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/90184
Zenith Available for Transition Training EAA member Earl Downs of Cushing, Oklahoma, has obtained a Letter of Deviation Authority to provide transition training in his Zodiac 601 XLB. His approved courses cover transition training, fi rst-fl ight preparation, and training for the Jabiru/GRT engine display system. "All you have to do is read accident reports to see that transition and fi rst-fl ight preparation train- ing is needed to improve the safety record of E-AB fl ying," Downs said. "I fi nd it rewarding to promote safety in my own homebuilt airplane." For more information, contact Downs at oklahomaaviator@earthlink.net. Help for Homebuilders Professional engineer Marty Ferman has developed a method for simplifying wing struc- tural design and has chronicled the method in a book titled A Wing Design Method for Aerospace Students and Home Builders. Ferman came up with the method after working for 56 years in industry and academia. The method employs a simple shell-like structure to allow calculation of the required skin thickness for strength. The weight is then calculated, as is defl ection and twist under maxi- mum maneuver loads. Then the fl utter and divergence speeds can be calculated by simple formulas to ensure safe fl ight conditions. (Most preliminary design books do not offer this feature.) Design changes to add or reduce skin as necessary are next. The user can then go forward to more refi ned design stages sequentially, again calculating stiffness and weight and fl utter for each. In the end, the builder will have a design to fabricate. The book can be purchased on Amazon.com or from the publisher, Trafford Books, Bookstore.Trafford.com. EAA EXPERIMENTER 11