From the Flight Deck

Well, Oshkosh 1996 has come and gone. Wow! It was a very successful show for Stoddard-Hamilton. We are approaching 400 GlaStar kit sales and have topped 1,500 Glasair sales. The GlaStar was again a great hit.

I very much regret being unable to be at Oshkosh myself. As many of you know, I have been very busy with company affairs, along with my own set of health problems lately. I am doing just fine, but I will eventually need surgery on my spine for the removal of a cyst and some tumors. I am considering surgery sometime in late November. Presently, the tumors are slow growing and not life threatening. I sincerely appreciate all your prayers, support and concern. By the Lord's grace, I will come through this life-challenging process a better person, with no ill effects from the surgery.

You've heard the adage, "Build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door." This has definitely been the case with the GlaStar. I am pleased to announce the establishment of our first GlaStar dealership in Australia and New Zealand. The new dealership, Wade Air, is headed by Wade Mahlo and his brother Brett. They will be a great team, with just the right blend of technical and business expertise. Their address is Henry Lawson Way, Forbes, NSW 2871, Australia, or they can be contacted by phone at 068-537-216 or fax at 068-537-230. Wade Air has ordered an initial shipment of five GlaStar kits, with delivery expected in March of 1997. We are presently negotiating additional dealerships in Britain, Germany, Japan and South America.

This is great news: the EAA is now building its second GlaStar for the Young Eagles program, as if one were not enough! Once again, we are grateful and honored to have been chosen by EAA for this very worthwhile program.

I am also very pleased and proud of Tom Hamilton, Ted Setzer, Mike Setzer, Tom Setzer, Bud Nelson and Dick Anderson—the members of the GlaStar design team—for receiving the 36th Annual Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award. The award was presented to the team at Oshkosh for outstanding contributions to the advancement of the design of light aircraft and the Experimental Aircraft Association. Another unsung hero who contributed greatly to the favorable stability, control and stall characteristics of the aircraft is our resident aerodynamic wizard, Paul Robertson of Aeronautical Testing Services. Without his valuable expertise and flight-testing assistance, the aircraft wouldn't have the amazing flight characteristics it possesses.

Floats—do I dare say anything about them?! Well, Tom Hamilton has said he plans to be at our facility in December with a brand new pair to put on our prototype GlaStar. We 11 keep you posted! Many other options are also under development. Particular emphasis is being given to the auxiliary fuel tank option, which we know many of you are anxious for. Exactly where to put the aux tanks continues to be a bit of an engineering dilemma. The best location from many standpoints would be just outboard of the existing main wing tanks, but it would be much more work for a builder to retrofit tanks in this location. Tanks in the outermost bay of the wing would be easier to retrofit, but this location is not as favorable in terms of its effect on stall/spin characteristics. We are also looking at the possibility of a tank in the baggage area, but this location puts fuel in the cabin, as well as reducing available baggage space. As you can see, there are many design compromises to be reached, and we will not rush into production with a design that doesn't provide an optimal combination of safety, operational simplicity and ease of installation.

Continued on Page 18 . . .

by Bob Gavinsky

President

Composite Commuter

Here is a picture of my Glasair III and an MD-11. I use the Glasair to commute to my job at American Airlines. I fly from Nevada County Airport to San Jose, from where I fly the MD-11 to Tokyo. Normal driving time is three-plus hours, while my Glasair time is thirty-five minutes—a great way to commute to work! I highly recommend it!

Arnie Luters Grass Valley, CA, Glasair III

Little Transpacific?!

1 took off from Monterey, California, in IMC (heavy fog) at 9 a.m., August 23, and landed at 8:25 p.m. local time in Maui. The flight duration was fourteen hours, twenty-five minutes. The flight was uneventful, except that after eight hours over the water, I had to cross a small system; it took less than an hour to go through. (I do not have a turbo, and my best flight level is 17,000 feet.)

Later on, my engine coughed briefly, and believe me, this is a situation in which your adrenaline level can rise pretty sharply. I switched from my wing tank to the header tank in a hurry, and everything went back to normal. When I switched back to the wing tank, the fuel pressure was normal and the engine continued to run smoothly. My guess is that during the flight in the clouds, I must have picked up some icy moisture that obstructed the fuel line somewhere.

My HF radio was not working very well, I guess due to static. On a composite airplane, you pick it up very easily. En route to Hawaii, this is not a problem, as there are so many airliners to relay your messages to San Francisco or Honolulu radio. One of them was a United

Airlines captain. After he relayed my message, he chatted with me over the air-to-air frequency (128.95 in the Pacific area). I will ever remember his kindness, especially when he was too far away to receive my transmissions anymore. I could still hear him as he called one of his fellow airline pilots, saying, "Would you please keep an eye open for this guy down below in his Glasair?" Later, when I was on approach to Maui, he was departing for his return flight, and I heard him asking the controller about me. That was very nice of him.

When I landed in Maui, also in IFR conditions, I had forty-seven gallons left in my fuel tanks—quite a bit more than the three-hour reserve I had planned! By the way, California to Hawaii is the longest leg when you fly around the world. The only difficulty I faced after landing was finding an agent from the agriculture administration to do the mandatory aircraft inspection.

The aim of this trip was to pay tribute to my hero, Charles A. Lindbergh, who is

buried on Maui. His grave is near a small church that's pretty hard to locate; the only landmark is Mile Post 42 on Route 360, where you have to turn left to the church. Needless to say, for me it was a moving pilgrimage.

After a four-hour sightseeing tour around all eight of the Hawaiian Islands (a must!), I filed an IFR flight plan from Hilo to Phoenix, Arizona, on August 27. The only anecdote from this flight that is worth relating again has to do with airline pilots relaying messages. At one point 1 asked a captain to relay a position report to Honolulu for me. He came back saying, "Glasair Three Six Golf Charlie, Honolulu has your position report," and then he added, "But tell me, what company is 'Glasair'?" Airliners preface their messages with the company call sign, and he thought "Glasair" was some new airline! When I explained that a Glasair is a tiny, single-engine, 180 h.p. homebuilt, that triggered a bunch of questions from my heavy brothers up above.. Maybe they were so interested because their flights are quite boring compared to mine!

Air Mail Anyway, I was expecting a tailwind on my flight to Phoenix, but I didn't find one, and I finally landed at Williams Gateway Airport, where Phoenix Composites is located, on August 28 after seventeen hours and eighteen minutes in the air. In the last portion of the trip between San Diego and Phoenix, the weather was quite stormy, but the Los Angeles and Albuquerque centers guided me through in a professional way. Nevertheless, when I stepped out of my Little Transatlantic in front of Phoenix Composites, I was definitely running out of steam. The trip from there to the hotel was really painful and was probably the most dangerous part of my journey.

Henri Chorosz, La Gaude, France, Glasair Super II FT

Editor's note: Henri is working very hard to organize a New York-to-Paris race for experimental aircraft to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's historic flight. He hopes the race will take place sometime between the 14th and the 21st of June, 1997, to coincide with the Paris Air Show. Henri is eagerly soliciting interest from potential competitors and sponsors. If you would like more information, he can be reached at 19 av. des Oliviers, 06610 La Gaude, France, telephone 011-33-932-48739, fax 011-33-932-47303. Henri has also entered Little Transatlantic in the Olympic Air Games to be held in September of 1997 in Turkey, and he will be happy to share information about this event with anyone who is interested.

North County Grillmasters

GlaStar builders in the north San Diego County area enjoyed a pleasant Sunday evening barbeque on the 29th of September. Our activities centered around my garage/shop and patio. The builder "teams" (builders, wives, dads, sons, etc.) got to know each other and do a lot of talking about their favorite airplane. Builders in attendance, in addition to myself, were Joe Gillard,

Larry Pennoch, John Top, Lon Rosado, Andrew Binks, Orville Eliason and Ken Schooley. The Rosado team includes Lon's wife, Laura, and son, Wade. The Binks team has Andrew and his dad, Alan, as the primary builders. The rest of us get varying amounts of help from our wives and friends. From an experience point of view. Ken is the only one who has built a plane before. The rest of us are just learning as we go—just ask Call

We talked tools, jigs, building techniques, problems, solutions, etc. Many neat and clever ideas were described and demonstrated. Orville showed his micro-adjustable sand bag support to help keep structures flat. He also had an air hose holder to hang over a rafter to keep the hose off the floor. I passed along my adjustable rudder vertical support jig and the hardwood trim servo cover shaping form I received from Dick Monaghan in Palmdale. We expect these and many more useful items to circulate among the group members.

The luckiest person at the party was Laura Rosado, who won the drawing for a poster-size picture of—you guessed it—N824G. Three of the builders—John, Larry and me—will be

visiting the S-H booth at the Copperstate Fly-In. See you there!

Maybe this party has set the stage for a builders' group that will be actively supportive of all our projects and another party or two!

Bill Jones Carlsbad, CA, GlaStar

Brave Fight

My son Remy is probably like a lot of your sons, daughters or grandchildren— he loves airplanes and flying. When he was two or three, he would look up with a big grin and yell "airplane" whenever he heard the sound of or saw an airplane pass. He loved the airline trips he went on. For him, getting there was as good as being there, as long as the trip involved an airplane. Obviously, he was very proud of his pilot daddy and our beautiful Glasair.

Remy would like to be a pilot someday, but he and thousands of kids like him won't make it, in fact, won't live at all without a lot of help—and I'm asking for yours. You see, Remy has a little-known

Continued on Page 21. . .

Confirming what almost 400 builders and innumerable aviation writers already knew, the Experimental Aircraft Association officially declared the GlaStar to be a landmark design in the history of light aircraft development by bestowing the Thirty-Sixth Annual Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award on the team that designed the airplane. The award, named for the late Mississippi State University professor of aerospace engineering August Raspet, is presented annually at the EAA Convention in recognition of "outstanding contributions to the advancement of the design of light aircraft and the Experimental Aircraft Association."

A great sigh of relief was heard as the tenth and final section of the GlaStar Assembly Manual was completed and shipped out in late-July, bringing to a very temporary end the eighteen-month effort of S-H's three-man technical publications crew. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the GlaStar builders who waited patiently for this long process to reach its conclusion, and our respect goes out to those who plunged ahead anyway!

Chief GlaStar designer Tom Hamilton and team members Bud Nelson, Ted Setzer and Tom Setzer were all on hand at the Theater in the Woods ceremony to accept the award from EAA President Tom Poberezny. Team members Dick Anderson and Mike Setzer were unable to attend.

As great an honor as the 1996 Raspet Award was, it was not without precedent here at Stoddard-Hamilton; in 1985, the twenty-fifth annual award was given to Tom Hamilton for another landmark design—the Glasair. Tom is thus the only designer ever to receive this prestigious award twice.

Now begins the vital task of revising the Manual to incorporate all the changes and corrections that have arisen in the past year-and-a-half. This is a bigger job than it first appears to be, and unfortunately—despite the opinion of at least one disgruntled builder—the computer does not quite "do it all by itself!" Nevertheless, the job is well underway and we anticipate having a complete revision in the builders' hands by late winter. One last ANOR will soon be issued to tide builders over till then.

Technical Support Services Upgraded

In response to the tremendous increase in the volume of technical support calls as hundreds of GlaStar projects get underway around the world, S-H has recently implemented changes in both hardware and personnel to improve the efficiency and accessibility of the Technical Support Department.

A second dedicated phone line has been added to alleviate difficulty in getting through. (The number for both lines is still (360) 435-8536.) Although this additional line does not preclude the possibility of getting a busy signal— especially during peak times like Monday mornings—it has already greatly reduced this problem.

In addition, personnel have been shifted so that two specialists are available exclusively to take technical support calls anytime the lines are open. As part of a general and ongoing upgrade program throughout the company, both these technicians are now equipped with computer systems that allow more efficient handling of common problems.

Finally, technical questions are now being accepted and answered by e-mail at <104751.200@compuserve.com>. This new capability implies no reduction in our commitment to answer your questions by phone but simply offers greater flexibility to builders with Internet access.

GlaStar Design Team Wins Prestigious Raspet Award

GlaStar Assembly Manual CompletedFirst Comprehensive Revision Underway

Meanwhile, Back at the Plant

Sales Desk Sets New

Records, New

Policies

We're not complaining, but boy, is success ever tiring! The phones have been overheating here at S-H with requests for Glasair and GlaStar information. Kit sales during this post-airshow fall season are increasing dramatically while in an ordinary year they would be slackening. We've just increased our GlaStar production rate from fourteen to seventeen full kits per month. Including Glasair production, our total rate now approaches twenty kits per month. Orders are currently backed up into March for the GlaStar and January for the Glasair. Total kits sales to date have topped 1,500 for the Glasair and an amazing 385 for the GlaStar. Whew!

One reason sales are booming is that we enjoy a real rarity in this business—the repeat customer. For most, building an airplane is a once-in-a-lifetime project, but for others, it's habit-forming! Thus, we see a number of Glasair builders working on GlaStars. (Of course, we've maintained all along that everyone really needs one of each!) At least two builders are going for the "S-H Triple Crown": Ted Beck of Helena, Montana, and Kenny Asby of Salt Lake City, Utah, have each built a Glasair I RG followed by a Glasair III, and are currently building GlaStars. Roger Heisdorffer of Taylor, Arizona, and Bruce Williams of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have each built more than two Glasairs (we've begun to lose count!), and Roger has already finished his GlaStar, while Bruce is just getting started. We're extremely honored by this kind of customer loyalty; it inspires us to continue working hard to uphold the trust it implies.

We are seeing more and more overseas interest in our kits, especially after the GlaStar tour of Europe this past summer. In a change from past practice, we're

looking to license local dealers to better serve the needs of our overseas customers, and in practically every region of the world, potential dealers are vying for the go-ahead. We're focusing on those dealers we feel are most sincerely interested in both the aircraft and the customer to ensure that our standards of product support and customer service are maintained throughout the world. Look for dealerships soon in Europe, Asia and South America, as well as possible service centers in the U.K. and Germany.

Here at home, we've responded to customer requests with a couple new sales policies. We get many calls from prospective customers who know they want a Glasair or GlaStar but for whatever reason aren't quite ready to take on the project at the moment. Meanwhile, they're concerned about future price increases. Well, how about a Twelve-Month Price Guarantee? Instead of the standard 10% kit deposit, put down 25% and we'll guarantee the current kit price up to twelve months from date of deposit. (Deposit is non-refundable; no postponement of kit delivery beyond reserved delivery month.) For a little more money down, you get the peace of mind to build your shop, plan your retirement or just finish up those projects around the house, secure in the knowledge that your kit will be waiting for you at a fixed price when you're ready. The Twelve-Month Price Guarantee applies to Glasair and GlaStar full kits only.

Our second new policy is for the prospective customer at the other end of the spectrum—the one who says, "I'm ready to build my GlaStar and I 'm ready wow!" Well, how about an Advance Tail Kit Delivery? Under this program, a customer puts down a standard 10% deposit on a full kit and holds the next available delivery slot, but takes advance delivery of a tail kit, which is paid for in full on delivery. The difference between this and our System III sub-kit plan is that the

customer pays the standard, full-kit price rather than the higher total price a System III customer pays. However, in exchange, the customer does commit himself to buying the complete kit, unlike the System I I I tail kit purchaser. This option, which is available only on the GlaStar, won't be right for everyone, but it offers another choice for the builder who wants to get that rivet gun going]

A final note: believe it or not, it's not too early to start planning for Sun n' Fun '97. We'll be leaving early and making lots of stops along the way. If you're interested in hosting a Glasair or GlaStar crew for a brief stop-over for technical support, demo flights, and/or just meeting current and prospective customers, please call, and we'll start flight planning now. Ask for Ted Setzer or Tim Johnson.

