Arion’s 170-mph, 25-mpg two-seater just got better! September 2008 Tab A Into Slot B $4.99US $5.99FOR A Multi-Part, Won’t-Miss-A-Thing 09 Jabiru J250 Builder Series Starts Now! MaintainMain Your Rotax Engine Drive It On! 0 74820 08883 8 Ready For Roadable Aircraft? PERFORMANCE. INGENUITY. RELIABILITY. Superior's XP Series of engines present the best performance and reliability available in today's experimental aviation industry. 800-277-5168 www.xp-series.com www.superiorairparts.com September 2008 | Volume 25, Number 9 On the cover: Richard VanderMeulen photographed the Arion Lightning at Shelbyville, Tennessee. Flight Reports 8 ARION LIGHTNING With savvy development and a designer’s open mind, a sleek two-seat speedster just got better; by Chuck Berthe. 18 REMEMBER WHEN: THE BD-5 MICRO Examining the most sought aft er kitbuilt, some 40 years aft er the craze; by Bob Grimstead. 43 Builder Spotlight 2 4 DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: JOHN THORP His well-conceived, innovative designs have stood the test of time; by Amy Laboda. 32 BUILD YOUR SKILLS: FABRIC Make a lasting attachment; by Ron Alexander. 3 8 ALL ABOUT AVIONICS: CUTTING THE METAL Th ere’s no need to fear building your own panel. It’s easier than you might think; by Stein Bruch. 4 3 TO DREAM THE (ALMOST) IMPOSSIBLE DREAM Th ere’s no question the next great roadable aircraft will come from the minds of homebuilders; by Murry L. Rozansky. 49 TO LAUNCH A LIGHT SPORT Our Senior Editor chooses and then begins his next kit aircraft ; by Bob Fritz. 6 0 C O M P L E T I O N S Builders share their successes. Shop Talk 54 THE HOME MACHINIST We write, you write… alright! By Bob Fritz. 7 1 AERO ’LECTRICS Get the LED out; by Jim Weir. Designer’s Notebook 68 WIND TUNNEL Roll’s role in lateral stability; by Barnaby Wainfan. 8 Exploring 2 AROUND THE PATCH Development, done right; by Marc Cook. 6 WHAT’S NEW A new Carbon Cub and SUNLite LEDs; edited by Mary Bernard. 58 DOWN TO EARTH Th e fi nal stage of assembly… Or is it? By Amy Laboda. 73 LIGHT STUFF Learn how to maintain your Rotax engine; by Dave Martin. Kit Bits 4 CONTRIBUTORS 5 LETTERS 64 LIST OF ADVERTISERS 65 BUILDERS’ MARKETPLACE 75 THE CLASSIFIED BUILDER 80 KIT STUFF 24 Drawing on experience; by cartoonist Robrucha. KITPLANES September 2008 1 Development, done right. ThreeTh years ago at S’FSun ’n Fun, I met Nick Otterback standing by the fi rst prototype of the Lightning. Surrounded by the, er... functional looking Jabiru high-wingers in the display area, the Lightning appeared low, sleek, sexy and fast. At the time, I wasn’t all that familiar with the Esqual, from which the Lightning was struck, but I did recognize traits that originally excited me about the Aero Designs Pulsar. Namely, the proportions are pleasing, there’s a good amount of horizontal tail—so I fi g- Nick Otterback and his Lightning. ured stability would be appropriate—and the design is intended to be as foolproof to build as is possible. Sometimes the wheels here at KP Cen- I had dinner with Otterback and the rest of those who admit to what they don’t know; tral move slowly, so it wasn’t until last fall the Jabiru family, based in Shelbyville, Ten- they’re the fi rst to seek out experts in a that one of our most experienced test nessee. He was excited about the updates, new fi eld, listen intently and sniff out the pilots, Chuck Berthe, was able to hook up now implemented into a new demonstra- truth of a situation. I’m delighted that he with the Lightning and its designer, Nick tor aircraft that, I learned later, had won was able to put ego aside and improve the Otterback. Soon after the fl ight, Berthe Best Composite at the show. But I could tell airplane. Forget about missing the mark reported to me that he’d found many he was worried about a bad review from fi rst time out. Focus on the result, and do things to like about the airplane but a someone as respected and unemotional everything you can to make the airplane few—including poor longitudinal stability about handling qualities as Berthe. better for builders and pilots. in some confi gurations—that warranted if Berthe sampled the second airplane Aviation history is littered with fl awed not concern, then at least a second look. and came back truly impressed. In private designs and hubristic designers convinced Berthe, not wanting to be misled by a sin- conversation and in the story he submit- they know more than the stalwarts—and gle data point—could the factory airplane ted, Berthe admitted that he was mighty certainly more than some hick test pilot. be the norm or an anomaly?