably the most popular homebuilt in Newfoundland, where I resided for 42 years. In fact, I had given several Rebel owners their float endorsements and was impressed with the Rebel's perfor- mance on floats." Ken ordered a kit, and it arrived on February 21, 2003. Ken said the manual suggested that the Rebel can be com- pleted in 1,500 hours. More than 4,000 hours later, on July 20, 2012, he carried out his first flight test. He added that he owes a special thanks to his wife, Marina, who has been a plane-builder's widow for the last 10 winters; to his son, Kenny, who is an AME residing in Calgary but was only a phone call away when Ken needed advice; to his brother, Brian, who provided invaluable help when it came to elec- tronics; to his brother-in-law, Phil, who was a great help when it came to the final assembly on floats; and finally to his recent friend, David Comeau, who has the uncanny ability to quickly assess a complex problem and arrive at a simple, workable solution. Editor's Note: We'd love to share photos of your completed air- craft or your project in process with other members. Send your photos and a brief description to Experimenter@eaa.org . Nova Scotia Murphy Rebel E A A E X P _ J u n e 1 4 . i n d d 3 0 EAAEXP_June14.indd 30 6 / 3 / 1 4 8 : 4 0 A M 6/3/14 8:40 AM