Saturday, June 1, 2013

EAA Webinar About Building a Fly Baby - 23 March 2012

The EAA asked me to give a webinar on building the Fly Baby.  It takes about 80 minutes.

Check it out at the EAA video library.  If the link doesn't work here is the URL:

http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=1526595994001

If you would like to just look at the slides here they are.  You can click on a picture to see a larger image.

I've put the text of my script for this after each picture.  Doing a webinar looks easy but it took about 100 hours to put it together and then you can't see your audience while your speaking, very weird.

1 - Building a Fly Baby (0:30)
-          Welcome and thank you for taking the time to be with us to talk about this cool little plane called Fly Baby.
-          Building a plane is one of the most fun and rewarding things a person can do in life.
-          Fortunately,
o    Fly Baby is one of the easiest planes out there to build.
-          It’s also a lot of fun to fly. 
o   It’s a tail dragger but it doesn’t take any great skill,
o   the view is great,
o   and people come out to look at it where ever you land.
-          From the smile on Pete’s face I’d say he’s definitely having fun.
-          By the time were done I hope you will see both
o   The joy of building a Fly Baby, and
o   That it’s probably within your abilities to build
§  no matter how limited you think those abilities are right now.
 (00:30)

2 - N4284C (2:00)
-          I’ve been hooked on Fly Baby since I helped with my father build ours back in the mid- 60s. 
-          We built it as a monoplane, with a 65 horse Continental in it. 
-          In 1976 my dad converted it to a bi-plane.
o   The plane is licensed so that you can switch back and forth between the monoplane wings and the bi-plane wings with just a log book entry.
o   Other than the upper wing blocking some of your view there’s not much difference.
-          The engine was upgraded from 65 to 85 HP, but still
o   with no starter, generator or any of that heavy stuff .
o   The climb is better for not much more fuel
o   The C-85-8 is a good engine for a Fly Baby
-          It took us about 2 ½ years to build and $1,750 dollars
o   That sounds like a vote for the good old days but today that’s the equivalent of just under $13,000. 
o   You probably can’t quite do it for that today but we were able to buy a lot of hardware at surplus stores, the A&N store and places like that. 
o   The spruce lumber and 1/8” fir plywood came from the local lumber yards
o   It’s still a plane that can be built for around $15,000 
-          It took 1,700 hours to build, which sounds like a lot but that’s 2 hour a day over that time period. 
-           (02:30)

3 - Our Skills & Background (1:10)
-          When we started building the plane neither of us really knew much of anything about building airplanes. 
o   We had built model airplanes, but hadn’t worked on REAL airplanes
o   My Dad had done remodeling on our homes
o   He had worked on a farm as a kid
o   and he had the general mechanical sort of skills that a person had back then from working on their cars,
§  tuning them up regularly
§  and  keeping things running. 
-          Neither of us were pilots
o   Dad had taken some lessons on the GI Bill
o   I had been for a couple airplane rides, but no instruction at that point.
o   I was in high school
§  I didn’t have any skills beyond metal shop, wood shop and drafting
§  I had built a lot of balsa model airplanes. 
§  Fly Baby is just a big stick built model
-          Despite our limited skills the plane came out great
-          40 some years later as an Engineer and A & P Mechanic  I have a little different perspective
o   And, OK I could probably build one faster today and it would be a work of art
§  But it wouldn’t fly any better
-           (03:40)

4 - Why Build (2:30)
-          We decided to build the Fly-Baby because it’s a cheap and easy plane to build. 
-          You can store it at home, potentially, although we never did. 
o   With today’s cost of hangar rent I would like to go back to storing the plane at home and trailering it to the airport
o   Right now I’m working on it in my attic, but I will get it back to the airport.
-           You don’t need a lot of complicated skills to build this plane.
o   You need to be able to do some basic drafting to lay out parts
§  a pencil, scale, and straight edge so you can cut them out
o   There are wood and metal parts to be sawed and drilled,
o   Assembling parts requires the use of basic hand tools like hammers, screw drivers & wrenches. 
o   most of the work is simple tasks easily accomplished. 
-          The EAA is a huge resource for helping you learn about anything from
o   Simple things like assembling a brake line
o   to more complex things like fabric covering. 
o   Chapter members are a great resource, as well as on-line tips and workshops
§  At Oshkosh
§  An through Sport Air Workshops
-          There is also a lot of information at the Fly-Baby web site. 
-          I think the biggest help with this plane is that it just has a great builder’s manual. 

