The PX and Sun 'n Fun

Hello everyone, it’s Aaron! As I write this, Sam, Scott and Karen should just be finishing up setting up our booth at Sun ‘n Fun down in Lakeland; meanwhile, I am shirking my ScaleBirds duties on the opposite side of the country in Cape Vincent, NY at the mouth of the St. Laurance River and in view of Canada. We came up this way (including a 9 hour car ride with a 9 month old baby) to see the total eclipse. The weather held out and the clouds parted just long enough for us to see the totality. It was awesome in the truest meaning of the term, it inspired awe.

Now that seeing an eclipse is checked off my bucket list, I am happy to announce a second item: The PX is now open! May of our loyal followers and customers have purchased our key chain bottle openers or patches at the various airshows, but we have never had anything set up to sell merchandise online. We currently offer a few Verner and Scalebirds branded merchandise, and are trying to keep everything relatively thematic with our core business. Take a look around the PX, it’s still small as we build up a catalog and an inventory, but we hope you like it. If there is some we don’t have that you would love to see, reach out and let us know!

Next up on this jam packed week: Sun ‘n Fun. I will be traveling from the north of the country to the south over the next two days, but unlike in the past, I will be bringing the whole family. The Ide Squadron will be joining the Watrous Squadron by Wednesday evening and would love to see all of you some time during the week! ScaleBirds will be outside Hangar D in the north exhibits all week, with some exciting new exhibits, and potentially doing some flight demonstrations of the P-36.

-Aaron Ide

Heading to Sun n Fun 2024

Hey everyone. We are getting ready for Sun n Fun and busier than a one-armed paper hanger! Our booth space has moved. We are in the North Exhibits, N007 in front of Building D - on the runway side that is. We did not realize it when we booked the space, but we are right between Extra with the new NG acro mount and Gamebird with their wild acro machine. So we had to do something to spiffy up our displays. All new tent, new signage and banners. Steve Wolf has agreed to display his FWF for the P-47 project. It will have half the cowling removed so you can see everything about the installation. That will be sweet!

We then asked to have Brian Kelly’s RV-8R join us in the booth space. We could only do that because we got the larger space than we have had. We will have three Verner engines on display in our booth! Then, our customer Curt Hosterman said he would bring his Kitfox Series 7 with the Verner 7U to SnF. There is a chance we can have three flying Verner powered aircraft at the show and then, posibly a fourth as well - if Steve makes it with the SamsonMite. I hope we can do a radial round-up Showcase flight with all 4! That will be an amazing thing to see and hear! Please stop by the booth if you go. We want to catch up with you.

Right now, Scott is busy making the fixturing for the tail parts for our plane. It has taken us a lot longer than planned due to outside forces blocking our schedule. Mainly, additional contract work on Scotts part and Electric Boat pushing heavy overtime on me and the rest of the crew. We have all the metal parts cut out for the two sample rudders we intend to build and document. They are proof parts before we begin the Beta parts run. The fixturing is now ready to be cut out, but we are running out of time to do a proper job of building the rudders. They will not make it to this show.

Our weather has been terrible for flying. Mostly raining and then windy/gusty all of March. I was hoping to fly her down to FL this week, but we have three days of rain and two more of gusty conditions forecasted. Our most prudent option now is to trailer the plane down and assemble her before the show. So we are just about to get started on that big job. Plan is to leave Friday evening and get through NY City area just after rush hour traffic eases. Make it as far as possible, then get to FL Sat night or Sunday morning. Assemble the plane Sunday and setup the booth on Monday. The show starts on Tuesday the 9th and goes to the 14th.

We should be able to see partial eclipse on the 8th as we setup. Some of our crew have plans to travel to NY locations for the eclipse. Aaron is going way North all the way to the boarder with Canada. They then will join us in FL later in the week. I hope you get to see it where you are. Be sure to take all precautions - you can burn your eyes as the corona is as intense as the whole sun for damage.

Will try to blog and make a video or two while at the show. Our plan is to get some good air to air shots while there. Talk with ya soon.

