(Photo by O. F. Oldendorph)The two-place Evans VP-2 "Volksplane," N-5631, in flightexhibits the coziness of the side-by-side seating and some-what widened fuselage adapted to the basic VP-1 lines.

By W. S. Evans (EAA 18974)

Box 744La Jolla, California

S,IINCE THE "VOLKSPLANE"was first introduced in the pages ofSPORT AVIATION for May, 1969,there has been both a very gratifyingresponse to the design throughout theworld, and an unrelenting request forthe same ultra-simple approach in atwo-seater. People seem to enjoycompany even while flying. In re-sponse to these requests, the two-place VP-2 "Volksplane" has beendesigned, stressed, and flight-tested.

Almost identical to the single-place, except for size, the VP-2 retainsall of the simplified design features ofthe VP-1 and further simplifies cer-tain areas. Because of this, the two-place, though larger, involves very lit-tle more building time than the smal-ler version. For example, all nose ribs4 JANUARY 1972

have been eliminated from the wing,and wing drag bays have been re-duced from three to two. The boxspar formerly used in the horizontaltail has been replaced by a plain solidspar, and the welded stabilator hornis now a simple angle. Material costsare not much different, about ten to 15percent higher, and the engine, beinglarger, will cost a little more. In otherwords, for about the same amount ofwork and a little more money you geta two-place Volkswagen-powered air-plane, and enjoy a flight economynot matched by any other two-placeaircraft in the world.

Flight stability of the two-place isguaranteed equal to, or better than,the VP-1 which is about as stable andsimple to fly as anything in the air to-day. This was well documented thispast summer at the Southeastern E AAFly-In when Vascoe Whatley set ahomebuilt record of sorts by checkingout 34 different pilots in his VP-1 in

one and one-half days with no pro-blems. It is all in the N-12VW logbook.

It is expected that the two-placeversion will have an even wider ap-peal than the single-place, which hashad a rather phenomenal acceptanceboth here and abroad. European plansales are handled by the Popular Fly-ing Association of England, and AirSport Service of Brussels, Belgium,both having selected the "Volks-plane" to sponsor because of its sim-plicity and low cost. The Ultra-LightAircraft Association of Australia alsosponsored the "Volksplane" throughtheir Department of Civil Aviationand reports that it has the distinctionof receiving the fastest approval ofany homebuiltdesign in their registry.In the United States, of course, theyare beginning to show up at more andmore of the local airports.

It isn't difficult to pin-point thereasons for this acceptance. First, take

the Volkswagen engine which is avail-able everywhere and actually operatesfor under $1.00 an hour. H. Schulz ofLazo, British Columbia writes: "Oneof the big kicks is pulling up to thepumps after an hour's flight and fillingup for 83 cents. The reaction fromrental pilots is great!" Next, take anultra-simple design of wood which isa material most people can work easi-ly, and finally put it all together on asoundly engineered basis. The design-er and his three associates are allengineering-design specialists. The re-sult should be, and is, a real flyingmachine for a great many people whowould otherwise never have one. TheVolkswagen engine is, of course, thething that makes this all possible.

More specifically, the Volkswagenengine has tremendous appeal for theaverage man, and rightly so. It is light,simple, very reliable, and its parts areavailable cheaply everywhere. Thetask of conversion to aircraft is almostnil. The engine powering the single-place prototype is stock "Beetle", justas it comes from the car, and the con-version amounted to removal of theflywheel, replacement of the fan pul-ley with a propeller hub (no taper),and replacement of the distributorwith a Vertex magneto which slips in-to the same hole the distributor cameout of. The engine, new, was neveropened and has over 250 hours of fly-ing to date without a murmur of com-plaint. The engine in the two-seater isbasically the 1600-cc. job poweringthe "Beetles" today, but modified to1834 or 2100 cc. with larger cylindersand other refinements. Dick Hodg-kins, flying up to Oshkosh from Aus-tin, Texas, suspected carbon under avalve and, after arrival one afternoon,removed one head, took it into townand had all valves reseated and wasback in the air by evening. Total cost— $9.24! Try that on an aircraft en-gine. It is our opinion that the Volks-wagen engine may well do more forthe homebuilt movement in the nextfew years than any other single item.

