by B.W.

Stone
8966414@hotmail.com
HelpfulHintsfor Volksplane
Builders
ln the previous articles, B. W. wrote about his deci- D ES I RED M O DI F ICA T'OA'S
sion to build a Volksplane VP-l, describing the pros The very first and most importantmodificationwas one I
I and cons of this 10-year-old design as seen through
the eyes of the present-day builder. ln this article, he
consideredso elementarythat it meritedlittlediscussion:
morepower!As we usedto say aroundThe Boat,there's
walks us through the construction process for both no excuse for overshootingfinal in an afterburningair-
the airframe. -Pat plane. Extra availablepower solves a lot of problems,
like obstacle clearanceon takeoff from short or soft
For the most part, the actual constructionof the VP-1 fields.Extrapoweradds a marginof safetywhen flyingin
airframeis, as its designerintended,so straightfonruard mountainsor at high densityaltitudes.And to someone
and simple that a completedescriptionthereof would who was used to climb rates of 30,000feet per minute,
make aMully dull reading.But of course,we are experi- the improvedclimb rate availablefrom a larger engine
menters;I deviatedfrom the planswhen I thoughtthere (even if it only meant the differencebetween,say, 600
were valid reasonsto do so. And despiteits simplicity, and 800 feet per minute)was worththe cost.
there are a couple of items that were pretty tricky to
build.Here'show I wentaboutit... Bestof all,that costwas negligible.Bud Evansdesigned
the VP-1 to fly on a 50-hp,1500-ccengine,and the pro-
PERFORMANCE SPECS totype first flew on only 40 ponies.Today, engines as
As you'll recallfrom the previousarticle,I was not going highas 80-hpare easyto makeand weighonlyaboutsix
to ask my new airplaneto do very much. Performance poundsmore than the stockengineBud used. I consid-
requirementswere virtuallynonexistent.Range was of ered that a no-brainer,and decidedto use a largeren-
littleconsequence. The desireto pay as I went ruledout gine.A discussionof the engine begins at the end of this
kits.Plans-building allowedme to buy my materialsas I article. -Pat
neededthem, and (if necessary)shelvethe projectwhen
I was orderedout to sea with my US Navy assignments; The other modificationsI adoptedfell broadlyinto three
I couldalwayspick up againwhere I leftoff. categories:
. Weight-saving mods.
With thosefactorsas my criteria,just aboutanythingthat . Cost-cutting mods.
flew would be fine by me, so the VP-1's stock perfor- o Safetymods.
mancefit the bill.That said,therewere areasin which I Some modificationsfell into more than one category,
felt the plane could be modified to be more "user- providingthe benefitsof each; these were easy deci-
friendly,"and there were definitelymodificationsthat sions to make. Some, however, pitted the categories
would improveperformanceso cheaplyand easilythat it against each other, and required me to prioritizeone
made littlesense not to incorporatethem. Here is what I over another.The enginewas a particularchallengein
was planningbeforeI cut the firstpieceof spruce: that regard.