GlaStar Float Testing Nears!

You've been (patiently) waiting and waiting, and we're now pleased to announce that it's really, positively about to happen: the GlaStar prototype will be outfitted and tested on a brand-new set of Aerocet 2200 floats in December. These beautiful, leak-free, all-composite floats are downsized versions of the certificated Aerocet 3500s that have been fitted to rave reviews on Cessna 180s, 185s and 206s. As the series number implies, the GlaStar floats will be of approximately 2,200 Ibs. displacement, although this number has not been finalized. The floats will be sold fully assembled and ready to bolt on to the GlaStar.

We are very anxious to experience the fun and excitement of float flying in the GlaStar, and we know that many of you are just as anxiously waiting to hear all about it. Stay tuned—we'll have a full report sometime shortly after the first of the year.

Continued on Page 40 . . .

Another Clean Sweep!

Glasairs 1-2-3 in Oshkosh '96 Judging

The question at Oshkosh used to be, "Which kitplane will win Grand Champion?" but nowadays it's more like, "Which Glasair will win Grand Champion?!" For the sixth time in the last decade, a Glasair ran away with the Grand Champion Kitbuilt Lindy Award at the world's largest, most prestigious general aviation event, and for the third time, the Reserve Grand Champion Award went to a Glasair as well. Throw in a pair of Champion Lindys for good measure and it becomes clear that 1996

was a banner year for Glasair builders at Oshkosh.

As the old saying goes, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to build a prize-winning airplane, but it helps! Tom Taylor of La Crescenta, California, put in thirty-eight years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory before taking home the Grand Champion trophy in his exquisite Glasair II-S RG, and that experience is clearly reflected in the carefully researched, meticulously

documented innovations Tom made in the course of building and perfecting N24TX. From the unique, drag-reducing wing root fairings to the custom-built spoiler system to the

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to build a prize-winning airplane, but it helps!

interesting cooling system mods, Tom clearly impressed the judges with the

amount of experimentation embodied in his experimental airplane. At the same time, the airplane gave not an inch of ground in the fit-and-finish department, where many say would-be Grand Champions are made or broken. All in all, N24TX—the first Glasair II to win a major award at Oshkosh—is simply a stunning airplane.

The Reserve Grand Champion Glasair III will be familiar to readers of the Stoddard-Hamilton News, as well as to anyone who attended Sun n' Fun '96, where Bruce Chesnut's flawless N51BC won Grand Champion. Suffice to say that none of us here at S-H envied the judges for having to choose between Bruce's and Tom Taylor's Glasairs! Bruce graciously agreed to let us display his

G las News III in our booth and bravely endured as thousands of enthralled visitors put fingerprints all over his masterpiece throughout the convention. Thanks so much, Bruce, for lending so much class to our display!

Nine Champion Kitbuilt Awards were presented at Oshkosh, and one each went to Pascal Mahvi of Concord, Ohio, for his luxurious Glasair III and to William Dunbar of Rineyville, Kentucky, for his superb Glasair II RG. Decked out with dual flight directors, electrically adjustable Porsche seats, chromed landing gear struts, hydraulic retractable boarding steps and underwing drop tanks, Pascal's N30SX looked ready for a role in the next Batman movie—quite an amazing feat of customization! At first glance, Bill's N465 is a more modest craft, but then you look more closely and the incredible craftsmanship and attention to detail that made the airplane the Reserve Grand Champion at Sun n' Fun become

apparent. If Pascal's III is like an oil sheik's stretch limo, then Bill's II is a refined German roadster!

Valentine's Day Glasair Fly-In

Glasair builders in the Scottsdale, Arizona, area are organizing the "First Annual St. Valentine's Day-and-a-Half Glasair Fly-In," to be held February 15, 1997, at Scottsdale Airpark. As if the chance to get together and do some hangar flying with other Glasair enthusiasts weren't enough, free steak and beer are on the menu! Steaks will be grilled to order, and the event's sponsors

ask that you "bring nothing but yourselves." Ample secured aircraft parking is available, and overnight accommodations are adjacent to the airport.

Please RSVP to Lynn Babcock no later than February 1, 1997, by faxing (602) 922-0839 or phoning (602) 922-9945. Please include the following information: name, phone number, number of guests, whether you'll be flying in or driving, and whether you'll need overnight accommodations. Detailed directions will be sent with

confirmation of your reservation.

Speedy Omission

In S-H News No. 61, we noted Brooks Robinson's win in the Flamingo Class of the 322-nautical mile Sun n' Fun Sprint. What we failed to report was that Fayette McElhannon, Jr., of Athens, Georgia, was close on Brooks' heels in another Glasair I RG, taking second place at an average speed of more than 190 m.p.h. Belated congratulations!

GlasNews

Glasair Kicks Off Oshkosh '96 Young Eagles Campaign

The first Young Eagles GlaStar had flown by the time of the 1996 EAA Convention in August but hadn't flown off its mandatory test hours in time to fly Young Eagles at the convention. So where did EAA turn to find an aircraft to make the symbolic first Young Eagles flight of the week? To a Glasair, of course!

Longtime Glasair booster Lindy Lusch of Dublin, Ohio, piloted the flight in the Glasair I FT belonging to her uncle, Joe Wells. Completing the symbolic circle, the Young Eagle who rode along with Lindy was Laura Guyder of Syracuse, New York, daughter of GlaStar builders James and Sallie Guyder. The Guyders' elder daughter, Jessica, volunteered her time all week long in the S-H booth, which was much appreciated by our hot and harried crew.

Stoddard-Hamilton is extremely proud to have been accorded such a central role by EAA in the important Young Eagles program, and proud also of

being represented by pilots, builders and enthusiasts like Lindy, Joe and the Guyder family.

Powell Wins 1996 Herendeen Award

Lyle Powell of Walnut Creek, California, was presented with the 1996 Bob Herendeen Memorial Award at the S-H Builders' Banquet held July 28 in Oshkosh. The award, given in honor of the late Bob Herendeen, recognizes "strong support of Stoddard-Hamilton, outstanding contribution to experimental aviation, and genuine inspiration to others."

Lyle was chosen to receive the award by the S-H executive board from among nominees put forth by builders. His selection was based on the leading role he played in organizing and maintaining a support group among fellow Glasair builders in California. The success of Lyle's efforts was best captured by his comment at the banquet that, "The group finally fell apart when people stopped

coming to the meetings because they were all out flying!"

Nominations for the 1997 Herendeen Award will be accepted through mid-summer 1997.

Glasair Leads the

Way into Canadian

Clouds

Until recently, Canadian homebuilders were strictly fair-weather flyers. The problem wasn't with the pilots or the planes but with the government, which prohibited IFR flight in experimental aircraft. However, after that ban was rescinded this summer, it didn't take Mark Lalancette of Jonguerre, Quebec, long to present his Glasair II-S RG for inspection, becoming the first Canadian experimental to be certified for IFR operation. Mark's II was built

and first flown by Tom Hicken of Raymond, Alberta.

GlaStar Envoys Head South

As winter settles in here in the Pacific Northwest, it becomes increasingly difficult to get prospective customers up in our airplanes. We're thus very grateful to Jim and Julie Londo, who have appointed themselves roving GlaStar ambassadors to Southern California. Jim and Julie will be leaving cold and clammy Washington soon with their GlaStar in tow to spend the winter at their home near the Salton Sea. They are interested in demonstrating the plane to EAA chapters, small fly-ins and anyone else whose leg Jim can talk off. Jim is also interested in visiting GlaStar projects to offer advice and encouragement. Jim and Julie can be reached at (619) 394-4848.

10

by Christian Klix

Technical Support

Tech-Talk

Here we are headed for the winter kit-building season again. This is the time to roll up your sleeves and get those airplane projects going that you have been putting off because the weather has been too nice to stay inside. Spring will be here before you know it, so don't put it off any longer!

Changes in the Technical Support Department

Reaching us should be much easier than it has been in the recent past, as we have added two new phone lines in our department, one for e-mail and the other as an additional voice line. Both voice lines trunk to the same number as before: (360) 435-8536. Our new technical support e-mail address is:

<104751.200@compuserve.com>

Although we're happy to answer your questions by e-mail and welcome this new avenue of contact, it may be to your advantage to use the phone when possible, as it takes us longer to respond in writing. Please be aware that if your period of free support has expired, you will be charged for support time spent researching and responding to your questions, regardless of the method of communication. One good method for increasing our efficiency and thereby lowering your costs is to fax or e-mail your questions and state that you will call us the following day. This allows us to do any required research and to have answers ready when you call.

In the future, we hope to post frequently asked questions and their answers on our World Wide Web home page, which is under construction. In the meantime, though, please be aware that we do not regularly monitor newsgroups or forums like Sid Lloyd's Glastarnet or CompuServe's AVSIG forum. If you wish to contact us electronically, please use our direct e-mail address.

Our explicit policy has always been that technical support calls would be taken only on the dedicated line during scheduled hours. However, in the past, we have in practice accepted calls from our overseas customers outside scheduled hours and on our regular lines. Unfortunately, with the reshuffling of personnel to accommodate the two dedicated lines, we are unable to continue this practice. We respectfully request that all builders call only on the technical support lines and only during the following scheduled technical support hours:

Mon. 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon and 1:00-5:00 p.m. Tues.-Fri. 1:00-5:00 p.m.

All times are Pacific Time—GMT +7 hours from November to March and GMT +8 hours from April to October.

Glasair Elevator Trim Cable Crimping Tool

The 3/64" elevator trim cables in the Glasair are secured with two NicoPress sleeves (P/N 450-0002-015) per end. We supply these sleeves because they're difficult to find. These sleeves require a special crimping tool, which is not available from the normal aircraft supply houses. Such a tool is available from us on a thirty-day rental basis for $10; order P/N 810-0017-004. This crimping tool is much smaller and more manageable then the normal, "big NicoPress tool from hell." If you'd prefer to purchase this crimper, an equivalent tool is available from B&J Industrial Supply in Seattle, (206) 762-4430. Ask for P/N 33V-CGB4; the price is $95.80. This tool will crimp 3/64", 1/16" and 3/32" cable.

Glasair RG Gear Strut Servicing

It has been pointed out that our NDI Landing Gear Strut Overhaul Instructions (P/N 632-095-014) are somewhat confusing and do not apply to landing gear struts that are being serviced while installed on the aircraft. Use the following procedure if you have not completely removed the struts from the aircraft or have your struts completely assembled on the bench but have no fluid in them:

1) Pull firmly on the half fork so that the struts are fully extended.

2) If the strut is off the airplane, turn it upright with the fork or half fork down.

3) Fill the strut with Type 15 hydraulic fluid (Mil-H-5606) to the level of the valve stem. (Let excess fluid drain out.) After filling, let the strut stand for five or ten minutes and then recheck the fluid level. If the strut is off the airplane, tilt it to drain out some of the hydraulic fluid. The final level should be within 1/2" of the valve boss, but it's desirable to have the fluid level slightly below the valve so that the person pressurizing the strut will not be sprayed with hydraulic fluid.

Note: The Schrader valve may be removed from its boss on the trunnion cylinder assembly to facilitate filling the strut and checking the fluid level. Use Teflon thread sealant or Teflon tape when reinstalling the valve.

4) Thread the valve core snugly into the valve stem and pressurize the strut, preferably using nitrogen or, alternatively, dry compressed air. Initially pressurize the gear struts to the follows values:

12

Tech-Talk

Glasair III, main and nose: 150 p.s.i. Glasair I/II/II-S/Super II, main: 110 p.s.i.; nose: 90 p.s.i.

Note: Slightly more pressure can be used in the nose gear to provide prop clearance under all conditions, and the main gear pressure can be adjusted to achieve the desired chrome oleo extension, which should be no less then about three inches.

Note: Because the volume of the cylinder is small, any leakage, such as from disconnecting the pressure fitting too slowly, may substantially affect the pressure in the cylinder.

Note: When checking the strut pressure during normal maintenance, the weight must be off the gear and the struts must be fully extended. Otherwise, if the struts are compressed, the fluid level will be above the valve and fluid will escape when a pressure gauge is applied to the valve.

GlaStar Metal Part Marking

There has been some discussion on the Glastarnet about marking metal parts prior to treating them for corrosion protection. Some builders have been marking them with an electric engraving pencil because any other method would be destroyed or obscured by the corrosion protection process.

Years ago, I owned a Piper PA-12, and during an annual I discovered that many of the aluminum ribs in the inboard third of the wing had cracked and broken in multiple places. Every crack could be traced to some small imperfection in the metal such as a scratch or a rivet hole that had lost its rivet. Now granted, this was a very old airplane with lots of hard hours on it, and the damage was confined to the area of the wing that took the constant beating of the prop wash. However, this did prove that what they taught me in A&P school about keeping thin metal parts scratch-free does hold true. The other thing they taught us was not to use lead pencils on metal parts. The lead will cause dissimilar-metals corrosion and cause the metal to weaken and possibly crack along the pencil mark.

So what should you do to keep track of your parts? I suggest that, instead of engraving the part, you engrave a small metal tag and attach it to the part with safety wire. Though this may seem time consuming, it is a much better alternative.

Grinding the GlaStar Fuselage Seams

The following Glastarnet postings caught my attention because I think they could be misunderstood and result in some serious damage to someone's fuselage if not interpreted properly.

One builder posted the following query:

"I've got [my fuselage] upside down (hopefully for the last

time) and have finished the dorsal seam. Now seems the best time to prepare the belly seam for painting since it's so handy. Cal, at builder support, said that for an invisible seam, I should sand off the gelcoat 1/2" on both sides of the seam and sand a slightly concave depression down the seam in the glass. Next I am to Q-cell any gaps in the butt seam and lay a single layer of 1" wide 45° cloth down the seam. This is to be sanded to grade for paint. The gelcoat is sanded off, and I 'm trying to figure out how to sand or grind the 'slight depression' without going too deep. Any ideas? "

The following was posted in answer his request:

"To sand a depression in the seam, just CAREFULLY use a disk sander tilted at about a 45° angle. Be careful not to sand all the way down to your DBM lay-up. The area of the fuselage 1" on either side of the seam is not structural so it is no big deal if you sand down through the factory lay-up. You could also use a drum sander, but the disk probably works better."

The factory lay-ups are structural aft of the cage, and sanding through them will definitely weaken the joint, leaving the new exterior laminate bonded primarily to the DBM with little or no overlap to the fuselage laminates. Also there are few people I know who are skilled enough to use a disk sander precisely enough to make a smooth, even scarf over a long distance like the fuselage seam and not get into trouble. Such a scarf would be better made by hand with a long board to keep the scarf joint consistent and smooth. As was emphasized in the first message the depression should be very slight.

I would not recommend that anyone do this. The chances of weakening the joint by doing it incorrectly are greater than any possible improvement from the all the extra work it would take. There is little reason to believe that these seams won't hold up just fine with simple surface filling and sanding. The internal DBM laminate is rigid enough to keep the joint from flexing, as evidenced by our Glasairs, which use the same construction. To hide the joint, simply fill it with a lightweight body filler and sand smooth prior to painting. Small imperfections can be filled with a sandable primer such as PPG K-200 or equivalent that is compatible with the top coat you plan to use.

GlaStar Riveting

There was some discussion on Glastarnet about heat treating the rivets to make them easier to drive. Just the thought of anyone trying to do this makes me shiver. Thanks to the following knowledgeable response from builder John Top of LaJolla, California, the issue was put to rest—or so I thought until I received an overseas technical support call asking about the same procedure. That is why I have decided to reprint John's posting here, just in case anyone else gets the idea.

