vol. 7 no. 1 | 1st quarter 2013 - glasair aircraft owners

$5.50 US

Vol. 7 No. 1 | 1st Quarter 2013

GlaStar Enlarged Door KitBy Ted Setzer

Are You a SafePilot?By Alan Negrin

Caribbean Puddle JumpersBy Steve Tillinghast

Flap Gap Seals Reduce Stall Speed

By Ted Setzer

The “Setzman Flies!”N11YM Maiden Flight and Testing

2 GlaStar & SportSman Flyer 1st Quarter 2013

© Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.

GlaStar® and Sportsman 2+2 are registered trademarks of Glasair Aviation LLC.

The trademark symbol is not shown throughout this publication merely for convenience.

A quarterly publication of the GlaStar & Sportsman Association International

Editor and PublishErOmar Filipović

WEb sitEwww.glastarnet.org

Email

[email protected]

mailing addrEss6757 ArapahoSuite 711-263

Dallas TX 75248

PhonE(214) 810-1599

Back issues: $5.50 plus shipping

Contents Features 3 GSAI Flight Deck By Omar Filipovic

4 Glastar Enlarged Door Kit By Ted Setzer

5 Easy Muffler Shroud Mold By Pete Aschenbrenner

6 Setzman N11YM Maiden Flight By Ted Setzer

12 Caribbean Puddle Jumpers By Steve Tillinghast

16 Are You a Safe Pilot? By Alan Negrin

20 Flap Gap Seals Reduce Stall Speed By Ted Setzer

22 Thoughts on Cooling By Ted Setzer

23 Ventral Fin for a GlaStar on Floats By Bill Bracken

24 Deltahawk + Glasair = Diesel Sportsman By Dave Prizio

25 Sun ‘n Fun Brat Roast By Herb Karkheck

26 Scotch Electrical Tape for Sealing Gaps By Randi Ernst

27 Wing Rotating Jig By Terry Dovey

Columns 27 StarFlight Achievement Awards

28 Calendar

www.glastarnet.org GlaStar & SportSman Flyer 3

GsaI Flight Deck

By Omar Filipovic

The “Ted” issue

turns out it’s impossible to stuff all of ted setzer’s modifications into one issue, so we continue with details about the “setzman” sportsman which was modified quite a bit from where it was supposed to be had ted followed the factory manual. the “setzman” flew well, but it provided ted with some unexpected adrenaline-boosting behavior when the flaps were fully extended. It ended well, but he now has even more to write about for future issues of the GsaI Flyer.

sun ‘n Fun 2013 is over as I write this and you can see photos from the GsaI Brat roast organized by Herb Karkheck on page 25.

By oshkosh, we should see a Diesel-powered sportsman flying with a Deltahawk engine. apparently this has been in the works for some time, but Glasair is now finally ready to have the first one built in the two Weeks to taxi program.

the Chinese branch of Glasair is building a

facility to manufacture a certified version of the sportsman for sale to the Chinese market. It all makes sense –with the Chinese market poised to open up to General aviation, the matter of fuel availability becomes a big issue, and 100ll is not widely available there, so the Deltahawk which runs on Jet-a or Diesel would be a much better option. this won’t be the first Diesel-powered sportsman –there is already one in

Germany with a VW engine and performance similar to a 180 HP gasoline engine, but that is a one-off design.

steffen Bienek installed a Volkswagen Diesel engine in his sportsman and has flown it. His setup produces 180 HP and burns about 5.5 gallons per hour. unfortunately a fuel line broke on one of the test flights and the sportsman was damaged during the forced landing. repairs are progressing well and steffen has promised a report once he’s back in the air. Interestingly, he retained the VW engine’s clutch.

Finally, send in your builder’s tips and news! How about this:

Do you have a high-time Glastar? send in your hours and a short story about the plane itself and the places you’ve visited with it.

or how about a photo contest–send in your best aerial photos and we’ll have GsaI members vote on the best shot.DeltaHawk Diesel V-4 engine

Steffen Bienek’s Diesel Sportsman

Order your peace of mind today at tcwtech.com

Integrated Back-Up Battery System for Peace of MindElectrically Back-Up EFIS, GPS, Auto Pilot and Electronic Ignition Systems

All in One Integrated Package:1) NiMh Battery Pack2) Charging Circuitry3) Automatic Switching Circuitry

Specifications and Pricing:4 Amp Hours @ 12V2.5 Pounds3" wide x 5" long x 2" highEasy to install & only $375


aaron Vanauken and I are going to do our best to keep to the original price estimate and are ready to accept a $200 deposit toward a production slot. the deposit is non-refundable if we are able to deliver at the price of $1,200. If we cannot meet the price goal, we will honor any customers request to cancel their order and receive a full refund of the deposit.

Here is how we propose establishing a

production priority order:

I have a list by date of those who have

expressed interest and omar does as well.

We will create a production priority list by

the date when the customer made an

initial email inquiry to either omar or ted.

We will then give customers one week to

get their deposit into the PayPal account

to retain their order priority. If after one

week we have not received a deposit, we

will drop those Glastar owners from the

priority list.

For those wishing to use PayPal, deposits

can be made to aaron.76.vanauken@

gmail.com or, a personal check can be

sent to aaron Vanauken, 1649 aspen Dr,

Camano Is. Wa 98282

You may also call aaron in the evening at

360-572-4236 and he can accept and

process a credit card.

the baggage door will be nearly an exact

copy of the existing sportsman door with

one exception: the sportsman door is a

hollow door made from two separate

composite skins joined together in an

assembly fixture. the Glastar retrofit door

will be a solid foam core design in order to

keep the development time and tooling

costs to a minimum. the Glastar door will

weigh less than 1/4 lb heavier that a

sportsman door as a result of the solid core.

We are planning on using recessed hinges

and the same latching mechanism as

used on the sportsman.

We will provide the recess for a lock barrel,

but may not be providing the lock barrel

in our kit. We will need to investigate

whether aircraft spruce can offer a single

barrel matching your existing ignition key.

If not, most local locksmiths may be able

to supply one even though it may not

have a matching key. these style of lock

barrels are very commonly used in file

cabinets, desk drawers, etc.

the kit will include a window and all the

latching components and cover plate as

seen in these photos, gelcoat on the

outside and painted on the inside with

interior gray primer and Zolatone. (If you

don’t want the door painted in this

manner, be sure to email aaron to supply

it unpainted). the kit will also include an

interior flange with the latch-pin recess to

be bonded in place on the inside of the

Glastar fuselage after the door cut-out is

made.

Detailed installation instructions will also

be provided.

the kit will not include resin, or meKP

catalyst.

Project update

GlasTar enlarGed door KiTBy Ted Setzer

Photos of the Sportsman door. The GlaStar door will be a copy as much as possible.


Builder tip

easy Muffler shroud MoldBy Pete Aschenbrenner

this is an easy way to make a mold for a muffler shroud layup.

I pegged a board which I clamped to the table of my band saw. using 2-inch blue construction foam I cut square pieces which I mounted on the peg and pivoted the pieces about the peg through the blade ending up with a stack of foam discs. a bit of glue and I had a cylinder around which I could do layups to form a u-shaped form.

Dissolve the foam with lacquer thinner, cut the layup to shape and bond to the fairing over a precut opening which allows the fairing to be mounted over the muffler.

layers of cloth and resin secure the shroud which is then ready for finishing.

my muffler is the Powerflow four-into-one unit built for the Glastar.

I haven’t flown yet, but based on comments from builders, the Powerflow exhaust is supposed to have noticeable performance improvements for the o-320 lycomings.


I conduct most of the Phase 1 initial flights on sportsman aircraft that are born out of the tWtt program. even though I am on my toes on every first flight, they typically are routine thanks to the meticulous work done by customers and their customer assembly center guides. the most excitement I’ve experienced on a first flight was when an engine sputtered and died when the fuel gauge showed over 10 gallons in the main tank. the left tank was selected 30 minutes earlier after the right tank showed nearly empty. When an aircraft engine dies unexpectedly, you must not be human if you don’t experience momentary panic. once past the surprise, the training takes over: turn the nose for the field, hit the boost pump and switch to the “empty” tank. after an agonizingly long 3 seconds, the engine sputtered back to life and the emergency was over. It turned out that the sending unit wires for left and right tanks had been mislabeled on the wiring harness. murphy’s law wouldn’t

have it that something uneventful like the position light wires would be mis-marked right?