-          Before we get on with building the plane let’s talk a little more about flying a Fly Baby
o   The plane is a lot fun to fly, whether you build one or buy one.
-           It’s open cockpit . 
o   The view is better with the monoplane than the biplane. 
o   The top wing blocks some your view. 
-          There is hardly any difference between flying the Monoplane version or the Biplane version.
o   The stick forces are not much different from other light planes
-          I fly off grass and pavement and would only use Cub wheels
o   It’s the only shock absorption
-          A Fly Baby is always a crowd pleaser
o   It’s just unique enough to get people to look and ask questions
-          My dad and I are both over 6 ft tall
o   It was important to us to build a plane we could fit into comfortably
o   A lot of the planes out there, Pitts Special, Smith Mini-planes and others that were designed for smaller pilots  
-          How easy is this plane to fly?
o   It is a tail dragger with a narrow gear, but
o   We’ve had over 15 pilots fly this airplane over the years. 
o   Fly baby was the first plane I flew after getting my private check ride in a Cessna150. 
§  I had 60 hours of flight time about 10 hours of it in a tail-dragger,
§  but that was a year before I flew the Fly-baby. 
§  I had no trouble flying thing it. 
·         I’m not a natural pilot
·         My first instructor gave up after 2 hours and said it was simply beyond my abilities
-          (06:10)

5 – Builders Manual (1:30)
-          Back to the builder’s manual
-          With some planes you get a stack of blue prints and not a clue what to do.
-          The Fly Baby builder’s manual is just a simple set of step by step instructions,
o   just do this, do that,
o   check them off  and move on to the next task. 
-          Each section starts with a list of what materials you need.
o   How to cut all the different sticks you need,
§  what size they are,
§  how long they are,   
o   An explanation of where those pieces are used.
o   The hardware list is such that you can go sit down and order the stuff. 
-          Obviously you can buy all of the wood as pre cut sticks of spruce 
o   We bought boards of spruce and cut all the pieces ourselves. 
o   We bought all the wood from our local lumber yard, except for the wing spars.   
-          The drawings range from drawings that are typical engineering sort of drawings
o   where you have a view and dimensions on it
o   to perspective or isometric drawings. 
§  These show you how things fit together
§  and how to do things, such as how to hold parts in place while you’re doing the work. 
-          Pete worked hard to include the information you need to cut out the parts as well has how to put them together. 
o   This makes this a pretty easy process for building this airplane.
-          (07:40)

6 - Builder vs Flyer (1:30)
-          Something to think about in terms of building a plane is are you really committed, is this something you really want to do. 
-          If your mission is strictly to go flying the airplane then this isn’t best the means to that end. 
o   You can generally do as well just go out and buy a plane
o   There are Fly-Baby’s for sale from time to time. 
o   There are a lot of other planes in similar performance and price range. 
o   Small homebuilts like this are typically only worth the value of the engine, wheels, instruments and propeller
§  The rest of it has no value. 
§  I see Fly Babies listed in the $5,000 - 10,000 range. 
§  Even if you need to recover the plane for $2,000 – 3,000 it’s still a good deal
-          If you like making things, fixing things, and working on stuff
o   If you like the pride you get from finishing projects and each little task along the way
§  then building a project can a lot of fun. 
-          People are always wanting to know, will this thing be done soon  (You know ARE WE THERE YET?)
-          I like to remind people
o   the fun is in the doing and not just in being done. 
-          The truth is, that if you are having fun
o   does it really matter
§  if that fun is flying an airplane
§  or building an airplane. 
-          If you’re having fun what more could you ask for.
-          Building A Fly Baby is FUN!
-          (09:10)

7 – Building Considerations (2:00)
-          Building any plane is no small task
o   Fortunately getting it done is the result of a lot of small tasks
o   Like eating an Elephant one bite at a time , but
§  A Lot More Fun!
-          We finished our plane in 2 ½ years with a total of 1,700 man hours
o   That sounds like a lot of hours but it’s 2 hours a day
-          Finishing is ALL about doing some actual small task every day
o   even if you just drill one hole,
o   Install one bolt,
o   Glue a Joint
o   Do Something Every Day!
-          The time and money for all this still have to come from
o   Family Time and
o   The Family Budget
-          The good news is they can always get you airplane parts for gifts on those special days
-          I do most of my work in my attic
o   Yes there is a plane in my attic and
o   yes it will come back out the same 42” door it went in
§  Of course no visitor actually believes that.
o   The nice thing is I can be up there working any time I have a free moment
§  The grand kids think it’s great to help Grandpa with the airplanes
§  Rowan has asked if I’m going to build a plane for her and for Duncan, we’ll get there sweety!
o   My wife has a thing about doing smelly work or welding in the house, so
§  I use a tent in the driveway for dope and fabric work and welding
§  When all my airplane projects are done I’m going to build a garage to replace the tent
§  I want to go back to trailering the Fly Baby to the airport
-          I know people who are and have built their planes at the airport, despite the cost and travel time,
o   But it just takes more planning than I’m capable of
§  The people work at the airport successfully seem to be retired people with time on their hands
o   The other thing I’ve found when working on the Fly Baby and the Cabin Waco at the Airport is
§  There are always people who think asking questions is somehow helping get things done
(11:10)

