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
They devoted a year and a half to fabric, having ordered what they needed from Poly-Fiber. They were fastidious about gluing, stitching, and taping over the stitches. Both of them enjoyed the process. They hung a 150-hp Lycoming O-320-A2B engine on the front end, which is the typical installation for a Hatz Classic. In keeping with the biplane tradition, they forwent anything associated with modern glass cockpits and installed round gauges for flight and engine monitoring. The front panel only has airspeed, altimeter, and turn/bank instruments. The rear panel, used for solo and pilot-in-command, has a full complement of gauges. They were careful, however, to avoid anything not deemed absolutely necessary. Having used that philosophy throughout the construction process, they wound up meeting the empty weight specification. In June 2009, they ran out of things to tweak and tinker. With a certificate of airworthiness on board, John took the active runway on June 9 for the first flight. Jeff followed him in a chase plane. Aside from a minor engine cooling issue, everything in their Hatz Classic was in harmony. "It's a very well-designed aircraft," John said, who noted that throughout the Phase One flight test program, "It flew just about perfect." Jeff made the third flight and they traded off thereafter. Since they'd both logged considerable time in John's Rose Parakeet, they felt they had enough time in a "similar type" to be able to handle the Hatz without any problems. There were no transition training issues. John's observations: "It's a great airplane. You lift off at 40 mph and cruise at 105. It's got short-field capability and handles a lot like a PA-12 Cruiser. Stall is gentle and straightforward. It's not a cross-country airplane, and being in Minnesota, it definitely has a limited season." Jeff's thoughts: "It's a lot like owning a classic car. It's great to just hop in and go cruising. It turns heads wherever you go because it looks like something out of the 1930s. It's a great plane to give rides in. People really appreciate it." Jeff agrees with his dad that Minnesota winters really put a crimp in the flying schedule. There's some talk about building a cover for the front cockpit, which might extend the temperature range for a little bit. John admits that the goal was to keep the project as close to the plans as possible and keep an eye on weight. Both admit that they enjoyed the experience of working with a variety of materials such as wood, steel, aluminum, fiberglass, and they actually had fun stringing wires, tubes, and cables. Though the Grand Champion award was a pleasant surprise and though they have enjoyed every minute of the 207 hours they'd logged in the Classic as of September 2013, both would likely admit that the best part of the total experience was the teamwork, the hours of studying and discussing the plans together, and the years of communicating with each other about a thousand problems big and small that eventually led to the finest example of a Hatz Classic on the planet. They built an airplane together. The memories are priceless. We should all be so lucky. John and Jef 's grand champion plans-built Hatz Classic biplane. EAA Experimenter 17