In spite of my first flight experience, when the day finally arrived for me to saddle up n11Ym, I was a bit surprised at how genuinely nervous I was. I’ll admit that all those lightening holes and dozens of other modifications I was to rely on were about to be put to a real world test, but there were a lot of other modifications all to be tested at the same time. there was no way to separate them and deal with them one at a time.

With a new engine (or rebuilt engine in my case), the primary objective is to get the piston rings to seat properly. limiting any unnecessary taxi time and engine idle is very important, so I conduct the eFIs generated pre-take-off checklist on the roll toward the active runway. once the oil temperature is over 80°F, I launch with everything to the firewall and keep it there.

In the case of n11Ym, there were so many thoughts about the modifications going through my brain it was hard to concentrate on the engine only. Here is a list of the significant changes:

• Wet wing with different brand of selector valve and electric fuel pump.

• Fabric control surfaces.

• larger, fabric flaps.

• straight vertical tail vs. swept tail.

• longer cord stabilizer, shorter cord elevator with centerline hinges.

• mechanical elevator trim.

• ailerons displaced 1.0” farther aft.

• modified aileron bellcranks and an additional aileron servo tab.

• swiss cheese outboard wing spars.

• swiss cheese everything else I dared taking weight from.

• major swiss cheese on the starter ring gear.

seTzMan n11yM Maiden fliGhTBy Ted Setzer

In spite of my first flight experience, when the day finally arrived for me to saddle up N11YM, I was a bit surprised at how genuinely nervous I was.

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• Customized induction sump with a “pop-off” pressure relief valve machined by my brother, mike. It wasn’t his machining I was worried about, but rather, the function of the self-designed valve. search ryton sump problems on the Internet and you can find out why I wanted a pressure relief valve on this lightweight sump.

• stroker crankshaft with 9.3:1 pistons.

• Dual lightspeed Plasma III electronic ignition system.

• self-made landing gear (previously flown).

• new oil cooler location and air source.

• lithium Iron-Phosphate battery (It didn’t help that Boeing was reporting melt-down of theirs).

• rebuilt governor.

my engine is a former test cell engine from lycoming. as such, I had to fabricate a special fitting to mount on the front governor pad to deliver the high-pressure oil to the prop from the aft mounted governor.

twice I had to abort takeoff because I was getting way too much rPm for the corresponding power (manifold pressure) according to the rPm reading on the eFIs. I thought I had a bad governor, but after switching to a new governor, the issue persisted. It turned out that it was simply an rpm calibration adjustment made in the eFIs! I borrowed a dash mounted prop tach and confirmed the eFIs rPm finally agreed

with the engine.

on the third takeoff attempt I brought the power in slowly and noted the static rPm as I reached lift-off speed. since any new governor might be set incorrectly, I am very careful to avoid a prop over-speed on the first takeoff, plus it allows me to make a governor adjustment if necessary once back on the ground. Finally airborne, I needed to concentrate on what I always prioritize on first flights: aircraft controllability and engine health.

In the case of n11Ym, the controls were deemed acceptable as I climbed to 2,500 feet so I shifted most of my attention to the engine gauges and my senses: smell, sound, touch, etc. any sense of smoke, fuel or heavy oil smell and I’d be immediately heading back. thankfully, 1Ym smelled, sounded and felt normal. after leveling off in a race track orbit over the field, I began to scan the panel for things that may be non-functioning or erroneous while not taking attention off the oil Pressure, Fuel Pressure, CHt, oil temp, eGt and electrical. (note the order of importance)

I break in all engines the same: Wide open throttle (Wot) and maximum rPm to create high pressure with the rings against the cylinder walls. Heat also helps with seating the rings, so CHt on the high end of the scale isn’t something to avoid. the lycoming parallel valve engines (180 hp) produce much higher CHt during break in than do the angle valve Io-390 engines. For cooling purposes, the 390 series engines use oil nozzles that squirt oil against the backside of the pistons. I don’t understand why, but the parallel valve engines lack the nozzles. I installed them on my engine and was expecting and received lower CHt than a stock engine. a standard parallel valve Io-360 engine typically will produce 400-450° CHt during break in at high power settings, which is desirable. the Io-390 CHt is typically in the 285-340° range; a bit too low for break-in. For those of you breaking in an Io-390, consider temporarily closing off the cowling air inlets by 25% with duct tape to increase CHt closer to the 400° range.

lycoming recommends not continually running the engine at the same power settings during the entire break-in, so I

reduce power periodically to 24 squared or 25 squared but the best results I’ve experienced is to spend the majority of my flight time in the first 3 hours at full mP and rPm.

If you follow these procedures, the engine rings will seat pretty well within the first 5 hours. Keep in mind though that a typical ring seating graph looks like an inverse or decreasing exponential curve. the curve is very steep at first but gradually flattens out over time. It can take up to 100 hours or more for the rings to fully seat so don’t be in a hurry to change from straight mineral (break-in) oil until you pass the 100-150 hour mark. You can certainly back off from Wot all the time, but I slowly transition to reasonable power settings over time and keep mixing up the power settings.

after 5 hours, doing pattern work and practicing touch-and-go landings is fine and a very good way to mix up power settings.

the indications to look for to determine if the rings are seating are a reduction and stabilization of both CHt and oil temp and over time, oil consumption will stabilize so be sure to make a note of these temps at a given power setting on the first flight and log all oil consumed. Do not run more than 6 quarts in the engine or it will quickly blow out the breather, make a dirty mess on the belly and give you a false sense of oil consumption.

I try not to stay in the air more than 45 minutes to one hour on the first flight. I landed 1Ym after an exciting 60 minutes with the following initial results:

• Wings nearly in trim; no heavy wing.

• minor rudder trim necessary. (only the lucky need no rudder trim)

The man and his machine. Photo by Kari Setzer.

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• oil consumption less than 1/8” on the dipstick.

• one minor oil leak on the governor mounting pad.

• minor eFIs squawks.

• engine temps all in the green and the engine ran great!

• static rPm on takeoff was 2750.

so, how about the results of my modifications?

the wet wing fuel capacity is 74 gallons! I noticed that the fuel levels on the gauges varied a lot indicating that I need additional baffling in the tanks. When I remove the wings for paint, I will open an inspection hole at the mid-point of the tanks and restrict the span-wise fuel sloshing by covering some of the rib lightening holes. rats, now 1Ym will gain 125 grams more in weight.

the elevator feels the same as a stock sportsman. But, I removed so much weight from the tail surfaces and counterweights that I can’t meet forward CG limits when flying alone and low on fuel. Double rats! I will have to add 4 lbs to the tail cone to compensate or drill lightening holes in the spinner and prop blades.

the fabric all stayed attached to the flaps and control surfaces. Yes!

rudder authority was excellent.

mechanical elevator trim needs some refinement. there is too much play in the inner wire.

aileron forces are way too light. at first I thought this was the result of having lighter outboard wing sections, but Paul robertson said it is the result of my having displaced the aileron hinge points 1.0” farther aft. so, on subsequent flights, I removed one of the servo tabs and even reduced the travel on the original one to obtain optimal roll forces.

the induction sump held together and the pop-off valve worked fine. “Fine” in the sense that if the o-ring wasn’t sealing, the engine would be experiencing a significant induction air leak and exhibit a rough idle, but this engine with e-ignitions idles VerY smooth.

the Io-375 stroker-crank with high compression pistons nets nearly the same hp and performance as the Io-390. Very Impressive.

the lightspeed electronic ignitions are a dream. smooth running. I experience only a 20 rpm drop when I isolate the ignitions on pre-flight.

the landing gear worked fine, albeit for only one landing.

the lithium battery was fine. Phew! at the last minute I exchanged the 60-amp alternator for a B&C 40-amp alternator with adjustable voltage regulator. From what I’ve read the biggest cause of lithium battery problems is over-charging. the manufacturer warns not to allow the battery to charge at over 24 amps. the battery technical info page mentions that if you drop the output voltage on the voltage regulator from 14.4 to 14.3 volts it will double the life of the $350 lithium battery. I made an adjustment to the B&C regulator and it settled in at 14.2 volts. maybe I will quadruple the battery life? I’ll need an electrical engineer amongst the Glastar/sportsman community to steer me right here. I’ve learned a lot so far, but plan to learn a lot more about the lithium battery in the future. For anyone considering it, take the advice I received very seriously: use only a lithium Iron-Phosphate battery. these do not build heat

nearly as bad as the lithium-Ion type. also, you need to understand the battery chemistry and what causes heat to build.

lastly, the flaps were a big disappointment. In fact, to be perfectly honest…they were virtually useless initially.