8 – Tools (3:00)
-          For you do-it-yourselfers this is your chance to get some more tools.
-          It doesn’t take a lot of tools to build this airplane. 
o   The tools needed are not complicated
o   Even if you’re not comfortable with tools
§  None of the parts are so expensive you can’t re-make a few as you learn
-          There are small parts that have to be welded,
o   But generally you can find someone in the local EAA chapter or a mechanic that can do the welding for you
-          Most of the work that has to be done is really the woodwork and making steel fittings (lots of them)
o   Therefore a good table and band saw make this work go a whole lot faster and easier. 
o   I Wouldn’t want to build a Fly Baby without these two tools. 
§  A  jig saw would work for cutting out some of the wood parts,
§  A band saw cuts faster especially on thicker parts
§  A band saw can also be used to cut steel parts if you slow the speed down enough. 
·         Our neighbor loaned us his band saw, which we used. 
·         For cutting steel we modified his saw with some old washing machine pulleys.
·         You need to have the blade going really slow to cut steel, < 300 fpm
-          You do need a small drill press for drilling the holes mostly in the steel fittings. 
o   Most of the holes that are drilled in the assembled parts can be done with a hand drill. 
-          A belt sander is a very useful tool for helping to finish the edges of parts and to quickly finish shaping band sawed parts. 
-          We borrowed my uncles old ShopSmith, one of the very first ones made, mostly to use as a table saw for all the spruce sticks
o   The basic ShopSmith is one of those great tools, table saw, disk sander drill press and wood lathe all in one.
o   The ShopSmith is a wood working tool with a ton of accessories 
§  I use the belt sander and wood cutting band saw the most.
o   In the early 80’s my father got a nice new ShopSmith with everything.
o   I have it now and use it almost every day.  He has no hope of getting it back, I use it too much.  
-          When it comes to hand tools, you don’t need too many. 
o   A hand drill,
o   tack hammer,
o   a little brad nailer
§  For $5 this has been the best thing for the thousands of nails used to hold parts while the glue dries
o    A small exacto saw works great for cutting small sticks to fit right where you’re working. 
§  You do not have to get up and go to the saw to do something. 
o   You need some wrenches to bolt things together
§  There aren’t many sizes that are used on this or most small airplanes. 
o   Some tin snips are needed when you are doing the sheet metal work for the cowling and leading edges. 
o   A Whitney punch is a great little tool, worth having for punching the holes in thin steel parts. 
o   You will need a lot of C clamps for clamping up the laminated bows on the wings and tail
o   You also need a couple pipe clamps to hold pieces together while you’re assembling the fuselage.
-          (14:10)

9 - What to Build First (1:50)                                                                 
-          One of the things to think about is where do I start this thing?
-          What am I going to do first? 
o   A lot of kits today start by having you built an aileron or an elevator or something like that. 
o   The manual for the Fly-Baby has you start with the fuselage. 
§  Build the fuselage, then the tail surfaces, the landing gear, build the wings, put the engine on, go fly the thing. 
o   That all makes good logical sense and you kind of work your way through the plane. 
o   You can sit in the fuselage and make airplane noises and dream about those days when you will be flying this thing. 
-          The reality is the fuselage takes up a lot of space and it’s is your way the whole time you’re working on everything else.
o   I think our tires got more use moving the plane than flying
-          Today the way that I work on stuff is that I start on the wings and tail surfaces.
-          When those are done I work on the fuselage.
o   You can strap wings to the ceilings, of an attic or work area. 
o   The same with tail surfaces, they can be hung on the wall. 
o   There is no way to get that fuselage out of your way,
§  unless you have a large shop.
-          But there is a problem if you don’t start with the fuselage,
o    it doesn’t look like your building an airplane for quite awhile
o   Anyone can look at a fuselage and see you’re building an airplane
o   You can look at it and keep your spirits up while you do the remaining 95% of the work.
o   I’m not sure I can look at an elevator and imagine the rest of the airplane.
-          You need the space of a one car garage to park the fuselage
o   If that’s all the space you have start with the smaller parts
o   Plus if you build the tail surfaces first and decide that this isn’t for you
o   or if you make a mess of your first parts,
§  you have a reality cheap part to throw away
-          For the rest of this discussion we’re going to follow the order of the Builders Manual because that’s what we did.
-          (16:00)

10 – Fuselage Sides (0:50)
-          OK let’s cut some wood.
-          The fuselage is simple it’s like building a big stick built wooden model airplane.
o   You’ve got pieces of wood that you hold down, over a drawing of the fuselage side on a plywood table.
o   You draw the fuselage side on a plywood table
§  And cover it with waxed paper so the glue won’t stick to the table
§  Blocks are positioned as shown in the drawing to hold the sticks in place
·         Like using pins building a model airplane
·         This drawing is just the front half of the fuselage, the page covers the back half
§  The sticks are cut to fit
§  And 1/8” plywood is glued and nailed to the top of the sticks
·         The glue is brushed on both the sticks and the plywood
·         Nails are placed about every ¾” -1”
·         so you need to move right along once you start
§  Once you’re done you’ve got the 2 sides of the fuselage. 
-          Let’s talk about Glue
o   I know there are people who love their favorite epoxy glue
§  I only use Resorcinol
§  It’s safe, It’s waterproof, It’s the only FAA approved glue
-           (16:50)

