Backcountry Bearhawk: a Custom Cruiser
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BACKCOUNTRY BEARHAWK: A CUSTOM CRUISER KITPLANES July 2020 Stands Blues • NutsertsWing Basics • COVIDity • Garmin GI 275 • Wrench Torque • Building a RANS S-21 Little Guys • Bearhawk • ADS-B for Under $25K • Custom Kits for ® STOP IT! JULY 2020 Tips for Better Brakes BELVOIR PUBLICATIONS In the Shop: ADS-B FOR LITTLE GUYS • DIY Wing Stands Can You Fly Without It? • Torque Wrench Basics • Mastering Nutserts RANS S-21 OUTBOUND Let the Building Begin! www.kitplanes.com CONTENTSJuly 2020 | Volume 37, Number 7 Builder Spotlight 6 17 KITS FOR UNDER $25K: Building economically can be done, but you’re going to be part of the cost savings. By Marc Cook. 20 RETIREMENT PROJECT: A backcountry Bearhawk built for comfort, cross-country cruising and cargo capacity. By Scott M. Spangler. 28 MIKE AND LAURA STARKEY’S RANS S-21: Part 1— foundations of the build. By Laura Starkey. 34 ADS-B AND THE LITTLE GUY: ADS-B installation may be avoidable for many small homebuilts. By Ron Wanttaja. 38 GARMIN GI 275 EFIS: This full-featured, full-priced certified 20 EFIS is impressive but might not be ideal for homebuilts. By Marc Cook. 44 AIRCRAFT BRAKES: Some experiences and improvements. By Reinhard Metz. Shop Talk 49 NUTSERT NOTES: Mastering these little beasts. By Paul Dye. 52 MOUNTING ON A CURVE: Put your GPS antenna where it belongs. By Paul Dye. 54 PLANE AND SIMPLE: Support your wings. By Jon Croke. 58 MAINTENANCE MATTERS: Torque wrench basics. By Dave Prizio. 64 HOME SHOP MACHINIST: Lightweight stepladder. By Bob Hadley. 72 AERO ’LECTRICS: VHF com—the good, the bad, the ugly. By Jim Weir. 79 UNAIRWORTHY: Jam nut triple threat. By Vic Syracuse. Designer’s Notebook 75 WIND TUNNEL: Design process—span and aspect ratio. By Barnaby Wainfan. Exploring 2 EDITOR’S LOG: What’s next for aviation in America? 6 By Marc Cook. 4 FREE FLIGHT: Funny money. By Paul Dye. 56 BUILDING TIME: Murphy’s law, Occam’s razor. By Kerry Fores. 62 OUT OF THE BLUE: COVIDity blues. By Myron Nelson. 78 REAR COCKPIT: Missing Red Bull. By Tom Wilson. Kit Bits 68 LIST OF ADVERTISERS 69 BUILDERS’ MARKETPLACE 80 ARCHIVE: Looking back at the January 1988 issue. On the cover: six kits for under $25,000. (Clockwise from upper left) Hummel H5, Van’s RV-4, Fisher Dakota Hawk, Aeromarine Merlin, Zenith CH 650 and Airdrome 28 Aeroplanes Sopwith Camel. For subscription information, contact KITPLANES® at 800/622-1065 or visit www.kitplanes.com/cs. KITPLANES July 2020 1 EDITOR’S LOG What’s Next for Aviation in America? Never have I wanted a column of has emerged. While the Boeings of the and rejiggered the shift schedules and/ mine to become obsolete, inconsequen- world have had to shut down and fur- or working environment to maintain tial, a curious blip in time more than lough employees, the initial reaction of proper social distancing consistent this one. In the 30 days since I wrote last people closer to our orbit than Boeing with requirements in their home states. month’s column to now, early April, our or Airbus has been much more subdued Inconvenient, but they’re still opera- world has come to a virtual standstill. The and, even, just a little bit positive. tional and that’s a big deal. immediate effects of the coronavirus (or We benefit from being made up of Until at least mid April, companies COVID-19) have been to sequester indi- smaller, more agile companies. And such as Van’s, Zenith, Sonex and Kitfox viduals and families, shutter businesses because the margins in manufactur- were continuing to build kits and com- big and small and, tragically, cost lives ing aircraft kits is thin, few of our com- ponents, while also providing sales and around the world. By the time you read panies are in big cities—no one needs support via phone and internet. As this this, the wide-ranging shelter-in-place that kind of high rent. So you’re likely is written, Sun ’n Fun has been canceled restrictions might be starting to lift. Or to see our industry leaders in more for this year—“combined” with the 2021 they may not. We’re learning more every rural locations, which so far have been event is the official word. But the need to day but we still don’t know enough for spared the brunt of the outbreaks. That make a go/no-go decision on AirVenture any kind of lucid prediction. doesn’t mean they’ve been untouched. is still a month ahead of us—so, offi- As I watch more or less from the side- A few are working with minor changes cially, it’s still in “go” mode. My crystal lines—your dedicated crew members to their processes, mainly by limiting or ball, which years ago I nicked with some here at KITPLANES® are generally virtual- eliminating factory tours and customer 60-grit and then mistakenly cleaned with