FLAPS GONE WILDI was warned more than once by my friend, Paul robertson of aeronautical testing services to approach deployment of the flaps very slowly and cautiously. If the larger flaps were to produce a blanking effect on the tail, the tail would stall and the plane could go out of control. He also warned that high flap pressures may hinder or prohibit retracting them once deployed.

my brother tom who was lead engineer and designer of both the Glastar and sportsman was concerned that the fabric flaps may not be as strong as the metal ones. I heeded his advice during the assembly of the flaps and doubled the spar thickness and doubled the number of ribs. these guys had me well freaked out about testing the flaps. It turned out to be sound advice.

Look at the size difference of new vs. old. Imagine feeding this up inside the inspection hole with the brackets, then assembling it to the brackets and riveting the brackets to the aft spar? Oh my shattered nerves...

Those four holes in the upper pulley took meone-hour per hole to carve by hand. Just about in-line with my docemented average of 10 hours per pound.


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after breaking in the engine rings for 45 minutes I wanted to at least sample the big flaps before returning. after climbing to 3,500 ft and slowing the plane down to 70 kt, I very slowly and carefully pulled on the flap handle but it took a lot of force just to get to 20 degrees. I tensed up my arm and slowly budged it off 20 degrees but when it got somewhere between 20 and 35 degrees the pressure suddenly reversed and it literally slammed to the back of the tracks with a loud BanG. there is no way I could have stopped it, and it was a very fortunate thing it didn’t blank out the tail because it was a difficult two-handed job to retract the flaps off the 35° position, in fact, I couldn’t retract them at all until I had reduced the airspeed to below 60 kt.

I had to try it one more time before I landed to be sure I wasn’t dreaming. Yep, I confirmed a second time that the flaps were a mess and it momentarily overshadowed all the other things that had gone right on the flight.

I landed and taxied up in front of a medium-size crowd of supporters that included Kari, my parents, friends and many employees of Glasair aviation. I popped out of the cockpit with a big smile on my face. Despite the disappointing flaps, the flight was, in fact, a huge victory representing 5 years of fabrication and assembly effort for me and many others who had helped me along the way. It was time to take pictures and celebrate the moment. Fixing the flaps would have to wait…

flying the “setzman”By Alan Negrin

after spending countless hours helping ted setzer (he actually kept track of them) build his “super” sportsman, I have been honored with an opportunity to fly it several times. ted asked for my impressions of it compared to a stock sportsman.

I think ted achieved and possibly exceeded his goals. I am very impressed with the airplane. empty weight before paint is roughly 200 lb lighter than most two Weeks to taxi sportsman, and it’s noticeable immediately.

modifications on the aileron bell cranks and the flaps add even more amazing characteristics. the roll rate is phenomenal and the slow flight, stall, and landing speeds are dramatically improved.

the usual power-off stall speed of a stock sportsman is 42 knots. ted’s is at about 37 kt. the power-on stall speed for the typical sportsman is about 33 to 35 kt indicated, but ted’s is down around 30 or maybe even less. of course with the extremely nose-high pitch attitude, the position error of the pitot tube must be extreme, but you know you are going darn slow before there is any kind of shudder and break in the stall.

the biggest and most amazing effect that I experienced was on landing. the slowest I have been able to get any other sportsman to fly and still have reasonable control in a short field landing is about 52 kt. I was consistently landing ted’s sportsman at 42 kt and felt like I had lots of control. the last flight test I did was with six-inch tires. I am sure that it can go even slower with the large tundra gear and bush wheels. ted has truly matched and probably exceeded any aviat Husky for take off and landing performance. and if he has not matched the Carbon Cub numbers, he is very close.

2nd aileron servo tab disconnected and taped in place for flight test.

Note the wood plug glued in place at the aft end of the flap track.T his is the problem area where the flaps seem to get “stuck” in the 35 degree position. I’m limiting them to 32° until the tracks are re-designed.


With help and advice from the ever-generous Paul robertson, we put yarn tufting on the right wing and flap and aft fuselage and bottom side of the stabilizer and attached two Go-Pro cameras to the fuselage and conducted a series of flight tests to observe anything amiss with the airflow over the flaps or aft fuselage. While nothing out of the ordinary was seen, Paul suggested we could optimize the gap between the wing skin upper trailing edge

and flap in the full flap position by adding a ½” trailing edge extension. after doing this, I detected a very slight improvement, but much more remained to be done. He said the flap tracks would likely need to be re-designed. It boiled down to two things: 1) the forces were way too high and 2) something strange was going on to cause the force reversal. the strange part I will have to rely on Paul to solve but I thought I might be able to deal with the forces.

I opened up the inspection holes and studied the flap pulley and bellcrank arrangement. since my flap tracks were 1.75” longer, I had simply lengthened the bellcrank arms by 2” or so to get the extra push-rod travel needed. It suddenly hit me between the eyes: I lost a ton of leverage by extending the arms without extending the diameter of the flap pulleys by the same amount. But now I had to fix all of this by opening up sections of the flap cove skins, drilling the brackets from the aft spar, removing everything, making all new parts and reassembling it all back inside the wing. I had a plan, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

my brother mike came to the rescue and machined me two beautiful nine-inch diameter aluminum pulleys. I spent one entire day drilling and grinding off all the unnecessary aluminum (some habits are hard to quit) and began the task of fabricating new brackets, drilling the old parts out and installing the new ones. tWo tImes I installed the new pulleys and brackets and failed to get proper alignment with the cables. Finally on the third attempt after a helpful co-worker came up with the brilliant suggestion of modifying the pulleys to a “double decker” configuration,

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The flap handle position is more vertical since the flap tracks are much longer than normal.

The wing stalling at the highest AOA. Wing and flap after the nose has dropped in the stall. Even though the wing has a much lower AOA, the airflow has not reattached yet.

Visit www.glastarnet.org to watch this video

the tuft testing we did of the right wing and flap is very interesting to watch. If you watch closely, you can see the wing stall as indicated by the tufts standing up, but the tufts behind the outboard delta wing vortex generator continue to lay flat. It illustrates how the delta wing keeps the outboard end of the wing flying in the stall and providing a measure of aileron control.

the video clip shows the right wing and flap as it enters a stall at the 35 degree position. Prior to the stall you can observe that some of the tufts on the flap are “active”. they aren’t stalled, but are immediately behind the flap tracks and flap pushrod in disturbed airflow. this is a bit misleading. We should have done a better job of positioning them in clean sections of the flap coves. You can also observe the

inboard tufts on the wing stall first and if you look closely at the outboard section of the wing, you can see the tufts behind the delta wing vortex generator are still trailing nicely indicating the wing is still flying out there. When the airflow stays attached outboard, it means that you retain aileron control as well.


we eliminated the problem of the cables rubbing against the pulley caused by too much angularity. It’s a long, bloody-knuckle story of a patience-challenged man rebuilding a plane inside a bottle while barely avoiding picking up a hammer and smashing the bottle to pieces to get the ship out so he could work on it like a normal person. oh, need I mention that the cable lengths also needed to change. two ships in a bottle!

When I finally had the chance to test the flaps I was greatly relieved. the forces are much reduced and more like Glastar flap forces as compared to dreamboat sportsman forces. oh well, I will gladly accept higher and slightly different flap forces in exchange for a 3-knot reduction in stall speed. maybe someday I’ll tackle the flap tracks, but for now it is manageable.

my former boss and friend, mikael Via mentioned to me that the nervousness he felt when he first flew his Glasair super II rG kept him from enjoying the plane for a while. It was somewhere around 25 tach hours, he reported, that he finally relaxed enough to really enjoy the plane and its performance. Well…he was right on. mine was exactly at the 22-hour mark. I took to the skies that evening after work without anything in particular to test or be anxious about and really, reallY enjoyed the plane and the flight.

I expect n11Ym will be painted in the next month or two and I hope to do a lot of flying this summer and exploring more of the Idaho back-country. I plan to be at smiley Creek this year and hope to see many of you there! after 33 years in the kit aircraft business helping others build theirs, I finally built a kitplane that I can call my own.

note: I want to take the opportunity to publicly express heartfelt thanks to our former owner, tom Wathen, for resurrecting the Glasair and Glastar designs from oblivion after the regrettable bankruptcy of stoddard-Hamilton aircraft and funding the development of the sportsman during his 12 years of ownership. I also wish to thank my current employer, Glasair aviation usa and its management for going to the wall for me with final assembly support and finishing of the setZman : n11Ym.

