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!

Made It to AirVenture 2023

Hey guys. We made it to Oshkosh by Saturday evening at 7pm. Karen, Scott, Jennifer and myself left on Friday morning about 11 am pulling the trailer with the P-36 in it. Spent the night in the Cleveland OH area. There were some heavy but brief showers in NY state, then mainly clear till we got to the Wisconsin border. We stopped at the Russell Military Museum at Exit 1. We have been seeing the place for years but we never have the time to stop-in. This year, we are about a day earlier than usual and decided we needed time out of the truck and walking around. What a cool place! Lots of Armor, trucks and aircraft. Cool stuff too. Spent about an hour (not long enough) and then left as a storm was approaching right as they closed-up at 5pm. Rolled up to Milwaukie and hit some heavy rain. Then it cleared and we had a good ride up to Fond Du Loc and into Oshkosh at 7. We had enough time to figure out where our booth was and drop the trailer there, then got out right before another storm hit Oshkosh. Had a hotel lined-up in Appleton, WI Saturday night. Sunday we had a good breakfast at the Machine Shed restaurant, then rolled down to the show and our booth. We pulled the plane out of the trailer and attached the wings and tail. Then we buttoned up the fairings and installed the flaps and wing gap strips. We were mostly done by 11:30am but then had a bunch of people stop by the booth, so it took the rest of the afternoon to finish up. We met some people that have been following us and it was good to put faces to the names. Met Chris, the curator for the Connecticut Air and Space Museum. Sorry, really bad with last names. Chris is the guy who discussed with us about painting the plane to resemble Lt. Gordon Sterling’s Pearl Harbor aircraft. It is an honor for us to share his memory and story of bravery. Its a stunning paint job too! Many compliments today. Well done team!

Monday morning we start the show. That is when we put up our flags and posters, set out the signage and all while answering questions. Its a fun time till it gets hot in the afternoon. We do have an awning on the trailer to shade our table. That helps a lot!

We watched many aircraft arriving and I love to see the Warbird arrivals. The F-16 was ripping up the joint! Right now its Sunday night. Scott is up editing our brochure to show the latest structure with flaps.

Hope to see some of you guys there! Will try to get some images and video to post. More later!

Oshkosh Prep

Its the week before AirVenture 2023 and we are finally done with the plane and now have to break-it-down. Aarrgh! Well, we are pretty experienced with trailering the P-36 replica. The trailer isn’t ready - we have to move my daughter’s furniture first before we can fill it with airplane parts. So its crazy time again - again!

We are going to be in the ultralight exhibitor area near the Paradise City grass airfield. Booth 912. So the thing about the ultralight area is: it’s where the action is! Really, it is full of action each day of AirVenture until the airshow starts. then again, right after the airshow ends. All week! We hope to be able to run the engine a few times - so stop by our booth and get all the latest info and times for that. We are planning to have a 3V engine on display - similar to what we did at Sun N Fun. A customer is allowing us to show his engine for the week before he gets to see it himself. That is gracious for sure! Thank you Brian Saunders!

We are going to have the trailer with awning and a small popup tent with the engine in the tent and the P-36 out in front. Its just Scott, my daughter Jennifer and my wife Karen and I for crew this year. That’s enough booth help, but no time for slacking! Im getting excited to be at the show and see the airplanes and crowds. Timber Tiger is going to have two of our Verner radials on display with their aircraft projects. Meyers Aviation will have one or two as well. So Verners are starting to spread and gain in popularity. Love it!

We finished the flaps and landing gear mods. Spent some time designing a flap indicator that is mechanical. Cable operated from the flap drive system. The prototype ended up not working well. It would bind up. So we redesigned it and the parts are printing out now. May not get it done in time. Maybe that goes in at Oshkosh.

I have been meaning to clean and wash the plane for a long time now (since October??). So yesterday (Sunday) I pushed it outside in the middle of a downpour. Got a bucket with a bit of car wash soap in it and scrubbed her down. The rain got so heavy it was like a spray gun at the car wash. I pulled it in a little at a time, drying it off as I went. Wow. clean as a whistle! Spic and Span! We have had just terrible weather so far this summer. Except when I’m at work in the shop.

