November - December 2007 Recreational Aircraft Association Canada www.raa.ca The Voice of Canadian Amateur Aircraft Builders $6.95 The Amazing SEAREY Gary Wolf Amateur Built Category Changes Ontario. The www.navcanada.ca md-ra.com 1-877-419-2111 RAA was recently contacted by website has a Montreal -Toronto- For planes that fit into our Basic the Chief of MD-RA, who asked that Windsor survey which is fairly Ultralight category, the procedure we let our membership know that difficult to fill out, but please per- is even simpler and the supply is there has been an important change severe and stake your claim to the larger. The US has recently been to the amateur-built category. An airspace you currently use. There cracking down on their “fat ultra- immediate call to Ottawa brought is also a box for suggestions, and lights”, planes that had for years forth the information that we are this is your chance to have your say. been flying illegally because they no longer allowed to use parts from For once NavCanada are asking for did not meet the 254 pound empty certified aircraft when construct- input, so please take fifteen mnutes weight requirement of the US ultra- ing an amateur-built plane, at least to let them know that we are here. light category. Many of these planes this is what Transport was initially If we sit back and do nothing, we weigh 350-500 pounds so they will saying. Subsequent calls brought could end up with only narrow fit nicely into our 1200 pound gross the news that the FAA was unhappy VFR corridors and expanded Class weight Basic Ultralight category. with our Builder Assist regulations, C or D airspace. Barnstormers.com is full of planes and they wanted Transport to pro- on offer, and to register in Canada vide an export document for Cana- Canadian Dollar and US Imports it is necessary only to pa the taxes, dian amateur-builts being sold into Remember when our dollar fill in the 26-0521 form, and pay the the US, a document that would traded at a 20% discount to the $110 registration fee. Here is the link ensure that these aircraft had not US? We mentally added one third to the full requirements: http:// been built from formerly certified to everything we saw in the US www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/gen- aircraft or under the Builder Assist catalogs, and built our aircraft eral/ccarcs/ultralight.htm. provisions of CARS 507. For the full from expensive parts. Now that the Because Basic ultralights have no story, please read the article in this Canadian dollar is trading at par build standard or inspection, pas- issue. or even above the US dollar, parts senger carrying is not allowed, and are a bargain and so are US aircraft. the pilot must wear a helmet. If the Montreal - Toronto -Windsor This is not a good time to be selling plane has a second seat, a second Airspace Review a Canadian plane into the US, but pilot may occupy it if he also wears Tom Martin and I attended the it is a great time to be buying an a helmet. What you cannot do is most recent NavCanada meeting American plane. For amateur-built take your kids or Granny for rides which dealt with proposed changes aircraft the import procedure has unless they too have licenses. to the southern Ontario airspace. It recently been streamlined; MD-RA It is remotely possible that you has been nearly twenty years since now handles the import inspec- might find a US plane that meets this airspace was overhauled, and tions for Transport Canada. Find our Advanced Ultralight category, during that time there have been a US amateur-built plane with 100 but to register as one requires the many ad hoc changes. The general logged flight hours, pay the provin- cooperation of the manufacturer. public are now using more of the cial tax and GST and call MD-RA The Advanced Ultralight category airspace and the VFR recreational for an inspection. Your new plane places liability on the manufactur- pilots will undoubtedly be affected. will undergo an inspection equal ers, and they are usually unwilling NavCanada is asking for your input to the Canadian amateur-built final to assume this liability unless that so that they may know how we inspection, and it will then receive are making a sale. currently use airspace in southern a Canadian flight authority. www. continued on page 34 The Recreational Aircraft email: [email protected] tion of the magazine is to promote education Association Canada www.raa.ca and safety through its members to the general 13691 MCLAUGHLIN ROAD, R R 1, The Recreational Flyer is published bi-monthly public. Opinions expressed in articles and Caledon, Ontario L7C 2B2 by the Recreational Aircraft Association Pub- letters do not necessarily reflect those of the Telephone: 905-838-1357 lishing Company, Brampton Airport, Chelten- Recreational Aircraft Association Canada. Fax: 905-838-1359 ham, ON L0P 1C0. The