CONTACT! ,ssuE
1orPAGE
ls
WEIGHT.SAY'A'GMODIFICAT'OruS For me, savingweightwas the primaryconsideration:
the
The VP-1 was originallydesignedto utilizeCessnaax- cost savingswere "gravy."
les, wheels, and hydraulicdisc brakes,all bolted to a
landinggear bent out of solid 3/8" aluminumbar stock. The next major weight modificationswere easy ones: I
Nowadaysa prebuiltlandinggear is availablefrom the omitted the fiberglassengine cowling and turtle-deck
GroveAircraftCompanyof El Cajon,California.A typical fairingshown in the plans. Both were explicitlyoptional
VP-1 setupcomprises: per the plans,and losingthem would not only save about
. The spring-aluminum gear legs,partnumber1131-3, twelvepounds,but would also save a littlemoney and a
w e i g h i n g1 2 . 5l b s . little more constructiontime. For the same reasons, I
o Any wheel suitablefor a 6.00-6aircrafttire, such as also planned not to paint the aircraft.The fuselage is
Grove'spart number65-111.This 6-inchaluminum made from gorgeousaircraftmahoganyplywood,and for
wheel-and-brake assemblyweighs 18.2 lbs; the op- longevity'ssake had to be varnished,insideand out, with
tionalmagnesiumassemblyweighs15.3lbs. durableepoxy varnish.Ratherthan hide that mahogany
o Two axles,such as part number5032,weighing2.2 under the weight and tedium of a fancy paintjob, I fig-
lbs total. ured I would let it be its own decoration.I figuredlikewise
The total weightfor a nearly-ready-to-install landinggear for the wings; the silver coats would look nice with the
from Grove thereforetotals32.9 pounds,which seemed mahoganyfuselage,so I plannednot to paint over the
a bit excessiveto me consideringthe low gross weightof aluminum-pigmented UV coatings.Since I was unableto
a VP-1. find a definitiveanswer on whether the Poly-SprayUV
coatingwas durableenough to act as a top-coat,I did
Grove makes high-qualityaircraft-grade equipment,but finallyspraya singletop-coatof silverpainton the fabric.
the Volksplaneis smallenough,lightenough,and slow
enough to roll safely on lighter and cheaper go-kart Lastfy,I decidedto cover the aircraftin ultra-light1.7-oz
parts,which I thought might make a betteroption.One PolyFiberinsteadof the 2.7-oz fabric recommendedby
catch: Bud designedthe VP-1 to be stored in a garage the plans.The lighterfabric is intendedfor the Part 103
with its wings removed in order to minimizeoperating market and was not availablewhen Bud designedthe
expenses.The idea was to tow the VP-1 to the airporton VolksplaneVP-1. But it is more than sufficientlystrong,
its own gear. lf you are going to do this, I recommend being rated for aircraftof up to 65 hp and ? VNeof 120
againsta lot of highwaytowing on go-kartwheels;the mph- my Volksplaneexactly.
Grovegear is probablya smartchoicefor that mission.
However,I was not interest- MONEY-SAVING
ed in the tedious chore of MODIFICATIONS
puttingwings on and taking There were precious few
them off for every flight. I modificationsthat I made
intendedto leave my plane purelyfor their cost savings.
assembled and hangared, Most of the areas in which I
which meant very little wear saved money (such as the
and tear on the sealed ball landing gear) were primarily
bearingsof my go-kartgear. chosen for other considera-
I decided to assemble my tions. A better scrounger
own gear using parts from than I could definitelyhave
multiplesuppliers.I used: potentiallylowered the over-
. Grove'sspring-aluminum Azusa go-kart brakes are actuated by 1116"aircraft cable all cost by refurbishingmost
gear legs running through bicycle brake cable guides. In this photo of the engine parts himself.
o Azusa Engineering'sthe swaged fitting has not yet been hooked up to the brake However a brand-new en-
Azusalite6-inch wheels, actuator arm. gine case should be consid-
part number1072, made ered a must, but even with
of Zy|elnylonweighingjust 2.4 lbs.for the pair. new bearingsand rings,the new parts could be had for
o Azusa's 4.5-inch mechanically-actuatedgo-kart under$2000.However,time is money,and I had less of
drum brakes, part number 2208, weighing3.2 lbs. the former. I was thereforewillingto buy entirelybrand
per pair. new partsfor the engineratherthan spendthe time over-
o A pair of pre-welded5/8" stub axles with mounting hauling inexpensivebut serviceableused parts. Espe-
plates for the Azusa brakes, which I bought from cially where the engine was concerned,I consideredit
Great Plains Aircraft Supply Company (GPASC). moneywell spent.
The axles weigh about a pound apiece. Although
GPASC apparentlyno longer carries them, Wicks That said, I did save a few buckson the instrumentpan-
Aircraftoffersa similaraxle (partnumberM-585.) el. My oil temperatureand oil pressuregauges are both
SunProaftermarketaccessoriesavailableoff the shelf at
By doing it myselfI saved 12.8 lbs. and a lot of money. AutoZonefor about $18 apiece.They're cheaplymade,
At today'sprices,Grove'scompleteassemblywouldcost but they work just fine, and if they ever do break l'll be
$1857,whilea gear builtmy way wouldcostonly$924. ableto replacethem easily.

" CONTACT! BsuEloTpAGEll

 SAFETY MODIFICAI'ONS Lastly,the rudder-pedalhinges as designedare ex-
My singlebiggestconcernwiththis hand-propped aircraft tremely weak, as I discoveredwhen I experienceda
was how to start it myself,unassisted,withoutfinding catastrophicfailure of the left hinge- on the ground,
myself in a losing tail-chase behind a runaway fortunately.
So while I didn'tactuallymake the following
Volksplane.Any solutioninvolvingconventional chocks modificationuntil after the airplanehad flown, I recom-
or tie-downsnecessarily involvespullingchocksor unty- mendthat it be incorporated from the outset.
ing prior to enteringthe cockpit,so for some periodof
time, I woufdbe countingon the low idle thrustof the VW
enginenot to movethe airplane.lt workedfor Bud, but I
wanteda more secureway.

