Experimenter

APR 2015

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/492505

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EAA Experimenter 7 CUTTING-EDGE INNOVATIONS, including EAA AirVenture Oshkosh's fi rst drone cage, will be featured at EAA's new Aviation Gateway Park during the Oshkosh convention July 20-26. This new area will be located near the corner of Waukau and Knapp streets—where the successful College Park innova- tion/education area launched in 2014. The drone cage will feature daily unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demos, educational presentations, and obstacle course contests viewed from all sides of the cage, including from bleachers inside the Park's Innovation Center. Other features of Aviation Gateway Park include the Inno- vation Center and the Forums Center presented by the National Air Traf c Controllers Association and the Education & Career Center presented by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. A plaza area between the three main structures will be a popular gathering place and home for some of the returning ac- tivities from last year's College Park complex, including a social for college aviation students and an aviation job fair hosted by aviation-related companies seeking employees. Innovation, Education, and UAVs at AirVenture BURT RUTAN, the visionary aircraft designer whose innovations made his- tory and changed the aviation world, will be back at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2015 to commemorate the 40th anni- versary of his iconic VariEze aircraft. Rutan's designs have been groundbreak- ing for more than 40 years, beginning with the VariViggen in the early 1970s through the concepts that became the SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo vehicles that are launching the era of space tourism. His use of canard wings and compos- ite materials changed the look and ef- fi ciency of homebuilt aircraft, with more than 1,000 airplanes based on his designs now fl ying in the United States alone. The VariEze fi rst fl ew in May 1975, with the prototype causing a sensation at that year's EAA Oshkosh fl y-in. That canard design evolved into other Rutan aircraft innovations, such as the Long-EZ, that are still being built today. Rutan's multitude of interests has also led him into successfully exploring space fl ight and into electric fl ight. In honor of the VariEze anniversary, EAA is inviting all Rutan and canard air- craft owners to come to Oshkosh and par- ticipate in the festivities. More details on specifi c dates and events will be released as they are fi nalized. Burt Rutan Returning to Oshkosh in 2015 SEE THE WORLD'S ONLY fl ying Consolidated Vultee PB4Y-2 Privateer at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015! Based at Casa Grande Municipal Airport, Arizona, the airplane (N2871G) was being prepared to fl y to Oshkosh last year, but those plans were nixed by engine issues. With those now solved, all systems appear to be go for Oshkosh. This unique aircraft is owned by 4Y-2 LLC and sponsored by SAC Holdings, an af liate of U-Haul Corp. It was restored to its original Navy confi guration after serving for years as a fi re bomber. Restoration to original Navy confi guration was performed by Goss- Hawk Unlimited of Casa Grande, led by its president, Dave Goss. The Privateer is the Navy version of the Consolidated B-24 that served as a patrol bomber in World War II and the Korean War. Modifi cations to the B-24 included a longer nose, as well as an additional top turret and new waist-powered turrets. Perhaps the most obvious dif erence is its single vertical tail in place of the B-24's twin tails. N2871G came of the line in 1945. See World's Only Flying Privateer at Oshkosh

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