11 – Fuselage Cross Members (1:50)
-          You take those two sides and stand them up on the top edge to install the cross members
o   From the firewall to the back of the cockpit the sides are parallel,
§  behind the cockpit the side get pulled in to a point at the tail.
o   Start with the cockpit where everything is nice and square
§  You use some sticks of cheap 1x3 with notches cut into them to hold the sides parallel. 
§  A carpenter’s square is used to make sure that the sides are also square to each other.
-          Once everything is squared up you start installing all the crosspieces to tie the sides together. 
o   This is where the pipe clamps are used  to hold the sides snug to the cross members while gluing and nailing
o   There are pieces of plywood (gussets) which tie the cross sticks to the side sticks
o   Glue on the end of a stick adds no strength
-          The tail is tied together with the spar for the fin,
o   Which also acts as a rollover structure
-          As with anything new you are building or doing,
o   Most big mistakes can be prevented by being willing to stop
o   if something doesn’t seem right
o   figure out why and make it right. 
-          The fuselage probably takes the most amount of space to build. 
o   The table that is 3 foot wide and 16 long
o   You also need 3-4 feet of space on each side to be able to get around it and work.
o   We did this in our basement, so there was plenty of room. 
o   We just carried it up the steps and straight out the door when the fuselage was done.
-          (18:40)

12 - Fuselage Sheet Metal (1:00)
-          There is some sheet metal on this fuselage. 
o   The area around the cockpit,
o   The engine firewall and cowling,
o   things like that are done with sheet metal. 
-          Pictured here is the baggage compartment and head rest
o   In this case there is a wood frame which forms the space of the cowling around the cockpit
o   The sheet metal is then screwed on to the frame with wood screws. 
o   The aluminum we used here looks white in the picture because it is white,
§  it is aluminum which was used for the outside of trailers, without ribs formed into it.
§  It’s pre-painted, wrapped around here and screwed on. 
-          Again nothing complicated
-          (19:40)

13 - Landing Gear Woodwork (1:30)

-          The landing gear for this plane is pretty simple. 
-          The main landing gear is made of some laminated pieces of wood,
o   in our case, we used Douglas Fir. 
o   They are ¼” thick pieces of fir.
-          By gluing the boards so they crisscross in this area you get some very strong gear legs.
-          The biggest trick making these to have everything ready when you start gluing.
-          It’s a little hard to see in this picture, but
o   there are some pieces of wood that you have to use to clamp to in the middle of the stacks of boards. 
o   You need good pressure is in the middle where the actual gear legs are cut out
o   If you don’t clamp the middle the boards will tend to bow out
§  Causing the middle to not glue securely.
-          Once the glue in the laminated stack is cured,
o   you use the band saw to cut out the actual “vee”. 
o   The edges are rounded with a wood rasp and sand paper
§  To give it a more streamlined shape.
-          Let’s go back to the C-clamps needed for doing this
o   you need clamps that will reach in 3-4 inches
o   and will open up to be 3-4 wide to fit over the boards used to distribute the pressure over the Glue joints. 
§  Always use a block of wood under a clamp so you don’t leave dents in the wood
-          (21:10)

14 - Landing Gear Metal Work (2:30)
-          Along with the two main wooden legs there are a whole bunch of little steel fittings which hold all this together. 
o   There are fittings at the top of each end of the gear legs
o   Fittings on and in the fuselage to attach the gear legs and
o   Fittings at the bottom of the leg. 
-          The way this plane goes together is, all the structure is made out of wood,
o    but all the structural assemblies are held together with steel fittings that are bolted on. 
o   Most of them are pretty straight forward to make. 
o   There is a lot of time spent with a metal cutting band saw,
§  slowly cutting all the metal parts,
§  Then drilling holes in them,
§  Filing the edges to smooth them up to prevent cracks from starting along a rough sawn edge
·         As a general rule when making fittings for airplanes always avoid sharp corners
o   Sharp inside corners lead to cracks
o   Sharp outside corners can add no strength
§  just extra weight
§  The last step is to prime the fittings with some Zinc Chromate or epoxy primer and then paint them. 
-          One thing that I have learned over time with steel parts is to always paint over the primer
o    I’ve seen a lot of parts, many from factories,
§   where all they did was put on some Zinc Chromate Primer. 
§  The steel eventually rusts. 
-          The axle gets assembled by bolting these fittings to the legs
o   the hole for the axle is drilled with a hole saw
o   Then the axle is welded to the inboard fittings
o   The way we cut these holes was with the ShopSmith set up as a drill press
-          I would Gas Weld all the joints on the landing gear. 
o   There is no shock absorption and the gear gets jarred by every bump, this is no place to risk a brittle weld.
-          (23:40)