office types except for those who have, pickup of kits and components. Most MEK, is as fuzzy as ever, but I’d guess um, real jobs—something interesting have sent office staff to work at home the best case is we’ll have a delayed AirVenture, and worst case, none at all. I’m trying to remain hopeful—but I don’t see it happening in late July. Already our industry is adapting. Zenith chose to move its builder work- shop to a virtual platform and the Sonex Builders Group staged a Zoom-based fly-in. I expect more kit companies and builders groups will do the same, their delayed events hemmed in by all the summer activities that we might get to do by September on one side, and the onset of winter on the other. I do know that the enforced downtime affords the oppor- tunity to get over to the hangar or down to the basement to continue working on our projects, and I’ve heard from builders Is general aviation sinking into the ground as the result of COVID-19? I don’t think so—at least not permanently. Marc Cook is KITPLANES’ Editor in Chief once again, after a hiatus playing with motorcycles and learning about e-commerce. A veteran special-interest journalist, Marc has built two airplanes, an Aero Designs Pulsar XP and a Glasair Aviation Sportsman, and now owns a 150-hp, almost-as- simple-as-it-gets GlaStar based in Oregon. Marc has 4500 hours spread over 200-plus types and Marc Cook three decades of flying. 2 KITPLANES July 2020 www.kitplanes.com & www.facebook.com/kitplanes A once-vital small airport goes almost silent when the pilot-training activities cease and most pilots respect the stay- at-home mandates even though social distancing isn’t hard to maintain out here. I finally found Aviation Safety Products in Blairsville, Georgia. They do everything with seat belts. You can buy complete harnesses, re-web belts or simply modify one half of a seat belt. I sent them the half belt I wanted modified (they reused my attach fitting) and specified the length I wanted. If I remember correctly, it took who are taking advantage of the situation made more noticeable with the off-center just over a week to get my part and it was to pound rivets or spread resin. shoulder belts. Nobody could supply me quite inexpensive. Success!” My apolo- Of course, the big question is how with the simple mod that I needed. They gies to Aviation Safety Products (www. we will fare at the other end of this pan- all wanted me to buy new belts. The belts aircraftseatbelts.com) for somehow miss- demic. There are many variables still in in my airplane are four-point harnesses so ing them in our story—and thanks to play but I find myself surprisingly opti- they would be quite expensive to replace. Tom for pointing this out. J mistic. I was in this chair during the eco- nomic crash of 2008 and it felt different. I EDITORIAL ADVERTISING sense a coming together of human spirit Editor in Chief Marc Cook Advertising Director Tom Bliss and a sort of resilience that I didn’t get [email protected] Belvoir Aviation Group [email protected] 602/625-6815 before. What I hear are things like, “We’ll Editor at Large Paul Dye Executive Editor Mark Schrimmer Advertising Representative Ivy Ericksen do that when“ rather than if. [email protected] I worry about our airports and FBOs, Art Direction Dan Maher 612/743-8512 however. At my home base, you could Contributing Editors LeRoy Cook, Jon Croke, BUSINESS OFFICE Kerry Fores, Robert Hadley, Belvoir Media Group, LLC sense a slackening of activity early in Dan Horton, Louise Hose, 535 Connecticut Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06854-1713 March and then a much bigger drop-off Amy Laboda, Dave Martin, when the local flight school suspended all Sid Mayeux, Myron Nelson, EDITORIAL OFFICE David Paule, Dave Prizio, Ken 535 Connecticut Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06854-1713 flight training. Many of the students were Scott, Dick Starks, Eric Stewart, [email protected] from out of state, here only for training. Vic Syracuse, Barnaby Wainfan, Jim Weir, Tom Wilson. SUBSCRIPTION DEPARTMENT Some will be able to hang on and wait it 800/622-1065 out, some will have to go home—and Web Editor Omar Filipovic www.kitplanes.com/cs I don’t know if they’ll be able to return Cartoonist Robrucha P.O. Box 8535, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8535 once the restrictions are lifted. On top of Editorial Director, Larry Anglisano REPRINTS FOR PUBLICATION Aviation Division the likely free-fall of pilot demand as the AND WEB POSTING AVAILABLE CIRCULATION Minimum Order: 500 airlines very slowly creak back toward Circulation Manager Laura McMann Contact Jennifer Jimolka, 203/857-3144 capacity later this year, it’s a difficult and sudden change in prospect for young, career-aspiring pilots.