Let's Roll

We are nearing the end of February and the weather is slowly improving. I’ve managed to put 2.5 hours on the plane a couple weekends ago. My three landings were pretty good, so at least I’m not getting too rusty. Hoping the weather in March gets to over 50F and less choppy air. I am already looking at flight planning the trip down to SNF 2024 in early April. Gonna give myself a couple days to get there - so will need a good stretch of weather. Fingers crossed! Worst case scenario is to trailer it down last minute again. I’ve sworn not to put the plane thru that again - the roads are terrible. Mother nature may have her own plans so will have to be flexible.

Aaron wants me to put the wheel pants and spats on the gear legs to see how it improves the cruise and fuel burn. Will try to do that in March if there is time. The leg fairings will likely improve the drag more than the wheel pants would. We have the wheel pants and mounting brackets ready to go, but not the spats.

Scott is finishing up the Rudder redesign after doing some time critical contract work. We are planning to build the first article starting at the end of February - this week. It will go together fairly quickly in our jig and we will post pics. Our current plan is to make several for display in our booth at Sun N Fun. We will be creating a work cell to fabricate the rudders and will make ten of these in the Beta variant. There will likely be no changes for the Std kit version of the tail after these are made so we can likely keep making more. The horizontal and vertical stabilizers are 95% ready so we may have a set of those ready for SNF aswell. We have to finish the controls and rear fuselage interface models and make any adjustments first.

The airfoils for the tail have been changed to be slimmer at the root ribs and tighter leading edge radius. Idea is reducing drag from the prototype’s empanage. We also changed the rudder structure and shape a little. Very much more like the real P-40/36 rudder structure - less ribs, but similar in all aspects. The aerodynamic counter balance shape is changed from the simplified version we had on the prototype. Because we can and it isn’t adding any more complexity. We are more accurate to scale this way at very little cost delta. We will be doing some minor changes throughout the airframe to make it more to scale when it makes sense to. Such as: the fuselage will get rounded off on the bottom and the wing root fillets will hit the fuselage more accurately.

This week we start building our own P-40 Warhawk! Lets Roll!

Just in Time!

Hey folks, Happy New Year! We now have completed our Phase 1 flight testing of the P-36 Hawk prototype. This was a very high priority mission for ScaleBirds as we need to be in Phase 2 testing to fly the bird to Sun N Fun 2024 in early April. Winter weather in CT is usually blustery and cold. We had it pretty mild from Christmas to New Years Day, but the week between was rain and low clouds - like at 300 ft ceiling on average. Just terrible. The clouds cleared for New Years Eve and N Y Day so I put the last 5 hours on her. The prototype is not heated and though she has a canopy, its drafty. I am still trying to warm up! Totally uneventful flights, the bird is getting into a good stable condition mechanically. Very happy with the systems and flying characteristics. Its now 10 degrees cooler than New Years, so we completed Phase 1 - Just In Time!

Scott is working hard on updating the 3D CAD modeling of the design and we will be making some announcements shortly regarding the first tail kits and our Beta kit progress. Its going to be an exciting year!

Holiday Cheers!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the ScaleBirds crew! We’ve been hard at work with engineering, CAD design and flight testing the prototype. As I write this, it’s the morning after Christmas and I have the week off from work at Electric Boat. We call it “shut down”. I guess it is traditional in the marine industry to shut down the shipyard for the week between the holidays. I’d much rather have the week off in August or September - when it’s warm! I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful Christmas. Time with all my family together was the best present I could ever get, and I am thankful for that. The next best thing was perfect flying weather on Christmas day! Finally!!! It’s been a predictably dreary December. I took the Hawk up for a 2-hour flight around the area. Then went up again as a two ship flight with a friend’s Cessna to do a sanity check on our airspeed calibrations. The flights seem to corroborate with our other tests, and Elliot’s intuition, that the ASI is reading low. There is more to do but if that’s the case, the Hawk is doing pretty good for a light machine. And maybe more importantly we also got our first air to air video of the Hawk. Those are great Christmas presents!

Flight testing has been painfully slow - mostly for the weather, some of it is that the days are shorter and there is no time in the afternoons - after work. So I’ve tried to pick and choose the afternoon during the week to leave work early, but a lot of the time the weather changes by afternoon and then its just a blustery crosswind or choppy air. That’s New England weather! Not the best weather for testing an aircraft.