15 - Tail Surface Woodwork (2:00)
-          The tail surfaces are fairly simple construction
o   The ribs are a piece of 1/8” plywood with two 1/4” square sticks glued on the bottom. 
§  You can see it forms a kind of “C” shaped section when it’s done. 
o   The nose ribs are simple pieces are ¼” plywood band sawed to shape. 
o   The leading edge is a stick of spruce.
-          The trailing edges on the elevators  and rudder are laminated from strips of wood. 
o   You start by drawing the shape on the work table
§  Lay down wax paper to keep this mess of glue and wood from sticking the table
§  Drive nails into the table forming the shape of the bow.
o   Glue is brushed onto both sides of each stick,
§  while making a stack of the laminations
o   A clamp is placed on one end of this stack to hold it together.
§  The stack is laid down on the table. 
§  Each strip is pulled into position and a nail placed at the end to hold it until all strips are in position
§  Now you need a pile of 3” clamps
§  Starting from the first clamp the stack is clamped tight to this curve. 
o   When you’re done you’ve got this curved shape
§  When the glue is cured it’s ready to cut and fit to the ribs and spar. 
§  Once the whole assembly is together you have to shape it down to the streamline shape of the trailing edge.
-          The spars for the tail surfaces are similar to the ribs except that they have a piece of plywood on both sides,
o   This means you need to carefully varnish inside the spars before you put the plywood on the second side.
o   In the days when the FAA inspected this stuff they came out and inspected it before you closed up these hidden areas
§  they wanted see that you actually had varnish inside of there, and
§  that you didn’t have varnish where the glue was going to go. 
-          Today you are working with a fellow EAA member who is a designated person who can check your work. 
o   It’s a lot easier to keep a project moving today
o   But the Feds were always interested in these projects
-          (25:40)

16 - Tail Surface Metal Work (1:40)
-          There’s a variety of metal work on the tail surfaces.
-          Between the ribs the leading edge shape is formed with thin aluminum sheet nailed to the wood structure. 
o   One thing we learned is that these aluminum leading edges are real easily bashed up;
o    You need a fairly stiff aluminum to help prevent dents. 
o   What we had was a fairly soft flashing sort of aluminum;
§   It was way too soft for this. 
§  In the end the aluminum got so beaten up it probably wasn’t of much value. 
-          There are a variety of steel fittings needed for the tail surfaces. 
o   The tail surfaces are attached to the fuselage with these “C” shaped metal fittings. 
o   There are tabs for attaching the bracing cables
o   Some more “C” shaped pieces are used to make the hinges for between the two tail surfaces. 
-          The elevators are operated by cables to this control horn
o   It’s in the fuselage
o   This horn is bolted to the end of each elevator with a support bracket inside the elevator
o   All these steel fittings need to be cut, filed and drilled.
-          A metal cutting band saw, belt sander, and a drill press are really important for getting all these done.
-          We used a vice and hammer to form all the bends. 
o   That works pretty good for most parts.
o   Today I would make a form block for the “C” shaped parts
§  Clamp the blank on the block with the vise and then hammer each end over the block.
§  Much more consistent parts.
§  This is one of those little tips which should be part of a video on “How To Build Fly Baby”
-          (26:40)

17 - Wing Basic Woodwork (1:50)
-          The wings are relatively simple, much like building a model airplane. 
-          You’ve got two wing spars. 
-          You build up these ribs out of pieces of plywood.
o   The nose is ¼” plywood
o   The center and aft webs are 1/8” Plywood
o   You put a cap strip on the bottom and
o   a cap strip on top
o   with a notch cut in them, so the plywood webs sit down into that notch. 
o   You glue and nail them together and when the glue cures you have a rib.
-          We did have trouble with these cap strips splitting because you’ve got this real thin section were the ribs sits down into it. 
o   That is where you are doing the nailing
o   So it is pretty easy for them to split as your nailing to the webs. 
§   Making these in a jig might work better but it’s a lots slower while you let the glue dry
-          Once the ribs are made up though, it all goes pretty quick. 
o   The ribs slip on the spars
o   There is some steel bracing which goes in before you glue
§  (We’ll come back to it)
o   then you have some little corner blocks which you glue and nail into each corner to attach the ribs to the spars. 
-          The same corner blocks are used when you are building up the wing walk. 
o   Each little cross piece for the wing walk has a little corner blocks to attach it to the ribs. 
-           (28:30)

18 - Wing Tip Woodwork (1:30)
-          The Aileron cut out is strengthened with plywood and spruce sticks to
o   form a “C” section false spar to attach the aileron.
-          Once you have the basic structure built you have to build this laminated wing tip bow. 
o   It’s like doing the tail surfaces but bigger and done in space not on the table
-           In this case we bought, some Redwood ( a nice straight grained wood which is easy to work to shape). 
o   We sawed out strips that were 1/8” thick by 2 ½” wide from the Redwood and
o   laminated the wing tip bows out of Redwood. 
o   It worked really well. I recommend it for this.
o   It was easy to bend to the shape and easy to carve
o   They just came out looking good. 
-          You attach the first strip and let the glue cure.
-          Then come back and attach all the remaining strips to it in one big lump of strips all glued up and clamped in place. 
-          This forms the bow,
o   you actually form it long enough to create what is needed for the curved part of the aileron. 
-          Once the glue has cured it gets carved and sanded,
o   We used a spoke shave and wood rasps to carve it down to make a nice smooth shape. 
o   It looks really cool when it is all finished down and blended to fit the shape of the wing tip, so nicely.
§  It’s one of those fun sculpture sort of things to do.
-          (30:00)