I designeda bracketto attach a Schweizer-style glider

tow hook to the fuselage sternpost.Released via a
Bowdencable runningthroughthe aft fuselagefrom the
cockpit,the tow hook allowsme to tie the tail down be-
fore proppingthe engineto life.The tow hook holdsthe
planesafelyin positionwhileI climbintothe airplaneand
strapin. When l'm readyto go, I simplypull the release
and taxi away. While the hook itself is rated for much
higherloads,the bracketis only designedfor a 500-lb
loadto keep its weightdown.As the engine,even at full
throttle,only producesabout200 lbs of thrust,the safety
marginis more than enough.This mod is one that you
must committo beforeyou get too far along.Once the
As designed,the rudderpedalsare flat plywoodpanels,
bottomfuselageskin is installedit would be extremely
hinged at the bottom using .040" extrudedaluminum
difficultto retrofitthe Bowdenreleasecable.
piano hinges.Those hingesare strongenoughfor the
back-and-forth rotationabout their axis which is all they
were intendedfor. However,the pedalsconnectto the
ruddervia aircraftcablesattachedat their inboardedg-
es. As your feet will presson the pedal somewhereout-
board of that cable attachment, any force on the pedal
createsa torque that tends to twist the pedal,with the
outboardedge being twistedfonvard by your foot and
the inboard edge being twisted aft by the rudder cable.
Normalflight loads are no problem;the rudderforces
are exceedingly light.But if you stompa pedalto make
a tightturn on the ground,or even if you just presson
both pedalsto stretchyour legs in flight,you will torque
that hingein a way it wasn'tdesignedto withstand.

A simpleSchweizer-styletie-downreleaseis a usefulsafe-
ty precaution
for any hand-proppedaircraft.
On the principlethat "simpleris safer,"I also made a
numberof decisionsregardingthe engine.The overrid-
ing principlebehindthesedecisionswas to minimizethe
numberof movingparts and to dispensewith anything
that wasn'tabsolutelynecessary. Thesechoicesare dis-
cussed more fully in the accompanying engine article.
Sufficeit to say that l:
. Wanteda fullygravity-fedfuel system.This ruledout
the stock Volkswagen intake with a traditional
downdraftcarburetor. After60 hours,the aluminumhingecalledfor in the plans
. Wantedto simplifythe intakeby deletingcarb heat, failedon the leftpedal,jammingit in this position.
which I coulddo by usingan Aerolnjector, a guillo- After about sixty hours, my left hinge failed. Inspection
tine-slidecarburetor that'sresistant
to carbicing. revealeddamageon the rightone as well. I simplyre-
The engineprovedto be a particularchallengewhen it moved the hinges and replacedtheir attach bolts with
came to balancingsimplicityagainst safety, weight eyebolts:three AN42B-7Aeyeboltson each pedal,with
againstcost,etc. a total of four AN42B-21Aeyeboltscomingup through
v/f/////ffi,ffff/iffi"fifr'ttitlffiifffiffffil.tfiJfrU%U%Un%U%UTlllllllll
coNTAcTt;::l;\8";:3t;:
Continuedfrom page14
the cockpitfloor. I passedan AN3-40 bolt througheach The purpose of the leading edge sheeting is to give
of these to act as the hinge pin, and securedit with a some supportto the fabric in an area subjectto relatively
castellatednut and cotter pin. Althoughyou could turn high pressuredifferentials. But I dislikedthe idea of using
bushingsfor this purposeif you prefer,I kept the pedal sheetaluminumfor severalreasons:
from movingside-to-sidewith a buildupof five AN960- o The aluminumis not part of the wing's structure;it is
10 washersat eitherend of each pedal.Lastly,to make merelya fairingnailedto the wing ribs.
the pedal stand proud above the surface of the cockpit . The aluminumwould complicatethe rib-stitching pro-
floor (so it can hinge aft of the vertical as well as for- cess; I would first have to punch holes in the alumi-
ward) | turnedbushings5/8" long,visiblein the photo. num with an awl, and then hope that the rough edg-
es of the punched hole wouldn't wreak too much
mischiefon my rib cordsas I stitched.
In contrast,if I substituted1116"ply for the aluminum:
o The plywood,which would be glued to the leading
edge,the spar,and each rib, would actuallybecome
a partof the wing structure,makingthe wing stiffer.
. BecauseI could adherethe fabric to the underlying
plywood,rib stitcheswould not be requiredin this
area, thus making the coveringjob go marginally
faster.(Granted,the additionalwork necessarywhen
buildingthe wing structureerasedthis benefit,but I
didn't realizethat when I madethe decision.)