The fuselage design of the VP-2,as in the VP-1, is simplicity itself. Al-most following model-airplane prac-tice, the body has three bulkheads,four longerons, and the plywood skin.The front bulkhead or firewall is cutfrom %-in. ply. The other two are offir and plywood, and the skin stiffen-ers are of plain white pine. In fact,the only spruce in the fuselage is inthe longerons. No fabric goes on overthe wood; epoxy paint applied directlydoes the covering job easily, weighsless, and costs less.

The wing still utilizes the 44-seriessection but 15 percent thicker in orderto provide deeper spars for the heavierloads. Because the spars are widerspaced, it was possible to increase the

This control stick and rudder-pedal arrangement in theVP-2. Note the access hole to get to the rudder pedals.

The designer, W. S. Evans, attaches a drag wire in the simplified VP-2 wing.

size of the drag bays and remove oneof them from each panel. Also, in theinterest of simplicity, ribs weremoved a little closer together allow-ing for the elimination of all nose ribs.

The rudder, which has workedout so well on the VP-1, has been re-tained exactly except increased in sizefor the larger ship. The horizontal sta-bilator has also been retained exceptfor size and further simplification. Thebox spar as used on the VP-1 has beenreplaced with a simple solid spar, andthe welded control horn replaced by asimple angle. The landing gear, etc.,is typically "Volksplane".

For those who wonder if a tandem-seating arrangement was considered,it was. However, it lost out in earlyevaluation by proving more compli-cated and heavier; two cockpits, seats,windshields, control sticks, engine-control systems, instrument panels,and a CG trim problem non-existent

with side-by-side seating over the CG.The VP-2 has dual rudder pedals,but a single stick on centerline. Whenflying solo, the stick can be straddledand the outer rudder pedals used. Ofcourse any number of things couldhave been done here, but this was con-sidered simplest and lightest, and thatspells "Volksplane". It should bepointed out that the two-place, thoughpractically identical in structural ap-proach to the one-place, is completelyresized, redrawn, and restressedthroughout to carry the i ncreased pay-load and added structural weight. TheVP-2 has been stress-analyzed to ulti-mate loads of 5.7 G's two-place, and6.6 G's one-place. Therefore, withpassenger aboard, aerobatics are notpermitted, but limited aerobatics areallowed one-place as they are in theVP-1.

(Continued on Next Page)

SPORT AVIATION 5

How does it fly? Simply, safely,and economically as a "Volksplane"should. When 34 pilots check out in asingle-place airplane in a day and ahalf, you know it must be forgiving.Well, the VP-2 with its thicker winghas proven to be even more docile.Performance data is given in the fol-lowing specifications:

VolksplanePerformance Data

Wing span . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7 ft.Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9 ft.Wing area . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 sq. ft.Empty weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640 Ibs.Gross weight one-place .. . .870 Ibs.Gross weight two-place .. .1040 Ibs.Fuel capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 gals.Top speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 mphCruise speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5 mphStall speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0 mphRate of climb at sea level — 800 fpm

one-place (2100-cc Revmaster)Rate of climb at sea level — 500 fpm

two-place (2100-cc. Revmaster)Rate of climb at sea level — 700 fpm

one-place (1834-cc. Barker)Rate of climb at sea level — 400 fpm

two-place (1834-cc. Barker)

The landing gear installation, except for added width, isthe same as the VP-1. Hydraulic disc brakes are used.

W. S. Evans surveys the finished work on the VP-2 fuselage

REMOVE DISTR. &PLUG IN MAGNETO

34 Volksplane PilotsChecked Out In 11/2 Days

The Volksplane set an incredibly"easy to fly" record for single-placehomebuilts recently when VascoeWhatley, Jr. (EAA 55115) of Box 474in Allendale, South Carolina checkedout 34 pilots in a day and a half in hisVolksplane, N-12VP. This all-out ef-fort to introduce others to his airplaneoccurred during the SoutheasternRegional Fly-In, held last June, atSantee, South Carolina.

Minimum conversion necessary for theVolkswagen engine as used in the'"Volksplane."

6 JANUARY 1972

ADD CARBURETORHEAT BOX

STOCK VW ENGINE.

CUT ROTATE &WELDINTAKE PIPE

CUT HUB OUT OFFLYWHEEL

ra ADD HEAT MUFFA .REMOVE PULLEY 8,

/ ADD PROP HUB