19 - Wing Metal Work (1:40)
-          The wings like all other assemblies are attached to the fuselage with metal fittings here at the end of the spars. 
o   These are the fittings we discussed earlier which attach the landing gear. 
-          There are some fittings up in the fuselage, which attach the landing wires
o   The flying wires attach at the end of the axel on the landing gear. 
§  The main reason this landing gear has no shock absorption is because the flying wires are attached directly to the axle.
-          Along with the attachment fittings there are Compression Ribs which run between the spars. 
o   These are just lengths of tubing. 
o   At the ends of the Compressions Ribs are fittings for the Drag and Anti-Drag wires
o   The Compression Ribs and wires are what keep the wings straight.
-          The Compression Ribs and wires have to be installed before you
o   Glue the wings
o   Or build the wing walk.
-          The trailing edge is a piece of folded aluminum
o   you can buy from any of the aircraft supply houses
-          The leading edge is just like the tail surfaces
o   only a little bigger.
-          (31:40)

20 – Ailerons (0:50)
-          After building the wings and tail surfaces there is no magic to the ailerons they’re the same simple construction.
-          The spars are built up like the spars in the tail surfaces where start with a piece of plywood,
o   some sticks glued on 
o   all of it gets varnished inside and a piece of plywood gets glued on top to make a nice box spar.
-          The ribs are the back end of the wing ribs,
o   They’re made the same as the regular ribs with a plywood web
o   and cap strips on the top and bottom
-          The outboard half of the trailing edge is made from a section cut off the wing tip bow
o   The bow is made long enough around the trailing edge to leave a piece for this. 
-          The portion of the trailing edge that is straight is done with a piece of the same aluminum trailing edge material as the wing.
-          (32:30)

21 - Varnishing (2:30)
-          Probably the slowest task of the whole airplane was varnishing. 
o   All of this wood has to be protected with two coats of varnish. 
o   I have a 1926 WACO.  They did not put much if any varnish on the wood in the wings.
§  If the plane was parked outside  the wood behind the rear spar rotted within a couple of years
§  Today we are smart enough to protect all wood with 2 coats of varnish. 
o   One of the cool things today is Epoxy varnish. 
§  It is great to be able to put it on the edges of cap strips, the sides of the plywood fuselage and stuff. 
§  We had to leave those areas unvarnished because the solvents in the dope would lift the spar varnish.
o   Today I use Regular Spar Varnish for everything, except those areas were fabric is actually going to touch. 
§  I do those areas with Epoxy varnish,  you can even put it over Spar varnish to protect it
§  I don’t use epoxy everywhere, it’s still an epoxy, and people can develop nasty allergies to epoxy.
§  To crawl inside the fuselage, varnishing all of those areas with epoxy, you really need some sort of respirator
§  The solvents in Spar varnish are easy to tolerate if you’re working indoors.
·         You can use a standard respirator with carbon filters 
§  I like Valspar Marine Spar Varnish and Poly Fiber Epoxy Varnish.
-          (35:00)

22 - Rigging The Wings (2:40)
-          Once the fuselage, wings and tails surfaces are all built
o   everything has to get rigged to the fuselage so it’s all square, true and in the proper positions.
-          You need a space big enough to assemble the complete airplane,
o   We did it in the back yard
o   It sat there for a couple of days because it takes a bit of time to get all of these cables on. 
o   You have a fair number of cables to put on this thing. 
§  On the top of each wing there are two cables to the front spar and two to the rear spar. 
§  The same at the bottom
§  So you’ve got a total of 8 cables for each wing. 
-          The wings get fitted to the fuselage so that you have the correct positive angle of incidence
-          Once the incidence is set you’ve got all of the brace wires to create and properly adjust.
o   The landing wires keep the wings from falling down
o   The flying wires keep the wings from folding up
§  Collectively they also control the dihedral angle
§   as well as to put any twist in it for the wash in or wash out
§  Fly Baby is rigged with 5 degrees of Dihedral and No Twist
o   It takes a couple of people doing it to get all of this lined up. 
-          You’ll need a Nicopress tool and go no-go gauge to check you crimps
o   A lot of chapters have bought these for their members to use so you don’t have to buy one
o   It’s not a tool you’re likely to have much use for once the plane is done.
-           (37:40)

23 - Biplane Wings (1:00)
-          The Biplane is kind of cool looking and it flies the same as the monoplane
o   so you can build either or both set of wings
o   The biplane wings are built with 9 degrees of sweep back
o   So there is no change in how the plane balances
o   You can even license the plane to switch back and forth between Biplane and Monoplane
-          The Biplane wings are built virtually the same as the Monoplane wings. 
o   The lower wings attach to the same bolt holes
-          The upper wing has a center section to build and
o   there are wing struts and cabane struts to build
o   The struts are “N” shaped and
§  built by the same method as the landing gear,
§  Laminated from fir boards
-          There are also 4 wing panels instead of 2
-          The bigger issue is that everything is at 9 degrees. 
o   All of the parts get cut with 9 degree angles on them
o   All the little blocks that go in here all have to be cut with an angle so that they fit properly. 
-          The wing tip bow, instead of being laminated it’s simply a piece of tubing that is bent to shape. 
-          (38:40)