Also, we have had a few more squawks with the airplane: some pesky oil leaks, some cowling chaffing spots with the improved baffling, replace some exhaust gaskets, our voltage regulator connector had a loose connection and fizzled out, and maybe most seriously had a wheel bearing cease up. That last one was my fault entirely. Long story short, even if it looks like it comes greased from the factory and ready to install, it may need more. Well, guess that proves the reason in the Phase 1 test period - to find these issues and fix them, including those that don’t show up right away. Nevertheless we continue to fix things and we’ve been flying more and more with the aim of eventually completing Phase 1. We were hopeful even recently to hit that mark by the end of the year - not holding my breath though with the weather ahead. Like today for instance - fog and 300 ft ceiling. What a difference a day makes! (And that’s why I am writing this instead of flying.)

So back to the air to air comparison flight I did on Christmas day. From the reference ship, we look to be cruising at 110 mph @ 2000 rpm. I can get going to about 132 mph with full throttle in level flight @ 2320 rpm. My airspeed indicator is reading slower: 102 mph at 2000 rpm and 123 mph at full throttle (and w/ full tanks). The test involved flying line abreast, holding a speed, and checking multiple times to get consensus. We’re still comparing indicated airspeed on a cool day so it’s not the most precise method but it is intuitive. We saw consistent 6 mph deviation at the lower speeds and up to 10 at higher speeds. And so that makes sense with what we’ve been noting from previous flights, but it feels good to have had a visual reference point to help confirm it. While these higher numbers are about 10 mph slower than originally expected from our original calculations, we have been working for a while now on adjusting the spreadsheet model of the LiteFighter to reflect our real-world data so we can get the kit version where we want it. These flights are helping us have more confidence in our new model.

Now as for the deviation, that isn’t unheard of. And we suspected the pitot system was off ever since Elliot’s maiden flight. From GPS data over time, it seemed to suggest we were about 8 mph off on average. The cause typically will be either the pitot mast head design, or the static port location. One way to rule out the static port is we can drogue a funnel on the end of a 50 ft hose trailing behind the plane. If that test comes up negative change and fingers the pitot tube, we may need to modify the inlet or adjust its angle relative to the wing incidence. We’ll cross that bridge if we get there. For the time being it does work. Ultimately having a perfectly true ASI is not the most important. The primary reason for flying this machine is to know what the design is capable of, the limitations, and what we can fix next time. I think this prototype is not going to see tons and tons of hours before we ultimately retire it in favor of the next build. And so, having flown the prototype for the last year and learned many lessons, it’s time to start talking about the next version of LiteFighters.

Our engineers, Aaron, Paul and Shin, have been individually working on aspects of the design to find the critical items that need to be addressed for the Beta series. The focus is on reducing weight and drag, and adding just a pinch of stability, without changing what we know is a nice working setup. We do need to put the pencils down at some point, so it has been a hard process to just narrow things down to a finite list. To get there, we now have a punch list of key things that we will take care of before building any new LiteFighters.

Our biggest objective is to lose weight (target of 50lbs) from the airframe, while also adding retracts. Pretty self-explanatory there. Beyond that we have the following list of specific changes:

For the aft end:

• Thin up empennage airfoils.

• Move entire tail 3” up and 2” aft from FW datum.

• Reduce elevator area by 10%

• Allow vertical offset to combat P-factor.

• Add electric trim to rudder.

• Improve hinge design to use typical spherical bearings.

• Cleaner mounting scheme between tail surfaces and frame.

• Modify Horizontal/Elevator for easy trailering. (Currently too wide for doors)

All these changes are meant to improve performance but also happen to make the aircraft more accurate to the original Curtiss look. A typical sport plane of our size could reduce the tail volumes even further, but that quickly starts to hurt the fighter-like appearance. Future LiteFighters based on other warbirds will have subtly different solutions to their empennage, and we’ve decided to generally put a little more emphasis on looking correct where possible.

For the wings, we have a similar list:

• 2 additional degrees of dihedral.

• 1 degree less washout.

• Shorten ailerons and move them outboard.

• Blunter aileron LE. (Less Frise.)

• Add 6” total to wingspan.

• Shift wings fwd 2” towards datum.

• Update wing joint and pin design for higher G-loading w/ quick remove wings.

• Add wheel wells and other provisions for retractable gear.