Scott and I have been working on planning out the next steps after AirVenture. We are having discussions with some airframe kit manufacturers about part or all of our kit production. These companies are top-notch. it will likely be a combination of us making some of the parts and others making some. TBD. The goal is to have the best possible kit as fast as possible. We know some of you have been waiting for too long as it is. We will likely open up kit sales right away and take deposits for production positions. That way we can confirm with our vendors that there is demand and they will gladly jump on it. Stay tuned, we will announce the details shortly. We are planning to have many meetings at Oshkosh. Can’t wait!

So I doubt I will write a blog till after the show, but my daughter may help us edit some short videos for the YouTube channel while we are there. I hope to see some of you at the booth. Keep in touch! Safe Travels!

Getting Excited!

Over due for an update. The flaps are installed and working properly. Putting final touches and final hardware on all the joints (ie: drilled bolts and castle nuts, proper length bolts, etc…). We have approx 40 degrees of travel. We still have some fairings to modify and re-install. The landing gear parts are all made. The upper legs are at the welder. The modifications are going to turn the existing legs into oleo type shock absorber struts. Oil and air dampened. The lower gears legs are made and being fitted to the axle mount elbows (ankles??). So some paint on the legs after we get them back from the welder and the legs can be assembled and tested over the next week. Once everything is the way we want it, installation will be quick. Then, our attention will move to the engine and prop. Cylinder head baffles and engine runs. Pull testing and oil cooler modifications. The cowl nose bowl inlets will be modified to put more air on the heads. That will hopefully work well and not really be seen.

The modifications have taken us a lot longer than planned. Most of that is due to several delays that have occurred. Going to Sun N Fun last minute was a big schedule buster. Had to do it for Verner Motor’s sake, they are very good to us. All our crew were busy in May, so I was fumbling along by myself - when I could be. I had a rough month in May with a cricked neck for a week and then a week of getting used to a new medicine. Aarrrgh. On top of that, we had a tree that needed to be cut down next to the house and all the chaos that brings. Throw in a plumbing disaster and the time just flies. Aaron is justifiably busy with a new baby girl last week. Paul is prepping for baby #2 coming in August. The whole crew are thrilled for them!

We are making progress. It is getting exciting (finally!) to see some results after all the design, fabrication and modifications to the airframe. Currently, the plane is up on jacks and stable. Will be great to see her back on her gear and out on the flight-line for testing again. More videos coming!

Getting There

Howdy folks! Sorry for the long pause. We went to Sun N Fun and what a week! Always fun and warmer than here in CT. Everything worked out great for the show. Steve Wolfs’ P-47D project was a huge hit! We could have sold 15 of them for real if we had a kit. More on that later. Terry Allred allowed us to display his 3 cylinder Verner Motor in the booth as well. I hope we will see a number of sales from the effort and that is the whole reason for going this year. We want to help Verner Motor keep busy building engines. In addition to the engine focus of our trip, we managed to re-kindle some old contacts we had and build some new relationships. Networking in a small industry. We have our work cut-out for us getting into the kit production phase. One of those relationships is with a kit industry big name. He knows the Verner family very well and is interested in helping us transform to production. Can’t get any better. He also is very experienced with getting ASTM certification for SLSA aircraft. We will see where we can go with that.

Steve Wolf is progressing very nicely on the P-47D replica. It will be a huge hit when it is flying. Jim Busha the marketing VP for EAA stopped by and wants to stay in touch with the progress - Sport Aviation feature article coming! The 47 features fully functioning cowl flaps, sliding canopy, actual 47 throttle quadrant, gun sight and stick grip. It has the turbo exhaust and inlets in the rear fuselage. Fully retractable landing gear - tail and mains. Will have guns, drop tank and bomb racks. The Verner 9S fits nicely in the cowling and with an adjustable prop will give it a great sound and good thrust. Steve is amazing with sheet metal fabrication - despite being a rag and tube aircraft builder mostly. He is having fun re-learning his metal skills. The finish is first rate and the plane looks like a production version. Amazing!

After Sun N Fun, I took a week off. I was exhausted and felt like a zombie. Maybe a bit too much heat down there. Finally started feeling normal and got back to work on the P-36. Finished up the modifications to the trailing edge ribs and added the flap spar sections after installing nut plates for mounting the drive tube hinge blocks. Each side of the wing gets four of these blocks. This last week we test fit the flaps after riveting up the flap spars - we could not test fit them while we had a bunch of clecos in the way. Found that our flap ribs were a smidge to high to nest clear of the torque tube. So we modified the fwd inch of each rib to clear. We will incorporate lessons learned in the kit flap design and they will fit up much better. The Devil is in the details! Sometimes, its just a discrepancy between the cad model shape and the actual shape after bending and then riveting parts together. Production parts would be much closer to the cad shape as rivet holes and forming jigs would be better located and repeatable. Anyway, the flaps should be installed this week and then the drive system over the following week.

