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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Nose art is appropriate for a veteran fghter pilot. every aeronautical "trick" known to aviation in a fun attempt to "go where no man has gone before." Talking to spectators at the 2013 Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In and Expo, Ray said anyone can make an airplane streamlined, put in a big motor, and go fast. His niche was going to be slow flight. He began with large wingtip endplates to reduce induced drag and to provide a mounting point for various wing enhancements. Vortex generators were added to the leading edge of the wing and the underside of the tail. A full-span leading edge slot was added. It entailed mounting an aluminum tube just ahead of the existing leading edge to carry the curved metal strip that forms the slot. Control surface gap seals were adapted from high-end rubber door sweeps for kitchen doors. They are in keeping with the extra robust construction throughout the airplane. Ray calculated that the total combined control surface gap in a tail of this type is almost one square foot. It's like having a one-square-foot hole in your tail, so it is no surprise the gap seals add to the control authority in slow flight. Next up was full-span flaperons capable of deflecting downward as much as 40 degrees. The installation is extremely simple with no complicated linkages. Electric actuators were fitted in placed of the standard aileron pushrods. Special rod ends had to be machined so the actuators could mate with the existing aileron hardware. By now his combined modifications had lowered the stall Photography by Dan Grunloh speed from 29 knots to about 20 knots. He didn't stop there. At Sun 'n Fun he revealed full-span leading edge flaps (Krueger flaps). Like the flaperons, they are driven by electric actuators. Both sets of flaps are controlled by marine switches mounted in a waterproof box. Ray said he has flown as slow as 13.4 knots with everything deployed; but he cannot land at that speed because his landing gear is not tall enough. The instrument panel sports a pair of 10-inch Dynon D10 displays, a panel-mounted Icom radio, and a Garmin GPS. The GPS has been linked to the Dynon displays, which provides an HSI display. Furthermore, if Ray de-clutters the screen and uses the VNav function, he can get a glide slope for landing just about anywhere. The judges at Sun 'n Fun were so impressed that they gave the Super-Breese STOL a special award for technological innovation. Have fun with your E-LSA, and please send your comments and suggestions to dgrunloh@illicom.net. Dan Grunloh, EAA 173888, is a retired scientist who began flying ultralights and light planes in 1982. He won the 2002 and 2004 U.S. National Microlight Championships in a trike and flew with the U.S. World Team in two FAI World Microlight Championships. EAA Experimenter 37

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