Internally we have been cleaning up the structure to be easier to build, easier to work on, and address some issues that caused some serious weight gain in the prototype. This will contribute heavily to the Hawk’s diet plan.

As far as powerplants go, one reason for moving the wing forward is the concession that we will be looking at balancing a heftier range of motors. The original design spec called for engines in the 80-140hp range. As the design sits today, I don’t see anyone getting it done with less than 100hp. Our 124hp from the Verner 7U is getting it done, but it isn’t blowing anyone away, so I wouldn’t recommend any less than 120hp even for those who just want an LSA per the current regulations. The P-36 prototype with fixed gear makes a solid LSA! But not everyone wants an LSA.

Many customers are interested in using the biggest engine we can handle. After looking back at our scaled drawings, and our engine cowl volumes, and the adjustments we propose, the good news is that we should be able to handle engines up to around 200hp and 300lbs in the LiteFighters. The bad news is that there aren’t many aero engines that are both 200hp and 300lbs and fit the cowling to choose from. But there are real options in the 120-175 range from Aeromomentum, Rotax, Verner, Viking, UL Power, and others, that could fit the bill. These engines, and the key adjustments to the airframe, look like they can get the higher-end performance where I want it to be: 145+ mph cruise, 175+ mph max, and still maintain the very gentle and low speed stall.

Scott has been working on the 3D CAD modeling effort to address the above changes and get us closer to making parts. The changes in the aft end are the current focus as we plan to start our Beta builder program with an aft-end kit. I can say that the adjustments really help with the lines and feel a lot more authentic. The P-40 will blow you away! As he gets the models closer to a finished state, we’ll be sure to do a detailed update with views of the old and the new so you can appreciate what we’re talking about.

Another note, since we are making these adjustments, they need to be re-validated. We will be building a new test set of all the structures to check the patterns and fit, and then we’ll verify the load capacity before we commit to the Beta run of parts. Same will go for the updated internal frame. The good news is we’ve done all of these parts a few times by now, and they go quickly once the ‘kit’ is made.

In all we confirmed from the last year of flying and working on the P-36 that there was more to do than just package up what we built the first time and send those parts out the door. Its been needing a bit more refinement in some key areas. You know, we have many skills and in some ways it’s amazing we have been able to keep working on this for so long. But we also have had to learn a lot along the way, work to address issues on our end, and there is more to go. So I appreciate all those who have had patience and offered their encouragement and assistance along the way. Looking at the list of what’s left, we’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and have begun preparing to move to this new chapter for ScaleBirds. There is a lot to look forward to in 2024 and we have been putting together a roadmap for the new year.

So to close things out for this update and for the year, for those who are waiting for your own Hawk, Tomahawk or Kitty Hawk kits, thank you for following along with your encouragement and for your patience with our process. For those who have come to us over the years for Verner engines, with support questions, or have been waiting for parts and accessories, thanks for your continued support and patience; we hope to hear more of your radial projects rumbling through the skies in 2024.

Time Marches On

Hello once again.  Been a while, a lot of stuff going on.  We are test flying the prototype and finally have all the bugs worked-out.  After multiples of flights with cylinder head and oil temperatures soaring into the red before trying to cool it down, we have managed to fabricate and install a set of cylinder head baffles that are working well.  YES!  This has changed the machine into a fun flying sport-plane.  I’m getting long flights and chewing away at my 40 hour phase 1 test period.  We are at 25 hrs as I write this on a very chilly Sunday morning.  We are really feeling the time pressure as winter is setting in here in CT and I need to get her out of phase 1 before it does.

Concurrently with Brian Kelly of Radial Conversions, we have developed a cylinder head baffle set for our 7U installation.  Brian has a 9S on his RV-8R.  He made a composite one-piece baffle between each set of cylinders.  Ours is multiple aluminum pieces and baffle material that we added to our inter-cylinder baffles we had already installed.  Kind-of a little getto or hodge-podge, but in the end it is working as planned.  Some say it looks professional – I don’t know about that.  Lots of lessons learned and changes we can make to a less piece-meal version for kit production later.  We like the one-piece version that Brian is doing and might work in that direction.  However, with our cowling support frame and other things in the way, it was not possible to do it like that.  Ours is 7 parts formed into 4 assemblies between each cylinder.  I think we can get that down to three in aluminum.  One thing we have going is ours can be removed and installed without removing anything from the engine. 