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funcTion of delTa-WinG VorTex GeneraTorspaul robertson of aeronautical testing Services is the engineer Stoddard-Hamilton contracted in 1994 to conduct all the GlaStar developmental flight testing and configuration changes. one of the design objectives was to produce an aircraft that would be significantly enhanced over traditional singles in slow flight control and stall/spin resistance. this is his description of the function of the vortex generators, delta wings, and tail strakes.

VORTEx GENERATORS

Vortex generators are devices that disturb the airflow over a flying surface. During high angles of attack, the disturbed air has a tendency to “hang on” to the surface rather than smooth undisturbed air flow.

the large delta wing style used on the Glastar and sportsman produce a wide triangle or delta shaped area of disturbed air behind the device.

OuTBOARD DELTA WINGS

these keep the outboard portion of the wing from separating. this greatly reduces the tendency to roll off in a stall. they also help to isolate the inboard wing section from the outboard section. the outboard section (with the delta wing) ends up acting more like a low aspect ratio wing which have higher stalling angles of attack.

When the airflow on the outboard end of the wing can be made to stay attached, it greatly improves the roll dampening. When a wing is separated the roll dampening becomes negative which causes the wing to autorotate, and if left unattended this can lead to a spin.

INBOARD DELTA WINGS

the inboard delta wings were added to improve rudder effectiveness during flaps-down stalls. Increased rudder effectiveness allows the plane to be controlled when stalled with the flaps down. the condition of interest on the

Glastar was a low power-approach stall. With the improved rudder effectiveness it was possible to control the plane while the stick was full aft during the stall.

the test pilot who performed the Glastar developmental flight tests had extensive experience as a flight instructor both in the us navy and civilian world. His experience was that some students will keep the stick all the way back during a stall since that is instinctively what you do when the nose drops. so, the inboard delta wings allow the plane to be controllable in a stall even when the pilot inadvertently pulls farther back rather than releasing back-pressure.

TAIL STRAKES

the tail strakes were added to increase the angle of attack at which the tail stalls. the horizontal tail only provides pitch stability if the tail lift is in some way proportional to angle of attack. If the tail stalls, the change in tail lift with airplane angle of attack is greatly reduced or changes sign.

Horizontal tails are very prone to stalling due to the highly non-uniform flow conditions at the tail, and due to the rather thick boundary layer at the intersection of the horizontal tail with the fuselage.

Conversely, increasing the horizontal tail aspect ratio increases the tendency for the tail to stall and also increases the loss of tail lift when the tail does stall.


Places

cariBBean Puddle JuMPersBy Steve Tillinghast

PLANNING

We’ve always believed that careful planning is of the utmost importance for any trip. as we started researching, we found that many of the islands don’t have avgas, and many places are not as general aviation friendly as the states. there are huge differences in landing fees and procedures depending on where you go. many factors determine where to fly: Fuel availability and cost ($3+ per gallon price differences), landing fees (from $8 to $350!), aircraft range, as well as island allure and activities.

CaribbeanFlyingadventures.com was an excellent resource for much of this information. Jim Parker, creator of the site, spends most of his time flying around the Bahamas and beyond. He has a well-organized, user-friendly site with an abundance of up-to-date helpful information. We used the site for planning purposes as well as to review customs and airport regulations for each country/island during the trip. the purchase of an iPad negated the need for a lot of the paper charts. the ForeFlight software provided sectional, enroute low altitude & approach

plate info for the u.s. Currently, no Caribbean charts are available with ForeFlight, so I purchased naCo enroute low charts l-3, l-5 & l-6. I also made hard copies of any approach plates I thought I might need. other choices include the Jeppesen trip Kit for the Caribbean @ $140 and/or WaC charts CH-25, CJ-26 and CJ-27. other nice planning tools are Caribbean Planning Charts.

our idea was to work our way down to Dominica in the lesser antilles. Dominica had special interest as it is a “low key” island and the hiking, exploring nature, and

one winter afternoon, my wife, Heidi, and I were looking at a map of the Western Hemisphere in our hangar. We were reminiscing about our once-in-a-lifetime flying adventure from our home base in Southern California (Fallbrook air park), to alaska and the arctic ocean two summers before with our flying buddies Dave prizio and ed Zaleski. Just for fun, I pulled a string between the two points and then swung it around to the southeast. to our delight, we saw that the eastern Caribbean was about the same distance. Immediately, we found ourselves fantasizing about flying over Caribbean waters and landing on tiny sun-drenched islands. We began asking logistical questions about a new trip. It wasn’t long before we answered the 2 major questions about the feasibility of such a trip: could we do it safely, and could we afford it? that very afternoon the decision was made. We were going for it! Heidi ordered a bunch of used travel books from amazon.com, and the fun began. We also ordered the super-informative Caribbean Flying Guide, a must-have for anyone venturing to the West Indies.


Places

sCuBa are highly regarded. leaving from l18, we had a total of 5 weeks if our budget held out. We planned a few days to cross the country and then make our way down through the Bahamas to the Caribbean. there were several islands we picked to visit along the way for some exploration and enjoying of our favorite activities. We are avid sCuBa divers and love to explore on our mountain bikes. We have a couple of montague folding bikes that are great for the type of travel we enjoy. landing and having our own transportation has expanded our vacation flying profile. the weight, 64lbs. for both bikes with storage bags has really taught us to pack lightly.

OuR PROFILE

our Glastar is powered by an o-360 a1F6 lycoming engine with a Hartzell constant speed prop. We spent 7 years building her in our garage off & on while raising our kids. she has tip-tanks, holds 50 gallons of fuel & burns about 10 gph. With minimal personal items in tow, we can squeeze in our two montague mountain bikes and cruise at 120kts. she had just 400 hours on her certified engine at the time, so we felt very confident in her ability to perform over water. We are a couple of adventurous teachers who love flying, enjoy new places, and relish a challenge.

SAFETY FIRST

our greatest concern for this trip was flying over so much water. after a lot discussion and research, we decided the probability of surviving a ditching was much greater than trying to land on one of those deeply crevassed glaciers we flew over in alaska. We often remind ourselves that our little plane doesn’t know what we are flying over. Her engine is strong and reliable.

n891sB has a retrofit 406mHz elt and Heidi wore the McMurdo Fast Find PlB on her life vest. We selected revere life vest belt packs, which are comfortable to wear around the waist during flight. In the event we had trouble exiting the plane, two spare-air pony bottles w/compressed air good for about 30 breaths were fastened to the cargo net just behind our seats. the last

piece of the puzzle was a life raft. Because of weight we had to choose between the life raft and sCuBa gear. the choice was clear. We were lucky my Bonanza pilot buddy, Kelly mcBride, lent us his life raft, a savings of hundreds of dollars in rental. I read up on ditching procedures, and Heidi and I created a mental checklist that we practiced.

TO THE ISLANDS

We took a typical cross-country path to southern Florida, which took just over two days.

as a bonus, we got to visit our friend Zach Chase and meet his family.

Filing e-aPIs and an international flight plan from stuart, Fl, we departed and flew 3 hours over quite a bit of water heading for the stella maris Beach resort, long Island, Bahamas. one nice thing about the Bahamas is that we were never a great distance from land or boats. For our first long leg over water at 7500’ it was comforting to have land in view the majority of the time. this was one of our most spectacular days of flying as the contours and colors present every hue of blue imaginable.

We were welcomed to long Island by a couple of laid-back customs officers who could offer a cruising permit to travel anywhere in the Bahamas for no added charge. We spent the afternoon exploring the secluded Cape santa maria Bay with the resort’s kayaks. stella maris resort Club is a hidden gem with a variety of activities, including fishing and diving. We will definitely come back to the Bahamas for another trip and spend more time exploring the many different islands and over 50 landing strips.

the next morning we were off to the turks & Caicos Islands, the northern most Caribbean Island group. It was a 1.9 hr. flight, and we spent a few days diving and

Need to convince your partner to go? Show them them this one! BTW, those are chairs, not bath tubs


Places

unwinding. the turks & Caicos have great wall diving with 80’-130’ depths where the big critters pass by. We spent afternoons flying to the neighboring islands for more biking and exploring. as our ultimate destination was Dominica, after 3 days, it was time to move on.

WEATHER

From this point of the trip onward, weather was a factor in one way or another when flying. Heading south and eastward down the archipelago, the limestone and sand islands of the Bahamas gradually gave way to steep lush cloud encased mountainous islands. let me put it this way- all of these islands are green for a reason, and I was glad to have spent some quality hood time with my CFII, richard eastman. We had some fun moments after flying VFr over water for a sustained period of time and opting to shoot light IFr approaches into unfamiliar countries.

summer is considered the rainy season, and this summer was especially rainy. Because of our professions, 4-5 weeks in the dry season isn’t an option until we retire. Besides, if one’s willing to wait things out, windows of opportunity usually open up.