13

Tech-Talk

"The several messages on re-heat-treating rivets make me a little nervous. These rivets are heat treated during the manufacturing process. They are raised to 940°=BOF, immediately quenched, and then age-hardened at room temperature for sixteen to twenty-four hours. (Immediate quenching is required to prevent intergranular corrosion). The temper designation of the 2117 alloy is changed from 'F' to 'T4' after this treatment. These rivets are intended to be used as received without further treatment.

"The rivet is further hardened by cold working when it is driven, and its temper designation is then changed to 'T3.' I don 't know what you get when you raise the temperature above its annealing temperature (775°=BOF) for a brief period and then let it cool at room temperature. In the best case, you are probably at risk of inducing intergranular corrosion. Who knows what this does to its temper and strength?

"The comment was made that [the rivet] was 'soft enough to chew.' That may still be true after driving. Only your metallurgist knows for sure. I would caution the use of this procedure without assurance from competent authority that it is okay. The 2117-T4 rivets provided with the kit have the lowest shear strength of any of the rivets commonly used for aluminum construction. The original 20I7-T4 rivets had to be heat treated and driven soft to prevent cracking. The newer ones developed for the 727 do not. They are about 10% stronger in shear, but the alloy has been changed slightly so you cannot draw a direct comparison The 'old timer' procedure referred to in one of the messages can probably be traced to the method used to install these early rivets. "

GlaStar Hat Sections

The following message was posted on Glastarnet in response to some discussion about the hat section stiffeners in the GlaStar wings:

"In answering your question about hat sections, first look in the builder tips wing section for a description of the newer version of the hat sections. S-H is incorrect in saying that the tooling has not changed; the tooling has been updated and improved to some extent, approximately 4/96. The updated tooling still does not have the proper shape to produce a fair hat section without a lot of manual labor on your part. Concerning the early versions of hat sections, it is my opinion that these are unusable and should be replaced with newer versions. "

1 checked into this and got the true story on the hat sections. The first four or five kits shipped in early 1995 received hats made in temporary dies. However, all the hat sections since

then have been made in the production dies. There are currently two planes flying and many more close to roll-out using these production hat sections. The change that took place early in 1996 was not a tooling change but rather a procedure change that reworked the upper-surface hat sections (P/N 201-00008-01) to improve their cross-section only . The lower hats were not touched.

Because of the nature of the material and the complex shape of the hat sections, they may always require some hand shaping by the builder. Slight, within-tolerance changes in the thickness, the temper and the manufacturing process will all have some impact on the overall finished shape of the hat. We are currently in the process of modifying the upper half of the coining dies used to make these parts. It is hoped that this will minimize the hand work required of future builders.

Please refer to the builder hint by Howard Stearns on Page 1,560 of S-H News No. 61 (Second Quarter 1996) for a simple procedure for adjusting the hat section flanges to lie flat against the wing skin. You don't need to be really picky about getting the flanges absolutely flat because when the hats are Clecoed in place during the riveting process they will be held tightly against the skin and any slight gaps will disappear. However they should be close enough that they don't deform the skins. Jim Muldoon, a mechanic from our Service Center, reported that it took him about an hour to do all the hat sections for an entire kit using this technique.

Also, please refer to the ANOR of 7/1/96 for a procedure to adjust the depth of the joggles at the ends of the hat sections. Again it's not really critical to get these exact. In fact Jim and Cliff Faber recently built a couple of wings at the Service Center and simply left the joggles as they were until after the wings were riveted. At that time they used a small block and a hammer to tap on any joggle that looked as though it sucked the skin down. Jim reported that this very quick and simple procedure worked very well and left a nice, smooth outer skin.

14

Ted Setzer Interim V.P. of Marketing

Hangar Notebook

This is the first of what we intend to be a regular column in which S-H staff members will offer in-depth discussions of particular aspects of Glasair and GlaStar construction. In this inaugural column, GlaStar design team member Ted Setzer draws on his experience in building the GlaStar prototype and the first EAA Young Eagles GlaStar to address the question of whether to paint or gelcoat the GlaStar fuselage.

To paint or not to paint, that is the question. . . Most kit builders don't have the luxury of making this decision, but as our factory prototype proves every day, the GlaStar can go without a drop of paint very nicely, thank you. There are some trade-offs involved in this decision, though, and this article will examine some of the pros and cons.

The first step is to recognize that there are two types of GlaStar builders and then to decide which kind you are. The Type A GlaStar builder is the one who's determined to take the Oshkosh Grand Champion award away from all these Glasair guys. This builder wants the best possible surface finish on his airplane and is willing to pay in time (anywhere from 50-100 hours of surface prep time), weight (8-10 Ibs. on the fuselage alone) and money (the sky's the limit!) to get it. If you're a Type A builder, read no further—you should be out in the shop with your sandpaper anyway!

The Type B builder, on the other hand, wants an attractive, durable finish, but also wants to go flying soon in a light, less expensive GlaStar. If this sounds like you, read on!

For the practical-minded builder interested in weight savings, durability and lower build time, I recommend a gelcoat finish. Our prototype GlaStar has a gelcoat finish with no cosmetic treatment on the seams at all except at the base of the windshield, the leading edges of the wing roots and the tail end of the top deck. The Young Eagles GlaStar shown on the cover of this newsletter also has a gelcoat fuselage finish with only 30—40 total hours of cosmetic work on seams. On a scale from one to ten, you can easily get a seven with a gelcoated airplane, or even a nine with a little extra effort. You'll not get a ten though, so if you want a ten, go back to Type A!

Last April I was in Oshkosh on my last of three extended visits to help coordinate the assembly of the Young Eagles kit. I spent the last two days concentrating on gelcoat details in three main areas: the fuselage seams, the NACA ducts and various small holes and surface imperfections.

Fuselage Seams

First, if a good job was done in matching up the shells when you seamed them together, I recommend doing nothing whatsoever to the dorsal and belly seams. A little vinyl trim

tape more than adequately hides the tiny crack left after a good seaming job.

However, if you're going for that nine-out-of-ten, I'd recommend sanding off the gelcoat about 1" on either side of the dorsal seam and laminating one ply of bi-directional cloth over the seam. (Take great care when removing the gelcoat not to sand through the factory fiberglass lay-ups.) This exterior laminate will prevent any possibility that the gelcoat in this area will crack. If the seam is just filled with Bondo (auto body filler) and gelcoated, some cracking of the filler and gelcoat may eventually occur as the fuselage flexes. This is in no way a structural concern, only a cosmetic one, but I'd take this extra step if it were my airplane to ensure the most durable finish, even though it's a fair bit of extra work. The belly seam can be treated the same way, but I don't recommend it since nobody's gonna see it anyway.

On the Young Eagles GlaStar, I filled the cracks where the top deck joins the fuselage with Bondo and sanded them flush. We had a nice fit on the upper fuselage seam from the top deck to the tip of the vertical fin and didn't bother to fill and gelcoat this. I also sanded and filled the gaps in the joints at the leading edges of the wing root, and also the joint at the base of the windshield. These areas were then taped off and sprayed with a thinned gelcoat mixture from a small touch-up spray gun. A major consideration in getting good gelcoat blending is to make sure the sanded area is perfectly clean.

After spraying, sand the seam smooth. One difficulty here is knowing when to stop sanding. How can you tell if you are sanding the oversprayed gelcoat or are in danger of sanding through the underlying gelcoat? Well, here's a trick: after all filling of the seams and prep sanding is done—I prep sand down to a level of 220- or 320-grit sandpaper—use a foam brush to wipe just beyond the seam area with a layer of green Partall Film #10, a release agent commonly used in fiberglass manufacturing. Extend the film outboard beyond the edges of prep sanded area onto smooth gelcoat, as shown in the figure on the following page.

Once the film is dry, spray gelcoat over the sanded seam area. Concentrate the spray more heavily toward the center of the seam area, allowing the overspray to go out over the green film zones. Use acetone to thin the gelcoat enough to get it through

15

Hangar Notebook

the spray gun (approximately one part acetone to two parts gelcoat mixture),

Gelcoat cures much like resin in that air inhibits the micro-surface layer from curing, which leaves a tacky finish. Once the gelcoat initially cures to a green-cure state much like resin (within 1-2 hours), brush on a layer of Partall, or, in lieu of this stuff, try mixing a slightly diluted dish soap film and wiping it on. The thin film forms an air barrier that allows the underlying gelcoat to cure completely, which means you won't gum up the sandpaper (be sure to wet sand). Let the film stay over the gelcoat for several hours or overnight. You can speed up the process with a low-intensity heat lamp, but don't fry the airplane!

After a minimum four hours (or overnight) wipe the green film off with a wet rag or sponge and begin block sanding with 320-grit paper. Some of the initial green film will be trapped under the gelcoat overspray and possibly visible through the gelcoat. As you feather edge sand, a faint green line will be visible along the edge, where it will eventually disappear from sight indicating that you have attained the desired feather-edge blend without risk of sanding through the original gelcoat. Try it—it's less difficult than it may sound. One is always more hesitant to try something new, but believe me, it's a whole lot less work than the sanding preparation and work involved in a complete paint job.

NACA Ducts

The two cabin fresh air NACA ducts and the single, large induction NACA duct were touched up with gelcoat along their edges and sanded smooth. Bead up the gelcoat fairly heavily along the seams where the walls of the duct meet the fuselage and sand smooth carefully. It's very easy to sand too much on sharp corners like this

The trick to working with gelcoat is to spray it on heavily enough and to be very careful not to sand through on the edges as you smooth it out. Typically, after spraying, I sand (wet or dry) with 320-, 400-, and 600-grit sandpaper, and then buff, either by machine or by hand. If pinholes appear along the bare fiberglass edges after spraying, dab in some thick catalyzed gelcoat before or after it cures.

If you don't get enough gelcoat sprayed on the first application, go for it again with a second coat. Just be sure the Partall or soap film is completely washed off! In a pinch I've even brushed on several back-to-back coats of gelcoat. Be sure the second coat goes on just after the first is cured. More sanding and skill is required, so don't resort to this unless you just can't get hold of a spray gun. Even the cheap, throwaway aerosol spray jars sold in auto body shops will work. Just add your gelcoat mix and spray away. Beats purchasing a spray gun for such a small job.

Filling Holes and Small Gelcoat Imperfections

Several areas on the fuselage may have small #30 or #40 holes from Clecos, etc., such as the stabilizer strake flanges, which were Clecoed down while being bonded to the fuselage. To fill holes like this, dab in catalyzed gelcoat with a toothpick or a small paint brush. Don't fill such holes with Bondo because it will show through when you sand the gelcoat finish.

To fill a hole and absolutely not have it show, first sand the surrounding area with 400-grit paper. Slightly chamfer the edges of the hole with a countersink cutter. This removes any "dirty" gelcoat from the edge of the hole. Blow the hole clean of dust, and Dab in and mound up unthinned, catalyzed gelcoat so it looks like the head of a small universal head rivet.

Once it cures, cover the cured mound with a single layer of masking tape. Sand over the tape with 180- or 220-grit paper. The masking tape will quickly be sanded away over the mound and the sandpaper will work on the mound only as the remaining masking tape protects the surrounding gelcoat. Once the mound is sanded to the level of the surrounding tape, remove the tape and sand flush with the surrounding gelcoat. Buff smooth.

The molds in which the factory-made fiberglass parts are laid up tend to break down along the edges over time. Although we have a program of regularly scheduled maintenance to keep these molds in shape, some minor gelcoat filling and repair may still be required along some of the edges of some of the parts. A little sanding, filling, gelcoat spraying and flush sanding using these techniques easily remedies these small imperfections.

16

As FAA and NTSB accident reports can take up to one year to be published, advance notices of accidents in this column do not contain all the facts and information necessary to draw definitive conclusions about the incidents reported. Rather, these accounts are intended to bring the circumstances surrounding the incidents to the attention of the reader in the sole interest of promoting safety. These reports are not intended to judge the ability or capacity of any person, living or dead, or of any aircraft or accessory. Stoddard-Hamilton appreciates the willingness of its customers to share the details of their experiences so that similar outcomes might be avoided by others.

Glasair I RG

On July 23, 1996, a Glasair I RG departed San Antonio, Texas, to fly to Winnsboro, Louisiana, to undergo a pre-purchase inspection. The prospective buyer of the aircraft decided to make the flight late in the day to try and get an hour or more of VFR night proficiency. The pilot had contacted Houston Center for VFR Flight Following. While en route he was diverted south to avoid weather. Both communications and radar contact were lost on the 320° radial fourteen nautical miles from Lafayette, Louisiana. The aircraft had been flying toward the Lafayette airport and apparently flew over or near the airport, passed it, and may have just turned back toward the airport when it struck trees at around 8:50 p.m. in dark conditions.

Thunderstorms were reported to have been in all quadrants, but it is believed that marginal VFR conditions prevailed in the area of the accident at the time. The aircraft wreckage was found four days later, with the help of a very weak ELT signal, about four miles southeast of the Lafayette airport. We are very sad to report that both the pilot and his six-year-old daughter were killed on impact.

The aircraft appeared to have contacted the trees in a controlled, level descent with power on, gear up and flaps up. It traveled about 200 feet further after it first contacted the upper canopy of the trees on its way to the ground. There were no lights on the ground in the area near the accident site, but lights may have been visible in the distance. The accident occurred about three hours into the flight and one-and-a-half hours after dark.

The aircraft had a wooden Warnke propeller and was powered by a 150 h.p. Lycoming engine. It was equipped with GPS and Loran. All control linkages were found to have had continuity, fuel was present, and the aircraft seemed to be in good operational condition prior to impact. A hand held radio was found to be on board, and the child's seat belt and shoulder harness were unbuckled.

Our sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of the pilot and passenger.

Glasair I FT

On August 20, 1996, a Glasair I FT departing Thun Field/Pierce County Airport in Puyallup, Washington, suddenly lost power after making a normal, full-power climb to an altitude of 200-300 feet AGL. The pilot said the engine, a 180 h.p. Lycoming O-360-A1A, quit with no warning, just as if he had pulled the mixture to idle cut-off. While attempting to land on or near a busy highway, the aircraft struck two vehicles, seriously injuring one of the drivers. The pilot/owner, who had recently purchased the aircraft from the widow of the original builder, escaped serious injury.

Upon inspection it was determined that the engine had sucked the induction air filter into the carburetor. The aircraft had a custom, builder-designed carburetor induction air box with a swinging, gate-type carburetor heat valve. Chicken wire screen with about 1/4" mesh was used to support the air filter, which was about 2" x 3" in frontal area and appeared to have been a cut-down Bracket-type treated black foam or similar air filter. The wire mesh had broken away from both sides of the box where it was bent at 90° and screwed to the box sides. As a result, the air filter was sucked against the throat of the carburetor. The impact of the aircraft hitting the ground bent the carburetor box in a way that would not have allowed the filter to move to this location during or after impact. The aircraft had 106 hours of operation on the tach.

Glasair III

In June of this year a Glasair III made a normal takeoff and gear retraction. On approach to landing the left main gear did not extend from the wing. After numerous attempts to free the gear, including use of the emergency extension system, the decision was made to land, which resulted in damage to the aircraft but, thankfully, no injuries to the occupants.

17

Accident Briefs

Just prior to the incident, news tires had been installed on the aircraft. During inspection of the aircraft after the incident, the left main gear tire was found to have a larger diameter then the right one. Because of many other factors, it could not be determined conclusively that this was the cause of the incident, but it certainly made everyone involved aware of the importance of making sure that there is still adequate tire clearance after such a routine maintenance procedure. Remember that a tire will grow when it spins and heats up from friction, and therefore a minimum clearance of a 1/4" should be maintained between the tire and the wheel well all around the tire. I would recommend 1/2" to be on the safe side. That would equate to 1" of extra tire diameter.