How is the flying going? Im having a ball! I’m getting used to landings and approaches, different runways and crosswinds.  I’ve done stalls and manuvers and opened the canopy in flight. It doesn’t mind one bit, but does slow it down about 4 mph and causes a trim change when mostly open. Stalls are benign, flies again with easing of the back pressure. Stalls power off and clean at 60mph, 20 degrees of flaps is 55mph. Will get you the full flap stall speed and then try power on stalls. I can climb to altitude now, although anything more than 3000 ft requires a step for cool down.  These Verner engines heat up and cool down very quickly.  Not a problem, just something to plan on and operate with.  Flying around I am chugging along typically at 2000 rpm with the temps solidly in the green at 105 indicated. Will be getting a BOM to calibrate with.  Observers on the ground are saying it is moving right along and sounding awesome with the radial rumbling.  Looking every bit the part of a WW2 fighter plane.  I used a GoPro strapped to my forehead for one flight and got some awesome POV video.  Having looked at a few POV videos of Hurricanes, SpitFires and P-40’s, you get the same sensation!  I’m in a fighter plane!  I love seeing the star roundel out on each wing!  Will post some videos very soon. 

This plane is very responsive to control inputs, so you have to fly it the whole time.  I can trim it to level flight but the normally choppy air this time of year makes that difficult.  I am also using some right rudder to keep the ball centered and that means we need to design the next machine with some offset for the vertical and the engine mount.  This one is straight for both.  She rolls super quick and makes very tight turns about-a-point.  I have not done aerobatics yet or high-speed dives.  That will be coming.  I want to really get used to the plane and get some good video and images before doing anything very risky.  If we have to bail, it will be a while before the next airframe is flyable.  I’m not super worried – she has great flight characteristics and responds so well to everything – it’s just a due diligence thing. 

This prototype is very fun to fly, but now we know what we need to do to improve this design.  Some design changes we have known we wanted to do and some are new ones based on flight data that we needed to get.   The big ones are: Weight reduction, slightly more longitudinal and roll stability, more power, more fuel capacity, faster cruise and top speeds.  We have a plan to incorporate all of these and are working on changes to the 3D model.  The next airframes are going to be a blast to fly and exactly what you are expecting the plane to be.  It’s almost good enough now, but the changes we are doing will really help it to be a success.  Everybody wants more speed and power, so we will adjust the cowling to accept the Verner Motor 9S 158 hp radial engine.  The P-40 will be able to handle up to a small V6 powerplant, but for sure a 140 to 160 hp Auto Conversion or Rotax 915/916 or Edge Performance mill.  This will make for a really powerful aircraft – a far leap from the Lightsport initial concept.  However, Lightsport is changing and we need to change with it.  The Mosaic rules will allow for higher hp, speeds, retracts, props and the stuff we all want on a scale fighter plane.  We don’t want to make a plane that is amazing, but dangerous.  Instead, we will limit the power to reasonable and keep the low stall speed and good habits.

Vans Aircraft sells “total performance”, which is very accurate, and we applaud them – can’t beat them at all.  They have a very sleek shape and are optimized for what they are.  What we are finding is that the older WW2 shaped machines are just draggy and need power to go fast.  The P-51 and some other late war designs are quicker machines due to laminar flow airfoils and other refinements.  With limited space in a scale replica, we need to get as much power as we can to fly at expected speeds.  We also can’t just throw in a V8 with 500 hp.  That changes the whole scope of the project and kit.  That would likely double the cost of the finished machine. That is because you need a proper propeller and psru unit, and a fully engineered engine installation.  It becomes a really hard project and one that few builders complete on their own.  Some builders are paying big money to get their high-power installations done at a shop.  That is not a typical Sonex or RV type of project.  Look at the Titan and Stewart installations. Incredible, but big bucks and time consuming.  We are trying to make a more buildable and affordable project that is just as fun when all is said and done. 

