Parts from floor to ceiling

In order to claim actual physical progress, we sorted through all of the loose parts that came with the extra wings. Bill is going to begin the cataloging progress. We also have the third-most-complete wing hanging up on the north side of the rear part of the hangar. The presence of a fully functional B-17 was a bit of a weekend distraction. Hopefully this weekend will find the airport free of awesome classic airplanes.

Chicago Knowhow

Illuminating visit from the Knaacks (pere et fils). The elder Knaack has built a Mustang II and is currently working on both a Stuart S-51 and a Harmon Rocket. He liked the Bearhawk, including our flush rivets and .040 wing skins.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems

There was an article in one of the latest Aviation Week magazines about the British Mantis UAS (or UAV depending on who you are). It was amazing how fast it went from concept to development, and it seems that could potentially apply to experimental airplane design. That there are so many interesting designs for these craft, and several of them have the ability to stay aloft for long periods of time.

A Fledgling Leaves the Nest

2/3 kids are still running fevers, but the worst is over, so back to every day work toward AIRPLANE BUILD.

But first, I need to acknowledge the first flight of one of my other airplane projects, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, to which I have devoted most of the last five years of my professional existence (as Moog Inc. Project Engineer for the leading edge high-lift actuation system).  After well over two years of delays to the first flight, the Dreamliner finally "slipped the surly bonds of earth" for the first time late this morning, I wanna say about 10:25.

At the same moment, I launched my 787 glider - purchased from the Boeing gift store more than two years ago - across the sea of cubicles.   


Yes, though the rubber band was cracked from age, waiting for this day, I "flung my eager craft through footless halls of air ..."


It slammed into the ceiling and broke.

But that's OK, because the real airplane flew successfully.

So back to the Swamptooth airplane project.  Today I swept up the hangar and made a shopping list to get the floor painted. Total project time ~0.1 hours.



"Mad props" to High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

The Bearkhawk Pitch

Don and I are conducting intense trade studies on the partially complete Bearhawk up in Montana, with more questions answered by the builders, and also by the airplane's designer, Bob Barrows, who Don telephoned yesterday.  As for me, I haven't been to the hangar in four days.  My cold is clearing up, so I should be back in action (painting the hangar floor) tomorrow or Friday at latest.

This photo is from Oshkosh, July 2009.  Will and I went for a demo ride in that Bearhawk.  Will loved it almost as much as I did.  We taxied out on the main runway in front of the huge flightline crowd, many thousand aviation enthusiasts awaiting the arrival of the Airbus A380.  As we taxied by, lots of people waved and snapped pictures, probably thinking we were about to launch on an aerobatic routine, but we just did a max-performance takeoff and headed East over Lake Winnebago.  The Bearhawk took off like the Great Glass Elevator, thanks to the Lycoming O-540 under the cowl and the constant-speed prop.  The tail came up in a few seconds and then we were airborne almost right away, and climbing much faster than I am accustomed to.

The owner/builder, Mark Goldberg, made his (very nice) plane available to Avipro (the kit manufacturer) for Airventure 2009, but he was not around when we arranged for the flight with head honcho Keith Vasey.  The demo pilot chick was a 737 captain from Florida, moonlighting with this gig for Avipro.  When I asked if Will could ride along, she first asked if he was a good flier, meaning would he get airsick.  I looked at the nice upholstery and tried to sound confident when I vouched for him.  The truth is Will had never been in a small airplane before.  Luckily, he not only lived up to my billing, but totally enjoyed the flight, grinning from ear to ear even during the steep turns and stalls.  No vomit comet.

Anyway, I felt immediately comfortable in the airplane, very at ease with its handling and performance (it just FELT safe), but I definitely missed the sun roof modification, which was included in the display aircraft, but not the one I rode in (or in the published plans).  I now consider the sun roof an absolute must for my own Bearhawk, both for enjoyment and traffic spotting.

RV-7 Ride

Several hours with the family and Don, with completing scraping and gluing, and Don mudding everything. Now it's just sanding before we are ready to paint.

We also met David, another former tenant of our hangar (Jay Yau having been the first), likewise with a builder site, www.rv-7.com. David stopped by having heard about us and our rumored Sonex project.

The highlight of the day was Don getting a ride in David's very impressive RV-7. Erika was very disappointed that she couldn't go too, and extracted a commitment from me that she would get the first Sonex ride when we complete our airplane.

Fair enough.

Chinese Pilots

BEFORE

AFTER

While I was spending my lunch hour at the hangar sticking old drywall tape back on with Elmer's (really), my through the-wall neighbor Jay Yau stopped by for introductions and to see my plane.

Since I don't have one, he told me about his: an RV-7 project, and a completed Murphy Rebel which he flew to Alaska.

For the full story, Mr. Yau was eager to point me at his URL: www.chinesepilots.com.

Hangar Paint Prep

Spent 0.2 hrs proving out a belt sander and a finish sander on the dingy yellow hangar wall paint. Now I need some painting tools.

As I locked up, I took this pic of the sundown marine layer and a Cessna taxiing in.