24 - Flight Controls (1:30)
-          Light planes often have cable operated controls. 
o   On Fly Baby the rudder is operated by cables from the pedals to the rudder.
o   I think we used Cub rudders pedals on ours,
§  the plans call for some homemade rudder pedals. 
o   The elevator is also cable operated.
§  The cables do not run all the way to the control stick
o   Because the wings fold the ailerons are operated by push rods
§  all the way from the stick to the ailerons. 
§  When the wings are folded you have to disconnect the ailerons
·          you pull a pin to separate the push tube just outside the fuselage. 
§  The controls don’t need any re-rigging when the wings unfold
-          The control stick  and torque tube are pieces of tubing with some fittings welded on
o   The control stick  is bolted to the torque tube
o   The stick pivots forward and aft on the torque tube to operate the elevators. 
o   The stick rolls the torque tube side to side to operate the ailerons.
o   It’s actually a fairly simple system and easy to make.
-           (40:10)

25 - Ready to Cover (0:50)
-          We finally have all of the structure built
o   Everything rigged
o   All the controls are hooked up and working
o   We are ready to put fabric on the plane. 
-          When this picture was taken we had already done some of the fabric covering. 
o   We put fabric on the fuselage and tail before the wings were built because we were given some fabric to use. 
o   It was fiberglass fabric, Razorback, which we used to do a demonstration at a chapter meeting. 
o   It made it harder to drill the holes in the fuselage when
§  installing the wings, but   Free Is Free!
-          You can also see the aluminum leading edge on the wing.
o   You can see how the curve of the stabilizer leading edge is
§  Flatter than the wing which is why it is so much easier to dent.
-          (41:00)

26 - Fabric Covering (2:10)
-          The fabric on the fuselage is done with what is called the blanket method. 
o   A piece of fabric wraps around the top, a piece of fabric wraps around the bottom,
o   A couple inches of fabric are doped to sides of the fuselage
o   Then a piece of fabric is doped to each side creating an overlap with the top and bottom edges
-          The wings are done the same way with a piece on the bottom and then a piece on the top
o   The overlaps are created on the bottom of the aluminum leading edge
§  along the trailing edge, the root rib and the wing tip
-          Once the fabric is on and tightened as needed you’re ready to apply the dope or other sealer/finish
-          Most finishes require spraying some or all of the coats so you need some place where you can safely spary
o   As you can see we did all of this in the back yard
o   We used dope which dries so fast it doesn’t stick to the neighbors cars, etc.
o   Some finishes dry so slowly you could find yourself paying to repaint the neighbors car or your own
-          After the first couple coats are applied you then have to rib stitch the wings and control surfaces
o   You use these long needles and cord to stitch the fabric to the ribs so it doesn’t balloon in flight
o   The needle is passed through the wing next to the rib
o   Back up the other side of the wing
o   And a not is tied to hold the fabric securely to the rib
o   Move a couple inches and repeat.
-          With the rib stitching done there are 2” wide cloth tapes, etc. to be applied over the ribs, stringers,
o   seams, and other areas where the fabric needs extra protection
-          Then there is usually some messy wet sanding involved. 
o   Wet sanding over the grass in the summer worked fine, the water just runs down into the grass and you get on with it. 
-          There are lots of fabric coatings which people love, I‘ll take Poly Fiber any day.
§  It’s light weight, fire proof, easy to apply and like dope it can be rejuvenated so it will look good for years.
-           (43:10)

27 - Painting Colors (1:20)
-          Once the fabric is on it is time to put a paint job on it. 
-          We chose to use the same layout as Pete used on 500F. 
o   We changed the colors to White with Blue trim and
o   Red  for the numbers and trim stripe. 
-          We painted it with lacquer because we could buy the lacquer real cheap compared to dope. 
o   In the long run you are better off to use dope over dope.
o   If you use Poly-Fiber finish it with Poly-Tone.
§  Keep it Cheap – Keep it Simple 
-          We painted under the roof between the house and garage
o   Dope and Lacquer dry fast enough that you can paint outside
o   if it’s dry enough and the wind is calm
o   With other paints you will get dust in the paint before it dries
o   And the overspray from slower drying paints will get on everything.
-          There are some amazing Polyurethane paints which give an awesome shinny finish
o   Forget them,
o   This is a Fly Baby it’s supposed to be fun
-          (44:30)

