Experimenter

DEC 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/434207

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EAA Webinars What would you like to learn? Interactive. Educational. Mobile. EAA offers a series of free live webinars moderated and presented by aviation experts on a variety of topics. Register today! EAA.org/webinars EAA Webinars are supported by 1 Some restrictions may apply. Visit www.aircraftspruce.com/eaaDiscountGuide.html for a list of discounts . 2 Subject to credit approval. Net purchases are purchases minus credits and returns. Accounts must be open and in good standing (not past due) to earn and redeem rewards. Bonus points will be credited to your account within 6-8 weeks after fi rst purchase. 3 Cash back is redeemed in the form of a statement credit. The creditor and issuer of the EAA Card is U.S. Bank National Association, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. © 2014 U.S. Bank National Association Enjoy these benefi ts: • Up to 10% off purchases at Aircraft Spruce & Specialty 1 • 1,000 bonus points after fi rst purchase 2 • One reward point for every $1 spent in net purchases everywhere Visa ® is accepted 2 • Redeem points for your EAA membership, cash back 3 , merchandise, and more Plus, each purchase helps support EAA programs. Cardmembers have already helped contribute over $600,000 to projects including the EAA AirVenture Museum and various youth aviation programs. Apply Now! Visit usbank.com/EAA_Aviation to learn more. Save on purchases at Aircraft Spruce with the EAA Visa Signature ® Card! EAA Experimenter 23 or light colors, to put down a coat of white first. But then, that's what the building process is all about: learning stuff you didn't know before." The engine was a Barnstormers.com find: an O -320 that was completely disassembled. He sent the case, cylinders, rods and crank out for inspection and reconditioning and assembled it himself with a new cam, lifters, oil pump, and pistons. Since the Beryl was to be his aerobatic mount, he added Silver Hawk fuel injection and a Christen inverted oil system. A T-18 spinner and nose bowl finished off the nose, and the prop is a Sterba 70-by-68. He said, "With that combination, it gets off the ground quickly and climbs out at around 800 fpm at 100 knots. It'll cruise at 120 knots at 2,300 rpm and 7 gph, which is throttled well back. "On landing, I shoot for around 80 to 85 knots on final and 75 knots over the threshold. It is sensitive to having too much speed and will float like crazy. If that happens, I usu- ally just wheel it on. It is super stable on the runway, about like a Decathlon or Citabria, which is to say it's nice!" In total, the project took 24 years, but Randy said, "I knew it was a big project when I started, but I never con- sidered not finishing it, even when I wasn't able to work on it for long stretches. The lowest point of the project was toward the end. The wing fuel tanks on the plans were welded aluminum with two center ribs that were spot- welded. I didn't know where to get that done; so I made a test with welding over a rivet head and it worked great. So I riveted in the ribs and welded up the rest of the tanks— they were looking great. Then I went to weld over the rivet heads on the center ribs, and I hadn't considered that with everything else welded up, the heat on the skin in the middle buckled and broke the rivets. Three months work ruined! I briefly wished I'd never heard of a Piel Beryl, but it soon passed. I borrowed my brother's RV-4 plans and riv- eted and sealed the tanks the way the RV guys do, and they turned out better than welded ones would have." Now that the airplane is finished and he has more than 300 hours logged in it, he said, "This was the perfect airplane for me in so many ways. I absolutely love build- ing things, and with this airplane, I got to work with every conceivable type of material: wood, steel, fabric, fiberglass, Plexi, and aluminum. More than that, it flies exactly the way I hoped it would, so this has been a win-win project from the very beginning." Another that's another happy homebuilder: Life is good!

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