Glasair II-S FT

In a recent incident, a 200 h.p. Glasair II-S FT landed short of the runway and suffered a nose gear collapse, resulting in considerable damage to the aircraft and some minor injuries to the occupants. This incident brought our attention to an area of the nose gear trunnion attachment that we felt could be strengthened, particularly for aircraft with larger, non-standard engines. As a result we have published Service Bulletin 146, which mandates strengthening the trunnion attachment for unusual landing or taxiing conditions that might impose loads in excess of those encountered in normal operations. The bulletin requires increasing the size of the bolts through the nose gear trunnion attach plates from 3/16" to 1/4" in diameter and increasing the number of bolts for each plate from four to six on all II-S FT and Super II FT aircraft.

Conclusions

When flying cross-country, remember the old rule: "high-to-low, look out below." This is even more important at night when the "black hole effect" is prevalent in areas without ground lights. I believe that as we become more experienced and accumulate hours under our belts, we also become more complacent and forget about many of the common rules we learned when we got our licenses. Although I am not sure if application of this rule could have prevented the fatal accident discussed here, it does come to mind as a scenario that could have taken place under such circumstances.

When it comes to making modifications or engineering an installation such as an air filter box for your induction system, please be aware of the consequences that may result should the installation not perform as expected. It is extremely important that such a system be engineered to protect against failure modes. That is the reason for using aircraft-grade materials that are designed to hold up over time. Substitution of low-grade materials to save money may end up costing someone's life.

When changing tires on an RG, remember to do a retraction test to assure that proper clearances are maintained. During routine maintenance on any aircraft, don't take it for granted that all is OK. Take the extra step to ensure that no new problems are created by what was done.

We all want to enjoy our lives through our hobbies, sports and other recreational activities, and although those things all have their risks, the risks can be reduced to a reasonable level with a little bit of effort and common sense.

From the Flight Deck Continued from Page 2

The first comprehensive revision of the GlaStar Assembly Manual is now underway. For all of you juggling all the ANORS, I'm sure this is welcome news. We have also added an additional line to the Technical Support Department and have dedicated two full-time people to this area. Another area of customer service we're working to improve is the timely release of information. There have been considerable delays in the release of some recent ANORS and Service Bulletins, and we apologize for the inconvenience these delays have caused some of you. We have instigated a new configuration management system that will enable us to deal more efficiently with design problems and changes and to disseminate information on such problems and changes more quickly. One thought for the future is that we may post Service Bulletins, ANORS and other advisory publications on our World Wide Web site so that you'll be able to learn of pending changes in near "real-time." A good resource in the meantime is Sid Lloyd's GlaStar home page at

<http://www.nsync.net/~sidl/glastar.html>. It is a great resource; be aware, however, that S-H has no control over the contents, nor do we regularly monitor or respond to the hints and suggestions contained there.

There are many exciting, positive changes occurring at S-H. With the help of an outside consultant, the company has been reorganized to take on a more traditional corporate structure consisting of departments of engineering, marketing/sales, production, finance and operations. Some of our biggest hurdles are in the Operations Department. Many of the customer complaints I handle these days are from GlaStar builders and relate to purchasing, shipping or quality assurance issues. We are spending a great deal of time and energy to repair and replace these outdated systems, which have been overwhelmed by the sales volume and the increased complexity of purchasing, shipping and quality assurance

Continued on Page 41. . .

18

THE EAGLE HAS (TAKEN OFF AND) LANDED

N231YE Gets Down to Business

by Craig O'Neill

s anyone who's ever been to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in the summertime can tell you, it gets

hot there—hot and humid. And it was on just such a sweltering day during the

summer of 1995 that Tom Barrett, director of the

EAA Air A d v e n t u r e M u s e u m , watched one of the Museum's aircraft—an old r ag - and - tub e Piper—struggle into the air from Pioneer Airport, the 2,000-foot grass strip behind the museum.

On board the Piper were a volunteer pilot and one of the more than one t h o u s a n d youngsters who were given rides out of Pioneer Airport during the summer of '95 as part of the EAA's Young Eagles program. As Barrett watched the underpowered antique turn tentatively and wheeze its way over the big oak trees at the end of the field that day, he was keenly aware of the awesome responsibility that rested on his shoulders as the man in charge of

EAA's flying fleet. That moment, Barrett claims, is when the seed of the Young Eagles GlaStar was planted.

Of course, at that early date, nobody

knew it would be a GlaStar. What the incident with the Piper and the oak trees convinced Barrett of was that the Young

Eagles program needed a modern flagship—an airplane that not only offered the performance necessary to bring a greater margin of safety to operations from Pioneer Airport, but also an airplane in

which t e c h n o l o g y

wasn't older than most of the pilots, to say nothing of the kids the Young Eagles program serves. After all, the purpose of the program is to

generate e x c i t e m e n t

among kids, a g r o u p n o t o r i o u s l y

contemptuous of anything remotely "old-fashioned."

Enter the GlaStar. As B a r r e t t explained in his speech at the S t o d d a r d - H a m i l t o n b u i l d e r s ' banquet this summer in Oshkosh, he and his staff played no favorites in selecting a new airplane to fulfill the Young Eagles mission. Beginning with a list of desirable

traits—outstanding climb performance, side-by-side seating with

19

A

The Eagle Has Landed

excellent visibility, benign low-speed handling and a modern look and feel—Barrett measured a large number of certificated and kit-built designs against these criteria. When the scores were tallied, the GlaStar came out on top by a large margin.

Once the ball got rolling, things came together very quickly—literally and figuratively. S-H immediately agreed to provide a kit at a deeply discounted price, and Textron Lycoming ponied up a brand-new 160 h.p. O-320 engine. Fifteen other companies from around the country dona ted o r gave discounts on various accessories and services to get the airplane flying.

The crate was opened on March 4, 1996, in the museum's Cessna Restoration Center, and exactly 100 days later, on June 12, GlaStar N231YE was granted an airworthiness certificate by the FAA. In the interim, of course, a great deal of hard work was put in by a cadre of EAA volunteers from the Oshkosh area and around the country, coordinated by S-H's Ted Setzer and Brian Costello, as well as by GlaStar stalwart Dennis Hallman. On June 13, N231YE took to the air for the first time, with Sean Elliot, executive director of the National Association of Flight Instructors, at the controls.

During the FAA-mandated twenty-five hour test period, EAA mechanics corrected a number of minor squawks, the most significant of which was a yaw trim problem. Although the test hours weren't quite flown off in time for the airplane to play an active role in the 1996 EAA Convention festivities, it was nevertheless present and accounted for in its shiny new paint job just inside the main entrance gate, where the aircraft was admired by some 800,000 visitors.

Finally, on October 5, in what EAA president Tom Poberezny called "a very special moment," N231 YE carried aloft its first Young Eagle, Stephen Kamps, a fifth-grader from Coleman, Wisconsin, who had never flown before in any aircraft. The flight, which was part of a Young Eagles rally held at the small municipal airport in Crivitz, Wisconsin, was piloted by Young Eagles Executive Director Steve Buss. Several other youngsters got flights in the GlaStar that day, and Buss commented afterwards that the GlaStar is "an

outstanding airplane to represent the Young Eagles program and the world of sport aviation."

Apparently, Buss is not alone in his assessment of the GlaStar and its potential for making the Young Eagles program a success. Sharing this view is James C. Ray of Minden, Nevada, who pleasantly shocked Barrett, Buss and other supporters of the Young Eagles program this summer by donating the funds for the construction of a second Young Eagles GlaStar! Work on this aircraft began during the EAA Convention, and the viewing galleries over the shop floor were packed all week long with GlaStar builders, would-be GlaStar builders and the merely curious, all of whom were amazed to see how quickly the GlaStar began to take shape. Once again, Ted

Setzer and Dennis Hallman played leading roles in coordinating the volunteer labor on the project. James Ray, incidentally (or perhaps not incidentally!) is a two-time Glasair builder, having constructed and flown a I TD/FT and a III.

At this writing, Tom Barrett reports that GlaStar #2 is progressing smoothly, albeit more slowly than #1. This is due in part to depleted volunteer ranks—only one full-time volunteer is working on #2, along with a rotating group of

Wednesday night workers—and in part to EAA's desire to make the second GlaStar even more of a showpiece than the first one. Watch this newsletter and EAA's Sport Aviation magazine for future updates on this project.

Originally, EAA's plans for the GlaStar centered on Pioneer Airport and excursions to nearby events like the Crivitz rally. Now, however, with two GlaStars in prospect, plans are being made further afield. One very

exciting possibility is that one of the Young Eagles GlaStars may embark on a national tour next summer along with one or more of EAA's historic aircraft, such as the Spirit of St. Louis replica or the B-17 "Aluminum Overcast."

Stoddard-Hamilton is extremely proud to be playing such a prominent role in such a worthwhile program. We're proud too of the selfless contributions made by many of our builders, whether in the form of donating funds like James Ray, lending building talent and time like Dennis Hallman, or simply taking some kids flying and introducing them to the challenge and excitement of aviation, as so many of you have done.

20

ike Jones' Glasair III posted a speed of 273.66 m.p.h. in 100°-plus temperatures over

the two-lap race course to defeat Bob Kelliher's Lancair IV in the second

event of the Rutan and Composite Enthusiasts (R.A.C.E.) season held at Mesquite, Nevada. Kelliher's 264.68 m.p.h. was the second fastest speed of the day and earned him

first place in the Exhibition Class.

Kelliher, from Tucson, Arizona, had beaten both Jones' and John Parker's Glasair IIIs at the season's opening race in Kanab, Utah, on May 26. The 3,000 foot lower elevation at Mesquite would appear to have nullified some of the advantages of the Lancair's twin turbochargers during this Labor Day event. Mike Jones of Garden Grove, California, is builder and pilot of the prize-winning and very fast Glasair III, N510CM.

Other times posted by Glasairs at Mesquite included an outstanding 244.90 m.p.h. for Roger Heisdorffer's IO-360-powered Glasair I RG and 226.62 m.p.h. for Tom Taylor's similarly powered II-S RG.

The third race of the season was held at Wickenburg, Arizona, on October 6. Glasair performances included prizes for Top Eliminator to Mike Jones at 289.94 m.p.h., first place in the Standard Glasair Class to Richard Davis in his IO-360-powered I RG at 240.28 m.p.h., and second place in the same class to Steve Korney in his IO-320-powered I RG at 220.56 m.p.h.

Two events remain in the 1996 R.A.C.E. season. They are:

Lancaster, California, November 1, 2 & 3. Race headquarters will be the Rio Mirada Motel (805) 949-3423. This

event will be held in conjunction with the Antelope Valley EAA Fly-In, which will include a national air race for International Formula One aircraft, aerobatic demonstrations, displays and fly-bys. Race starter Major Norm Howell, USAF, has secured permission for this two-lap event to take place inside Edwards AFB airspace.

Mojave, California, November 29, 30 and December 1. These Kilo Trials will begin with a pilots' meeting at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning and continue till 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. A banquet will be held Saturday evening to present the 1996 High Points Awards.

For accommodations or questions concerning any of the aforementioned events, please contact Shirl Dickey at (602)691-0515.

genetic condition known as Batten disease, and it's slowly killing him. Remy was a normal, spunky, mischievous little boy with a love of airplanes when he began his long downhill slide. Now, he can't see, move, speak or even eat. But he has some strengths. He can communicate with his eyes; he has family and friends who love him and hopes for getting better. He's fighting a brave fight to stay alive until doctors and researchers can break the genetic code—as they have for other genetic diseases—and find the

modern miracle that can save his life and the lives of more than one-in-twenty-thousand kids with the disease here and around the world.

To this end, Nancy and I have created the Remy Foundation for Batten Disease, a federally-registered (91-1687447), non-profit foundation dedicated to research that will provide a therapeutic remedy for this disease. Currently, we have initiated the first phase of this research but will need many times the level of resources that

Air Mail . . . Continued from Page 5

we have been able to give. If you are able to help or would just like more information about Batten disease, please contact the Remy Foundation for Batten Disease, 14050 221st Ave. N.E., Woodinville, WA 98072, telephone (206) 867-5005 or fax (206) 867-5003.

We thank you very much for your support.

Randy Douglas Everett, WA, Glasair III

Continued on Page 23 . . .

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M

ineteen ninety-six was an eventful year for the Schoolflight Program at Indian

Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa. The key challenge was re-tooling the shop to build a GlaStar after so many years of building Glasairs. The big unknown was the sheet-metal work in a classroom setting, which in reality proved to be not as much of an obstacle as was first thought.

The kit, sponsored by Bob Slagle of Clute, Texas, arrived the week before class started, and it was opened and the new lab set up. The first couple days were spent in orientation and basic glass-and metal-working skill projects. This

was followed by the building of five workbench/jigs to meet the needs of the GlaStar. At home, one bench will probably do, but with fifteen builders,

John Riley, professor of engineering at Iowa State University, has been the instructor of the Schoolflight Program at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, since the program's inception. More than a dozen flying aircraft have been started at the workshop.

the whole plane needs to be set up at once. We built two wing jigs, a stabilizer jig just like the wing jig, aflat bench the size of the wing jig bench for the control surfaces, and the A-frame for the fuselage.

The glass work was very straightforward, and by the end of class the fuselage team of three had the bulk of the glass work done, the cage installed and the landing gear fitted. The stabilizer bench worked perfectly, and the team of two working there completed the stabilizer and most of the elevator. Two teams were working on the control surfaces, and they ended up completing about half

of them. The wing teams proved to be under-manned and didn't get as far as we'd anticipated. The teams started with f a c t o r y - assembled spars, and the end results were wings that were ready for deburring and priming. For shipping back to Texas, the wings were assembled

with non-structural, 3/32" pop rivets.

All the members of the class were EAA members. With this common background, class camaraderie developed very quickly. Traditionally, the class has an opening picnic and a closing dinner, but this year there were several informal pizza parties as well. In addition, about half the members of the class were at Oshkosh, where they

attended the Stoddard-Hamilton dinner and held an informal reunion at noon on Saturday.

It was indeed a good year. Plans are well

established for the '97 workshop. The sponsor will be Paul Steingrabe of Des Moines, Iowa, and the plane will again be a GlaStar. If you are thinking about whether or not to build a kitplane or simply looking for a neat aviation experience, then this aircraft construction workshop is for you. For details, contact John Riley at (515) 432-6319 or program coordinator John VariDelloat(515)683-5183.

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Air Mail Continued from Page 21

Cleared for Immediate Takeoff

Many thanks for the engineering report on the GlaStar. I visited the responsible government engineer, and he was very surprised and pleased at the high standard of the report. He wants to examine some points, but he gave me immediate clearance to start my project. So, here's my order for a complete GlaStar kit.

Best regards,

Jens Tetauer Vienna, Austria, GlaStar

Editor's note: In most countries other than the United States, civil aviation authorities must not only inspect and grant an airworthiness certificate to a finished kitplane but must also approve the design before construction can begin. We 're very proud that the GlaStar is being received so well around the world both by builders and government inspectors, and we look forward to adding ever-greater numbers of international members to our family of customers.

Milestone

Ten years to the month after my first flight in N3EC, I have passed the 1,000 hour milestone. During that time I have flown as far north as Nova Scotia and south to Jamaica, as well as most Eastern U.S. points in between. I've also set two world speed records.

