Experimenter

December 2012

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.

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W h a t o ur M e m b e r s a r e B uil d in g David and Chuck flipped a coin to see who would fly the plane first—Chuck didn't say who won, but he hopped in. He spoke in his matter-of-fact way about that first flight. "It was a 3,000-foot grass strip. There were tall pines all around. There was no time to play, so we just went for it." He reports that the plane flies great and that its performance is about what he expected. Does the clipped-wing version go faster than the factory airplanes? David and Chuck haven't quite come to agreement on that. As David points out, the airplane's performance has not been independently tested. Chuck reports that they haven't methodically assessed the plane's performance over the entire flight envelope. He said, "David likes to fly wide-open throttle." They both agree on a rule of thumb for the aircraft's basic speeds: where the factory Maule would climb, cruise, etc. in miles per hour, their clipped-wing version flies in knots. The two are happy with their 15-percent improvement in basic speeds, pleased with the award they won for outstanding workmanship, and especially touched by the support they've gotten from Maule Air Inc. As David said, "This airplane is a tribute to the Maule family." Te Wright Rocket's modern instrument panel. To learn more about Maule Aircraf's certifcated aircraf, visit www.MauleAirInc.com. Lynne Wainfan, Lifetime EAA member 504081, is an aerospace engineer who was part of a threeperson team to build an angular lifting body, the Facetmobile, which was designed by her husband Barnaby. Lynne is a private pilot and former national champion model airplane enthusiast. Video of the Month Douglas Dodson and his dad came to EAA Oshkosh for the first time in 1987. They liked the looks of several of the then-new fiberglass aircraft. Three years later, they purchased a Glasair II kit…and Douglas finished it in 2011. "You don't build an airplane," Douglas said. "You build a bunch of airplane parts until there are no more parts to build." 32 NO. 4/ DECEMBE R 2012 Photography courtesy David Wright

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