Merely substituting the

plywood for aluminum
This close-up of B.W.'s improved rudder'pedal hinge wouldonly add 12 ounces
shows how he used 5/8" aluminum bushings and AN42B to the plane's finished
eyebolts to raise the pedal hinge line an inch above the weight. However,in order
cockpit floor. Eyebolts in the pedal itself, and an AN340
bolt as hinge pin, completethe modification. to gain the structural
strengthI wanted, I had to
MISCELLANEOUS glue the aft edge of the
There was only one modificationthat I made becauseI plywood ply to the wing
thoughtit was simplybetter:I wrappedthe wing leading spars, which in turn re-
edges(priorto covering)with 1116"mahoganyply rather quired some spruce "filler
thanthe .012"aluminumcalledfor in the plans. strips" to be glued to
spars' upper surfaces.All
told, the modificationadd-
ed about two pounds to
the finishedairplane.But I
am very pleased with the
end result; the leading
edges are sturdy and uni-
form.

Finally,I made one modifi-

cation when the aircraft
was nearlycompletethat I
would recommend a
Volksplanebuilderconsid-
er from the outset: I moved
the engine two inchesfur-
ther forward by mountingit
on longermountingspools.
Although this idea was
prompted by the difficulty
of installingan updraft in-
take manifoldwith the en-
gine in its originalposition,
it turned out to be a critical
factor in maintainingthe
propercenterof gravity.
B. W. chose to cover the leading edges of the wing with plyrood instead of .0'12"aluminum.

"////ffi//// fl!flllllflll ooNTACT! r'suEloTpAGElE

The intake manifoldwill be coveredin detail in the en-
gine article appearingin the next issue.Sufficeit to say
that I wanted an updraft configuration,and I wanted to
use commercially-available parts instead of fabricating
my own. The intake manifoldthat Great Plains Aircraft
Supply sells for KR-1 and KR-2 aircraftseemed like a
likely choice, but when discussingits dimensionswith
Steve Bennettof Great Plains it was clear that the stock
VP engineinstallation would not leaveenoughroom be-
tween the engineand the firewallfor this manlfoldto fit.

Steve makes his livingsellingVolkswagenengine parts

to homebuilders, and in the courseof his business,has Specializedparts such as this bushing for the rudder-
sold to a few Volksplanebuilders.Althoughhe did not servoactuatorare easiestto makewhen turnedon a lathe.
have the detailedinformationI neededto calculatehow square,the rudderwill bind. Borrowone if you can, but
far to move the engine,he did reportthat the VPs he was buy one if you must: HarborFreight's7" x 10" "Mini Pre-
familiarwith had all come out tail-heavy. cision Lathe" (part number 93212) is only $499.99and
will pay for itselfin makingthese parts.
In retrospect,that's not a surprisingreport.As you'll re-
call from my previousarticle,the prototypeVP-1 weighed Route the wing ribs instead of band-sawing them.
440 lbs empty, but required37 lbs of modifications.All of Bud's plans call for the wing ribs to be stack-sawnon a
those mods go behindthe centerof gravity,and some of band saw, then final-sandedto shape on a disc sander.
them, like the tailwheelor the stabilatorbalanceweights, This will work just fine, but you will have some variation
are on awfullylong momentarms. betweenbatchesof ribs.To get the ribs absolutelyidenti-
cal, I very carefully sawed and sanded one rib to size
So withoutdetailednumbers,I had to do a little"eyeball and drilledthe lighteningholes in it. Then I used that rib
engineering." As much to make room for the manifoldas as a templateon a routertable.Usinga straightrouterbit
to get the CG right,I decidedto make my enginemount with a contour-followingbearing, I routed matched pairs
spoolstwo incheslongerthan the planscalledfor. I must of ribs (e.9., left and right butt ribs, left and right wing
lead a charmed life; weight-and-balance came out well tips, etc.) preciselyto finishedsize in one pass. By drill-
within limits.Withoutthe mod the CG would have been ing small holesin the approximatelocationof each light-
aft of the aft limit. ening hole, I left room for the router bit to do each light-
ening hole exactlyto size as well. The whole job took
HELPFUL H''VTS only a coupleof hours,with anotherhour or so required
After four pages of modifications,you might be worried to hand-cuta couple of slots (such as those for the ailer-
about constructionitself.Relax: I told you it would make on pulleys)that are only requiredon one pair of ribs.
dull reading. Buildingthe fuselage is not much more
complicatedthan makinga packingcase, and the wings
are akin to balsa modelwings. Here are just a few rec-
ommendations that I hopeyou will find helpful.