Ed Covington Old Church, VA, Glasair I RG

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Innovation — The Key to Business Success

The electrical power at the Pig Farm was very unreliable. The wires were of the vintage where the insulation hangs down in ragged three- and four- inch pieces—like when a deer is shedding velvet off his antlers in late summer. We frequently had to patrol the wires to find the source of our power problems. One such occasion that I ' l l never forget reminds me of when a child learns the meaning of "hot" with his first finger burn.

The power had gone out, and we noticed that a line had fallen down off its insulator on the rotten cross beam. It was raining outside so I took a dry 2x4 from the shop and stepped outside to see if this would fix the problem. I couldn't reach the wire so I propped a ladder against the metal roof. No, I'm not that stupid—it was a wooden ladder! Without event, I hung the wire back in place.

The problem hit me square in the chest when I lost my balance slightly on the ladder and touched the opposite roof with my other hand. I was the new, wet connection grounding one hot metal roof through the other metal roof. Down off the ladder 1 came with a thump. If dogs could laugh. Fang would have gotten a big kick out of seeing that happen to me. But with a little innovation we fixed most, if not all, of our electrical problems.

Another way we innovated would be appreciated more today than it was back then: We were conservationists way

before it became popular. What do you expect we did with the waste resin that was left over in our mixing tubs after laminating? Shoot, we had a convenient waste-dumping pond at the end of the runway. But no, we had a problem to solve, and so we put our waste resin to work.

The floors of all the hangars in our row were riddled with the imprints of pigs' feet. This included the building we had enclosed for our production facility. The pig pocks made it difficult to roll things across the floor and made it impossible to ever sweep the floor clean. We'd only transfer dust and dirt from hole to hole. I'm not exaggerating here, either. I 'm talking thousands of pigs' feet. My best guess is that the fanner poured the concrete too close to chow time and perhaps thought it was cured. The stampede to the trough ensued, and the moment was forever "etched in stone." Until we came along, that is. ..

Each time we had excess resin, we took an air hose, blew several holes clean and filled 'em in. This we did all day, every day for better than three years and we still didn't have all the pig prints filled in. Someday archaeologists studying our era will conclude that this is the meaning of "pickled pig's feet."

PlanB

If potential customers were filled with any apprehension about our corporate appearance, it was quickly replaced with confidence, in the ability of our sleek, glass speedster to handle unimproved airstrips. I particularly

liked making approaches over the hill from east to west, tickling the tree tops with the tailwheel, slipping hard over the toxic waste pond and planting the mains on the end of the strip. With this technique we could easily have the Glasair stopped at midfield for a turnoff to the hangar.

I ' l l never forget one demonstration flight: On touchdown in the taildragger model, I must have hit one of the larger stones and sheared off the small bleeder valve protruding below the right-wheel brake caliper. The problem was, I didn't realize my right brake was gone until it was too late to decide to get back in the air. I may have pumped it a few times, thinking it might have been an air bubble in the line, but the end result was that we were too slow to get airborne and too fast to stop before plummeting off the end of the runway into the gravel pit.

The potential customer I was flying with quickly went from nervous to frantic when I mumbled something like, "Oh, crap," and quit pumping the brake pedal. His hands instinctively went from his lap to the panel so he could brace for the inevitable, but I had other plans. Unfortunately I didn't have time to share my strategy with him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I distinctly remember the looks of perplexity from Tom Hamilton and the rest of the potential customers as we hurtled past. Near the end of the runway, past the last pig barn, was a gravel road which accessed the back row of hangars. At just the right time (probably just as the guy next to me closed his eyes), I stuffed the left brake as hard as I could, and we

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did a graceful, sliding, skidding turn up that road in a cloud of dust and gravel. The crowd, led by Tom, arrived out of breath just as we were opening the canopies. I looked up with as cool a face as I could muster and asked cheerfully, "Who's next?!"

It's amazing how many people would arrive from all over the country without even making a phone call first to make sure they could get a ride on the day they arrived. I'll never forget one such episode. We had installed a new fiberglass induction air box. The sleek lines of the Glasair cowling didn't leave much room under the carburetor for a decent-sized air box, and the turbulent air flow around a sharp, 90° corner was causing some mild-but-nagging engine

roughness.

The new air box was one attempt to fix this. Tom had test flown it once and reported that something was still amiss—the engine had almost quit on him. On inspection, we noticed that the carb heat cable clamp was a little loose and thought this might have been the problem, but we weren't convinced.

While we were scratching our heads over this, a potential customer showed up in a rental car and went through a whole litany of reasons why he could only go for a ride that afternoon and couldn't get back any time soon. We kept politely declining and he kept politely insisting. We explained that we weren't comfortable giving rides until we were satisfied with the new air box installation. He begged to go on the test flight, arguing that he only needed to

feel the controls for a few minutes to make up his mind, and that he didn't care if the engine ran rough and we had to come right back. Of course we relented because we hadn't taken any assertiveness-training seminars and hadn't learned to say "no" when we really needed to.

I volunteered for the job: I was single and jumped at the chance to fly any time I could. I especially loved to fly the Glasair TD. Everything checked out fine on the ground, so we launched into the air. Climbing crosswind, 1 noticed a lot of roughness and started fiddling with the engine controls. I eased the mixture out a little as we turned downwind at 1,000 feet. I think I convinced myself that the engine sounded better, so I continued easing the mixture out a little more. Without warning, the engine just quit cold.

The Glasair boys are giving another demo flight! Run for your lives!

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I don't think restart was ever an option in my thinking, considering that a failed attempt would have left us in the trees, the gravel pit or the toxic pond. My attention was riveted on the end of the runway and my planned glideslope to that point. My passenger hadn't uttered a word up to this point, and I can only wonder now what his expression must have been.

As I started my turn to base, the prospective customer nervously stated, "You're too low." A few seconds later, in a higher-pitched voice, he shouted, "You're too high!" 1 tried my best to ignore him and not be too low—too high we could live with.

As 1 turned final, the passenger's hands started moving involuntarily for the control stick. He was likely convinced that I was too young and inexperienced to save him, and he had decided he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. I couldn't really blame him, but 1 couldn't really let him take over, either!

Without taking my eyes off the runway, 1 calmly but loudly said, "I've got it." Still feeling some resistance in the controls, I repeated louder and less calmly, "I've got it!" It was time for a hard slip to the left, and I needed to be sure I had complete control, So I did what I had to do: I knocked him out. Truthfully, I think he had mental telepathy and read the look in my eyes! We landed without further incident.

You know, I can't remember if he placed an order. . .

It's fun to tell stories of these few extra-interesting demo flights, but we also gave hundreds of exciting yet uneventful flights, convincing aviators from all over the world that the Glasair was sleek and

fast but not an airplane one had to baby strictly on hard surfaces.

Farewell to the Pig Farm

Our small company was encamped at the Pig Farm from 1979 through the summer of 1982. Both the Glasair I taildragger and retractable tricycle-gear prototypes were developed there, and initial production of Glasair kits also took place among the pig prints. Moving to brand-new, spacious production, hangar and office facilities in Arlington was a welcome relief—but not without some nostalgia for the little low-rent airport that made it all possible. I even met my wonderful wife at the Pig Farm, but that's a whole 'nuther story.

My brother-in-law flew his Cessna 185 out of the Pig Farm for the last time a few years after we left. The gravel company was shortening the runway because the rocks were worth more than the meager rent from the old pig barns. When I fly over the area today, it is barely recognizable—just a huge, open gravel pit. As with a growing number of airfields throughout the U.S., its memory is preserved only in the (very few) photos we took and the words we write.

Even though that was my planned poetic close to this story, one more memory comes to mind that I'm sure all small-business owners will appreciate. Our state-level equivalent of OSHA is WISHA—the Washington Industrial Safety & Health Administration or something like that. Our first introduction to this government-run organization came at the Pig Farm.

One day this guy dressed in Sears & Roebuck green showed up at the door, handed us his card and asked to speak to

the "safety officer." We told him we didn't have a safety officer; we had a president, a vice president and a president's wife (who also served as secretary/ treasurer), and that was it. He told us that since we also had some employees we had to have a safety officer. We went around this issue for awhile, but smelling bigger game ahead, he soon gave up on the safety officer and asked to come into the shop for a look around.

I didn't realize it at the time, but for him, poking around our shop must have been like hitting the mother lode for an old gold prospector. He shot several rolls of film. He took copious notes on his clipboard. He made long lists of all the glaring safety discrepancies, such as the lack of a belt guard on the old drill press my father had given us. Same thing with the old bandsaw Tom's dad had donated.

He got really excited looking at the wiring we had scrounged and stapled to the inside of the barn, with outlets dangling. He was there for at least an hour, and before he left Tom and I had started to get concerned that this might actually be a serious thing. He kept muttering under his breath about violations, fines and court appearances.

So we gave him a speech about entrepreneurship, Yankee ingenuity, starting a business with little capital and low overhead. We fed him every line we could come up with to justify all the discrepancies and violations. I realized he wasn't buying it and that we were in potentially deep doo-doo when he interrupted us and asked very seriously, "Has the fire department ever inspected this building?"

Ah, yes ... those were the good ol' days!

General e-mail: glasair@stoddard-hamilton.com Glasair sales queries: glasairsales@stoddard-hamilton.com GlaStar sales queries: glastarsales@stoddard-hamilton.com Technical support: 104751.200@compuserve.com World Wide Web home page: http://www.stoddard-hamilton.com/glasair/

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Stoddard-Hamilton freely shares ideas submitted by builders. However, inclusion of an idea in this newsletter should not be construed as official endorsement or approval of the idea by Stoddard-Hamilton. Builders are strongly urged to exercise their own discretion and judgement when considering the implementation of a suggestion presented in this column.

The Straight Dope on the Stormscope (and Much Much More)

by Mike Palmer, Glasair I/II FT,

Phoenix, AZ

I need to correct some bad information that I've been passing around the past few months at airshows concerning the WX-8 Stormscope. In the process, I might have some valuable information for you.

If you were at Arlington or Oshkosh and have a Strike Finder or Stormscope in your Glasair, I was the tall, skinny guy asking you all those questions. We have a WX-8 Stormscope in our Glasair, and I was convinced there was a design flaw in it. Specifically, I was convinced that it was incapable of painting a close-in (within twenty miles) cloud-to-ground lightning strike due to antenna overload. Let me correct that right now and say that 1 was wrong. The WX-8 works just fine. The problem was the "nut behind the wheel."

This is a strange story, as we'd been flying for a year, and the WX-8 seemed to paint bad weather just fine (although now that I've unraveled the mystery, I don't see how it could have). I'd see a cell here and there, and the Stormscope would seem to paint them okay (although sometimes on a convective day it would show activity in clear air). But when I'd see cloud-to-ground lightning with my eyes—nothing on the Stormscope.

Cloud-to-ground lightning isn't such a concern in all-metal airplanes (or the Glasair LP), since they're protected by the conductive skin of the aircraft. But in an all-plastic airplane, any lightning strike could be disastrous. So in a plastic airplane, you want to know where every lightning strike is.

This story begins last summer, when I was gaining experience using the Stormscope. Imagine my surprise as I was circumnavigating a single cell to my right (which was showing on the Stormscope) when a bolt of lightning jumped out of it and hit the ground about ten miles in front of me! (I had given the cell about a twenty-mile berth). Even more surprising was that it didn't show on the 'scope! Not good.

A similar occurrence took place on the way home from Sun n' Fun, where a periodic row of cells popped up in wave-like fashion west of Baton Rouge. The scope was painting the growing cells to the west, but the most mature ones to the east, which were dumping rain with frequent cloud-to-ground lightning, were quiet. My partner remarked that if she'd been in IMC using the Stormscope for guidance, she'd have flown into the area of intense cloud-to-ground lightning.

But all that's fixed now. It was all my fault. Two things conspired to goof me up. For one, I had made a neat circuit that switches the loop antenna signals so that the WX-8 is capable of looking left, right, and behind as well as in its normal forward direction. That wasn't so bad in itself, but the other thing that got me was that I did the final wiring for this circuit in the hangar. That was a mistake.

One of you builders had written once that one could use an electric drill to confirm a Stormscope installation. I've met avionics technicians who use this trick too. The drill makes sparks that the Stormscope picks up.

The problem is, at the frequencies at which the Stormscope works, a hangar makes a mighty good reflector and you can't be sure where your signals are coming from. Not unlike being in a microwave oven, the signals bounce all over the walls. Even pulling your airplane out of the hangar between hangar rows is not good enough. There are still too many reflections off hangar doors.

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Builder Hints

I found this out one night last month when I went to the airport to finally prove or disprove that we had a problem with the Stormscope. There were two isolated cells—one to the northwest and the other to the southwest—that were making all sorts of intense cloud-to-ground lighting. 1 pulled the airplane out of the hangar and looked at the Stormscope set in its forward position. Nothing. So, I turned the knob on my cute circuit, and started looking left and right. Whoa! There's something! But it was backwards! How could this be?

Well, I've been known to miswire stuff in my time, and in fact, since 1 used the electric drill trick in the hangar the day I did the final wiring on the circuit, all bets were off anyway. So I began moving wires around until 1 got the cells painted in the forward direction, although still reversed on the screen.

Then I began to wonder if the hangars could still be getting in the way of the signals. (I had been burned by this once before when I tested the ADF installation with the airplane just barely rolled out of the hangar.) So I drove the airplane out to the middle of the ramp away from large metal objects. Sure enough, everything changed on me, and I had to change wires again! To make a long story short, I got it all sorted out, and the WX-8 now paints cloud-to-ground beautifully whether you're looking forward, left, right or behind you.

Here are the lessons I've learned from this: Do all your Stormscope/Strike Finder testing out in the open. You can use an electric drill to generate a poor man's test signal (wonder if a battery-operated one will work?), but be careful. If you overpower the antenna, you might get some false readings 180° off.

And from all my discussion with the techs at B.F. Goodrich about this (and I have to say, they put up with this customer for a product that is no longer supported), 1 also learned that you do not want a WX-900 Stormscope for your Glasair. The -900 series, by design, does post processing, which will only paint

activity when there is more than one event ("cell mapping" ). Therefore, it will not show a single cloud-to-ground strike. The -1000 series may do this post processing too, and if so, would also have this limitation.

The newer -950 series addresses this issue by offering both a cell and strike mode. If you put one in a Glasair, you'll want it in the strike mode always.

The Insight Strike Finder will paint single cloud-to-ground strikes, and so is also a good candidate for use in the Glasair. (A lot cheaper than a -950!). Interestingly, I went to the Insight booth at Oshkosh to ask John Youngquist, the inventor of the Strike Finder, a question. He wasn't there at the time, but his sales manager said that he'd overheard someone ask John the exact same question about half an hour before. The question was, will the Strike Finder display close in cloud-to- ground lightning? Don't know if it was a result of my asking around at Oshkosh or on the Internet, but I was told that John indicated that the Strike Finder would display cloud-to-ground starting at twelve miles, but overloaded closer in. He'd recently become aware of the problem, and promised a solution to seven miles within a few weeks.

For What It's Worth

I recently decided to fair the gear leg- to-main gear fairing junction on our FT. Picked up a few knots, I think, by fairing in the

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back of the junction; don't think I gained anything by fairing the front. Recently I flew through some heavy rain. For what it's worth, after landing, I noticed the rain had eroded a small hole in the front of the fairing. See the photo below.

I had only Q-celled the fairing (no glass), so admittedly it wasn't very strong. But I didn't expect I'd need any strength. What's interesting is that both wheel pants eroded exactly the same way, in exactly the same place. Anybody know if this is trying to tell me something?

Going Vertical

Credit for this hint goes to Larry Jagmin, who came up with it while we were brainstorming at Oshkosh about mounting problems with the Hamilton vertical card compass.

