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/194874
T h e 2 013 A ir Ve n t ur e Gr a n d C h a m p i o n H o m e b uil t s John tackled some of the wing fittings that were initially sketched out on some sheets of 8.5 by 11 inch paper. Not long after, drawings appeared for the fuselage. Steel tube was purchased from a source in Pennsylvania that has since gone out of business. Thereafter, all the components were ordered from Aircraft Spruce. "I'd phone in an order on Monday and it would arrive on Thursday," said John. "It was like having Christmas 52 weeks a year." Since Jeff was busy with the wings, John began welding the fuselage at his home, 30 miles away from Jeff. Typically, they'd get together at least one day a week to work on the wings or fuselage, and then they'd spend the rest of the week working in their own shops. There were lots of phone calls between the two workshops. Jef worked on the wings at his home. Tirty miles away, John welded the fuselage. Tey worked on installing the engine together. Te Hatz is fown solo from the back seat, so it's home to a full set of traditional gauges. 16 Vol.2 No.10 / October 2013 It took about four years to complete the collection of CAD plans. At times they sat around waiting for the next group of drawings. Since the designer was in no rush, they were under no pressure to produce parts. Consequently they took their time and put quality ahead of quantity, never dreaming they were on the way to a Grand Champion award. "The amazing part is that in the end all the parts fit together perfectly," John said. Of course, in those days, Jeff had a day job, working in the refrigeration business. John had retired from his position with IBM as a printed circuit card designer. As work progressed on the wings and the fuselage, Jeff trucked the wings over to his dad's place several times to make sure everything fit and the flying wires were the right length. Both were impressed with how easily all of the parts went together. John found the 23-gallon aluminum fuel tank a real challenge given its size and the need for TIG welding skills. It fits into the center section of the upper wing and feeds by gravity straight into the engine. John had experienced gas welding with the Rose Parakeet replica and truly enjoyed welding the steel tube fuselage. Jeff was intrigued with the woodworking challenges and got his greatest satisfaction out of piecing the wings together. They both found running wires for the electrical system, which took some time and head-scratching and noted that each of the systems—electrical, fuel, control rigging—required a lot of thought and trials. However, the two men seemed to complement each other and often found that a good night's sleep would produce a lot of solutions to the problems they confronted. In the ten years of working together, there was never a serious disagreement or argument. For those truly baffling moments, when two minds couldn't get around the solution, they called in some of the members of EAA Chapter 100 or tech counselor, Walter Mount (who was in his 90s and recently passed away at age 100). Photography courtesy of Jeff Hanson