After the flaps get done, we will tackle the landing gear legs. Scott has an important job to get done over the next couple weeks and then a planned trip. AFter that, we will get the landing gear leg parts completed in quick order. So I have some time to get the flaps done and then mount and adjust the propellers. We are also making cylinder head baffles to try to help with additional cooling of the heads. We may have to modify the cowl inlet shape to allow more air to move outwards to the cylinder heads with less restriction. Another lesson learned. When installing a full cowl on the Verner, allow as much distance in front of the cylinder heads as possible. We kept it fairly tight - maybe 2.5 inches from the nose bowl to the front of the heads. Steve Wolf has about 4 inches on the Samson Mite and has no cooling issues at all. Moving our cowling at this point is not easy and would likely require a whole new cowling and frame. We really want to spend the time on the next airframe if possible.

So we are getting there. Slower than anticipated and some of that is even though we didn’t have to bring the plane down to show at SNF, it still took time away from the project that we don’t get back. I was thinking we would only be about a week away from the effort, but it actually was still three weeks off from working it. We used about a week before leaving getting everything together, making new signage and printing brochures, etc… I didn’t anticipate being worn-out for a week after the show. So we are quickly running out of calender before AirVenture. We are working as hard as conditions allow. Back to work!

It's a Go!

Hey folks! We are going to Sun N Fun ‘23 after all! We have a booth space reserved - not the same spot unfortunately. We gave that up earlier when we were not planning to go. Verner Motor needed to have representation at the show and we need to help them out. So now we are in North exhibits - booth 21. It is straight out between building C and D almost to the main avenue and one spot in from the end cap.

We will have Steve Wolf’s 60% scale replica P-47D fuselage and tail on display. The wings are not done yet. He just finished the cowling and has the Verner 9S mounted. If you can make it to the show, you will not want to miss checking this out. Steve is a Master Craftsman and is not holding back. It is a tribute to his friend Jack Hallet who flew P-38s and P-47s during WW2 in Europe. Jack’s P-47D was nicknamed “Frigid Midgit” - the painter misspelled it and Jack didn’t have the heart to bother him about it. On the cowl, it had a large Snow White character - Dopey giving Hitler the middle finger. This replica has a real gun-sight, throttle quadrant and stick grip. Jack helped on the project while he still could and donated his actual flight helmet and goggles as well as a bunch of pictures and memorabilia.

Jack’s P-47 had a unique paint job. One of the plastic model companies even made a model of it with decals to match Jack’s plane. It was an olive drab painted early D model without the dorsal fin. That fin along the top of the tail fuselage was added in the field and left unpainted. Jack had made contact with some trees during a low-level prank during one of his first flights in the P-47 and the wings were replaced - they were un-painted too except for the US roundel. Jack said: “The P-47 didn’t pull out of a dive like the P-38 did”. “Pulled the nose up and it just kept going the angle it was!” Their transition to P-47 was - none. Just jump in and fly it - no manuals, instruction, nothing. The very first plane their squadron flew was damaged on landing. Jack was second or third to fly their new mounts.

Jack was a real fun guy and thanks to Steve and Kathy, I am proud that my wife Karen and I were able to meet him several times. He told us many stories and always had a good laugh. A very humble and genteel guy. One interesting thing is that General George Patton had given him a pistol for bravery. Jack was almost embarrassed to talk about it. A real Patton Pistol. He was that kind of a guy. Best generation.

Along with Steve’s Frigid Midgit, we are going to have Terry Allred’s Verner 3VL engine on display. We could not in good concience tear apart the P-36 even more and trailer it again. We need to jump right into completing it after the show. Not bringing it was the only way we could attend. Steve and Terry stepped-up big time for us. Thank You! We have the best friends!

Flap work continues and the landing gear modification to Oleo struts is waiting on a few machined parts to get made. We are going to be ready to fly in April - early May at the latest. So testing in May/June. Then, get ready for a long cross country for AirVenture ‘23 late July. That will be fun- or at least a great adventure!