Seems like these compasses, despite their fluid-less construction, despite their gearing, and despite their damping, are

Builder Hints

s t i l l very sens i t ive to engine vibration—so much so, that they can get to resonating in flight to the point that they're totally useless. I had originally mounted ours to some rubber "hard points" on an overhead console. That didn't work too well, so I eventually loosened the mounting screws to the point where the compass hung loosely from its mount.

I understand that the factory now supplies a largish (1/2" thick) open-cell, double-stick 3M foam part for shock mounting. Larry and I had bought our compasses back in the dark ages and didn't get these, but someone gave me an extra piece of their foam. Umm, I 'm sure 3M knows what it's doing, but I'm not all that comfortable hanging that expensive compass by that double-stick foam (especially here in Arizona, where heat does some funny things to glue). Besides, it's awfully thick foam, and so it lowers the compass even more into your field of view.

So Larry wondered aloud about using Velcro as a shock mount.

sailplanes, and if you thought buying something for a regular plane was expensive, you ought to price sailplane stuff. I think it comes from one manufacturer in Germany, and the price is $70 a roll. Too expensive for just "trying something."

Chris Klix has mentioned that some sailplane pilots get the same turbulator effect by using "Dymo" tape (you know, that plastic labeling tape with raised white letters), punched every now and then with periods, taped along the wing. Wouldn't be so bad if you could get it in white, but here's another trick.

I went to our local hardware store and bought a roll of "bath tub tape." It's that same stuff you're probably using for a wing walk. Comes in various widths and colors. I bought a 3A" width, and used some pinking shears (ask your wife) to cut a zigzag on one side. I suppose if you're a purist, you could cut a zigzag in the other side too, but the stuff seems to work just fine with only one side trimmed.

Seems that just aft of the trailing edge of the wing proper, where it jogs down onto the flap and aileron upper surface, there's quite a bit of airflow separation. I noticed big fat rain drops collecting on the top of the flaps and ailerons, with no movement rearward (in fact, some rain moved forward underneath the gap in the upper wing). So, I 'm in the process of trying my cheap zigzag tape on the upper wing, just forward of the end of the wing proper to reattach the airflow. I notice some have done this ahead of their ailerons to make them more effective.

One thing 1 noticed right away is that the ailerons became a lot more effective and much heavier, which 1 guess you'd expect, now that the air is actually flowing over them. So much so, that I had to take the tape off ahead of the ailerons for now, until I can figure out how to get the control harmony back with the tape on top.

I also got a huge increase in dutch roll in turbulence when the tape is ahead of the ailerons.

I tried it and it works! True, Velcro is also stuck on using self-stick glue, but the Velcro glue seems to stick a lot better than the stuff on the 3M foam. Just in case there is a failure, or just in case my partner knocks the compass with her head (she's done it once already), I used a short piece of monofilament fish line to act as a safety line to catch the compass should it fall.

Poor Man's Zigzag

Ever trying to eke "just a few more knots" out of our FT. I'm always looking for cheap ways to experiment and solve a problem. As you know, our Lancair counterparts have been able to pick up a few knots by putting "zigzag" tape on the bottom of their wings. Even though our wings are completely different, I thought I'd try it anyway. But have you ever priced zigzag tape?

Apparently, the stuff is used for

Originally, our store carried 3M brand tape, which was great for the wing walk—a thickish, white tape. But then they switched brands to a cheaper one—not quite as textured, and translucent. Except for the fact that this cheaper brand is more elastic (stretches if you take it off and reapply it), the fact that it's translucent actually helps in the looks department, since it blends in better with the wing.

Well, on the way to Oshkosh and back, I tried the tape on the bottom of one wing (looking for any effect) at various stations underneath. Saw no difference at all, but noticed an interesting thing.

We don't get much rain here in Phoenix. (When it does rain, you don't want to be up in it). But on the way to Oshkosh we got some, and I was amazed to see the flows on the wing. More properly, the flows on the tops of the flaps and ailerons. There wasn't any!

Speaking of Yaw

This idea comes from Lynn Detlor, and if he hadn't said it, it never would've occurred to me. Did you know that S-TEC makes a stand-alone yaw damper? I didn't know that, and even if I had, I associate yaw dampers with Boeings, not Glasairs.

Well, they do make one. It's kind of expensive (about $2,500), kind of heavy, especially since it sits back in the tail (they use the same servo as in the wing—3 Ibs.), and you're on your own as far as a Glasair installation is concerned. But hopefully, it should do the trick, controlling that nasty dutch roll that Glasair's have. We hope to order one soon and try it out. As a bonus, it has a rudder trim set knob, so that you can trim the rudder for climb and cruise from the instrument panel.

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Builder Hints

Simple Aileron Trim by

John E. Freer, Glasair III, Eustis, FL

I have experienced a lateral balance problem carrying passengers. To correct this, I installed two springs and an electric servo on the aileron push-pull tube, as shown in the photo. (Not shown in the photo are two clamps added to prevent the fittings from sliding.) With careful adjustment on the ground, the system is a delight. Various speeds require some trim variations, but it works well. The airplane is still as skittish as a wild goat (Editor's note: But a heck of a lot faster and more comfortable!), very responsive and controllable.

An Alternate Method for

Determining the External Dimensions of the Slotted Flaps

by Troy Scott, Glasair Super II RG,

Laurel, MS

Shortly after 1 began construction of the slotted flaps for my Super II, it became apparent that I needed a better way to assure that the finished flaps would be aerodynamically well matched to my wing. I was unhappy with the results I was getting by trying to move the panels inboard and outboard to find a good fit. After talking with Lanny Rundle, John Kerner and Fred Van Raden, I decided to just center the foam cores between the ribs and alter the flap thickness by adjusting the spar height, letting the leading edge overlap vary as necessary.

Obviously, the flap thickness could vary considerably, since we will be building a "wing upper trailing edge extension and flap slot" (hereafter referred to as "bridge and slot") to "blend" the wing airfoil into the flap airfoil. My objective was to find a flap shape such that, for any chordwise location, the aft several inches of the upper wing skin forward of where the bridge will be, the bridge itself, and the aft several inches of the upper flap panel are all part of the same aerodynamic curve, like the idealized version in Figure (G-3) of the Instructions.

We are given several fixed parameters: 1. The location of the lower flap skin; 2. The vertical center of the flap trailing edge (on the chord

line); 3. The chordwise location of the trailing edge of the bridge,

which should overlap the leading edge of the fully deployed flap by 1% of the total chord at any chordwise location; and,

4. The chordwise location of the trailing edge of the flap.

The variables are: 1. The thickness of the flap, (controlled by the height of the

spar); 2. The thickness of the trailing edge of the flap; 3. The thickness of the trailing edge of the bridge; 4. The size of the slot when the flap is retracted; and 5. How far forward or aft the upper flap panel is positioned

relative to the lower panel.

Using Fred Van Raden's trailing edge board technique (described in an earlier newsletter), the location of the lower panel is easy to determine. Just let the lower panel rest on the angle Clecoed to the lower trailing edge of the wing, and on the trailing edge board. Note that the trailing edge board should be lower than the chord line by one half of whatever arbitrary thickness you choose for the trailing edge. 1 am making my trailing edges 1/8" thick, so my entire trailing edge board is 1/16" below the chordline at any chordwise location. The lower panel should now be indexed to the jig, and the lower panel should be trimmed to match the trailing edge board. The trailing edge of the upper skin doesn't need to be trimmed until after closure.

The chordwise location of the trailing edge of the bridge is easily determined. Just go ahead and mount the ribs and all the hinges, and rotate the lower flap panel alone to maximum extension (40° in the Super II). Then use a plumb bob from several locations on the leading edge of the lower panel to create a line on the floor representing the leading edge of the extended flap. In a similar manner, create lines on the floor representing the leading edge of the wing and the trailing edge of the flap. Also draw some lines on the floor parallel to the longitudinal axis of the airplane and under the wing/flap.

Now measure the total chord at several stations and create a line exactly 1% of the total chord aft of the extended flaps

30

Builder Hints

leading edge line. This line represents the trailing edge of the bridge (see Goals of the Flap Installation Procedures. Item 7, in the Instructions). Using the plumb bob, this line can be transferred to the level of the upper skin of the flap. The line should be drawn on the upper panel of the flap. There should be a small amount of chordwise curve in the upper skin aft of this line. If not, you may want to erase the line, move the upper panel, and redraw the line.

Once you are satisfied, the upper panel needs to be indexed to the lower panel. Now, make a feeler gage equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the trailing edge of the bridge and the size of the slot when the flap is retracted. The instructions suggest four layers of duct tape to predetermine the size of the slot with the flap retracted, which would be about .040". I chose .060" for the thickness of the trailing edge of the bridge, so my feeler gage is 1/10" thick.

Next you need a flexible straightedge, like the popular 48" aluminum rules found at better hardware stores. Use the straightedge on the flat so that it bends under its own weight.

Place it chordwise over the wing/flap with the 24" mark centered over the gap. The flexible straightedge will be tangent to the upper wing skin three or four inches forward of the gap, and to the upper flap skin a few inches aft of the bridge trailing edge line. Adjust the height of the spar so the feeler gage will just fit between the 48" rule and the upper flap skin directly over the line representing the bridge trailing edge. The underside of the flexible straightedge represents the top of the bridge.

Regarding Fred's trailing edge board addition to the wing jig, I made mine all one piece and indexed it to the wing in such a way that it is easy to remove and replace as necessary for convenience in building. I screwed a piece of 1" x 1" x 1/8" aluminum angle to the aft upper edge of the trailing edge board so that the aft edge of the angle is actually the trailing edge. This has made closing the extended tips, ailerons and flaps very easy and precise. I just place another piece of angle on the top panel directly over the trailing edge angle, and use common clothespins, about every two inches or as necessary.

GlaStar Fuselage Notes by

Howard Stearns, GlaStar, Refuge Cove, BC, Canada

Making the fuselage hard points for the cage attach screws is a problem, because the end of the syringe blocks the #10 hole so air can't escape as you inject the Q-cell.

The solution is to drill a 1/16" vent hole at the edge of the void you routed out of the foam core with the bent wire tool. The Q-cell will bubble out and fill the hole when the void is full.

I have always had trouble with air bubbles when laminating as 1 am not a very good glass man. When I came to laminating the shearweb attach angles between Bulkheads C and D, my

Figure 2: Window Glass Laminating Forms

fist would just barely fit through the 3-5/8" inspection hole, and after three tries, I always ended up with a big wad of glass in my hand. I thought there had to be a better way.

I had some old window glass around, so after cutting the shearweb and installing the forward and aft (aluminum) attach angles, I cut two pieces of glass to match the shape of the fuselage and gently clamped them in proper position between the forward and aft angles. Then I could see what I was doing as I reached in from below to laminate the side angles. Worked like a charm! Don't forget to wax the glass.

Finally, 1 didn't like the 1/8" gap between the underside of the stabilizer and the fuselage sides. It didn't look finished and it would also let a lot of water in during takeoff on floats. I found a small neoprene molding that fills the gap and looks nice. It's available at most automotive stores, and it's cheap and lightweight.

31

Figure 1: Hard Point Void Vent Hole

Builder Hints

Painless Technique for Cutting

Stainless Engine Mount Backing

Plates by

Richard May, Glasair III, Tega Cay, SC

1 thought I might pass on a method of cutting, shaping and drilling the engine mount backing plates for the Glasair III. I found a method that makes the job fairly easy.

The first thing I did was call the factory to find out how to cut the thick stainless. 1 was advised to use a hacksaw. I bought the best hacksaw blade I could get and proceeded to try to cut six rectangular pieces. After a short period of cutting and making very little progress, 1 thought, "They've got to be kidding! There must be an easier way!" Well, I found one.

The first thing to do is draw an outline of the backing plates on the stainless sheet. Allow at least 3/16" between the plates for the swath of the saw, and then mark and center punch all the hole locations. Drill the holes before cutting the backing plates out, as it's a lot easier to secure one big piece of stainless under the drill press than six small ones.

To drill the stainless, 1 used two carbide-tipped twist drill bits purchased from J&L Industrial Supply (800-521-9520). On

the Glasair III, there are two different sizes required—7/16" and 3/8". The bits coats about $15 apiece, but I wouldn't attempt the job with ordinary high-speed steel bits. Set your drill press on its slowest speed and use a good tapping fluid. This is a must! I was having trouble seeing my center punch mark through the tapping fluid, so I tried to enlarge the mark by drilling a little dry. The instant the tip of the bit contacted the stainless it shattered, and I barely had enough carbide left to grind a new tip. Proceed slowly and wear a shop apron, as smoking hot pieces of metal are going to sail in all directions.

Once all the holes are drilled, it's time to cut the plates out. To do this, use a metal-cutting wheel in your circular saw. I used a 2 h.p. Skil Saw. These wheels only cost about $2 each and will be substantially smaller in size when you're finished, but they cut through stainless like butter. Finally, shape the pieces to size on your grinding wheel. Caution: while you're cutting the stainless, the sparks will be so intense you'll be able to feel the heat on your face.

With the cost of the carbide-tipped drills, some builders might prefer to farm the job out to a local metal shop, and this wouldn't be a bad idea. However, that isn't always convenient in every builder's location. I don't use a shop like that and figured I'd rather save the time and do it myself, rather than trying to locate a shop that would handle a small job like this. If you do decide to do this job yourself, this procedure will get you through it.

Design and Construction of Embedded Antennas

by Kurt Rutkowski. Glasair Super II RG,

Upper Marlboro, MD

Due to the composite construction of the Glasair, there is no need to use conventional, external, drag-inducing antennas. Therefore, the builder may wish to construct his own zero-drag, high-performance antennas. The embedded dipole antenna is preferred for two reasons. First, it is bonded to the inside of the fiberglass skin, which adds no drag. Second, the dipole antenna requires no ground plane. Conventional metal aircraft use the metal skin as the ground plane.

One of the disadvantages of the dipole antenna is that the required length of the radiating elements is half a wavelength, twice as long as the quarter-wavelength antennas used in conventional aircraft. Another problem is that the dipole antenna has an impedance of 75Q verses 50Q for the 1A\ antenna. (Q = omega, the symbol for Ohms; X = lambda, the symbol for wavelength). Aircraft radios are all manufactured to be connected to 50Q antennas using 50Q coax cable.

Basic laws in electronics say you will get maximum power transfer to or from the antenna when impedances are matched. Therefore, you will get the best transmit and receive performance when all impedances are equal. The radio's impedance is 50Q and the cable's is 50Q , so the antenna's should also be 50Q .

However, the impedance mismatch can be overcome. The 75Q dipole antenna can be made to appear to have a 50Q impedance by adjusting the coax cable length to create a 360°/180° phasing at the feed point of the antenna. Without getting into a long, complicated discussion of wave-propagation theory, I will just tell you that this can be accomplished by cutting the coax cable in half-wavelength increments.

In order to determine the length of a half wavelength, two factors must be considered. First is the frequency of the signal to be transmitted or received. Second is the velocity factor of the cable in use. If a band of frequencies are used, use the center frequency of the band. The formula to determine !/2A. in space is:

1/2X (in ft.) = 468 + frequency (in MHz)

i.e., to determine the 1/2X of 127.5 MHz (center of the COM band):

32

Builder Hints

1/2X = 468 + 127.5 = 3.671 ft. or 44.05 in.

The velocity factor must be considered now due to the construction materials used in the manufacture of the cable. RG 58A/U coax and Belden 9222 triax cable have a velocity factor of 67%. Multiply the 1/2XA. by 0.67 to determine the physical length of the cable to equal ViX electrical length, i.e.:

physical length = 0.67 x 3.671 ft. = 2.459 ft. or 29.51 in.