Heavy showers are possible with anywhere from partial clearing to CaVu in between.

the one-hour flight from Grand turk to Puerto Plata, Dominican republic was mVFr as a big tropical storm that had pounded us the night before was stalled just to the north. We pushed on and made it through Puerto rico to st. Croix, Virgin Islands for a few fabulous days. as we worked our way down the archipelago we got stuck in st. Kitts due to weather, and two days later, barely made it to Guadeloupe where a stationary low stopped us from our final destination, Dominica, only a 30-minute flight away. We wanted to wait it out, but lodging in Dominica was completely booked with an

international cricket tournament for another week. that is just how it is in places like Dominica with so few lodgings. maybe next time! our original plan did not include antigua, but since Dominica was out, we were up for another island. It turned out to be a favorite!

RED TAPE

Be prepared! In many places south of the Bahamas, we were the only small single engine plane on the field, and definitely the only experimental. actually, it became sport with customs and security trying to help them understand where we were from, what we were flying and where we were heading. In Guadeloupe we used a handler to guide us through the maze of customs, flight planning, and immigration facilities which resulted in three body scans in two hours. the place is amazing. of course the heavy tropical rain that grounded us, and communication barrier (very French), added to the excitement. We learned to allow time in our schedule for taking care of the time required to transition from country to country. as we gained experience from place to place the process got easier. Keep smiling and be flexible!

Fantastic DIY shipwreck diving right off-shore - Frederiksted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands

The pre-flight at St. KittsOur typical company at larger airports

Trip STaTS:62.8 hours

9.5 gph avg.8 countries

14 islands35 days


Places

thanks to CaribbeanFlyingadventures.com we had a good sense as to where to taxi on the different fields, how many “general declaration” forms we needed, most often three coming in and two for leaving. Fifty of these were partially filled out before we left to save time.

Flying the Caribbean may be a “bucket list” item for many pilots. Flying up-close and personal to and around some of the most

spectacular island countries in the world

is absolutely doable with some good

planning and preparation. Go for it!

We brought our friends and family along

with our blog spot. Check it out. to view

in the correct order, scroll down to the

bottom of the first page, click older posts

and scroll to the bottom again. www.

caribbeanpuddlejumpers.blogspot.com

Heidi and I were in the hangar again this spring. We swung our little string clockwise from the Caribbean to south america. looks like Peru may be the next big destination!

Fillippe, French expatriate & A&P, provides shelter from the storm

Salt Cay provided George Washington the food preservative for his army in the Revolutionary War

St. Eustatius Internatioal apt. off the right wingtip with “the Quill” in the background

“Statia” from the air–important oil storage island and great wreck diving

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INCREDIBLY DIVERSE CARIBBEAN

For our first flight experience to the West Indies we choose to sample

many islands. these are our impressions:

Turks & Caicos (3 days) all around great place for beach lovers & divers!

St. Croix (4 days) Fantastic FBo–Bohlke International. low key, small inns, friendly people and lots to do–sCuBa, snorkel, nice beaches, jet skiing, atVing & sugar cane plantation tours.

St. Kitts (2 days) Interesting Brimstone Hill Fortress for history buffs. st. Kitts does not have a large tourist infrastructure, but was in a handy location for landing during inclement weather.

Guadeloupe (1 night) Very French, very expensive, very busy.

St. Eustatius (4 days) super friendly sweet island from the past, known as statia by the locals. small inns, two dive operators, fantastic wreck diving. a working man’s island, statia has the largest crude oil terminal in the Caribbean. the Quill (a dormant volcano) will be hiked next time; weather restricted an attempt this time.

Antigua (5 days) Fun, beautiful, great

beaches. We spent our days biking, hiking,

exploring, sailing, and enjoying the many

gorgeous and secluded beaches. this was a

happy accident, and as we didn’t make

Dominica, we wanted to try another island

not in the initial plan. Barbuda, sister island

to antigua, is a little island where we landed

and took an afternoon bike ride on our way

to st. martin.

St. Martin/St. Maarten (3 days) French st.

martin side has a landing fee of $10. Dutch

st. maarten side landing fee is $350!

Interesting island for a couple of days of

shopping. Very popular european vacation

destination.

Puerto Rico (3 days) Puerto rico-san

Juan-Isla Grande. amazing old town filled

with great history. advise the tower & fly low

around the beautiful coastal fort protecting

the city. el Yunque is a wonderful rainforest

for a great day of hiking.


Proficiency

are you a safe PiloT?By Alan Negrin

Do you consider yourself a safe pilot? Why? When you make a flight in your GlaStar, Sportsman or other aircraft, what kinds of pre-flight safety planning do you do before you start the engine and lift off from the runway?

When it’s time for a flight review, how do you prepare? Do you study the Far-aIm or other Faa publications like the airplane Flying Handbook (Faa-H-8083-3) or Pilots Handbook of aeronautical Knowledge (Faa-H-8083-25)?

Do you sit down with an aeronautical chart and try to figure out as many of the symbols that you can?

there is a tremendous amount of information that we as pilots are responsible for knowing, and even the most proficient pilots and instructors have to look stuff up. But, what about the basics?

If you call flight service, do you ask for a standard (most complete) or abbreviate briefing? Do you simply look online and get some weather information? Do you check notams, aIrmets, sIGmets, atC delays, etc.?

If you have been flying for some time now, are you as thorough as you were when you were a newly minted private pilot or have you let yourself become a just a little complacent and skip or gloss over some basic safety steps prior to flight?

If you were in a situation where you had to answer the following quiz, how well would you do?

FLIGHT REVIEW

Who is required to have a flight review? A: Every pilot needs to complete a flight

review within the preceding 24 calendar months to act as PIC whether flying solo or carrying passengers. (The answer is not every two years)

Is a written examination required? A: No. The pilot is required to demonstrate

his/her knowledge of the general operating and flight rules of FAR Part 91.

What counts as a flight review? A: Issuance of a new certificate, rating or

operating privilege, or the completion of any phase of the FAA “Wings” program will count as a flight review. An instrument proficiency check does not qualify as a flight review but may be combined in the same flight.

Is it possible to fail a flight review? A: A person cannot “fail” a flight review,

however, it is the discretion of the instructor whether or not to sign the pilot’s logbook as having completed the review satisfactorily.

If my flight review is unsuccessful will it be recorded in my pilot logbook or is any notice forwarded to the Faa? A: No, and no notice is forwarded to

the FAA.

Is my pilot’s certificate still valid if I do not have a current flight review? A: Yes. Your pilot certificate is valid until

surrendered, suspended or revoked. You may not act as PIC until you have completed a flight review, however, you may fly as a safety pilot as long as you agree that you will not be the acting PIC.

Is a flight review required to fly solo? A: Yes. A pilot is acting as a PIC when flying

solo and must have a flight review.

must I have a current medical certificate to complete a flight review?

A: You may complete a review without a current medical certificate but you must obtain a current medical certificate before acting as PIC. The instructor may act as PIC during the flight review.

Do I have to take a flight review for each category and class of aircraft in which I am rated? A: No. Completion of a flight review allows

you to act as PIC in any category and class aircraft for which you are rated.

How much time is required for a flight review? A: A minimum of one hour flight instruction

and one hour ground instruction is required.

I have an instrument rating. Will my flight review include Instrument maneuvers and approaches? A: Not necessarily. You must demonstrate

those maneuvers and procedures determined by the flight instructor as necessary to demonstrate you can safely exercise the privileges of your certificate.

PILOT CuRRENCY REquIREMENTS

How long is the medical certificate valid? A: 3rd Class is 60 months for those under 40

and 24 months for those older than 40.

How often must a flight review be taken? A: 24 Months. (Not two years)

What is the daytime recent flight experience (trike and tail wheel) required? A: 90 Days. To carry passengers, within the

preceding 90 days, 3 takeoffs and landings as the sole manipulator of the flight controls, in the same category and class. Three take-offs and landings in a single engine airplane will not qualify a pilot to carry passengers in a multi-engine airplane (FAR 61.57a).

What is the night recent flight experience requirement?


Proficiency

A: To carry passengers at night, three takeoffs and landings to a full stop within the period from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise in the same category and class within the preceding 90 days. The night experience requirement refers to category and class but does not mention tail wheel airplanes. Therefore if you do 3 daytime stop and goes in a GlaStar or Sportsman TD in the preceding 90 days and 3 night time stop and goes in a GlaStar or Sportsman trike in the same period, you can legally carry passengers at night in the TD (FAR 61.57b).

