Table of Contents
April 2018 Issue
Builder Spotlight
How Dan West put a Vortech supercharger on his RV-8. By Tom Wilson.
Riveting the assembly, part 3. By Paul Dye.
Around the World and Over Both Poles
Sky Polaris-a historic flight in an RV-8, part 2. By Don Pearsall.
If you're going to design the perfect airplane, which piece do you work on first? By Lewis Bjork.
CozyJet dead-stick. Losing an engine was the least of the problems. It was a brake fire that almost destroyed this one-of-a-kind homebuilt. By Ryszard Zadow.
Shop Talk
A second life for Cleco pliers. By Jon Croke.
Buckin' where the sun don't shine. By KITPLANES� Staff.
Rebuilding the MATCO MC-4 master cylinder. By Dave Prizio.
Home shop heat treating. By Bob Hadley.
Be a fan fan. By Jim Weir.
Missing baffling screws. By Vic Syracuse.
Shop Tips
Exploring
Traveling machine. By Paul Dye.
So, what's the Homebuilt Council? By Vic Syracuse.
Through new eyes. By Tom Wilson.
Fast and Smooth
The Tarragon invades America!
The Tarragon is a new (to the U.S. market) plane from Europe, a fast, sexy-looking craft built for the Light Sport market across the pond, but selling as a kit in the U.S. for the Experimental/Amateur-Built market. Why not market it here as a Light Sport? Retractable gear, a constant-speed prop, and a speed that significantly exceeds the 120-knot LSA limit. And the truth is, while those things might disappoint a Sport Pilot, they are significant plusses for someone looking for a new E/A-B.
West with the Wind
How Dan West put a Vortech supercharger on his RV-8.
Well built and equipped, Dan West’s RV-8 is a full-featured daily flyer with racing pretensions. There’s no bleeding edge aerodynamics going on here as the tiedown rings and antenna farm attest. That means its 240+mph TAS at altitude comes down to muscular engine power and efficient prop thrust.
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After six and a half years, I received an airworthiness certificate on August 2, 2018. The first two flights were on August 10, flown by my highly experienced RV friend, Tom Berge. I completed the flight testing in early October. I then flew the aircraft up to Hibbing, MN for a paint job at Midwest …
Zodiac 601XLB N601LL was first flown on September 12, 2018. It took 11 years from start to finish with numerous long breaks interspersed for other of life's priorities. The LL in the tail number is for my wife of 47 years, Linda Lou, who unfortunately did not survive to see its completion. I chose to …
Our Van's RV-12 E-LSA was completed September 2018. I am a first-time builder, and it took three year build working week-ends only. The plane sports dual Garmin G3X, and an auto pilot. --Richard and Sissy Kincaid, Jonesboro Arkansas
At Sun 'n Fun 2018 we interviewed Jeff Schans, Lycoming's Sales manager and we asked about the popular Thunderbolt Engines. Watch the short Product Minute video as Jeff describes the benefits of the Thunderbolt product line and what it means for the aircraft homebuilder.
Dynon Avionics' latest-generation SkyView integrated avionics called the SkyView HDX has a newly designed bezel and user controls for easier use while flying in turbulence, plus brighter displays and a reworked touch interface. Larry Anglisano takes a product tour of the HDX with Dynon's Michael Schoefield in this video.
At Sun 'n Fun 2016, Dynon continued to push into the world of non-certified avionics with its SkyView SE, a less expensive version of its popular SkyView EFIS system. Paul Bertorelli prepared this video report.
The G5 is a self-contained electronic flight instrument, which can be interfaced with Garmin's G3X/Touch avionics and autopilot for backup and flight instrument redundancy. The GMA245 and remote GMA245R Bluetooth audio panels have advanced entertainment input functions and onscreen programming.
At Sun 'n Fun 2016, Just Aircraft is showing off its new Titan-powered SuperSTOL XL. Harrison Smith took Paul Bertorelli for a half-day demo flight in the new airplane, and here's his video report.
Kit manufacturer Zenith Aircraft Company has released a new 360-degree VR short video to showcase its kit aircraft and to promote the rewarding hobby of kit aircraft building and flying light-sport aircraft.
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