Therefore, the cable must be in an increment of 2.459 ft., e.g., 6 * 2.459 ft. = 14.76 ft. If the cable needs to be shorter or longer than that, it must be done in 2.459 foot increments.

To determine the lengths of the radiating elements the same two factors must be considered: frequency and velocity factor. The frequency will be the same as determined in the cable calculation, but the velocity factor will be different. If you use half-inch copper tape, the velocity factor is 95%. Therefore, apply the same formulas to compute the element lengths, but replace the velocity factor of 67% with 95%:

1/2x. = 468 •*• 127.5 = 3.671 ft. physical length

= 0.95 x 3.671 ft. = 3.487 ft. or 41.84 in.

This is the total length of both elements. This must be divided by two to determine the length of each element. In other words, each element must be 1/4x.

3.487 ft. / 2 = 1.744 ft. or 20.92 in.

Three ferrite beads should be placed on the cable as close to the elements as possible. This helps suppress reflection currents in the shielded cable to help reduce standing waves in the cable. After the ferrite beads are positioned, I used heat shrink tubing to hold them in place. RTV caulking will also work. Then solder the inner shield and center conductor to the copper tape elements as shown. Keep these wires as short as

possible and do not allow them to touch each other. If using triax cable, the outer shield should be left unterminated at both ends. Trim back and shrink the tube over the end.

Materials required to construct this type of antenna are as follows:

1) Triax cable (Belden 9222 50Q or equivalent) 2) Copper foil tape (Half-inch 3M tape (P/N 1181) used in

this example) 3) Ferrite beads (Fair-Rite P/N 2643002402) 4) BNC connectors 5) Soldering iron and a knowledge of soldering 6) Quarter-inch and half-inch heat shrink tubing

A finished COM antenna is shown in the figure below.

Cable and element lengths for aviation antennas are as follows:

Cable Element increment length

VHP COM (118-137 MHz) 2.459ft. 20.92 in.VHP NAV (108-118 MHz) 2.775ft. 23.61 in. Marker Beacon (75 MHz) 4.181 ft. 35.57 in. Glide Slope (329-335 MHz) 11.33 in. 8.035 in.

In conclusion, be accurate in cutting the cable and radiating elements, particularly in the higher-frequency antennas. Small errors in length will have a greater effect at the higher frequencies. Follow your Glasair Instruction Manual for the proper location and positioning of the antennas.

If anyone needs further assistance or some ferrite beads, feel free to contact me. I have a limited supply of ferrite beads available. Contact me by e-mail at <kurtfly@aol.com> or by phone at (301)627-3494.

33

Antenna type

Builder Hints

GlaStar Auxiliary Fuel Musings by

Ron Barrows, GlaStar, Elaine, MN

After talking to fellow GlaStar builders at Sun n' Fun and Oshkosh, I discovered I wasn't the only one who wants to go fast and far! Which brings up the topic of range and fuel capacity. I 'd like to share my ideas on auxiliary fuel and hopefully receive input from others.

I am not an engineer, but I have had a fair amount of experience adding extra fuel capacity to recreational vehicles, and some of the issues—tank placement, venting, etc.—are similar. My ideas and comments at this point are general, as I am not far enough along on my project to get into specifics,

The existing factory auxiliary fuel option looks like a good one, despite some plumbing problems with venting and the use of check valves. (Editor's note: At this writing, there is no "existing factory auxiliary fuel option. " S-H remains committed to producing an auxiliary fuel tank option, but no design has been finalized.) I think I have come up with a simple system using simple on-off valves and cross-venting (see Figure 1). By my calculations, this system should hold about forty-eight gallons usable.

I also carried the wing system one step further, as shown in Figure 2, and I 'm looking for input. This system would hold about 56 gallons usable. The advantages, besides the extra capacity, would be less weight at the wingtip (which I understand was a concern) and spreading the fuel weight over a greater part of the wing. The disadvantages would be the plumbing to hook the two tanks together and the necessity to

but I am far enough into the wings to make some decisions on adding extra fuel. My comments are in no particular order, nor are they without flaws. Items to consider are: simplicity, safety, maintenance, functionality, and weight and balance.

What got my thoughts going was the reality that 160 horses are probably going to drink eight gallons an hour or close to it. Not to belittle S-H's figures, but no matter how I figure it, I can't get much over fifteen gallons each into the standard tanks—by my calculations, crammed full and for planning purposes, 14-14-1/2 gallons usable. I understand that the tanks were designed for all the fuel to be consumed. I hope someone can show me my calculation is wrong, but that figure should be estimated for distance and range calculations.

provide an openable bay between Main Ribs 3 and 4 to install the center tank. Don't know if I'm stepping on engineers' toes or not. The system would be plumbed just like the one in Figure 1.

I haven't addressed the header tank idea. I understand it's necessary for the Continental installation and helps solve a fuel starvation problem with low fuel in a nose-high climb situation.

A simple solution to the problem of adding extra fuel would be to install an aux tank in the baggage compartment and pump the fuel into a main tank with an electric pump. Simple, could be removed when not in use, but, in my estimation, not

34

Figure 1

Builder Hints

safe. The large weight and balance swing from full to empty stinks.

Venting and plumbing make the difference between the system working well or not. 1 think I have it covered in Figure 1, but again, I 'm looking for input. So far, all my thinking has been for a non- folding-wing airplane. Wing folding in the taildragger is going to create some unique problems, but I think if the tank or tanks are cross-vented and the vent lines are carefully mounted as high as possible in the wings and roof of the cabin where they cross over, it should

work. Simply venting the outboard upper end of the tank or tanks will allow a lot of fuel to escape in a wing-low or folded condition. Plugging the vent or using a check valve could cause the tank to rupture.

I understand Bud Nelson is working on a wet-wing idea. I'd be interested in hearing more on that. If anyone out there has any other ideas or can see any problems with mine, let's get in touch. Call me at (612) 571-5269 (home) or (612) 784-2701 (work), or fax (612) 784-9214.

35

Truly a Pleasure by

Darcy Clements, Glasair I FT, Edmonton, AB, Canada

After 4,800 hours of construction time, my Glasair I FT is now flying. The 180 h.p. Lycoming 1O-360 with a Hartzell constant-speed prop gives me a cruise speed of 210 m.p.h. and a climb rate of 2,800 f.p.m. The empty weight came in at 1,198 Ibs. and gross weight at 2,100 Ibs.

With a full-leather interior. Moving map GPS and VM1000 engine management system, I find this to be a superb cross-country aircraft. This airplane has exceeded all my expectations and is truly a pleasure to fly.

Our Glasair, N99WR, is/was a Glasair I RG wing and horizontal stabilizer with a Glasair II RG fuselage. It had a 180 h.p. Lycoming IO-360-B1E engine with a 72", three-blade Hartzell constant-speed prop, a King IFR panel with HSI, and Vision Microsystems' VM1000 engine monitoring system.

Our first flight was on June 21, 1996, at Pontiac, Michigan (PTK). The only tasks completed during that flight were shallow stalls, three take-offs and landings, and a gear retraction. All went well. Over the next three weeks I accumulated twenty-five hours of flight time, and the plane was flying "hands off." 1 completed aileron rolls, loops, Cuban eights, and Immelmanns, and the airplane handled great. Take-offs and landings in 1,500 feet were no problem.

Triumph and Tragedy by

Ron & Nancy Walters, Glasair I/II RG, Royal Oak, MI

Flying formation with Nancy in our V35 Bonanza or with a friend in his Long-EZ was a piece of cake.

At 24" and 2,400 r.p.m., I was cruising at 225 m.p.h. (based on reports from our local Air National Guard base during two ( flights in opposite directions) and was burning 9.6 g.p.h. (based on the Vision Microsystems fuel flow gauge).

36

First Flights

Then, on Saturday, July 13, a runaway Cessna 182 destroyed |our baby. It's a long story, but what happened was the Cessna wouldn't start, and the owner left the switches on while pulling the prop through. It started and, with no one at the controls, flew across the airport and crashed into our beautiful Glasair. The left wing was chopped off up to the main gear and the left side of the fuselage was crushed. The vertical stabilizer and rudder were broken beyond repair, and the main gear drag links were snapped from the impact.

Nancy and 1 are so satisfied with the Glasair and the staff at Stoddard-Hamilton that we have already put a deposit on our replacement parts and are looking into contracting out part, if not all, of the repairs. We hope to have N99WR back in the air by spring 1998.

Editor's note: At Oshkosh, Ron and Nancy gave us some "before" and "after" photos of N99WR, and the contrast between the beautiful, flying Glasair before and the pile of fiberglass splinters after brought a tear to the eye of more than one grown S-H staffer. What Ron neglected to mention in his letter is that the Glasair stopped the errant Cessna from plowing into a hangar full of EAAers enjoying a chapter picnic. Unfortunately, the photos documenting this tragedy were somehow mislaid during the Oshkosh melee, and so we 're unable to share them with you now. However, we salute Ron and Nancv '.v determination and confidently look forward to publishing photos of the reborn N99WR when it makes its first flight in 1998! And never, ever, EVER hand prop an airplane without a qualified pilot at the controls!

Avgas and Food (In That Order!) by

Roger Heisdorffer, GlaStar, Taylor, AZ

I flew my GlaStar for the first time on September 12, 1996. The flight was uneventful except that the propeller didn't function properly, so I had to wait another week to fly while the prop was being repaired. The left wing was a little heavy, ISO I changed the incidence by shortening the aft spar hinge bracket on the bottom and adding a washer at the top to lower the aft spar. I suggest builders shorten these brackets by 1/8", and then place one washer at the top and one at the bottom before the wings are mounted so the incidence can be changed easily if needed. This aircraft is much more critical of any out-of-rig condition than the short-winged Glasairs.

I have a 160 h.p. Lycoming O-320-D1A engine with a Hartzell HCF2YL-1F/F7663A4 propeller, which makes the airplane perform very well. My King GPS is back at the factory for repair, so I haven't done much verification of speeds, but it seems to be cruising at 160+ m.p.h. at 8,000-10,000 foot altitudes and burning around eight gallons per hour.

may be a while, as I need to go back to doing something that will help buy avgas and food (in that order)! It looks as though I will be selling the Glasair RG, which is going to be difficult for me, because I've really enjoyed being able to compete in races, especially the Denver to Oshkosh.

It's amazing how easy the GlaStar is to fly and how well it seems to handle crosswinds, including taxiing crosswind. After flying a Glasair for several years, it takes a little getting used to making longer approaches and to over-the-fence speeds of 60-65 m.p.h., and of course to the lower cruise speeds.

Editor's note: Roger's competitors won't be sorry to hear that he's selling his very fast Glasair 1 RG; in the midst of his GlaStar project, Roger managed to find time to fly his RG to a first-place finish in the Corinthian Class of this summer's prestigious Great Cross-Country Air Race from Denver to Oshkosh. Later, he also posted a class victory in the race at Mesquite, Nevada, the second event of the Rutan and Composite Enthusiasts (R.A.C.E.) season. Congratulations, Roger, on all three achievements!

My tail kit arrived in December, wing kit in March, fuselage kit in May, and the final assembly manual in August, so the airplane was nearly ready to fly when the manual arrived. Fortunately, the final assembly is straightforward, and the builder support guys sent me a few excerpts on the door latches, so I didn't have to change anything after I got the manual. Time to build the airplane was 1,100 hours, which includes time my wife, Maurine, helped when I needed to turn a wing or something, as well as the time that Don Wallace spent j helping do the riveting on the wings. Since the first flight, I have installed the wheel and gear fairings, but no cosmetics have been done. That

37

Dr. John Zasadny, Torrance, CA, Glasair III, N2JZ, 1,700+ *Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft, Glasair I FT, N89SH, 1,700+

William Curry, Hot Springs, AZ, Glasair I TD, N622BC, 1,600+ Dr. Kent Farney, Navato, CA, Glasair I TD, N82SS, 1,400+

Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft, Glasair Super II RG, N902S, 1,400+ Chuck Mason, Nokomis, FL, Glasair I TD, N28CM, 1,300+ John Bourland, Dallas, TX, Glasair I RG, N529RS, 1,100+

Carmine Petracca, Lewiston, ID, Glasair I FT, N272CP, 1,100+ Robin Rice, Nassau Bay, TX, Glasair I RG, N86JC, 1,100+ *Tom Stanley, Hanford, CA, Glasair I RG, N309TS, 1,100+

*Ed Covington, Old Church, VA, Glasair I RG, N3EC, 1,000+ Everett Davis & Paul Wallace, Jackson, CA, Glasair I RG, N14WD, 1,000+

William Hillman, Tucson, AZ, Glasair I RG, N84AG, 1,000+ John Levy, Carlsbad, CA, Glasair I RG, N88JL, 1,000+ Dr. Jerry Pekin, San Diego, CA, Glasair I TD, 1,000+

Tom Robertson, Phoenix, AZ, Glasair I FT, N325TR, 1,000+ Gene Spaulding, Dallas, TX, Glasair I FT, N18GS, 1,000+ Bob Luwig, Meridian, MS, Glasair I RG, N86BS, 1,000+

Robin Young & Bill McKee, Lakeland, FL, Glasair I TD, N286YM, 1,000+

* denotes new member or change in hours

GlaStar Service Bulletins

39

S-H Reorganization: Greater Efficiency and Better Service

S-H is in the midst of a significant restructuring effort aimed at improving the efficiency of company operations, which in turn will net improvements in customer service across the board. This process has brought some new faces on board and shifted some familiar ones to new positions.

Old-time Glasair builders and readers of the last couple issues of this newsletter will know Ted Setzer as one of the founders of S-H, as well as a past president of the company. Ted also, of course, was a key member of the GlaStar design team. Recently, however, 1 has put on yet another hat by com back on board as the interim vu president of marketing. In the past, this important rohf was divided among several staff members, none of whom could devote to the job the attention it deserved. Ted brings to the position almost two decades of experience in the kitplane industry and an enormous enthusiasm for all things Glasair- and GlaStar-related. Nevertheless, one of Ted's main responsibilities is to find his own replacement. We are actively seeking a dynamic, experienced marketing manager, and Ted is anxious to get out of the office and back into the shop as soon as such a person can be found!

Another familiar face—or familiar voice, at least—to longtime S-H customers is Lorri Miller. With a minor change in duties but mostly simply in recognition of the hard work she's been doing all along, Lorri has been promoted to vice president of operations. The main difference this promotion makes from the customer's point of view is that Lorri will no longer be on the phone when you call the Order Desk. We know that many of you will miss her cheerful service there, but rest assured that she's still at work behind the scenes making

sure everything runs smoothly.

Taking Lorri's place at the Order Desk is Roy Matson, an S-H veteran whom you may have known as the shipping manager. Roy has been kicked across the street to the Order Desk so that he can bring his extensive technical knowledge of the Glasair and GlaStar kits to bear on this job. It's still a really good idea to have Part Numbers in hand when you call, but if you should happen to call in an order for "one of those left-handed thingamajigs that goes under the whatsit bracket in the widget assembly on a Glasair I TD," chances are Roy will know what you need! Taking Roy's place at the helm of the Shipping Department is newcomer John Gilmore.

One of the most difficult decisions in the whole reorganization was the decision to close the Service Center. Since 1992, more than 100 customers have made use of the Center's facilities and expert staff in building and maintaining their Glasairs, and eleven Glasairs made first flights from the Center. All of us at S-H are proud of the accomplishments of the builders and the staff who made the Service Center what it was.

