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/513537
8 Vol.4 No.5 / May 2015 FLIGHTLINE CUB CRAFTERS HAS announced an upgrade of its kit aircraft based on the popular Carbon Cub. The new Carbon Cub EX-2 improves on the company's Carbon Cub EX, an experimental amateur-built (E-AB) kit which features a lightweight air- frame and powerful engine that provides formidable of -airport performance. Cub Crafters' original Carbon Cub EX advanced the leg- endary Cub architecture into the 21st century. The airplane combines modern design methods with lightweight materials, a 180-hp engine, and a useful load of more than 900 pounds. The EX-2 revision includes an extensive series of improve- ments and upgrades to the kit, but the primary components are the new G-Series ailerons, fl aps, and tail feathers. The G-Series control surfaces of the EX-2 improve controllability in all aspects of the fl ight envelope. The roll authority of the Carbon Cub EX-2 has been im- proved by redesigning the aileron airfoil and relocating the hinge point. Cub Crafters' G-Series ailerons deliver markedly lighter and crisper roll response compared to legacy aircraft. Control harmony is even better than that of the original. The G-Series fl aps are the fi rst truly slotted fl aps available from Cub Crafters. With the G-Series, the stall speed of the EX-2 with fl aps extended is reduced, thus improving the low-speed manners of the Carbon Cub. The G-Series fl ap features reposi- tioned pivot arms that, when deployed, lower the fl ap's location relative to the wing, forcing high-pressure air from below the wing over the fl ap and helping airfl ow to remain attached to the fl ap surface for increased lift. The G-Series tail feathers feature new adjustable elevator stops and allow greater down-elevator trim, providing the pilot with greater trim authority when operating at either the forward or aft limits of the CG envelope. The new Carbon Cub EX-2 is now available from Cub Craft- ers certifi ed sales centers around the world. For more informa- tion, visit www.CubCrafters.com/csc . Cub Crafters Introduces Carbon Cub EX-2 SKIGULL, THE NEW AMPHIBIOUS airplane Burt Rutan is building in his garage in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, will be powered by a 130-hp modifi ed version of a Rotax engine, according to antennaFILMS, which is fi lming a documentary titled Looking Up, Way Up! The Burt Rutan Story. The design reportedly uses a modifi ed version of a certi- fi ed Rotax engine (turbo, e-fuel injection, fl ight-adjustable prop, 130 max bhp). SkiGull, which will be Rutan's 47th manned aircraft de- sign to fl y, also will have a docking system consisting of two "of -the-shelf " 5-inch-diameter electric motors used for giant remote-controlled aircraft, each driving a 27-inch-di- ameter folding propeller mount on each wing. The motors will provide forward or reverse thrust to allow backing up or rotating when docking/ beaching in winds, Rutan said. "Since the SkiGull has a lift-to-drag ratio of 23, its elec- tric docking system can fl y it about 8 miles, which greatly reduces the risk of an engine failure, particularly when operating out of small tree-lined lakes," the press release states. The docking system also gives it an extra 150 pounds of thrust. Modifi ed Rotax to Power Rutan SkiGull Photography courtesy of Burt Rutan