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/96284
S t e w a r t H e a d w in d The cost of covering and painting an aircraft has risen to ridiculous levels, but Don has something to say about that. "I like to stay with known fabric, like Poly-Fiber," he said, "but, and I know this sounds crazy because it is so nontraditional, some Headwind builders have been experimenting with household exterior latex paint over normal aircraft Dacron. We have latex-Dacron test panels out in the sun that are more than seven years old, and we see no deterioration at all. To spray it requires thinning it out more than you'd really want; but I just looked at an airplane that the builder painted with a fine-nap roller, and it was amazingly smooth. I asked the manufacturer's rep about it cracking from flexing, and he reminded me, '…It's mostly rubber, remember?' I'd forgotten that." The Headwind is an airplane that's absolutely made for scroungers and do-it-yourselfers. There are an amazingly small number of parts, and there are alternates for some of them. The lift struts, for instance, don't have to be streamlined tubing. If you want, you can use round tubing (all that will happen is you'll go a little slower) or streamline the tubing using wood, thin aluminum, or available plastic fairing strips. The price of round tubing is less than half that of streamlined. You can keep your eyes open for someone upgrading a J-3 to a C-85 and pick up an A-65 for a good price. Wheels and brakes, tail wheel, instruments, etc. all could be sourced. This is an airplane that would ben- efit from you spending a few hours on eBay or cruising swap marts looking for highly airworthy items. We're not proposing using substandard parts, but we are saying that for a 90-mph airplane, not every part needs to be new. Every part does, however, have to be rebuilt or judged to be airworthy by someone who knows (such as your local A&P;). Bill estimates that with a little creative scrounging and luck, the Headwind can be built for $12,000 to $15,000. With a good find on an engine it could be under $10,000. The Headwind was born during a period of EAA's growth, when getting into the air as safely and as inexpensively as possible was the standard goal. The concept of $50,000 to $100,000 homebuilts couldn't even be imagined. The Headwind harkens back to the "good old days" and can once again make flying highly affordable. Better yet, you don't need a medical to fly it. So, what's not to like? Budd Davisson is an aeronautical engineer, has flown more than 300 different types, and has published four books and more than 4,000 articles. He is editor-in-chief of Flight Journal magazine and a flight instructor primarily in Pitts/tailwheel aircraft. Visit him on www.AirBum.com. Dick Giede, a retired Cessna engineer from Wichita, built this to-the-plans Headwind in the early 1960s. Equipped with a direct-drive VW, at last report he had logged more than 1,000 hours on the airplane. 20 NO. 4/ DECEMB ER 2012 Photography courtesy EAA Archives