Ultimately, however, it was decided that the personnel and resources of the Service Center could meet the needs of more customers by working on R&D for new products and options. We are currently undertaking a physical reorganization of our showroom/R&D hangar to accommodate this new focus.

Largely coincidental with the decision to close the Service Center, former Center manager Brian Costello has decided to challenge himself in a new career as the West Coast technical representative for Textron Lycoming. Brian's many talents and droll wit will be greatly missed, but we look forward to dealing with him frequently in his new position and wish him all the best. Longtime Service Center A&P mechanic Jim Muldoon, on the other

hand, will continue to do the same work as before—only under his own shingle. Jim is currently lining up shop space here on the airport for his new company, Aero Service, Inc., and will continue to offer builder assistance on a custom basis. Jim can be reached at (360) 435-6818. Keep him in mind; he has several month's worth of Glasair work already lined up, but we'd hate to see him have to fall back on spam cans!

Estimated GlaStar Build Time Revised

Naturally, one of the most frequently asked questions from prospective GlaStar customers is, "How long will it take to build?" And of course, this question continues to be of interest after you've purchased a kit as well.

We have always tried to be honest with prospective and current customers about the build times of our kits, recognizing that many variables contribute to the final figure, which will vary widely from builder to builder. That having been said, it appears, based on early customer experience, that the average GlaStar might take closer to 1,500 man hours to complete than the 600-900 hours estimated in our information package.

Certainly some GlaStars will go together quicker than that; a recent customer completion took 1,100 hours excluding paint and upholstery. More important than the simple number of hours spent, however, is the satisfaction gained relative to the hours spent. We still believe that the GlaStar offers one of the most enjoyable kit-building experiences available, and no one disputes the incredible versatility of the finished product.

We will continue to refine our estimate of the average GlaStar build time we accumulate more experience from builders in the field, and we will certainly keep present and future customers updated on that figure.

40

From the Flight Deck . . . Continued from Page 18

| tasks brought about by the expansion of our product line to include the GlaStar. These growing pains are easy to understand, but they do not constitute a valid excuse for any lapses in the quality of customer service. We appreciate your patience as we address these problem areas, but please don't think we will be satisfied in providing anything less than the best customer service in the industry. We don't expect you to be satisfied with anything less either.

One of the recent changes at S-H has been the closure of the Service Center. This was a difficult decision, simply because we have had so many great customers work with us there. However, we ultimately decided to focus our energies on areas of greater return for the company and its customers as a whole. We remain committed to the customers we have serviced but are referring all new business to Aero Service, Inc., a new company run by an old hand, former Service Center A&P Jim Muldoon. Jim can be reached at (360)435-6818.

Well, the view "from the flight deck" of a company sure is a different one. You see the whole spectrum of the business. Some of our customers never call, and we find out years later that they have been happily flying their completed aircraft for quite some time. They just love the plane—whether it's a Glasair or GlaStar—and have literally had no problems. It's nice to hear about these cases from time to time! Not all customers' experiences are like that, of course, but the good news is that all the problems are fixable, and we now have better internal systems in place to remedy the difficulties you are facing in a more timely manner. Many of the complaints are very legitimate, and we are doing our best to help you. Our responsibility is to fix these gripes so you can all have a fun time building your aircraft.

I am endeavoring to take Stoddard-Hamilton to new heights, for I have many dreams for the future.

Flymarket

PLANE LUXURY AIRCRAFT INTERIORS Jim & Julie Londo, owners Karen Louise, order desk (206) 338-7070 P.O. Box 368 (619)394-4848 Mukilteo, WA 98275

(206) 745-6937

GlaStar Seat Packages • Choice of FAA-certified covering materials.

Fabric Vinyl Fabric and vinyl combination Fine European leather

• Designed for comfort and made with airliner quality and durability by the builder of Boeing 777 seats.

• Four layers of foam for height adjustment. • Seats arrive ready to use and take approximately five

minutes to install. The design incorporates a heavy canvas insert that slips over the seat back and is secured with Velcro.

• Prices: Fabric, vinyl or combination $ 1,249 per pair Fine European leather $ 1,649 per pair

Custom Interior Packages • Coordinated carpeting and headliner materials. • Quality materials that allow customer installation for cost

effectiveness. • Interior decorator available for custom design.

Call or write for color choices, fabric and material samples, and more information on finished products and custom options.

FOR SALE: N111BH, Glasair HI built and flown by the late Bob Herendeen. Call K.D. Johnson at (805) 525-0111 or (805) 496-3474.

FOR SALE: Propeller, constant-speed Hartzell HC-C2YK-1B/7666A-2 from Mooney. 230 hrs. SMOH, excellent condition 1,770 hrs. use before next recommended overhaul. Complete with all logs and maintenance release tags. $4,000. Contact Don Pridham, 411 Sunshine Ave., Sequim, WA 98382 (Diamond Point Airport), (360) 683-9165.

FREE: Welded steel Glasair wing jig. Adjustable leveling pads. Used on I RG and III wings with great results. You arrange pick-up. Call Darrel Hirsch at (619) 270-5848.

FOR SALE: O-320-D1A engine accessories. Engine mount, 10 hrs. since new, $350. Stainless steel exhaust system, 10 hrs. since new, $600. Call Dan Dudley at (608) 263-2359 or (608)835-8931.

FOR LOAN: Set of GlaStar fuselage alignment jigs, built to S-H specs. Available for loan within Canada. Call James Anderson at (905) 659-7125.

41

Section A: Engine Accessories A1 Please call A16 1,320.00 A31 345.00 A46 360.00 A61 4.86

A2 37,900.00 A17 1,320.00 A32 345.00 A47 360.00 A62 5.90A3 28,130.00 A18 1,320.00 A33 274.00 A48 360.00 A63 6.60A4 25,225.00 A19 85.00 A34 Please call A49 360.00 A64 9.50AS 17,585.00 A20 1,575.00 ASS 84.44 A50 125.00 A65 9.95A6 6,160.00 A21 1,575.00 A36 695.00 A51 220.00 A66 13.28A7 6,255.00 A22 150.00 A37 695.00 A52 50.00 A67 43.99A8 4,668.00 A23 150.00 A38 695.00 ASS 15.60 A68 64.87A9 7,497.00 A24 995.00 A39 695.00 A54 18.60 A69 75.65A10 7,497.00 A25 395.00 A40 695.00 ASS 16.20 A70 88.41A11 6,265.00 A26 52.00 A41 250.00 A56 17.70 A71 120.12A12 5,730.00 A27 80.00 A42 299.00 A57 17.70 A72 138.60A13 150.00 A28 559.00 A43 250.00 ASS 14.25 A73 10.88A14 140.00 A29 860.00 A44 250.00 A59 20.70 A74 22.47A15 1,320.00 A30 279.00 A45 250.00 A60 4.86 A75 14.61

Section B: Instruments

B1 3,180.00 B6 9,360.00 B11 475.00 B16 1.28 B21 110.00

B2 5,410.00 B7 5,990.00 B12 SeeB11 B17 30.71 B22 30.49B3 1,940.00 B8 1,175.00 B13 SeeB11 B18 120.00 B23 27.47B4 1,436.00 B9 60.00 B14 30.27 B19 275.00 B24 27.91BS 5,475.00 B10 75.00 B15 23.55 B20 275.00 B25 6.86

Section C: Airframe Accessories C1 22.50 C34 250.00 C67 24.50 C100 .44 C133 87.50

C2 149.00 CSS 63.00 C68 24.50 C101 2.01 C134 122.50C3 495.00 C36 620.00 C69 22.93 C102 .59 C135 385.00C4 239.25 C37 90.00 C70 24.50 C103 .21 C136 31.50CS 310.25 C38 90.00 C71 24.50 C104 26.73 C137 58.24C6 310.25 C39 90.00 C72 24.50 C105 26.73 C138 DiscontinuedC7 995.00 C40 49.00 C73 24.32 C106 .28 C139 DiscontinuedC8 Discontinued C41 49.00 C74 36.43 C107 .37 C140 DiscontinuedC9 65.00 C42 22.15 C75 38.85 C108 .51 C141 6.97C10 699.00 C43 22.15 C76 37.10 C109 1.28 C142 2.85C11 699.00 C44 22.15 C77 .18 C110 1.19 C143 2.96C12 226.10 C45 22.15 C78 .18 C111 2.45 C144 4.48C13 262.50 C46 75.00 C79 3.94 C112 4.55 C145 2.85C14 Seed 5 C47 75.00 C80 3.94 C113 Discontinued C146 2.85C15 435.00 C48 199.00 C81 .22 C114 49.00 C147 2.85C16 435.00 C49 199.00 C82 .12 C115 49.00 C148 1.33C17 459.95 C50 95.00 CSS .30 C116 49.00 C149 .88C18 465.00 C51 95.00 C84 .12 C117 49.00 C150 3.92C19 590.00 C52 75.00 CSS .16 C118 49.00 C151 21.67C20 495.00 C53 75.00 C86 2.36 C119 245.00 C152 5.76C21 1,395.00 C54 95.00 C87 1.78 C120 295.00 C153 2.69C22 1,395.00 CSS 120.00 CSS .79 C121 295.00 C154 5.69C23 1,395.00 C56 14.47 C89 .33 C122 295.00 C155 87.15C24 545.00 C57 495.00 C90 .18 C123 295.00 C156 59.66C25 498.00 C58 525.00 C91 .14 C124 335.00 C157 77.73C26 498.00 C59 13.62 C92 .11 C125 25.00 C158 5.69C27 126.12 C60 2.20 C93 .09 C126 33.87 C159 7.00C28 4.20 C61 22.50 C94 .65 C127 31.77 C160 9.00C29 385.00 C62 112.00 C95 .12 C128 60.96 C161 5.95C30 400.00 C63 23.71 C96 .57 C129 80.00 C162 3.66C31 145.00 C64 24.52 C97 .44 C130 80.00 C32 585.00 C65 46.01 C98 .79 C131 96.25 C33 575.00 C66 10.50 C99 .92 C132 87.50 11/8/96 42

Section D: Tools D1 Discontinued D12 18.34 D23 5.60 D34 19.00 D45 13.60D2 6.02 D13 18.31 D24 5.08 D35 3.27 D46 12.25D3 6.40 D14 75.00 D25 4.55 D36 7.21 D47 21.72D4 6.40 D15 32.64 D26 7.49 D37 1.82 D48 38.76D5 4.09 D16 8.85 D27 3.06 D38 4.60 D49 48.54D6 4.09 D17 8.85 D28 4.88 D39 3.34 D50 25.00D7 52.50 D18 8.85 D29 21.88 D40 2.98 D51 5.72D8 11.24 D19 8.85 D30 17.08 D41 3.50 D52 67.74D9 7.91 D20 14.81 D31 18.72 D42 Discontinued D53 78.70D10 7.91 D21 30.50 D32 2.27 D43 10.24 D54 DiscontinuedD11 6.04 D22 5.60 D33 4.24 044 22.73

Section E: Construction Materials E1 2.15 E10 8.75 E19 22.75 E28 10.19 E37 13.50E2 4.00 E11 5.86 E20 22.75 E29 55.00 E38 2.50E3 9.45 E12 Discontinued E21 1.50 E30 1.14 E39 20.34E4 10.00 E13 Discontinued E22 8.38 E31 .94 E40 12.34E5 5.00 E14 Discontinued E23 11.20 E32 7.70 E41 15.31E6 5.00 E15 7.88 E24 .44 E33 33.65 E42 20.37E7 3.36 E16 4.38 E25 .65 E34 16.83 E43 DiscontinuedE8 30.00 E17 3.19 E26 13.86 E35 13.39 E44 4.13E9 32.00 E18 18.41 E27 13.86 E36 1.40

Section F: Replacement Parts

F1 12.53 F10 97.50 F19 33.14 F28 16.00 F37 30.13F2 6.35 F11 67.00 F20 19.50 F29 16.00 F38 .45F3 9.15 F12 9.33 F21 4.88 F30 17.40 F39 .51F4 975.00 F13 11.25 F22 39.85 F31 15.43 F40 1.16F5 975.00 F14 202.50 F23. 122.14 F32 14.75 F41 .54F6 975.00 F15 135.00 F24 29.00 F33 .79 F42 .86F7 975.00 F16 41.06 F25 24.15 F34 13.39 F43 1.10F8 995.00 F17 87.21 F26 16.00 F35 14.28 F9 1,260.00 F18 132.52 F27 16.00 F36 16.66 Section G: Pilot Supplies

G1 25.00 G5 Discontinued G9 4.38 G13 13.13 G2 35.00 G6 8.00 G10 4.38 G14 2.98 G3 6.25 G7 Discontinued G11 4.38 G15 3.50 G4 175.00 G8 12.00 G12 4.38 G16 1.75

Glasair I Accessories GI-1 870.00 GI-10 34.44 GI-1 9 10.57 GI-28 75.00 GI-37 4.29GI-2 150.00 GI-11 395.00 GI-20 10.57 GI-29 675.00 GI-38 65.00GI-3 150.00 GI-12 175.00 GI-21 150.00 GI-30 175.00 GI-39 135.00GI-4 150.00 GI-13 22.50 GI-22 52.00 GI-31 120.14 GI-40 1.40GI-5 150.00 GI-14 22.50 GI-23 375.00 GI-32 75.50 GI-41 9.03GI-6 540.00 GI-15 22.49 GI-24 395.00 GI-33 345.00 GI-42 37.50GI-7 2,450.00 GI-16 345.00 GI-25 195.00 GI-34 325.00 GI-43 37.50GI-8 249.00 GI-17 640.00 GI-26 9.98 GI-35 199.00 GI-44 37.50GI-9 90.00 GI-18 9.12 GI-27 39.00 GI-36 375.00

S TODDARD-HAMIL TON AIRCRAFT, INCORPORATED

18701 58th Ave. N.E. Arlington, WA 98223

Phone: (360)435-8533 Fax: (360)435-9525

11/8/96 43

>LYCOMING 0-320 OIL COOLER INSTALLATION Part No.: 221-0469-501 Price; $559.00

An oil cooler is an essential part of the GlaStar engine installation. This installation kit ducts cooling air from the engine baffling to the oil cooler, which is mounted on the firewall. The kit includes a new oil cooler matched to the engine size, a molded fiberglass shroud that directs the cooling air over the cooler, a flexible 3" SCAT duct, Aeroquip oil hose and fittings, and all the hardware necessary for a complete GlaStar installation. Detailed instructions are also included. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Installed kit weight: 6-3/4 Ibs.

>VACUUM PUMP INSTALLATION KIT Part No.: 120-0647-501 Price: $995.00

This kit is as complete as they come: Airborne pump, regulator, filter, fittings, 1 " suction gauge, custom firewall fitting, miscellaneous hardware, clamps and hose. Please allow 8-12 weeks for delivery as stock is limited.

> CABIN HEAT VALVE

This rotary valve is designed to be installed on the cockpit side of the GlaStar firewall. It is designed with two cabin heat outlet tubes (one for the pilot and one for the co-pilot) and a single outlet tube for windshield defrost. In the off position, two openings forward of the firewall allow heated air traveling from the exhaust heat muff to be vented into the engine compartment, avoiding hot spots inside the heat muff. Very accurate, smooth control of cabin heat air is accomplished through the unique rotary action. As the center tube continues to rotate, the cabin heat slots will continue to open then begin to close as the defrost slot opens offering precise metering between cabin heat and defrost.

The cabin heat valve assembly can be purchased separately or as a complete installation including all hardware and SCAT tubing. Weight: 9.1 oz.

Valve assembly ...................................................................................... Part No.: 471-0810-201 Price: $125.00 Cabin heat valve installation kit ............................................................... Part No.: 381-0142-503 Price: S22O.OO