Fly that baby!

I thought I would take an aside and show you an experimental airplane project that is being built by one of our EAA members. Leo Drescher works every Saturday on the Aeronca Training Glider project. He bought a Fly Baby that he found in the local Penny Saver. The Fly Baber is a homebuilt, single-seat, open-cockpit, wood and fabric low-wing monoplane that was designed by the Boeing historian, Peter M. Bowers.

 

The Fly Baby. Its the plane in the middle :-)

The Fly Baby specs:

Model: 1A

Length: 18 feet 10 inches

Height (folded): 6 feet 11 inches

Wing span: 28 feet

Wing cord: 4 feet 6 inches

Empty weight: 605 pounds

Gross weight: 925 pounds

Fuel: 12-16 gallons

Power 65-85 hp

Cruising speed 110-115 mph

Rate of climb: 850-1100 fpm

Construction: wood and fabric

Airfoil: NACA 4412

Leo's Fly Baby, in his garage

Leo's plane looks quite different from the one in the first photo. You can see the many tools and parts that are required to build an airplane. Fortunately, one of the characteristics of an airplane builder is that he likes tools, and enjoys flipping through catalogues for ones he doesn't have but will probably need. And like most guy things, the best tools are always the loudest (A.K.A. air tools, etc).

This photo shows the fuselage on the right, upside down with the landing gear sticking up. To the left are the uncovered left and right wings. One wing is hanging from the ceiling on a pulley system so he can hoist it up to get it out of the way when not needed.

Because the construction is all wood, Leo's home airplane project complements the work he does on the Aeronca Training Glider. He brings to us an abundance of info, tips, and techniques which shortens our learning curve and speeds the project along.

Hopefully, in the fall when the temperature is cooler, Leo is going to have us over to see the project in person. 

By the Leo, have you named your plane yet? Gertrude, Louise, Marilyn (as in Monroe) . . . ?

Is this a doodad or a widget?

Ha, gotcha. It's neither.

This cool little thing is a 'pitot tube', and it's part of the system used to measure airspeed.

The two tubes are connected to the altimeter by flexible hoses that connect to the right side of the device. At rest (no forward motion) the pressure in each tube/hose is equal. But, once the airplane starts moving the pressure in the upper tube is greater than the lower tube. This is because the upper tube has a hole in the front of it, but the bottom tube has holes in the side of it. The difference in air pressure causes the altimeter to accurately indicate the airspeed.

Why go to all this trouble? The problem is called a 'stall', which is when the airspeed over the wing is slow enough it looses lift and the airplane falls from the sky, typically resulting in a crash if close to the ground. So as they say, "Ya don't wanna stall, cause you gonna fall".

The close ups below show the insect protection device. I suppose you could call it an IPD, but I never heard anyone use that acronym :-)

IPD shown in the flying position, the wind hits the upper flap and lifts the cover from the opening in the front of the tube.

IPD in the resting position. Gravity pulls the cover down. 

Now, you might ask, "Why isn't there a similar device on the bottom tube? Because it has very small holes, so the bugs can't get inside.

Joe Miller bought this on the internet, and it will be refinished to look like new before attaching to the glider.