Get a lathe. This mightseem like an excessivelyspecial-

ized machinetool for a simpleairplane,but I boughtone
specificallyfor this project,and was repeatedlyglad I did.
For instance, the attachmentswhere the flying struts
land on the wing spars are made by drilling a hole
through the center of a cylindricalaluminum bushing
which transfersthe load from the spar to the strut. Sure,
you can make these bushingson a drill press, but you
can make them more accuratelyon a lathe, and when
you go to test-fitthe wings for the first time, you'll be glad
your bushingswere bored square.And there are plenty
of other examples:the bushingfor the rudder-servoactu-
ator could be improvisedout of aluminum rod and a You can judge for yourself whether B.W.'s technique for
washer,but is easilymachinedif you want to do it right. shaping the wing ribs was effective: this degree of uni-
The rudder bellcrankis made out of a sheet of 0.125" formity is difficult and time-consuming to achieve with
aluminumrivetedto a turnedaluminumcollar0.75"thick; band saw and disc sander.
good luck making that one without a lathe. Lastly,the
rudderitself hingeson a torquetube made of 6061 alu- Give the flying struts some thought. Fabrication of the
minumwhich ridesin two nylonbushings.lf you don'tget ffying struts was easily the most difficult part of my
those bushingsexactlythe right diameter,and exactly Volksplane experience. The plans are unclear, written
''/ffi/
CONTACT! rtsuE1otPAcE
directionsare nonexistent,and the .049"streamlinetub-
ing out of which they are made is tricky to work with.
Havingaccessto a friend'sfirst-classmachineshop, my
first inclinationwas to machinethe slots into which the
sheet-steeltabs are welded. But streamlinetubing is
subjectto internalstressesas a part of the manufactur-
ing process.When you make longitudinal cuts into it, you
relieve those stresses in ways that cause the ends to
spring. There's no easy way to clamp your workpiece
without either crushingthe area you're machining,or
machininga diagonalslot as a resultof the tubingspring-
ing apart.

So my second idea involved cutting the slots with a This photo should give you some idea of the challenges
pneumaticdie grinderand a grindingwheel the same involved in building the flying struts. The two sheet-steel
thickness(.090')as the steelsheettabs.This,too, was a tabs have to be parallel to each other both vertically and
mistake;the die grinder is too powerfulto control accu- laterally, and the large cutout between them leaves room
rately,and my slots proved horriblyoversized.This left for the heat of welding to warp the streamlinetubing.
gaps to be filled by the welder,meaningexcessheat to ter pill to swallow, both in terms of time and money, but I
be appliedto the struts,whichwarpedthem horribly. made what I thought was the only prudent choice, and
scrappedthe wing struts.
When I riggedup the wingsto test-fitthe struts,only one
of them fit, and even that one requireda littlegentle per- My second attempt at the struts, using my third idea for
suasion with a mallet before the attach bolt would slip cuttingthe slots, was successful.Having carefullylocat-
through.The other three had warped so badly that the ed both the inner and outer edges of the slots with a
bolt holes were as much as 3/16" off of true. lt was a bit- Sharpie marker, I traced them carefullywith a Dremel

On what should havebeena milestoneday,the flrst attemptto test-fitthe flying struts showedthreeofthe four to be unus-
ably warped,which is why they're absentfrom thb photo. B.W.scrapped$500worth of streamlinstubing and prudently
decldedto start over again
"'ffiW'\W
CONTACT! $suEio7PA'E
20
 Weight: much to my chagrin, after all of the efforts to
saveweight,my airplanecame out heavy.Againsta min-
imum possible gross weight of 477 pounds, mine
weighedin at 515 (38 poundsor 8o/oheavy.)Granted,I
made modificationsthat I expectedto add weight (such
as the longer engine-mountspools necessaryto move
the engine two inches fonrvard,or a stainless-steelfire-
wall in lieu of aluminum.)But that weight should have
been offsetby 24 poundsI saved using the lighterland-
ing gear and deletingthe cowl and turtledeckfairing.So I
don't know exactlywhat threw my weight off. Perhaps,
like so many homebuilders, I sprayedone coat too many
on the fabric,and used one too many layersof glass on
the fiberglassfuel tank, etc. Still, I can't possiblyhave
sprayed38 poundsof excess paint on a job that should
only weigh 18-20poundstotal.An extra coat would only
haveaddeda poundor two.

