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/113663
W h a t o ur M e m b e r s a r e B uil d in g after all the ground testing completed, nothing was left but the test flight. I taxied out of Arvil's backyard onto his 1,200-foot turf strip between soybean fields, applied max thrust, and I was off. Immediately upon getting airborne I noticed myself slightly overcontrolling the X; in pitch and a bit in roll, it is sensitive! Climb was reminiscent of my 150-hp RV-4, and the Catto twoblade fixed-pitch prop was nearly perfectly matched. After several flights to adjust rigging and tweak the engine monitor, the X was settling down as a real performer. The combination of lightweight, tight fairings and the proper prop paid off. We had a winner! Cost? All tolled, well under $30,000 out the door. That's still expensive in my book, but less than half the $100,000plus of the modern RV. Knowing what I know now, I could even do it cheaper the next time around. The bottom line? My 20-year-old RV grin is unblemished, maybe just a bit refined! Epilogue Since building and flying the X, I have several new airplane concepts bouncing around my cranium. My RV-4 "Te Bandit" that I built partially while stationed overseas. 28 Vol.2 No.3 / March 201 3 Originally I wanted to name the X the "RV-5," but Van's actually built one back in the early 1980s. It was a single-place, VW-powered machine that never took off, so to speak. However, I believe the RV-5 concept is sound—a low-cost, efficient airplane for the future. With many new 80- to 100-hp engines now on the market, including the Revmaster, Great Plains VW, AeroVee, ULPower, and Rotax. Lycoming and Continental also have revived their early models into lightweight contenders. Avionics also have come a long way, with the MGL Extreme mini EFIS, Dynon, and others. More aptly, there is an app for that. There is an iPhone app for engine monitoring and even flight instruments. Seats? I believe one or even one-and-a-half, reminiscent of the Sonerai. The KK-1 represents this beautifully, as does the Onex, Thatcher CX4, and BK-1. It's hard to argue the viability, utility, and economy of the Thorp T-18, even with today's push-button quick-build kits. I think the Van's juggernaut could do them all one better with a viable quality kit and engine deals that would bring in even the most skeptical builder. It would have to be more attractive than the current offerings, experimental, and basic. As Forrest Gump once said, "Bubba did have a fine idea"; implementation is the key. Only time will tell.