Recreational Flyer is Accuracy of the material presented is solely Member's Toll Free line: 1-800-387-1028 devoted to the aerospace sciences. The inten- the responsibility of the author or contributor. features TeamTeam Canada Showing Them How It's Done by Wayne Hadath ......................4 4 Import Your Homebuilt? by Bill Tee ...................................................................................10 Build It Shops in Tight Spaces / .............................................................12 Gliders and Transponders Two views: Ken Armstrong and Gary Wolf ..............................16 Dennis Vogan Transport Changes the Rules 12 by Gary Wolf ..............................................................................20 Searey by Dennis Vogan .......................................................................22 From the President's Desk by Gary Wolf ..................................................... 2 Across Canada: Chapters in Action ................... 18 Product Reviews Central Pneumatics English Wheel .............. 33 22 Princess Belt Grinder .................................... 33 Cleaveland Tool EF 60 Edging Tool .............. 34 Technical Stuff Converting Your Homebuilt to Run E10 by Brian Kenney ............................................. 35 Nut Plates / by Tom Martin ............................ 36 Classifi ed .............................................................. 38 New In Canadian Skies ........................................ 41 35 Team Canada Takes the Memphis 100 by Wayne Hadath RAA #8753 In horse racing there is a long held LONG BEFORE THE RACE STARTED there was a lot of posturing and blus- belief that racing improves the breed. ter on the email lists, the usual head games found in racing. Some had $100K In aviation it is rare for our planes pumped-up engines, three or four were high time fi ghter pilots, and one had a to be raced, so we take our opinions tuned exhaust, special cold air induction, and who knows what else. When we met from those willing to give them. For example, everyone knows that a glass smooth paint job is worth a few miles per hour to your plane. Everyone takes this on faith. However two Canadian pilots entered the Memphis 100 race with their F1 Rockets, fi nished fi rst and second in a fi eld of highly modifi ed American planes, and created a lot more questions than answers. 4 Recreational Flyer November - December 2007 We steal the Team Canada plasticene from our Takes the Memphis 100 kids. Tom’s kids are by Wayne Hadath RAA #8753 old enough that they don’t care about plasticene, and mine are learn- ing how to share. the day before the race in Memphis, if a slick paint job Rained out in Jackson, Tennesee provides any speed advan- tage, most of them had it. Tom Martin and I set out with the intention of enjoying the race and learning and a single side electronic ignition. Mine is a zero something, Just as much, we wanted to spend some time overhaul of a stock 260 hp IO540 D4A5 built by time with the group of Rocket builders and aviation Bart Lalonde at Aerosport Power in Kamloops. Tom’s enthusiasts down there, and have an evening on Beale has Airflow Performance injection, while mine has Street in Memphis listening to the live jazz and getting the stock Bendix. I run two conventional Slick mag- a feel for the town. We decided not to go to Graceland, netos, preferring these to electronic. When Bart built saving that for later when we could bring our wives my engine he flow tested the cylinders so that all six along. This trip was one for the guys. cylinders would have fuel flows within half a gallon of Tom and I are both very interested in learning how each other. This allows lean of peak operation for fuel to improve the performance of our airplanes, and we economy and engine cooling when I am not racing. have each other to test against. We live within fifteen Bart set my injection to consume 23 gph with every- minutes of each other (at Rocket speeds) and fre- thing pushed forward.When I lean for cruise I can run quently head up to see whose latest streamlining mod- 10.5 gph at 60% power, giving a cruise speed of 210 ification has worked better. Some mods have ended up mph. This works well for cross countries and for head- slower, and fortunately both of our planes are finished ing to the races. in primer, so we can easily make all the aero mods we Tom and I both run the standard Vetterman six-into- want. This is a cut and try process. We both enjoy this two exhaust with no silencers, but a six cylinder has a and it helps us to understand our airplanes. Neither of smoother exhaust note that is less offensive than a high is spending big dollars on the modifications – all we output four cylinder. Tom runs a three blade composite are buying is bits of aluminum, and some epoxy and MT constant speed, while I run a three blade alumi- cloth.