AIRCRAFT CuRRENCY REquIREMENTS

annual Condition Inspection: 12 Months

transponder/altimeter system test: 24 Months

elt Battery replacement –elt operational check: 121.5 ELT, Replacement within 24 months or 1 hour of cumulative use. Testing within 12 Calendar Months, 406 MHz, Battery replacement, per manufacture for replacement, 90 days for testing.

What aircraft Documents are required to be carried in the aircraft at all times? (a.r.r.o.W.)

Airworthiness Certificate Registration Certificate Radio Station License (international flights) Operating Limitations Weight and Balance Information

AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS

Who is responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition? A: The owner or operator of the aircraft is

responsible for maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition.

Who is responsible for determining the aircraft is in condition for a safe flight? A: The pilot in command is responsible for

determining the aircraft is in condition for a safe flight.

Preflight required by Far 91.103

For any flight The runway lengths of intended use and

the takeoff and landing performance of the aircraft.

For a flight not in the vicinity of your local airport of an IFr flight Weather Reports and Forecast, Fuel requirements and an Alternative available if the flight cannot be completed as planned. Any known traffic delays advised by ATC.

INSTRuMENTATION

What are the rules regarding inoperative instruments and equipment? (Far 91.213) A: No person may take off an aircraft unless the inoperative equipment is deactivated and marked “Inoperative” and it is not part of the minimum equipment required for day or night VFR or IFR flight as applicable or required in the equipment list by certification of the aircraft.

Instruments required for VFr Day (Far 91.205)

Gas (fuel) gauge Oil pressure gauge Oil temperature gauge Safety belts and shoulder harness, if installed Emergency Locator transmitter Altimeter Compass Airspeed indicator Tachometer

Instruments required for VFr night (Far 91.205)

Anti-collision light system Position lights Energy Source Spare fuses (if applicable) One complete set or 3 of each kind (It is still part of the current FAR 91.205)

right-of-way rules (Far 91.113)

IN DISTRESS: An aircraft in distress has the right of way over all other air traffic.

CONVERGING: When aircraft of the same category are converging at the same altitude (except head-on or nearly so), the aircraft to the others right has the right-of-way. If the aircraft are of different categories:

A Balloon has the right-of-way over any other category.

A glider has the right-of-way over an airplane or rotorcraft.

An Airship has the right-of-way over an airplane or rotorcraft.

Towing or Refueling aircraft has the right-of-way over all other engine driven aircraft.

APPROACHING HEAD-ON: Aircraft approaching head-on shall alter course to the right.

OVERTAKING: Aircraft being overtaken has the right right-of-way and the overtaking aircraft shall alter course to the right to pass well clear.

LANDING: Aircraft on final approach or while landing have the right-of-way over the other aircraft in flight or on the ground but shall not take advantage of this rule to force another aircraft off the runway that has already landed and is attempting to clear the runway. When two or more aircraft are approaching to land, the aircraft at the lower altitude has the right-of-way, but it should not take advantage of this rule to overtake or cut in front of another aircraft.

What rules apply to minimum safe altitudes? (Far 91.119)

A: Except when necessary for takeoff and landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:

ANYWHERE: An altitude that allows an emergency landing without undue hazard to person and property on the ground in the event of a power failure.

CONGESTED AREAS: 1000’ above the highest obstacle within a 2,000’ radius of the aircraft.

OTHER THAN CONGESTED AREAS: 500 feet above the surface or no closer than 500’ to any person, vessel, vehicle or structure.

What are the rules for Flight near other aircraft? (Far 91.111)

A: No pilot may operate an aircraft close to another aircraft as to create a collision hazard. Aircraft may not fly in formation flight unless agreed to by the PIC of each aircraft. Aircraft carrying passengers for hire may not fly in formation flight.


Proficiency

What do you do in the event of communications failure?

A: Squawk 7600 on the transponder. Stay clear until the direction of traffic in the pattern can be determined. Tune receiver or transmit on the tower frequency as able. Flash your landing light or wave your wings when able to acknowledge transmission or light signals.

What are the fuel requirements for VFr? (Far 91.151) A: No person may begin a flight in an

airplane unless (considering wind and forecast weather) there is enough fuel to fly to the point of intended landing and:

DAY: Destination + 30 minutes at normal cruise

NIGHT: Destination + 45 minutes at normal cruise

aircraft lights Far (91.209)

What do you need to have and when do you need to use them? A: No person my operate, park or move and

aircraft unless the aircraft has lighted position lights from sunset to sunrise, lighted anti-collision lights (if equipped), day or night, unless the pilot determines the lights should be turned off in the interest of safety.

What are the transponder and mode C requirements? (Far 91.215)

A: fully operational and tested aircraft transponder, if equipped must be used above 10,000’ MSL, within Class A, B, and C airspace, within 30 nautical radius of any Class B primary airport, over-flying Class B or Class C airspace and the transponder and Mode C must be on in all controlled airspace.

What are the visibility and cloud clearance rules for VFr flight? (Far 91.155)

When do you need supplemental oxygen?

0 to 12,500’ MSL No O2 required but recommend above 8,000 MSL at Night

12,500’ to and including 14,000’ MSL – Minimum flight crew must use O2 after 30 minutes of flight time

14, 000’ to and including 15,000’ MSL –

Minimum flight crew must use O2 for the entire flight time

Above 15,000’ MSL – All occupants must be supplied with supplemental O2

What information do you need to know prior to and when arriving at or departing from a non-towered airport?

Arriving Aircraft:

Familiarize yourself with the airport.

Monitor CTAF 10-15 miles out and announce your position and intentions.

It is a good idea to overfly the airport 500 feet above the traffic pattern altitude and look for the segmented circle and wind sock or landing direction indicator if there is no radio broadcast, Unicom, or other pilots in the area that you can talk to on the radio to find out which way the traffic is landing and taking off. If you are flying in the back country, you always want to overfly the runway to also see if there is anything on it, such as wildlife, people, vehicles, airplanes, etc. It is expected that you will do so every time. Straight in landings are just not safe anytime, but especially when flying into back country strips.

Descend to pattern altitude at least ½ mile prior to entering the pattern.

Fly left hand traffic unless otherwise indicated. Sectional charts indicate if there is a non-standard pattern entry.

Make a standard 45 degree entry or an appropriate upwind, downwind, or crosswind entry. Do not make a straight in approach. It is poor airmanship and may be unsafe even if you make the call “straight in, traffic permitting”.

Maintain traffic pattern altitude unless otherwise required by the applicable distance from cloud criteria (FAR 91.155). 1,000’ AGL is standard.

Make the turn to final at least ¼ mile from the approach end of the runway.

Departing Aircraft:

Monitor the CTAF during taxi and run-up.

Make a 360 degree turn on the ground to look for traffic that you might not otherwise

see prior to taxiing on to the runway for takeoff.

Announce your takeoff and runway direction and departure intentions.

Start the crosswind turn upon reaching 300’ below the TPA to avoid climbing in the downwind leg.

Monitor the CTAF until 10 miles away from the airport.

What information do you need to know prior to and when arriving at or departing from a tower-controlled airport?

arriving Aircraft:

Listen to the ATIS information broadcast 15-20 miles out. Note the time of your arrival. Most ATIS broadcasts are updated about 7 minutes before the top of the hour. You may be arriving when a new one is about to go into effect.

Contact the tower 10-15 miles from the airport.

VFR radar service may be available at some airports to assist the controller in identifying aircraft and providing traffic advisories. The pilot remains solely responsible for collision avoidance and navigation.

Enter downwind left traffic unless otherwise instructed b the tower.

Notify the tower if you find it necessary to make major maneuvers for spacing. I always ask permission from the tower before making non-standard turns in the traffic pattern.

Make sure you have a clearance before landing.

Departing Aircraft:

Monitor ATIS before contacting clearance delivery or ground control

Taxi as instructed and read back all taxi and hold short instructions.

Remain on the tower frequency until outside the Class D airspace or released by the tower controller. It is a good idea to call the tower just after you are clear of the Class D airspace and let them know you are clear and in which directions. Even if they


Proficiency

have radar, they may be busy paying attention to other aircraft. I have been told they do appreciate the call and that lets them know they can now move on to the other traffic and takes they have.

AND FINALLY, MY PERSONAL RANTS

time and time again, I hear arriving aircraft at non-towered airports announce, they are on a straight-in final “traffic permitting.” that is not an official term and I don’t know any instructors that teach that kind of arrival. Who is to determine what is and is not “traffic permitting?”