On B. W.'s first attemptto build the flying struts, he used The only area where I added materialfor the sake of
aluminumspools, such as those shown at lower left, to "extra"strengthwas in the wing leadingedges - a two-
hold the sheet-steel"ears" in placewhile they were weld- pound mod, as previouslydiscussed.The fuselagewas
ed to the mainpieceof streamline tubing.But this allowed admittedlydesignedfor grade A-A Douglas fir marine
the tubing to warp badly over the long lengthof the weld plywood,and I used aircraft-grademahogany,but the
not supportedby the spools.Theend productwas unusa-
ble.To preventthe warpingwhen he madethe secondset weightdifferentialis negligible- less than five additional
of struts, B.W.replacedthe aluminumspoolswith steel- poundsfor the entire airframe.The overagewas frustrat-
bar heatsinks that filledthe entiregap and supportedthe ing, but fortunatelydid not threatenmy 750-poundgross
piecesbeingweldedovertheirentirelength. weight.lt's a good reminder,not that I shouldneed it, to
watch every ouncethat goes into my next project.
tool and cutoffwheel.Settingthe Dremelto about 15,000
rpm yielded a speed high enough to grind the tough MODIFICATIONS'VOT MADE
4130 steel, but low enoughto be readilycontrollable.I There are several mods I wish I had thought of in ad-
simplytracedthe lines by hand. lt soundstedious,but it vance,and only figuredout I wanted after the fact. Here
only took two eveningsto have all four struts ready for are somehighlights:
the welder:32 cuts in all. In the end, the simplestsolu- o More power= higherfuel flows,of course.I smacked
tion turnedout to be the mostaccurate. myself in the head for forgettingthat elementary
point. The stock 8-gallontank might be fine for a
The very last thing I did was to cut heavy heat sinks out 1500-ccengine,but my thirstierengineneedsa big-
of mild steel bar, as long and as wide as the cutoutsat ger tank. My next rainy-dayprojectwill be to build
each end, and an inch thick.These heat sinkswere bolt- and installa tankthat holds10-11gallons.
ed in positionduringwelding.Not only did they holdthe . The inspectionholes in the fuselage are extremely
strutsimmobile,they absorbedsome of the worst of the un-user-friendly, especiallyas you need to reach
heat variations.Both factors preventedthe struts from throughthem to performsuch tricky tasks as safety-
warpingduringwelding.They workedlike a champ,and wiring turnbuckleson the flight-controlcables. You
the secondset of strutsboltedrighton with no problems. need two handseverywhere,and you can't squeeze
your two handsthroughone tiny inspectionhole. lf I
THE ROADS NOT TAKEN had it to do all over again,I would put two inspection
You're probably wondering,after all my pontificating, holes at each spot in the fuselagewhere the plans
how well I did. Were the modsworththe effort?Do I wish specifyonly one.
I had made additionalmods? Are there mods I wish I
hadn'tbotheredto make? But the engineis where I reallyfeel I learnedsome les-
sons. There are thingsthat I would do differentlywere I
Landing gear: I am prettypleasedwith my landinggear, startingfrom scratch right now, and things that I still
which is lighter,cheaper,and simplerthan Grove's.The could do differentlyif I wanted a little winter project. For
mechanicaldrum brakesdo requirefrequentadjustment, details,see the article in the next issue of CONTACT!
however.This is a minor drawbackgiven how little I fly Magazine.
my Volksplane.But hydraulicbrakes are self-adjusting
and might be a good optionfor a frequentflyer. Per the By B.W. Stone
plans,I installedonly a singlebrakeleverto actuateboth 8966414@hotmail.com
brakes simultaneously. lf I were to do it again I would
use two separatebrakeleversto gain the tight turn radi-
us possiblewith differential braking.
''//%
T, ' CONTACT! BI,EI'7PAGE21