Experimenter

NOV 2014

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/418587

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EAA Experimenter 31 the C model in the 1974 U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals. Jack won the event in the rigid-wing class. BRING ON THE HORSES For a few years in the 1970s, Quicksilver was the superior- performing hang glider of its day. In time, other rigid wing designs, including the Icarus II and V, Manta's Pterodactyl Fledgling, and ultimately Rogallo flex-wing designs them- selves, began to challenge, then eclipse Quicksilver's reign as top glider in the soaring stack. Eipper-Formance saw the handwriting on the wall, and the wall said, "Power!" While some die-hard souls hung power units on flex wings, the Quicksilver's "con- ventional" aluminum frame offered the best platform for motorized flight. Soul-weary at the number of friends and flying com- rades he'd lost to the sport, Dave left Eipper around the time he and his partners were bought out by Lyle Byrum. Lyle was a slick dude, high roller, former Texan car dealer, general aviation pilot, and one clever cookie when it came to business. He and a group of investors figured the pow- ered Quick would sell like hotcakes. He bought the com- pany and renamed it Quicksilver. And man, were they right, as in Dan Johnson once refer- encing the Quicksilver as "the J-3 Cub of ultralights!" The first powered Quicksilver was the C model. It sported the classic weight-shift sling seat but now included a cranky McCulloch MAC-101, 12-hp engine with a V-belt reduction drive, pusher prop, and all of 1.7 gallons of fuel. It still had to be foot launchable—the FAA hadn't evolved the ultralight regulations yet to accommodate wheel launching. The first production powered Quicksilvers had a much more reliable 15-hp Yamaha engine. There was a spring- loaded throttle on a down tube, but the landing gear was still the pilot's legs. It cost $3,995, a tidy sum in those days, but for a complete airplane, including engine, that you The GT 400 The Quicksilver Sport 2S, which is now available as an experimenter light-sport aircraft kit.

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