What makes a replica fighter aircraft fun?  Good question.  Likely it is a different answer depending on who is building/flying it.  For some it is the power and speed of a fighter aircraft over the typical GA sedan-like airplane.  Others might think that it is maneuverability and acro.  Some just love the shape of their favorite warbird and want the feeling of being in one.  None are wrong – that is all a big part of a replica fighter experience and aura.  We would add that it’s the mission that makes it fun.  It’s fun enough to fly a sporty aircraft around – by yourself.  The typical high dollar replica fighter is rarely flying with another.  ScaleBirds mission is to make more replicas that are affordable to where there are plenty around and groups of them can meet up and fly missions together.  We are thinking that top speed is not as fun as flying with other fighters on missions.  Even if it is loose formation or chasing each other.  Look at the Vans RV flyers, they are usually meeting up with other RV’ers and flying to get their burgers as a group.  The camaraderie is the most fun part.  Sharing the experience.  That is what we want to bring to the replica experience.  It can only be realized with larger numbers of replicas flying.

Numerous things have been slowing us down, mostly me.  Since the last update, I had gotten a tough head and chest cold as well as had to visit a good friend who had an injury.  Then the baffles took three weeks – way longer to make and install than I figured (always the case).  Time does not slow down though, and we are feeling it.  Weird stuff is happening with the economy and the world – even Van’s Aircraft is having capital issues.  We are hanging tough and trying to keep focused.  

Our primary goal is completing our flight testing and get past Phase 1 restrictions before the winter gets serious. This is so we can fly the prototype to Florida in late March 24 to get ready for Sun N Fun.  Secondly and right behind the first goal is to get the redesign of the kit completed for the beta builders.  We are pushing for a Christmas/January delivery for the tail kits.  A few engineering calculations are required and then the cad and cutting of parts will be very quickly done.  Hopefully the calcs will be done by early December.  We will be building our own new airframe concurrently with our beta builders.  I keep looking at improvements to make to this prototype, but we have to stop working on it.  At this point, it is what it is.  We have to get on to the next improved airframe and get kits into production.  Time is marching on! 

Two Thumbs Up!

Hey there. ScaleBirds has resumed flight testing the P-36 Hawk prototype! We have two flights on her from this second round of flight testing and initial indications are that the flaps and landing gear mods are working as planned. Two thumbs up! The engine baffles are still not perfect. We are now working on adding new baffles around the cylinder heads to get our CHT temps down. Without them, she is getting hot at the higher rpms - anything above 1800rpm she just gets hot real quick. So as soon as we can tame that, we can proceed to higher altitudes and get to higher speeds and dive testing.

We incorporated split type flaps - very similar to the original Curtiss P-36/40 configuration. These are electrically driven by a single worm-gear electric actuator mounted behind the seat. We created a mechanical flap indicator gage and installed that. Moved the pitot static ports and incorporated tail lifting points similar to the real aircraft. We modified the landing gear to have oleo struts. Then changed the oil cooler and mounting for better air flow. We added a remote oil cooler adapter and a cleanable oil filter for better oil pressure and cooling. We had inspected the engine crankshaft and propeller hub after the propeller tip strike and test ran the engine many times. Added a new propeller and had to pitch it. We did that and did pull testing to get thrust at several pitches.

After we finished with all the mods, we had to prep for flight and also do a weight and balance. We came out 4 pounds lighter overall. So that told us the landing gear legs are a lot lighter which makes a lot of sense - those springs and other parts were heavy. Then some delays hit the schedule. Covid ravaged the family. I got it last after a week of looking like a deer in the headlights. Everyone of us got it, but it never got dangerous. Like the flue but different too. After getting over that, we were ready to fly, but the headaches wouldn’t quit. I was dealing with it for a week and a half - during some amazing weather for flying! Finally felt good enough and we had a beautiful afternoon - it was time.

