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/149316
M a k in g D o W h e n t h e K i t D o e s n ' t A r r i ve 43 years. As much as he was always into getting his hands dirty, he also always had a taste for excitement. "In my twenties I was racing motorcycles," he said. "Mostly I was running flathead KR Harleys. My favorite was flat tracking. I ran at Laconia [New Hampshire] and finished third in the amateur national race. I raced on the beach at Daytona, before they moved to the speedway, and usually did well. However, when big money started filtering into the races, I found that without a sponsor, I couldn't continue to be competitive. Besides, I had gotten old enough that I didn't heal as fast as I used to, so I got out of it. Te Subaru 3.3 liter SVX puts out 240 hp at 6000 rpm and is lighter than most V-8s. Te induction system, however, forced Holmlund to build a fairing over it. "Adrenaline is almost a narcotic. So, you always crave some sort of excitement, and that's what got me into flying. I needed some excitement, and learning to fly looked like it might provide that. Neither my brother nor I were pilots, but that didn't stop us from buying a $2,000 1947 Cessna 140. At that point, I'd never even been up in a light plane and couldn't stay up for more than 10 minutes before getting airsick. But I looked at the payment book and realized I had no choice. I couldn't give up. "I soloed in 10 hours and flew the wings off that little airplane. I covered most of the East Coast, including Florida and as far inland as Oshkosh. I loved that 140 and still had it when Superstorm Sandy came on shore last year. Unfortunately, when Sandy left, our little 140 was a ball of twisted aluminum. It was completely totaled." Victor fabricated a pulley and bracket to mount the automotive alternator and vacuum pump while also reducing the rpm of both to proper levels. Every airplane is a compromise of sorts, and with the C-140, that was its size and its speed. Victor said, "As much as I loved the 140, I was tired of slow. I desperately wanted a faster airplane that had more room. But I couldn't afford to buy what I wanted. However, by that time I was well into the EAA, and I reasoned that I could always build it. So, I started looking around at what was available in kits." Victor began his search in the mid-'80s and was first attracted to the White Lightning. That had the speed but was limited in load and cabin size. The Wheeler Express came out shortly after that, and it looked ideal for his purposes. It had a large cabin, could carry a healthy load, and according to all of the sales literature, could provide the speed he was looking for. So, he mailed in his deposit and was on the way to building his first airplane. Equal -length headers feed into 6-inch augmenter tubes that help suck air through the radiators and out the cowling and under the fuselage. 22 Vol.2 No.8 /August 201 3 "The first Wheeler had a couple of problems, and one of the first builders to complete the airplane had tail flutter, Photography by Budd Davisson