28 - Engine & Cowling (2:00)
-          The engine on this plane is a 4 cylinder 85 HP Continental,
o   which is without the starter, generator and all that sort of stuff,
§              so we’re talking hand propping. 
o   As a result we have a glider tow hook on the tail wheel spring
§  Tie the tail rope to the glider hook
§  Chock the wheels and tie the plane down.
§  Start the engine, Untie it and remove the chocks
§  Once you’re safely buckled up and ready to taxi
·         just pull the tow hook release and you’re off
§  I carry chocks and a piece of rope when flying just in case some airport doesn’t have them.
-          The firewall is a metal firewall;
o   you have a firewall extension on the sides of the fuselage which
§  It’s to help protect the area from and engine fire. 
o   You also have metal underneath which serves a access
§  to the brake pedals. 
-          The fuel tank we originally installed was a Cub tank. 
o   We later built a Fiberglass tank that was a little bit bigger so. 
o   We eventually built an aluminum tank that was about 18 gallons for even more capacity. 
o   Today I’m building a new aluminum tank that is down to about 14 gallons.
§  I wanted more room for my big feet 
-          It’s one of the beauties of a homebuilt you can keep tinkering and playing with it
o   and have fun with it forever.
-          We didn’t use the simpler Cub cowl because even then they weren’t cheap
o   A friend let us make a fiberglass nose bowl from his mold.
o   The rest of it is just flat wraps of aluminum sheet.
-          I still like the look and simplicity of the Cub cowling.
(46:30)

29 - Trailering & Wing Folding (1:40)
-          Our intent was to trailer the plane home and store it in the garage to save money.
o   My Dad’s brother Bruce built up this trailer for hauling the plane around on.
§  It was a small trailer that got a long tongue added to it,
§  It balanced out pretty good because of where the engine sat, so it towed just fine.
o   We did use the trailer to take the plane to some events,
§  The plane was towed from Flint, Michigan to Rockford, Illinois. 
§  It’s been towed to the airport and various events. 
§  Towing Fly Baby does work
-          In order to tow it obviously you need to fold the wings
o   The horizontal tail span was limited to 8 feet to allow it to be towed
o   The Biplane wings do not fold, it takes about an hour to remove or install the biplane wings
o   The Monoplane wings, however, fold quite easily,
o   You support the wing tips
o   Disconnect the aileron push tube
o   Loosen the big turnbuckle in the cockpit
§  for the landing wires
o   You disconnect the brace wires with 4 clevis pins – 2 for the Flying wires at the axle, and
§  2 for the landing wires in the cockpit
o   With everything disconnected,
§  pull a wing straight out,  there’s a pivot tube with a stop,
o   then you rotate the trailing edge up and swing the wing back. 
o   There is a peg on the wing that fits down into a hole in a block on the stabilizer. 
-          The whole thing attaches together to go merrily down the road. 
-          If you were going a really short distance you could potentially trailer it on the wheels of the airplane. 
o   Since you have no shock absorption, you would want to go very slow.
 (48:10)

30 - Rockford Test Flight (0:50)
-          Test flying a Homebuilt Airplane is one of those stressful events
o   Best done by cool heads
o   In quiet locations
o   With plenty of planning with your EAA Flight Advisor
o   Add a freshly overhauled engine with worries of breaking it in properly, and
§  You have a lot to deal with
o   A well proven airplane design can remove a lot of that stress
-          We finished our plane in July of 1966.
-          Everything was done but the plane couldn’t be flown until the FAA could schedule the final inspection. 
o   That couldn’t happen until after the Rockford Fly-in the end of July.
-          So the plane got towed to Rockford for the fly-in,
o   Pete Bowers was there with his Fly Baby – N500F
o   We managed to get our plane parked next to Pete’s
-          Pete got to looking at our work and decided there wasn’t anything wrong with our airplane
o   Pete felt it should be little more than
§  a Production Test Flight
§  It ought to be flown and he would be happy to do it.
o   He talked with Paul Pobernezy and the FAA
§  They all agreed the plane could be test flown there at the fly-in. 
·         The FAA arrange to inspect it and issue the Airworthiness Certificate
·         Harry Zeisloft looked out for EAA’s interests in the inspection
§  It was a beautiful day,
§  When the Friday airshow ended, Pete took off and flew the airplane
·         With no problems,
·         Just happy smiles all around
-          If you want to read about Pete’s adventures flying our airplane go back in Sport Aviation. 
o   To the April of 1967 issue @ Oshkosh365
-           (49:00)
31 – Wrap Up (0:20)
-          Many thanks to all of you for letting me rattle on for an hour.
-          Fly Baby really is a simple plane to build
o   It’s relatively inexpensive to build and operate, and
o   It’s fun to fly
-          OK, I’m a little biased
·         As a result of getting to work with my dad building our Fly Baby
o   I got my Pilots Certificate
o   My A & P Certificate
o   A Degree in Aerospace Engineering
§  Harry Zeisloft was even my first boss at AC Spark Plug
o   I’ve owned a Cabin Waco for several years
§  And gotten to fly a lot of cool planes
o   I have 3 Current airplane projects for the Grand kids to help me with
§  And a list of more to build
-          Would I build another Fly Baby
o   You Bet’cha!

-          (49:20)

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