It only takes a couple additional minutes and a small amount fuel to make a proper pattern entry, whether or not you are aware of any other traffic in the area.

“taxi into position and hold” or “line up and wait” is another radio call l hear far too often. Why is it that pilots think that just because they hear and see other pilots doing that, it’s oK for them to do it? While it is quite common for a tower controller to issue that instruction, I think it is a bad idea when flying at an uncontrolled airport. as soon as you taxi onto the runway, you lose sight of whatever is going on behind you and you are creating a hazard to yourself and everyone else who may be operating at that airport.

usually pilots do this when the pattern is busy and they think it might get into the queue for departure faster avoiding a long wait for takeoff. I personally witnessed a landing aircraft collide with a departing Cessna 150 with a student pilot on his first solo flight about 50 feet above the runways surface. the landing aircraft was a black Pitts with very poor visibility over the nose. neither pilot neither saw the other and miraculously neither one was seriously injured. Both aircraft were destroyed. Please don’t put yourself into that position.

another practice that concerns me when flying at an uncontrolled airport is pilots who make a 360-degree turn for spacing in the pattern because they feel they are getting too close to the aircraft ahead of

them. once again, if you are flying in a pattern at an airport with a control tower, and you request that maneuver or the tower gives you instructions that help increase the spacing, they are watching you and everyone else and maintaining a vigilant eye on what is going on. that is why they call it a “control” tower.

If you are at an uncontrolled airport and make that maneuver, you lose sight of the aircraft in front of you and it is almost always impossible to pick them up visually once you complete the 360 degree turn. You also don’t know who you may be turning into that is behind you. For a time, you are going in the opposite direction of the traffic pattern and even though you may not be at cruise speed, the closure rate is high and you might be headed right for another airplane setting up a collision hazard.

If you are flying a Glastar or sportsman, there should never be a reason to need to do a 360 because all you have to do is pull on full flaps and slow it down and fly at 50 knots. now you can follow just about any other airplane that may be ahead of you. our airplanes handle beautifully at slow airspeeds but many of you probably do not spend time getting to know just how well they will fly at 50-60 knots. If that does not

work for you, then I recommend you exit the pattern on a 45 degree departure and then re-enter the pattern as you would if you are just arriving.

I believe pilots who are using any or all of the maneuvers and actions listed above are exhibiting extremely poor judgment and poor airmanship reducing safety dramatically. I implore you to not get caught into the “monkey see, monkey do” scenario here. actually, I am surprised there is not more emphasis from the Faa and aoPa air safety foundation addressing these issues. maybe I am over reacting, but I was taught to fly using proper pattern entries, no 360s, and no pulling out on the runway and waiting.

so, if you have been building for a long time and not flying very much, or if you are flying all the time, please use good piloting techniques and airmanship. It will reflect well on you and our Glastar & sportsman community and all of General aviation. most importantly, it will help to keep you your passengers and other around you in the air and on the ground safer and less likely to face an emergency. and if you do come face to face with a bad situation, you will have a much better chance of improving the outcome.


Builder tips

flaP GaP seals reduce sTall sPeedBy Ted Setzer

one of my goals is to obtain as low of a stall speed as reasonably possible. enlarging the wing and flap area and reducing the empty weight are the things I targeted, but once the plane was assembled, I noticed the flap-to-fuselage intersection with the flaps deployed. all Sportsman and GlaStar aircraft have this gap as well. I thought that if I could span this gap, it would add more flap area but also help to plug the gap where some of the air could be spilling off.

after finally getting my flaps to work to a satisfactory level, I tested these inboard flap/fuselage close out pieces this past weekend. Holy cow was I ever amazed at the results!!

as you know, I literally worked and slaved for hundreds of hours to make my flaps bigger and then worked for several weekends and evenings to rip out, re-engineer and re-install the flap pulley and bellcrank inside the wings (ship in the bottle work) to get the flap handle forces under control only to realize a total reduction of 3 knots in stall speed. oK, 3 knots is something but was it worth all the effort?

now, owners of existing Glastars and sportsman aircraft interested in stall speed reduction (shorter takeoff and landing distances)can have the same results with a fraction of the effort.


Builder tips

INTRODuCING THE SETZMAN FLAP CLOSE-OuTS!

Well, I performed a series of stall speed tests at 20 degrees and 33 degrees flap settings with and without the flap close-out pieces and voilà! I got a solid reduction of another 3 kt in stall speed. this is the simplest, easiest way to get a significant stall speed reduction I’ve ever seen. apparently Boeing did something very similar on the 767 model with astounding results as well.

the flap close-outs fit completely flush to the fuselage hatch cover in flight and need to be trimmed to leave at least 3/8” gap with the fuselage or aft windows.

I made mine initially with 3 plies of carbon and two plies of fiberglass. they weren’t quite stiff enough, so I added 3 more plies of carbon fiber cloth.

so, a total of 6 plies of 6-ounce carbon fiber cloth sandwiched between two plies of 7781 fiberglass cloth will provide adequate stiffness. I temporarily have some small self-tapping screws holding mine in place, but after paint I will use pull rivets to permanently attach them to the flap. those who wish to preserve the wing fold will need to stay with PK screws and be careful each time they go on/off not to over torque them and strip out the skin holes.

It is important that the fasteners are located on the forward and aft flap spars to anchor well. the remainder of the fasteners are into the skin on the leading edge and inboard rib flange.

my stall speed with full flaps and 20” manifold pressure (dragging it in) is 34 kt. I haven’t experimented much yet in this plane with short field landings, but with practice, I will be dragging it over the fence at 37-38 kt then standing on the brakes and skidding to a stop. Yee haw!

I placed aluminum foil tape against the hatch cover and mylar tape against the lower flap skin. I rubbed a thin film of wax over these surfaces.

Wetting out three plies of carbon fiber cloth sandwiched between two plies of 7781 cloth on top of a piece of vacuum bagging film. (some plastic films tend to wrinkle up when in contact with vinylester resin)

Using a squeegee to get any air bubbles and wrinkles out of the laminate The bagging film seals the laminate and keeps the whole process from getting messy.

Hole pattern lay-out. I will test the stall speeds without this extension in place, then add it on with small, self-tapping screws. If satisfied with the results, I will permanently attach it with flush pull-rivets.


OIL COOLER

I did something a bit different with the oil cooler. since we typically take the oil cooler air from behind cylinder #3 and it always runs the warmest CHt, I am pulling the air from the front baffle plenum chamber. the oil cooler is located a few inches above the lower cowl and I’ve located some louvers beneath the cooler on the cowl. a benefit of this modification is that my cylinder temperatures are within 25°F of each other. my average oil temperature is 190°F. I plan to fabricate a skirt out of rubber baffling material to seal the gap between the oil cooler and the cowling louvers this summer and see if this lowers the temperature a bit more.

the thing I would have done differently would have been to make the inlet at the baffle face more trumpet shaped.

I custom made a 4:1 straight exhaust since I don’t have a nose gear and to save weight, eliminated the nose gear mounting brackets from the front of the cage.

CYLINDER COOLING

there isn’t much cooling air that gets to the lower fins on the cylinders. Cut 7/8” tall x 1.75” cooling slots in the forward engine baffles to realize a 25-30° reduction in CHt. this isn’t necessary on the Io-390 engines, but very beneficial on the 180 hp parallel-valve Io-360 models.

any Glastar or sportsman with a parallel-valve 180 hp lycoming can benefit from these. they aren’t incorporated into Glasair’s baffle kits, so they aren’t installed on tWtt sportsman, but I generally tell customers so they can modify their baffles l ater on.

ThouGhTs on coolinGBy Ted Setzer

Builder tips

Locate the slot just below the mid-line of cylinder 2. Sandwich foam between the aluminum baffles and seal in place with hi-temp silicone.

Locate the slot just below the cylinder midline as shown where the fins are the deepest at the base of the head.