—he sought pleased to see that Otterback had taken (Don’t worry, Berthe knows I say this with rides with builders in other Lightnings. his comments to heart as constructive fondness.) Good design is about humility. Those test hops indicated that his fi rst criticism. Careful development, a little bit Years ago, I spent the better part of a week impressions were accurate. here and a little bit there, moved the Light- with controversial motorcycle designer Around the same time, Otterback indi- ning design from pretty good to wow, Pierre Terblanche. No more irascible and cated that he was working on improve- beautiful job! No single thing was the cure. outspoken designer exists, I think, and yet ments to the Lightning, including a new Otterback worked to move the empty he was the fi rst to admit that areas outside trim system—a change from a spring- c.g. forward, reduce elevator gearing and his core skills were probably better under- bungee system to a trailing-edge tab— improve the trim system. stood by those whose core skills were and it seemed prudent to bide our time This tells me Otterback is a sharp guy— centered in that fi eld. Say what you want until these alterations were on line. and not just his building skills or design about how his creations looked, but they Move ahead to Lakeland this year, when chops. No, the smartest people I know are were all smart. has been in aviation journalism for 20 years and in magazine work for more than 25. He is Marc Cook a 4000-hour instrument-rated, multi-engine pilot with experience in nearly 150 types. He’s completed two kit aircraft, an Aero Designs Pulsar XP and a Glastar Sportsman 2+2. 2 KITPLANES September 2008 Photo: Richard VanderMeulen ©2008 Garmin Ltd or its subsidiaries Weather. Or not. Now you have a choice in GPSMAP® 400 series “mini-MFD” portables. They’re available with or without built-in XM™ satellite weather capability. So, if you fly in areas of North America where XM coverage is provided, the do-it-all ® Preloaded City Navigator Detailed taxiway diagrams 1 ™ street mapping for 650+ U.S. airports GPSMAP 496 offers full datalink weather with NEXRAD, plus Garmin’s SafeTaxi airport diagrams, AOPA airport directory data, enhanced terrain and aviation databases – the works! You can even enjoy 170+ channels of XM Radio entertainment (subscription required). But, if you fly outside the XM coverage area – or don’t require datalink weather – your new choice is the GPSMAP 495. It offers all the data features of the 496, without the XM capability2 or pre-loaded City Navigator® street mapping. And the price is a nice choice, too. AOPA Airport Directory XM WX satellite weather, overlaid on moving map lists 7,400+ airfields To find out more, go to www.garmin.com Pop-up Terrain Alert display Panel display–5 Hz update rate gives with voice warnings faster, smoother presentation Follow the leader. 1Subscription required. 2XM WX satellite weather and XM Radio entertainment not available with GPSMAP 495. NASDAQ GRMN CHUCK BERTHE EDITORIAL Our fl ight-test man in the fi eld took valuable time off Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook [email protected] from his fi tness routine to do an uncommonly thorough Managing Editor Mary Bernard job of evaluating our cover subject, the lovely Arion Light- Art Director Suzanne Stackle Senior Editors Bob Fritz, Dave Higdon ning kitbuilt. A retired naval aviator, aeronautical engi- Contributing Editors Chuck Berthe, Stein Bruch, neer and professional test pilot, Berthe brings a wealth Dan Checkoway, Cory Emberson, of knowledge and experience to the table. His in-depth Geoffrey Jones, Amy Laboda, Howard Levy, Rick Lindstrom, fl ight review of the Lightning begins on Page 8. Dave Martin, Dick Starks, Barnaby Wainfan, Jim Weir, Ed Wischmeyer Webmaster/Data Manager Julia Downie Cartoonist Robrucha AMY LABODA ADVERTISING What you’d call a pan-enthusiast, Amy brings her con- Publisher/Ad Director Cindy Pedersen [email protected] siderable journalistic talents to bear on the story of John Sr. Advertising Manager Chuck Preston Th orp. Th orp was infl uential beyond the popularity of his [email protected] homebuilt designs—ask any pilot who has fl own a Piper BUSINESS OFFICE Cherokee, for example. Th at’s because he was the insti- 531 Encinitas Blvd., Suite 105, Encinitas, CA 92024 Main Number: 760/436-4747, Fax 760/436-4644 gator of the all-fl ying “stabilator” tail for light aircraft . Editorial: 562/608-8251 Moreover, Th orp brought matched-hole construction to the masses. Amy’s story begins on Page 24. PRODUCTION & CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Production Manager Marsha Blessing 717/433-7985 [email protected] Classified Advertising Allyson Patton 717/982-0744 [email protected] MURRY ROZANSKY It’s possible to stay inside your world so diligently that CIRCULATION Circulation Director Lisa Evans your view is more belly button than far horizon.