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/339662
EAA Experimenter 15 At one point, someone peeked through a crack in the door and said something about a yellow airplane being slammed around. Even though my airplane was yellow, I knew it couldn't be mine because my airplane was in Row 16 and he was looking far to the right. When the tornado passed and they fi nally opened the doors, even though it was still raining hard, I bolted out of the building. I couldn't believe it when I found my airplane six rows from where I had tied it down. It was lying on its belly, the right wing on the ground and the left pointing to the sky. For the fi rst time in my entire life, I didn't have the slightest idea what to do. Everyone was walking around like zombies, me among them. The shock was overwhelming." The airplane had been picked up and cartwheeled across the ground, pretty much destroying the outer six feet of both wings and turning the struts into spaghetti. The right landing gear was collapsed, and it had hit the ground so hard that the tail wheel spring was snapped in half. The next day, the insur- ance company immediately totaled the airplane, but Ed bought it back for $2,500. He just couldn't let it go like that. "I called a friend in Alabama, and he came down with a trailer to help disassemble it," Ed said. "As we were loading the wreckage in the trailer, I couldn't help but think about all the blood, sweat, and tears that had gone into it. I was past being depressed. It was a long ride home, and every mile I kept think- ing that I couldn't let my dad down and I needed to fi x it. But it was like starting all over again, and at that moment, I didn't have the strength. "We piled all the junk up in the hangar. I closed the door and walked away with my brain whirling. I just didn't want to look at it again; I needed a break from airplanes. Then about three weeks later, I received a plaque in the mail from Sun 'n Fun—I almost couldn't believe it. I had been awarded the Grand Champion Plans-Built. Funny how things happen. I was grand champion for one day. Seeing that award gave me the strength to go back to the hangar, assess the damage, and see what could be salvaged. Photography by Jim Koepnick The Continental C-90 engine helps the airplane perform nicely, even with two people on board. While Ed doesn't plan to fl y the airplane at night, he's prepared if the situation arises. E A A E X P _ J u l y 1 4 . i n d d 1 5 EAAEXP_July14.indd 15 7 / 1 / 1 4 9 : 5 4 A M 7/1/14 9:54 AM