VenTral finBy Bill Bracken

Builder tips

Fibertech composites

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Here is my modified ventral fin attached to my Glastar. not an easy job but now complete except for a test flight. It is a copy of a maule design with the last 20% clipped off. Hopefully it will solve the “hunting” issue with minimal power applied (1600 rPm). the test flight has been postponed due to knee surgery.


the big news at sun ‘n Fun this year was the proposed linkup of Glasair and DeltaHawk to produce a diesel-powered sportsman 2+2. Harry Delong of Glasair says that a prototype should be flying for airVenture 2013, with delivery slots available at that time.

a little about the DeltaHawk engine: this is a 200 hp, 2-stroke diesel engine that will run on Jet-a, biodiesel, regular diesel or any similar fuel. the main advantage of this engine is its ability to run on cheaper and more readily-available jet-a or diesel fuel. this is an especially important advantage in parts of the world where 100ll avgas is hard to find, expensive, or both. In addition it is much more fuel-efficient. In fact, with a bsfc of .39 lbs./hp-hour it is 22% more efficient than a lycoming Io-390.

the engine is a bit unconventional in that it is designed with an inverted V-4 layout, but that gives it a much narrower profile than a typical lycoming flat four-cylinder engine. this allows for a more streamlined cowl and potentially less drag. the cooling system of the DeltaHawk is also unique in that is uses water/glycol coolant, oil cooling, and recirculating fuel cooling all together to manage engine temperatures. In fact the secondary cooling systems are so effective that the engine can be run at reduced power for a very long time with no water/glycol coolant in it at all. Fuel cooling comes from a recirculating system that only consumes one out of every 30 gallons that flows through the fuel pump.

excess, warmed fuel is returned to the main wing tanks where it is picked up again and pumped through the fuel system. Glasair plans to install fuel coolers initially but hopes to eliminate them if early testing yields favorable results.

those of you with some heavy truck experience will recognize the belt-driven supercharger as standard equipment on a 2-stroke diesel. the turbo charger that works in conjunction with it could be eliminated with a reduction in performance, but the supercharger is

needed to make the engine start. this looks like extra hardware and potentially extra trouble to lycoming mechanics, but the basic design has a long track record in heavy trucks and diesel-powered equipment. there is no reason to think it will be less reliable in the DeltaHawk.

For many oshkosh regulars the DeltaHawk has always been the engine of the future, always tantalizing but not really available yet. However, the future is now arriving very soon, not years from now. DeltaHawk and Glasair have made a commitment to have a flying aircraft available in a few months and plan to start selling them this summer.

although no firm numbers are available yet, the weight penalty is expected to be very small for the diesel installation, and could easily be made up for with the carbon fiber fuselage option. a special mt propeller will be included in the firewall-forward package to help reduce weight and to provide peak performance for this engine package. Pricing is not available at

this time, but it is likely that it will cost more than a similar lycoming Io-390 engine package. How much more will not be known until this summer.

at first this engine will only be available to two-Weeks-to-taxi customers, but eventually the complete firewall-forward package should be available to traditional builders and retrofitters, too.

For more information visit www.deltahawkengines.com and www.glasairaviation.com

delTahaWK + Glasair = diesel sPorTsManBy Dave Prizio

engines

Secret agents modifying a Sportsman cowling at an undisclosed location. Photo credit Steve Rush


events

sun ‘n fun BraT roasTBy Herb Karkheck

sun ‘n Fun was great, Glasair didn’t have much of a presence. Just a very pretty sportsman, a sign, and Chris strachan and Harry Delong sitting in the wing’s shade, and not much else. ray Chaput flew it from tWtt, test hours flown off in Washington, and registered in Canada.

the “Brat roast” went well, with lots of brats, beers, and soft drinks consumed. I think we had around 20 people there at one point, with some very interesting conversations going on. next year, I will have people sign in or something, so we can really get a good count. all who attended seemed to have a good time, and a couple of builders showed up, that only heard about the Brat roast at the Glasair exhibit. (thanks Harry!) We were sorry that none of the factory personnel attended. their input to the discussions are always informative.

Friday was a disaster from one end to the other. Dead car battery first thing in the morning, and needed to get onto show grounds before 9, to pick up my engine. the guy that welded up the intake manifold, fuel rail, radiator, oil cooler, and other stuff, brought it down from Kentucky, and was displaying it at the show. When we did get the car jumped, the rear hatch wouldn’t open. Followed the manual for manual opening with no luck. third person to try, pushed a screwdriver in the right direction and it opened.

next my right hip gave out, (don’t know why) and I couldn’t walk. Four healthy guys lifted the engine into the suV after having to remove the manifold due to excessive height. next we hooked up the camper and discovered that the backup camera was inoperative. as we pulled out of the campground, we noted that the transmission was not shifting, and every gear position on the dash was lit up. at 3800 rpm and no a/c, we made 40 mph. We had to avoid the interstate, and the one hour trip took two hours. once home, we disconnected the camper, and I accidentally turned off the engine. (It was running since the jump start.) When restarted, the dash was normal and I drove up the street and tranny shifted normally. returning home, rear-view camera worked, as did the rear hatch .

We unloaded what aBsolutelY had to be unloaded, had a couple of adult beverages (not beer), some tylenol, and went to bed. I feel much better today, but will have to get that hip checked out.

The Glasair crew under the wing of Ray Chaput’s Sportsman–Chris, Harry and Nigel

Herb Karkheck, host of the GSAI Brat Roast

Herb with Ed Klepeis of Tech Welding, Randi and Chrissie, the “Cozy Girls”

Kathy and Steve Sutton, Jim Dudley, Dan Dudley, Mystery man


I cycle the gear every float season so I used a general purpose rubber insulating tape used for all-voltage splicing and jacketing, something like 3m scotch 2242 or 2248. not the thin vinyl electrical tape but the old fashioned thick rubber tape that went over nut and bolt style electrical connectors and was then followed up with the hockey stick tape, cloth/black friction tape.

the thick rubber tape lasts over the winter, I put the splice on the belly side, looks nice and flexes.

on the gear I used the 1” tape followed by a second layer of ¾” tape on the hull to gear leg -not really needed thought it might look a little nicer, but you can’t really tell.

I pull the gear every summer anyway, so I

wanted something simple. Frankly, I’m surprised how well it stays on and how easy it is to remove.

application is pretty simple - I just start in the back and do one wrap of the 1” tape right up against the hull and a second wrap with the 3/4” tape flush with the lower edge of the 1” tape. last year I just did one wrap of the 3/4”. I was going for a shadow line effect, bu I’m not sure it was worth the effort.

then end the wrap behind the leg keeping in mind the direction of the air flow so it doesn’t get peeled off. Keep in mind too, I can only get 110 knots or so with my prop setup, so maybe you guys that are burning the paint off as you reenter the earth’s atmosphere would have to get a carbon fiber heat shield tape.

the wing root pictures show 3/4” tape.

the tapes can be purchased from amazon.com.

Scotch 2242 Linerless Electrical Rubber Tape, 3/4-Inch x 15-Foot

Scotch 50727-BA-5 Rubber Mastic Electrical Tape, 1-Inch x 10-Foot x 0.065-Inch

scoTch elecTrical TaPe for sealinG GaPsBy Randi Ernst

Builder tips


StarFlight Achievement AwardsBuilder tips

GSaI recognizes members who have logged pilot-in-command time in GlaStar and/or Sportsman aircraft with StarFlight achievement awards. upon receipt of your form, two patches will be mailed to you and your achievement will be noted in the Glastar & sportsman Flyer. Be proud of your achievement!

HAWK (OVER 500 HOuRS pilot-in-command)• rick Flahart, mabank, tX

OSPREY (OVER 100 HOuRS pilot-in-command)• Constance Horder, Canyon Creek, mt

WinG roTaTinG sTandBy Terry Dovey

these are some easily made (and cheap) wing stands I made to support my wings before and during painting. I used 90mm x 35mm dressed pine timber, fast drive wood screws and bolts appropriately sized to fit through the spar holes. It was some time back now but I think at the outboard ends what I did was insert some timber through two lightening holes and screw to it.

With this arrangement I was able to lock the wing in any position.

Please fill out the form below and mail it to Glastar & sportsman association Intl., 6757 arapaho, ste. 711-263, Dallas tX 75248. You may also email your request to [email protected].

name:____________________________________________

address:__________________________________________

City:______________________________________________

state/Prov.:___________Zip/Postal Code:________________

Country:_____________________________________________

I am applying for the following starFlight achievement award:

osprey level 100 hours Kestrel level 250 hours Hawk level 500 hours Falcon level 1000 hours eagle level 2000+ hours

I have logged ___________ hours as pilot-in-command in a Glastar and/or sportsman airplane.

e-mail:____________________________________________

6757 Arapaho, Suite 711-263Dallas TX 75248

To submit events for our calendar, send an email to [email protected] or visit www.glastarnet.org and click on Calendar.

2013 Upcoming EvEnts

Jul 29–aug 4, oshkosh, WI

AirVentureairventure.org

June 20-23, Smiley Creek, ID

Smiley Creek GSAI Fly-In

may 4-5, Suffolk, Va

Virginia Regional Festival of Flight

oct. 4-6, Columbia, Ca

Columbia GSAI Fly-In