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/401344
EAA Experimenter 21 The fi rewall-forward team swam across the bull pen like a shoal of piranhas, anxious to hang the Rotax 912 iS Sport en- gine. It was a tense moment when the engine was released to its mount. The nose wheel stretched the nose gear bungee, and the plane sat like a patient and well-behaved dog. Plumbing of all the radiators and wiring was now top priority. It looked like cardiac surgery with all the dif erent people peering into the various orifi ces, some with pliers, oth- ers screwdrivers. Ron turned up with a bottle of pink coolant, reminiscent of a blood transfusion: Life was being breathed, pumped, and wired into the One Week Wonder. The "proper-looking plane" now got more and more atten- tion. The build crew's spirit was raised—90 percent complete— if you looked at the project visually, and just 90 percent left to go—if you knew what was really to be done! Many completed parts were put aside, ready for fi nal as- sembly. Dr. Frankenstein would have been proud. If the tent had been struck by lightning that night, who knows what may have happened! DAY FOUR: W EIGH T A ND C A K E With all the smaller surfaces completed, Day Four was a day of looking for jobs for the core team not involved in the fuselage or left wing. For those who have built Zenith Aircraft before, this seemed like an easy build, until they all realized that this was a CH 750 Cruzer, so it was dif erent. The team discovered that some detail in the design was relatively new—and brought new learning and challenges. Caleb gave some volunteers a set of weights and said, "Balance the elevator." The principles were quickly established, and once set up, a quick lookover by Chris Heintz was prof ered. Everybody was learning together, and it was a moment of positive pride for designers, volunteers, the core team, and the factory gurus! As the day progressed, the horizontal surface was moved to the airframe and bolted on. Time was taken to ensure that the surface of the horizontal stab was aligned with the cabin frame, and then work started on how to set up the control wires for proper elevator movement. This was complicated by people working in the cabin area getting in the way of the center stick. The team tasked with fi tting the fl aperons to the wings got stuck, until the team found that it lacked a certain size drill bit for an angle head drill. After some quick running around and thanks to the kindness of the lady at the Avery Tools display, the right size stubby bit was in hand. The fi rewall-forward team added hoses, clips, lines, and even oil. That engine looked so sweet hanging on the front with clean green vanity covers and a sleek, black, keel-shaped crank- case! The electrical team looked like it was running an Italian spaghetti bistro. Finally, the cowling appeared to be fi tted. It looked like the deadlines might actually be met. DAY F I V E: W IL L I T OR WON' T I T ? Friday, less than two days to go, everybody fi nally realized that somebody had been lying to the team. This was not a seven-day challenge. Seven days would have given the team until 0800 on Monday morning. The organizers had a hidden agenda; the plane would be inspected by FAA on Sunday and needed full FAA certifi cation before 3 p.m. so that a public taxi test could take place. With neither wing completed and the fi rewall-forward team asking, "When are we going to test the engine?" Caleb said sharply, "On Sunday morning." It all added to the stress, as did the ever-increasing interest from the press and the public. Friday was a stressful, stressful day! The vertical stab started being fi tted, and the elevator cables routed. Clearances were tight, and a lot of discussion was tak- ing place at the tail end. This was not helped by the fact that the cockpit crew kept hitting the stick, and then the levels were all of for setting the defl ections. Never before in the building of an aircraft have so many people exhaled deeply—and not shouted at each other! Small children came with their parents, some too small to reach the rivets, needing to stand on the backs of volunteers who bent down to provide a makeshift ladder for the future aviators and engineers of the world. "Standing on the shoul- ders of those who came before" took on a new meaning. This build was in the public domain in more ways than had ever been anticipated. The Dynon team came and checked to make sure that the near IMAX experience cockpit was set, and then silence was called for. It was time to test the electronics. Charlie, with the widest grin of the week so far, called the tower and asked which frequency to use for a radio test. The system was powered up. The tension in the air was so crisp that you could snap it in your fingers. Then some- one said, "We are waiting for the screens to boot," and we waited and waited, but they failed to boot. Something was wrong. Charlie stopped smiling for the first time in the whole week. Silence hung in the air for a few seconds; heads dropped, spirits sagged. Disappointment swept over the team, and the whole crowd exhaled in unison with a noise reminiscent of a balloon being let down. The electronics team members went silent as their eyes and fi ngers moved at speeds only matched by electrons in a plasma stream. Ten minutes later, it was time to try again. The electrical bus was powered up, and the fi rst screen booted—it came alive in Technicolor. A gentle, still-unsure-if-it-was-real murmuring THE DAY OF CAKE Day Four also was known as "the day of cake." It was Patricia Mawuli's birthday! Unbeknownst to her, Charlie had ordered a cake for her. We all ate cake and celebrated together! Patricia did not grow up celebrating birthdays; she didn't even have a birth certifi cate until six years ago, but now, as part of the fellowship of aviators, she has every reason to celebrate. She earned her pilot certifi cate on July 31 fi ve years ago.