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/84816
Darrell Porter showed off his craſt smanship to bystanders down in the ultralight area with his wood and PVC replica Spandau machine gun for replica light planes of the First World War. T e only thing missing was a sound eff ects machine. discussions about a weight allow- ance or exemption for the batteries in electric-powered ultralights, and now thanks to Dale, we can better understand the argument that bat- teries are the fuel and should not be included in the empty weight. There were some lively discussions in front of his plane with people who thought differently, but Dale reminded everyone there is no weight limit on the fuel allowed for ultralights. The maximum amount is 5 gallons in volume, and there is no limit on the type of fuel. It could be gasoline, corn oil, solid rocket fuel, peanut butter, or electric batteries; so long as it fits in 5 gallons. Bat- teries are different from other types of energy sources in that their weight is the same whether empty or full. I would argue it makes little sense to include the full 5 gallons of batteries in the empty weight of the ultralight. Dale apparently feels confident enough of his analysis of the question that he made many flights at AirVenture in his eLazair, which weighs about 300 pounds with 5 gallons of batteries, but much less than 254 pounds without any fuel or other energy source. Mock Machine Gun for Ultralight or Light Plane Airplane and model builder Dar- rell Porter showed his very realistic mock German Spandau machine gun at AirVenture 2012 in the ultralight area. Darrell built it for his own World War I Fokker replica, which was displayed in the replica fi ghter area. He works for Robert Baslee, designer of the Airdrome Aeroplane designs based in Holden, Missouri. Darrell didn't like the "toy" machine guns of- fered for use on the Baslee replicas, so he decided to do it better. A kit will be sold through Robert Baslee and Airdrome Aeroplanes. The materials are wood, PVC, and metal, and much of the work is already completed. The price has not yet been determined. It's not on the website yet. If interest- ed, call and ask. The company manu- factures kits for quite a few replica airplanes, including a three-quarter- scale Eindecker ultralight ($5,495 less engine and paint). Learn more at www.AirdromeAeroplanes.com. Powered Parachute for Your Bucket List I have a confession to make. Al- though I have been an airman for 30 years and consider myself to be EAA EXPERIMENTER 41