The first flight was about an hour and was circling the airport the whole time, trying to get to altitude. She was slow and at wide open throttle was well over red-line and indicating 110mph. The propeller needed more pitch. Unfortunately, I could climb to pattern and then had to fly around letting the engine cool down. I then could gain about 500 ft at a time and had to level off and cruise around the pattern cooling it down. I had time to play with the ailerons and tail effectiveness. Very effective! I finally got her up to 3500 ft and decided against doing stalls, but did do slow flight and tried the flaps from 0 to 30 degrees. I didn’t want to tempt fate with full flaps. The tests were a success! 10 degrees was a very slight trim change and a couple MPH lower. I could readily maintain 85 mph on a little power. Then 20 degrees or two notches it slowed about 5 mph and a little bit more trim change. I could maintain 80 no problem - again I was not intending to stall it, just get a feel for how effective they were. Three notches got me readily down to 75 and maintaining altitude with a bit more power to overcome the drag - not much of a trim change though. Calling that a success, I brought it in for an approach pass and found that three notches was a good approach, requiring a little power to maintain a good decent rate. I found that if I reduce power to idle and she still drops like a rock. The flaps really help a lot with visual of the runway and enough drag to keep the prop at an rpm where it isn’t a huge flat disc of drag. Very much more controllable now. I brought her around and did a long, curving base and final like the WW2 fighters do and landed with just the slightest bounce in a three point landing. The oleo legs worked perfectly and I was happy as a clam.

The second flight was delayed due to TS Lee and out of town obligations. Took the time to re-pitch the propeller to get more speed and better cooling. For the next flight, kept it short and sweet at just pattern altitude to see if we were flying faster at a better rpm and to get some video of the flaps and landing gear working. So the first flight was so long with a couple high-speed taxis prior to flying that the GoPro cameras both ran out of battery and we didn’t get the shots of the flap testing or the landing. So the goal was to get that footage and also try full flaps. Did a high-speed fly-by and fast downwind leg indicating about 125mph - GPS data from the GoPros showed average of 130 to 135mph with wide open throttle of 2300 rpm. Red-line is 2380 for three minutes so maybe a smidge less pitch is required. Then I slowed her up and tried the flaps - starting with opening to 10 degrees at 100 mph - a little faster deployment speed than last flight and it did it just fine. Then two and three notches on base leg - allowed her to see 95mph and no issues - so the flaps and actuator are strong enough to handle the normal air speeds. Turned final and added full flaps at still a ways out. She slowed up quick and I had to add some power to shallow the decent rate. I could see the runway real well and she was stable around 75 mph. I flew her on and touched down in almost three point, but she skipped and skipped again a few times I think. Finally settled-on at around 50 mph indicated. It just wanted to keep flying! So I think I can get used to full flap landings, but likely three notches (around 32 degrees) is smoothest so far.

We found an oil leak from the bottom of the cowling and decided to pull the cowling and investigate. Indications are that the valve covers were not very tight and speculate that the lower ones were filling up with oil and dripping past their o-ring perimeter. Tightened them all up and checked intake and exhaust bolts. Some needed tightening. Thermal cycles were likely causing them to loosen. We then ran the engine with no visible oil leaks so we are ready again. Will try to get the baffles installed this weekend while it’s raining from TS Ophelia. Then it’s time to get at those test cards and get her through phase 1 flight testing.

The Big Show

We made it to the big show. By all estimates, it was one of the biggest AirVentures as far as attendance and vendors. Packed. The planes in aircraft camping were into the overflow parking field. Camp Scholler was packed too. As you know, we were in the Ultralight/LSA area this year and it was crowded as I’ve ever seen it. We had a lot more foot traffic than I expected to get. We had Steve Henry kiddy corner across the aisle from us with his yellow plane on display. Also had Hal Stockman stop by and look at the P-36 and the Verner. Really nice guy. We had forgot to print brochures before we left, so we worked on the files and got them printed on Tuesday. Ran out by Sat morning. It was a busy week! Hot too! Record heat index for several of the days and rain storms several nights. Big lightning shows too! Fortunately, there was only one rainy morning that impacted the exhibits and by 9 it was clearing up. All in all, a good show.

Our booth focused on our LiteFighter prototype and a Verner 3VL engine on display. BTW - getting the engine to the show was an ordeal. After trying several methods, we shipped it using Freight Center on-line service and they shipped it via Yellow - YRC. The pick-up of the engine in California didn’t happen on the expected day - so it was going to be late - after the show started. It arrived on Monday afternoon thankfully and we went after the show to get it. Little did we know that they were shutting the doors right after we grabbed our engine from the dock in Neenah, WI. About mid-week, Yellow went out of business. Literally one of the last shipments for the carrier. We had to trailer the plane to Oshkosh and so we had the trailer setup as our booth, with a smaller 9x9 pop-up canopy for the Verner display. Its not ideal, but worked-out. The booth spaces are more generous in the Ultralight area - 40ft x 40ft so it wasn’t so restrictive as the Homebuilts area is. We had the trailer and canopy in the back of the booth with the plane in the front.

