Experimenter

August 2013

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

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H o m e b uil d e r 's C or n e r Oshkosh… What a week! By Charlie Becker For me, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is the best week of the year. Christmas in July! I hope you were here with us. If not, I urge you to come next year, July 28 to August 3, 2014. This past one was my 20th Oshkosh, and I will not miss the next. Every year it recharges my aviation batteries. It inspires me to achieve more and dream bigger dreams. And if I've let my current build project gather dust, you can bet I get fired up about getting it restarted. brilliant, accomplished, and just all-around good people. The grounds are spotless because our members all subscribe to the high standards that Paul Poberezny set down when the organization was founded. And the entire event works because people volunteer. They give freely of their time to park aircraft, judge aircraft, teach workshops, present forums, and on and on. Family Reunion Largest Gathering of Homebuilts This year, at least 867 homebuilts flew in. That alone makes the week awesome. I got to see everything from an RV-1 to a Piel Beryl and everything in between. On top of that, you get to see all the kit companies and their aircraft. I love to see the ones only partially constructed such as the RANS S-20 Raven or the Javron Super Cub knockoff. This lets me see how they are solving construction challenges. Learning One of the downsides of working for EAA during Oshkosh is I'm only able to make the forum presentations that I present. So this year I made sure to organize a forum for people building their own Super Cub–inspired aircraft (like me). If I'm a presenter, I have to be there, right? It also served as a meet-up of the online builders, so I had the chance to meet some of the people I only interact with online. The forums and workshops provide a wealth of knowledge on every aspect of building and flying. And once you start coming regularly, you cannot help but form a new "Oshkosh family"—people you may only get a chance to see once a year but who enrich your life and with whom you become fast friends. 2014 During EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2014, we will have a couple of special things to shine the light on the homebuilt movement. It will be the 50th anniversary of the Breezy design. No other design says EAA more than the Breezy. Also, Zenith aircraft will be building an aircraft in a week. Chris Heintz pulled this off in 1976 in eight days, back when Oshkosh was nine days long. (I think we only had a nine-day convention once.) I'm hopeful that this will get a lot of people interested in building. Faith Of course, I always run the risk of getting aviation fever and buying something crazy. I kept myself in check and limited my purchases to a nice, new pneumatic drill (4000 rpm, sweet!). Oshkosh also restores my faith in humanity. You get to interact with and meet some absolutely I encourage you to start planning your trip for 2014. You don't want to miss it! 4 Vol.2 No.8 /August 2013

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