Experimenter

DEC 2014

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.

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14 Vol.3 No.12 / December 2014 LEONARD MILHOLL AND'S LEGAL EAGLE proceeded to deliver a string of standard jokes with a perfect sense of timing. He also talked about his age, saying he had promised his wife he would live to be at least 100. A check of his calculated life expectancy at this time came out to 104, so when they reach that point they will make new plans. It was a treat to be in the same room and feel the affection expressed by family, friends, and customers. A successful plans-built airplane must have builder sup- port, and that's where an organized builder community can help. The Eagler's Nest at www.EaglersNest.com/forum/ is an online community of builders and owners with 456 members and more than 3,000 posts covering more than 500 topics. The running slide show of completed Legal Eagle projects may make you want to build one. There is also a Ya- hoo discussion group for ½ VW engines. Sam Buchanan has a wonderful build site with detailed photos and text about every aspect of his Legal Eagle XL project. The photos and explanations add a lot to what is in the plans. Don't miss the link to his flying videos. Sam previously built a Van's RV-6. Les Homan brought his Legal Eagle XL to AirVenture 2014 all the way from California and won the top ultralight award given by the judges in the Fun Fly Zone, as the Ul- tralight/Lightplane area is now called. He has a lot of great videos of Legal Eagle flying at www.YouTube.com/user/ homanles/videos and also some snippets from Leonard's fo- rums at AirVenture. Les flew a Super Starduster biplane for three years prior to the Legal Eagle. Leonard and his builders have been bringing their air- planes to EAA AirVenture, and he has been giving forums in the Ultralight/Lightplane area for nearly 15 years. For some reason, there are few news and magazine articles about his airplanes. Leonard said the airplane doesn't get the recogni- tion it deserves. Perhaps writers dismiss it as old-fashioned and instead focus on the "jazzier" airplanes. Check out the Legal Eagles in the Ultralight/Lightplane area next time you come to AirVenture, and watch for news of Leonard's next airplane, an enclosed cabin model with folding wings. Con- tact Leonard at Leonard@lemilholland.com . Dan Grunloh has logged 1,200 hours in trikes, and he won the 2002 and 2004 U.S. National Microlight Championships in a trike. LEGAL EAGLE XL SPECIFICATIONS Empty weight: 246 pounds Wingspan: 315 inches (26 feet 3 inches) Wing chord: 55 inches Wing area: 120.3 square feet Gross weight: 575 pounds Fuselage length: 193 inches (16 feet 1 inch) Height: 75 inches (6 feet 3 inches) Fuel capacity: 5 gallons Propeller: Wood, 54-by-22 Engine: 30 hp Better Half VW Stall speed: 27 mph Takeoff distance: 250 feet Leonard cutting his 90th birthday cake during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2014. Photography courtesy of Dan Grunloh

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