The reception to the P-36 Hawk was amazing! We were constantly busy with people checking it out and other vendors stopping in. We allowed many people to climb into the cockpit and try-it-on for size. It fits 95% of the folks and the rest are just too big for GA aircraft. We also had a number of people asking about the Verner Motor engines and hope that we get some more sales from the show - there is usually a delay of a couple months. I had forgotten to setup our LiteFighter sign-up sheet on Sunday and Monday, but remembered half way through Tuesday. We still got over 70 folks signed-up for more info and some definits for standard kits when available. We needed to sell two more beta kit slots and we did that. We may add to the number depending on how the production goes. On Friday morning, we were given a few minutes to prep and were tugged over the fence line onto the ultralight flight line. The announcer interviewed Scott about the engine and airframe. The Hawk was tied down to the tug, so we got to run the engine for the crowd. I was relieved when the engine started right up like normal. Puff of smoke and roared to life. I was worried the battery might be too low or we were out of gas or something. However, everything worked great and we were a hit on the flight line. We also had an Aero News Network interview from Jim Campbell as well as one for Kitplanes magazine. Several photogs came through as well. We were not really ready to sell standard kits and so we didn’t spend any money on extra advertising. We need to get going so all our focus right now is just that - get going! On that front, we made some great contacts and meetings at the show. Networking! We are working on setting-up our production with an existing, well respected manufacturer. This is the fastest way to get the kits out and we know it will be quality.

Golden Hour at the Seaplane Base

There were a couple accidents and some averted during the week. A Bonanza tried to land opposite of traffic and that was a big oops. We also were having lunch when the helicopter and gyro collided near us. Didn’t see it, but heard it. Terrible sound. I did look up in time to see a rotor blade twirling down. It got real quiet. Everyone knew something bad just happened. We then heard about the T-6 accident long after it happened. Saturday was a tough day. The night show still went on like nothing had happened and there was scuttlebutt going around Sunday about not having had a moment of silence or something. Then again, maybe there was and we were unable to see it happen.

Sunday was a complete waste of a show day. Only a few people wandering through the outdoor booths. I did hear that the vendor buildings were quite busy for part of the day. We had time to talk with the other vendors and network. We got to do the booth tear-down and packed the trailer after lunch. The plane is not easy to disassemble, but we have it down to a science. I think we rolled out of the show around dinner time. Got to a hotel in South Bend around 11pm. Not bad, traffic was ok in Chicago. The drive home was uneventful and we were relieved to get home safe and sound. No damage to the plane other than the terrible beating the roads provide. One guy I talked with said he transported his plane project and the g-meter indicated 10 G’s. Our new oleo landing gear survived the ordeal and didn’t lose any oil or pressure. Pretty happy about that result.

Since our return, we have been slowly reassembling the airframe and doing a full annual inspection on her. We are also making a minor modification to the oil system by adding a remote oil cooler system instead of plumbed in-line from the draw tube. WE are also switching from a 7 row to a 10 row cooler since we have just enough room. We should get much better cooling. Scott is making the flap indicator over again. The last version failed as it was 3D printed from a home printer. Not good enough quality - it was warped. So going very simple and metal is the plan anyway. The cowl flaps may get modified to be in-flight adjustable by a simplified version of how the F4U Corsair does it. Seems too simple to not try to do it. It is not high on the priority list, but we will try that at some point. The static ports were relocated per recommendations and the old holes are in the perfect spot for a lifting rod poke-thru. So we did a very simple version of that and will see how that does. We have some ideas for reinforcing it more if needed. It has been a hassle moving the plane by pushing and pulling on the tail surfaces. This will be a big improvement.

Next up is flight testing, flight testing and some more flight testing. We want to be sure of what aero changes we want to incorporate and what is needed for structural and manufacturability improvements. We are pretty happy with the flying qualities, but we can improve a few things, just a skosh. The next two months are likely flight testing and practice with short field landings and operations. Some in-flight videos and pics will be posted. Then we get on with the beta kits. YES!